Anti-Counterfeiting Measures and Strategies for Everyday Products

Whenever we buy products from retail stores or online websites, the first concern we, as consumers, have is whether the product is genuine. Why? That’s because counterfeit products have taken over the market by storm.

Currently, you can find counterfeit products everywhere. From makeup and textiles to even baby food, counterfeiters have made their way through each and every sector of the world. What’s more concerning is that these products are causing losses to businesses and negatively affecting consumers.

There have been reports, especially during the pandemic, that the pharmaceutical sector has tons of counterfeit medicines that have severe long-term effects on the human body.

Listening to all these, we guess even you must be thinking, is there any way to beat counterfeit technology and get an edge over them? Well, there are several measures that both consumers and organizations can take to recognize counterfeit goods, even from a mile.

Anti-Counterfeit Measures To Take As A Consumer

As a consumer, there are certain anti-counterfeit measures that you can take to stay aware of counterfeiters and avoid them at all costs. Here are some methods that will help you out.

Buying From Legitimate Stores

The first thing as a consumer you should do is always buy from legitimate stores. Several well-reputed stores sell products that are directly sourced from the manufacturers.

These suppliers are genuine and have a proper license for selling products. Besides, if you are unsure about the store, you can always check the list of stores where the company sends its products. Most organizations upload these lists on their website for consumers’ welfare.

Buying from listed stores does not guarantee that you do not get counterfeit products in your bag since the store could be buying from a rogue distributor or wholesaler. Even if the shopkeeper tries to persuade you to buy an alternative in case the said product is not present, check the product’s authenticity and the company’s profile before buying.

Checking For Manufacturing and Expiry Dates

Even though the world is becoming digital, most people do not have access to smartphones. Due to this, verifying a store through the internet might not be possible for maximum customers. However, you can still check for the manufacturing and expiry dates of the product to get an idea if it’s safe to use or not.

Besides, most counterfeiters use the original brand’s packaging, remove the dates, and add fake dates or stickers for reselling purpose. That’s why, while buying a product, make sure to check the its packaging carefully. If you come across any such product that has stickers on it or if the dates do not seem legitimate, do not buy it. There’s a high chance that it might be counterfeit.

Verify Packaging From Online Websites

Companies are now using of anti-counterfeit technology to save their brand image from counterfeiters. The use of holograms, barcodes, QR codes, and advanced solutions are rising daily due to the benefits they bring to the table.

However, counterfeiters are becoming more tech-savvy than us, so we, as consumers, need to double-check everything. That’s why, we would highly suggest you to check for the product’s anti-counterfeit measures on the company’s official website. It would clear all your doubts on whether the product is real or not and save you from spending money on a duplicate product.

Besides, most companies also mention where to find these anti-counterfeit measures on the packaging and how they work. For example, if there are smart QR codes on the packaging, you simply have to scan it and get your hands on whether the product is legitimate or not. Most companies also add extra details like ingredients, manufacturing dates, etc.

Anti-Counterfeit Measures To Take As An Organization

As stated earlier, most people do not have the sources to verify a product’s authencity. This is where the company should come forward and aware their consumers on counterfeit goods, the harm they do, and how to be safe from them.

Besides, as an organization, you must secure your supply chain to protect it from intruders. Below are some tips on how you can use anti-counterfeiting strategies to safeguard your digital supply chain and prevent counterfeiters from harming your brand image.

Smart QR Codes

Secure your supply chain with technology. Smart QR codes can help you secure and manage multiple supply chains and provide complete transparency. QR codes can be a great way to deliver necessary information to consumers as they have vast storage and can be used to re-direct the consumer to your landing page or website.

Advance Technologies

AI and ML are here to stay; you better use them to stay aware of counterfeiters. Use these technologies to get alerts whenever there’s an intrusion or suspicious activities are going on. For example, you can set the total number of scans the QR code should have, and if the number is more, the system will alert you.

Besides, the technology will detect and inform you if any product or batch number has been diverted from its intended geography of sale to another territory.

RFID All The Way

RFID is mainly used for securing supply chains and making inventory management easier for the organization. But, there are ways through which you can use RFID tags to keep counterfeit products at bay.

RFID tags are use mostly in the textile industry to keep a check on the different types of fabrics that arrive in the warehouse. As most fabrics appear similar, RFID tags prevents entering wrong numbers and maintains proper record.

Though technology is advancing at the speed of light, it is also adding fuel to the counterfeiter’s fire. In short, the illegal dealers of today’s generation are smarter than before and using counterfeit technology to develop similar products. That’s why companies need to adopt strong anti-counterfeit technology, design unique anti-counterfeiting strategies to save their brand and customers.

If you are also looking for cutting edge anti-counterfeiting solutions, then Sepio Solutions is here to help you out. Contact them at [email protected] and get your hands on advanced anti-counterfeit solutions immediately.