Effective Measures to Combat Grey Market Sales

Today's business environment with the copyright and patent thefts causes deep rooted damage to the brand name and reputation. Though technological innovation has created a number of opportunities for the growth of the global economy, the changing technology landscape has also paved way for growth of grey market sales and counterfeiting activities. Challenges brought in by technology include the wide use of the internet and the World Wide Web paving way for online brand presence as well as for online frauds.

 

Wikipedia defines a gray market as, “the trade of a commodity through distribution channels which, while legal, are unofficial, unauthorized, or unintended by the original manufacturer.” Though differences in the mode of operation, counterfeiting and grey market sales are reasons for grave concern for the profit oriented business environment.  Gray markets occur when a product designed for a particular mArket, is introduced into a second market by an intermediary at a price less than the listed price. Unlike the black market which involves counterfeiting, gray marketing is completely legal with scarcity of product and reduced price tag driving this in most cases.

 

For global enterprises gray market  sales bring in product diversion that costs brand owners hundreds of billions of dollars worldwide. Gray marketers while understanding the inability of the brand owners, make use of fraudulent methods to create product diversions through complex distribution channels. Such actions have a precipitous effect on the brand distribution network leading to a reduction in profits, market share and brand equity. Further, by creating a demand supply imbalance, the gray marketers not only change the competitive pricing but affect the warranty and liability concerns thus leaving a negative impact on the manufacturers, distributors and consumers alike.

 

With every commodity from automobiles, electronics, computer games, cell phones, photographic equipment, luxury food, cosmetics and even pharmaceuticals, thriving in the e-commerce market, the fraudulent activities and gray market sales also thrive on these business sectors. Brand owners, irrespective of the industry sector should implement adequate measures to ensure brand management and brand protection as a part of the enterprise risk management framework. Outsourcing help from expert professionals will facilitate enterprises to protect their brands from issues related to gray market sales.

 

The growing need of such protective measures on the part of the global enterprise has led to leading service providers developing innovative solutions to combat the gray market sales and counterfeiting activities prevalent in the business environment. Advanced anti-counterfeiting solutions offer enterprises brand protection measures and helps them detect counterfeits and significantly reduce unauthorized movement of commerce through fake distributors and channel partners.

 

Significance of Supply Base Management

Supply base management is an important aspect of supply chain management since today the process of purchasing or procurement of raw materials or components is a strategic function. This is because external suppliers now play an important role in the success and failure of an enterprise. In addition, with the business environment being highly complex and competitive, enterprises have to make sure that it has an effective supply base management in place. Before delving more on this topic let’s first understand the term supply base management. Supply base management is the “systematic dynamic approach for strategically managing the whole supply base.” (Supply base is “an activity that incorporates current, potential, and even past suppliers.”)


In order to sustain in the competitive world, there should be an optimal flow of high quality, value-for-money materials and components. This makes supply base management highly important. Supply base management involves various activities such as material planning and procurement, domestic and offshore sourcing, turnkey and consigned materials, supplier qualification and certification, vendor managed inventory, full materials lifecycle management, Kan Ban and other models, and so on. The following are some best practices in supply base management.


Enhance Supplier Selection and Relationship Management

Enhancing supplier selection and relationship management helps in better products, reduced costs, higher satisfaction, stronger supplier partnerships, and more efficient business processes.


Streamline the Number of Suppliers

Narrow supplier base if enterprises have a set of qualified suppliers who provide cost, quality or any other like no one else. Moreover, Supply base rationalization helps in establishing closer long-term relationships. This also results in lower total costs and inventories, improved working capital and better products.


Conduct Detailed Audits and Operational Reviews to Evaluate Suppliers

Audit the strategic capabilities and prospective synergies of potential suppliers. The key factors to be assessed are quality, quality record, delivery and cycle times, financial stability, technological capabilities, and so on.


For any enterprise involved with the manufacture of goods, the foundation the process of supply chain solution must be strong in order to maximize its performance and make it better than that of its competitors. And the foundation of the manufacturing companies is nothing but the suppliers and the raw materials that they supply. Hence, enterprises must start giving priority to their supply base management.

Know more about  -  Supply Chain Integration    &  order fulfillment

Brand Management for the Global Enterprise

Brand is a mark of identity for the business which sets the enterprises apart from their competitors. Establishing strong brands is a result of adherence to strategies and the organization's commitment to the consumers, suppliers and other stakeholders. Surveys conducted by Vancouver-based consultancy, showcases that 72 percent of consumer's buying decisions are  influenced by the brand reputation and brand names; 80 percent of employees prefer working for reputed  brands  at the cost of less pay packet; while 89 percent agree to brand names as a tiebreaker between competitors.

 

Branding is a promise to the customers and  Brand management refers to the application of marketing techniques to increase customer's perception of  a  product, product line, value and services, leading to increase brand franchise and brand reputation. Technological innovations have played a major role in developing e-commerce and globalization of the brands, leading to a strong customer base and increase brand value.   However, this has also led to increase in counterfeiting and gray market sales, making brand management a challenge for the global enterprises.

 

According to a survey conducted by PwC, nearly 50% of global enterprises are affected by online frauds, with B2B and B2C sales channels helping the counterfeiters and fraudsters gain access to potential victims. Brands being the lifeline of business, enterprises need to proactively use anti counterfeiting solutions for protecting and managing the brand from online brand infringements such as counterfeiting, Phishing, false advertising and redirection of website traffic to fraudulent sites. Further, most of the global enterprises outsource the production lines to low cost regions bringing in concern for protection of intellectual properties. Thus international brand management is also an issue that needs to be handled by the global enterprises.

 

To ensure effective online brand management enterprises can make use make use of the latest strategies of social media marketing and web-based solutions which enables a 24/7 search for internet violations with a dashboard report for analysis. This helps the global enterprises to locate and cutoff the source of the counterfeits and gray market sales.

 

Further, by using strategies and techniques such as  Searching the internet for new targets and networks that sell counterfeits,locating large players in the arena, an extensive research on target audience to convert them to a customer and integrating social media with online media marketing will facilitate enterprises through effective management of the brand's reputation. Success of every brand is dependent on the brand management techniques and  positive experience will ensure  loyal customers and help establish better customer relationship.

 

Read More About: enterprise risk management, Anti-Fraud, Anti-Counterfeiting

 

Understanding the Supply Chain Process

Supply chain is defined as “a system of organizations, people, technology, activities, information, and resources involved in moving a product or service from supplier to customer.” It is the supply chain activities that help to transform natural resources, raw materials, and components into finished goods, which is finally delivered to the end customer. Hence, supply chain consists of various phases such as sourcing, procurement, storage of raw materials, production planning and scheduling, logistics, warehousing, inventory, order fulfillment, customer service or returns management. Let’s look at each phase in detail to understand the reasons that make supply chain management a challenging task.


Sourcing

Sourcing is the process of finding, evaluating and engaging suppliers of raw materials or services. It is a very important business process since sourcing and procurement constitute one of the largest expenses. Sourcing involves activities such as market research, vendor evaluation, and negotiation of contracts.


Procurement

It is the acquisition of goods and services that satisfies the procurer’ needs in terms of quality, quantity, location and time that too at the best possible price.


Raw Materials Storage

It refers to the process of segregating, separating, and storing raw materials so that when the production process starts the raw materials are in good condition.


Production Planning and Scheduling

It refers to the process of planning, scheduling, and coordinating all manufacturing activities. It is managing and allocating resources, events, and processes for creating goods and services. Simply put, it is finding answers to questions such as what, when, where and how to produce.


Logistics

It is “the process of planning, implementing, and controlling the efficient, effective flow and storage of goods, services, and related information from point of origin to point of consumption for the purpose of conforming to customer requirements." It includes both forward and reverse logistics.


Warehousing

It refers to the storage of manufactured goods and products. It includes functions such as receipt, identification, and assembling, testing, verification and so on.


Inventory

It is a detailed itemized record of the finished but unsold goods.


Order Fulfillment

It refers to the complete process right from sales enquiry to the delivery of the product to the customer. The different steps in the order fulfillment process are product enquiry, sales quote, order configuration, order booking, order confirmation, invoicing, order planning, order processing, shipment, and delivery.


Returns Management

It refers to the effective management of the returned goods.


Supply chain thus covers all the movement of a product from the point of origin to the point of consumption. Hence effective supply chain management is essential if the company wants to enhance company revenue and profitability.

Phishing Awareness & Protection – An Absolute Imperative

The growth in technology has given rise to a good number of cyber crimes and security breaches with Phishing attacks being the most worrisome of the lot. Having the potential to damage your company’s image and reputation, Phishing attacks are especially insidious as it endeavors to manipulate its victims into giving up confidential data by pretending to be  someone who the victim would  disclose information to. Phishing protection has become an essential component of any company’s security initiatives.


Adequate Phishing protection includes being aware of the ways in which a Phishing attack can be launched. The most powerful weapon against Phishing is common sense and the following rules that every user should oblige to. Like other such components, Phishing protection not only safeguards the company’s assets, but it also protects the employees themselves. Educating  employees on how Phishing works and what it looks like, as well as what to be observant of, can go a long way to providing an effective last line of defense against Phishing attempts.


Investing in an anti Phishing software ensures that employees follow the best practices for protection against Phishing and increase awareness. The software facilitates calculation of Phishing risks and demonstrates high flexibility with timely reporting services.  An effective anti-Phishing tool carries out mock attacks on the employees and also educates them on how to deal with these attacks. These tools also conduct simulated Phishing attack to test the responsiveness and the reactions of your employees.


Protecting an organization from the damage incurred by Phishing and malware scams requires advanced anti Phishing tool It is hence crucial for an organization to have a successful risk management and control mechanism against social engineering attacks to be dynamic and keep up with evolving security risks. With Phishing attacks wreaking havoc, enterprises need to take a proactive approach and engage in external threat monitoring against your brand, assets, and intellectual property. With a good anti-Phishing solution employees are armed to counter any attacks. These anti-Phishing solutions proactively seek out threats against an organization that can be discovered across the public and hidden internet, such as targeted Phishing or malware attacks, so that they can be taken down before they succeed.


Look for a solution that ensures eliminate all kinds of sophisticated Phishing attacks.   One of the most important things you can do to avoid Phishing attacks is keep your antivirus software up-to-date because most antivirus vendors have signatures that protect against some common technology exploits.


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Enterprise Translation Services for Organizations Expanding Overseas

Today many growing businesses have a good appetite for global expansion but one of the biggest barriers that they face which impede their plans to expand abroad is language. Though a growing number of enterprises looking to expand their businesses overseas consider English to be the language of the business, it alone is not enough to gain traction in new markets. Thus, language translation is the foremost factor that enterprises must focus on, when planning an international expansion, as enterprises that do not cater to the foreign market’s language fail to create a ripple in the international market.

 

With more than 6,500 languages in the world, depending on just one language to maximize one’s reach and expand one’s opportunities for profit would not bring in the expected results. Enterprises need to ensure that they use the language of the audience that they are trying to reach. This helps to make sure that the audience is not only able to read the content but also understand it. Moreover, in many countries there is more than one native language. For instance, in Russia, besides the official language Russian there are 27 languages that are co-official with Russian and at least another 75 minority languages. Similarly, in China there are 7 official languages and 59 other recognized languages. Besides, Chinese can be written in two character sets namely traditional and simplified. Traditional Chinese language is used in Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan, while simplified Chinese is used in Mainland China and Singapore. In such a scenario, enterprises have to be careful when translating the business content to the host language. They must either translate it to the different languages spoken in a country or translate it to the most popular one. To be exact, the language that enterprises choose must be the one that is spoken widely and that reaches the maximum audience.

 

This definitely proves that language translation is something that must not be taken lightly. Enterprises must therefore partner with companies who provide excellent translation services in the enterprise space. With enterprise translation solution, enterprises can control the entire localization process, watch over each step of the translation, and save time and money. With cost and speed being two of the primary concerns of enterprise translation projects, the unique workflow and translation tools used in the Collaborative Translation Platform lower the cost of localization by as much as 50% while doubling the speed of translation. This definitely makes the plan of expansion a bit easy and smooth.

 

Related Links: Customer Translation Network, Translation Software Solution

Automated Language Translation -Localizing the Global Enterprise

Globalization of business enterprises is related to the expansion of the business to new markets. The  expansion of the enterprise's geographical footprint however, depends on their ability to express about products and services in a language understandable by the consumers of the region.   Translation is a process to change the language of a text from one to another but is not as simple as it sounds. According to the US state department, the business in the region lose out on large amounts because of poor translation.

 

Language translation services thus needs to be looked up as a primary factor in the globalization process. The enterprises with their interests in foreign markets need to first get a clear understanding of the culture, traditions and language of the region which will then help them in communicating clearly and gaining a customer base. To achieve this, enterprises can either partner with  professionals offering language translation service or can make use of technologically enabled automated language translation solutions.

 

Human translators over the years have played a major role in helping enterprises and government agencies to get their messages and  marketing campaigns across conference tables and public. However, today  there are  more than 6500 languages spoken around the world and an equally vast amount of data  stored and transferred in digital formats.  Enterprises  thus look forward to implement effective language translation solutions that would provide a faster delivery of language translation in the targeted language. Automated language translation is a computer program based solution that translates the text into any required language.

 

The global enterprises in their worldwide business dealings handles vast amount of translated data. Professionals or service partners who takes up the responsibility of global  translation solution need to ensure accuracy for the translated content as a  vital aspect.  Automated language translation software provides enterprises and bilingual speakers with contextual translations of words and phrases.  Unlike the traditional systems of  sentence-based translation such methods not only reduces the localization cost to nearly 50% but also speeds up the translation process.

 

Further, integrating translation technologies with work flow management will facilitate enterprises to cut through a number of industry segments. The service providers with the help of translation software solution and their wide translation network  provides global organizations a cost-effective method of localization. The translation software solutions are inbuilt with a number of features such as :


  • Terminology management functions which helps in maintaining consistency and accuracy in messaging
  • Machine translation which aids in increasing the performance of the  workforce
  • Translation memory that facilitates recycling and reuse of repeated content

 

The use of such automated language translation solutions will help enterprises with easy expansion of the business empire.

 

Related Links: translation software solution , government translation solutions

Identifying & Combating Phishing Attacks

Nothing is scarier than cyber attacks in the IT landscape. Not always they come in identical forms as malware and antivirus attacks so that you can halt it by using a generic or standard anti-virus or spyware solutions. Today the hackers and cybercriminals have become sophisticated in designing attacks that they plan in the form of fictitious emails, pop ups and duplicate websites and eventually rob the individual or corporate data. This kind of cyber attack is known as Phishing which has been a result of social engineering and has been doing much harm across the globe in banking institutions, retail brands, banks, IT companies and many more.


How to identify Phishing attacks?


This is the tricky part and needs keen observation and awareness. Phishing attacks mostly occur in the form of a mail that seems to have been sent from an authentic source such as online shopping deals and compels you to share your private data for instance credit card details, email passwords, password details, bank account numbers, mobile numbers and the like. With the help of this information the hackers easily get into your bank or email account and then hack it completely. Other losses include revenue loss and loss of brand reputation in public.


Phishing mails might make it to your Inbox in the form of notification stating you have won free gifts, holiday packages or the most common of all winning a huge lottery amount. There are times when these mails offer URL links and as you click on then you are taken to fraudulent websites. A way to be careful about identifying such as mails is to keep a look for spelling errors in the email id or the website address.


Advanced Phishing Protection Solutions


Today most IT and other organizations have realized the importance of Phishing protection and are investing in innovative solutions offered by service providers. The solution helps to let people and employees know the basics about Phishing and its implications.


Anti-Phishing software introduced by service providers often acts as an automated tool and is installed in an organization internally, personalized with data about the technology, process and the people. After this a simulated Phishing attack is created for the target audience where the software tracks individual responses. This helps in tracking the social behavior and come up with a detailed report. High-end anti-Phishing software provider’s statistics of user behavior, assesses the security awareness amidst the employees, identified data leakage and accesses Data Loss Prevention programs and examines for incident response programs.


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Regulatory Services Offered By Indian CRO’s

India over the last decade has come up with various developments and advancements in medical trials and in project and data management. India has been successfully able to provide cost savings of 50 to 60 percent in clinical trials. With the research discovery acquiring approximately one-third of the R&D expenses of the western medical industry, outsourcing to lesser expense countries is a wise move. With the financial and regulatory pressure expanding in the US and European medical industry, it is estimated to propel the development in the Indian clinical trial market.


All this has compelled the clinical research organizations (CRO) in India to introduce advanced clinical laboratory services that assist in disease treatment and drug development. The medical doctors and technicians’ research experiment and conduct different medical studies and experiments and review human blood sample and assesses blood samples and evaluate the impact of drugs on the blood. This apart, the CRO’s also give importance to regulatory compliance services and appropriate quality assurance. There is a separate team for regulatory services and audit compliance that is in turn supported by a vast knowledge of the local regulatory procedures and helpful associations with various regulatory agencies ensuring perfection in the clinical trial approval process.


Renowned Indian CRO’s specializing in regulatory services has completed various audits from multiple global and Indian regulatory agencies. Simultaneously, there have been study submissions from multiple countries. The vast range of regulatory services offered includes the following:


* Formulating regulatory strategies

* Replying regulatory agency queries

* Renewing Import License

* Procuring drug import licenses

* Follow-up and submissions on the application

* Tracking applications and approvals

* Submission of Clinical Safety Report (CSR)

* Safety Reporting

* Procuring NOC for export of biological samples

* Compiling a clinical trial application


In addition to that, with regards to QA Indian CRO’  s have a complete quality assurance team to manage the same with a standard quality. The team focuses on quality that permeates through the processes within the domain of each single process. In addition to that, there are thorough implementations that are carried out by the Quality Assurance and Quality Control processes. QA practices span across Bioanalytical, Clinical, Statistics, Internal Audits and Reporting by the QA team for area specific SOP compliance. Simultaneously, there are other in-house capacities that CRO’s perform and includes of components such as Site Audits, Vendor Audits, Process/System Audits, and Document Audits that includes protocol, clinical study reports and important clinical trial documents.


Read More About: biometrics companies, Bioavailability, Clinical Pharmacokinetic

Biometric Services and Its Uses

 

Biometric data is efficiently and successfully used in scientific research and is a core aspect of forensic science and an essential element of access control systems. It helps you to increase the security level and make authentication and identification processes simpler, convenient and fast. Previously the use of this technology was costly and because of this economic constraint the influence on individual data protection rights were limited. Biometric data alters irrevocably the association between body and identity, as they make the traits of the human body “machine –readable” and subject to further use. Biometric data can be processed and saved in multiple forms. There are times when the biometric data captures from a person is saved and processed in a raw format that helps to recognize its source, for instance the picture of a face, voice recording, picture of a fingerprint and many more. Sometimes, the raw captured biometric data are processed in a certain way that only selective traits or features are saved and extracted as a biometric template.


There are clinical research organizations (CRO) in India that provide a complete range of data management services in bio-equivalence as well as Phase I and IV clinical trials that are conducted in bio clinical laboratories. The biometric services provided by these clinical research organizations comprise the following:


Database Programming


* CRF Design (paper & electronic)

* CRF Annotation

* Database Programming

* Validation Checks

* Metadata Repository Management


Data Management


* Data Acquisition

* Data Reconciliation

* Discrepancy Management

* Medical Coding (MeDRA & WHODD)

* Database Lock

* Data Extraction for Reporting


Pharmacokinetic & Pharmacodynamic Studies


* Sampling Point Estimation

* Technical Document Review

* PK/PD Query Resolution

* PK/PD Subject Matter Expert

* Pharmacokinetic support across study engagement


PK/PD Reporting


* SDMS Data Extraction

* PK Data Analysis

* PK Summary Reporting


Biostatistics


* Randomization

* Sample size estimation

* Trial Design Inputs

* Statistical Analysis Plan

* Statistical Analysis

* Biostatistics Subject Matter Expert


Statistical Reporting


* TLF Programming

* CDISC Data Mapping (SDTM & ADaM)

* Clinical Data Repository

* Pooled Data Analysis & Reporting

* Safety (ADR) Reporting

* Patient Profiles & Data Cleaning Reporting


The main aim of biometrics companies or CRO’s offering biometric services is to be able to convert raw data to correct and reliable trial outputs that are compliant with selected regulatory policies. Furthermore, these companies and the biometric teams work in order to speed up the regulatory submission process and curtail timeline.


Read More About: Clinical Pharmacokinetic, Bioavailability, regulatory services