Tackling the problem of product counterfeiting

Counterfeiting is a whopping $600 billion problem! Losses amounting to almost $250 billion are attributed to the unchecked growth of counterfeits in the United States. The counterfeit industry has the distinction of being seen as a business that perhaps is larger and more lucrative then the narcotics trade. Asia is seen as the place that produces more than 50% of all counterfeit products. China leads the pack, closely followed by Hong Kong, Taiwan and Pakistan.

Product Counterfeiting has affected plenty of industries, be it footwear, clothes, consumer electronic items, handbags, luxury items like watches, pharmaceutical drugs, or even automotive spare parts, chemicals, toiletries, etc. Of course all these fake products can be extreme harmful, as has been found with fake pharmaceutical drugs which contain unapproved ingredients but are sold under brand names of popular drugs.

From regular household items such as toothpaste to clothes, all popular brands can easily become victims of counterfeiting. Brand counterfeiting is a reality that has invaded international business, and countries are struggling to contain the situation. Brand equity of a product can be degraded in the long run and eat away at the revenue of genuine manufacturers. The impact of such brand erosion will be felt in the way your customer reacts. Slowly but surely consumers will refrain from buying such products. Therefore brand counterfeiting can effectively destroy a business.

Manufacturers need to be proactive when it comes to brand protection. The idea is to focus on counterfeit goods right at the source and not let them tamper with your channels of distribution. Engaging brand protection solutions that can easily identity and prioritize risks and offer optimized brand protection would be a great idea. Such software should be able to identify counterfeit sources, be equipped with built-in intuitive interfaces to review online counterfeit sources efficiently and also be able to analyze the results to fully gauge the counterfeit network. All this should be done in real-time to ensure effective monitoring of all illegal activities connected to counterfeits. Furthermore, employing such protection mechanisms can definitely help manufacturers tackle counterfeiting elements in an effective manner.

Know more about: Anti-Fraud and grey market