The growing threat of counterfeiting is a danger to your industry. Product counterfeiting is a fast‑growing clandestine activity affecting all sectors, from pharmaceuticals to food, electronics and consumer goods. With technological advances, fraudsters can reproduce packaging, labels and even markings with uncanny precision, making it increasingly difficult to detect fake products.
Counterfeiting takes several forms in marking and coding: falsification of serial numbers, imitation of barcodes, reproduction of QR codes leading to fake web pages, or even the removal and replacement of authentic markings on original products. These manipulations can go unnoticed in the supply chain, jeopardizing consumer safety and business integrity.
The consequences are severe:
- Loss of revenue and damage to reputation: Counterfeit products flood the market at a lower cost, resulting in substantial financial losses and undermining customer trust in legitimate brands.
- Risks to consumers’ health and safety: Ineffective counterfeit medicines, fraudulent food products, or faulty electronic components can have disastrous consequences.
- Non‑compliance with regulations: Counterfeits in your supply chain can expose your company to sanctions, costly recalls and legal action.
- Flaws in traceability and logistics: The introduction of falsified products complicates inventory management and compromises the transparency required by regulatory authorities.
Faced with these threats, companies must adopt robust strategies to secure their products. Marking and coding are essential tools in this fight. Discover five essential solutions to protect your brand and ensure the authenticity of your products.
1. Unique identification and improved traceability to prevent counterfeiting
Imagine being able to track each of your products from the moment they leave your factory until they reach the customer’s hands. Thanks to marking and coding, each item can be given a unique identifier (barcode, QR code, serial number), which guarantees accurate tracking at every stage of the supply chain.
By integrating these markings into a centralized database, you can quickly detect anomalies, identify attempts to introduce counterfeit products and offer total transparency to your partners and consumers.
2. Secure anti‑counterfeiting authentication and brand protection
Your brand’s reputation deserves to be protected and respected. Adding advanced security technologies such as invisible inks, holograms, random codes, or tamper‑proof laser markings makes the job nearly impossible for counterfeiters.
Better still, these solutions enable distributors, authorities and even your customers to verify the authenticity of your products in a few seconds with a simple scan. The result? Increased protection, reinforced trust and a brand that is safe from counterfeiting.
3. Real‑time monitoring and control of logistics flows
Marking and coding enable real‑time verification of logistics flows. With intelligent digital tracking, each product can be traced in real‑time from the warehouse to the point of sale.
This control capability allows you to identify any suspicious disruption in the distribution chain and act promptly in case non‑compliant or falsified products are detected. By combining these technologies with your enterprise resource planning (ERP) or warehouse management systems, you optimize logistics and strengthen your control over the entire process.
4. Compliance with anti‑counterfeiting regulations and certifications
Some industries, such as pharmaceuticals and food processing, must comply with strict traceability standards. By integrating marking and coding solutions that comply with national and international standards (such as those of Health Canada or the FDA), you can prove the origin and authenticity of your products, ensuring the legality of your production and avoiding potentially costly regulatory complications. These systems also facilitate customs controls, thus limiting the entry of counterfeit goods into the official market.
5. Involving consumers in the fight against counterfeiting
Marking technologies make products more secure and involve consumers in the fight against counterfeiting. By integrating interactive codes (QR codes, NFC, RFID) on the packaging, companies offer customers the opportunity to verify the authenticity of a product in seconds, simply by scanning it with their smartphone.
This type of commitment builds trust and allows you to make your audience aware of the risks of counterfeit products. They can even help you report fraud by encouraging this collective awareness, creating an additional barrier against counterfeiters.
Protect your industry from counterfeiting with DMS Marking Coding
The fight against counterfeiting has never been so present. Fortunately, at DMS Marking Coding, we help you stay one step ahead by guaranteeing authentic products to avoid counterfeiting.
Want to know more? Contact us today!