In today’s international marketplace, counterfeiting and traceability problems plague brands. Fraudsters regularly attempt to pass off fakes as the genuine article using sophisticated methods that trick other supply chain firms and end-consumers.
However, effective product authentication systems can help you fight back. These provide reliable tracking for goods in transit, giving you the ability to prove their authenticity at every stage.
When you don’t think about product authentication, it can create a host of issues for your brand. Poor traceability systems can damage the entire value chain. So it is critical that you pay the issue the attention it deserves. Here’s why:
It Improves Brand Reputation
If consumers continually receive fakes – whether they know it or not – it can damage your brand reputation. Fake products are usually inferior quality and don’t provide users with a genuine experience, leading to lower ratings. Furthermore, firms that consistently supply fake products will get a reputation for doing so. Consumers may switch to other brands with a better track record of providing authentic goods.
It Increases Consumer Security
Counterfeited products can also endanger the health and physical wellbeing of consumers, particularly in the food and pharmaceutical sectors. Fake products may not have been through the required compliance and security protocols and could pose a serious health hazard.
We have already seen instances of counterfeiters trying to pass off fake COVID-19 vaccinations as the genuine article on the private market. But such counterfeiting can also occur much more widely across industries and product categories.
It Increases Authorized Sales
Fake products can dramatically reduce your sales, both directly and through reputational damage. When fraudsters pass off fake goods as yours, revenue streams can tumble and your margins fall.
However, product authentication allows every agent in the supply chain to check the authenticity of the article. By doing this, they can then alert other operatives, including your brand, if there is an authentication issue. This way, you can avoid sending goods to consumers and investigate the specific stage in the supply chain where you suspect fraudulent activity is occurring.
It Reduces Job Losses
Product authentication is also essential for reducing job losses. When fraudsters take value out of the system by counterfeiting goods, they limit how much brands can expand. This, in turn, prevents you from hiring as many people as you might.
Protecting products in transit using NFC and blockchain-enabled systems through advanced technologies such as https://authena.io/ changes the situation. No longer is it possible for fraudsters to pull off convincing fakes, and it becomes much easier to catch them in the act. Consequently, jobs remain secure and profits for firms and tax revenues for governments remain intact.
It Reduces Environmental Risks
Lastly, effective product tagging and authentication reduces environment risks for soil, wildlife and water. That’s because fraudsters won’t usually take sustainability concerns into account when fabricating fake products.
In this way, effective product authentication methods increase your brand’s green credentials. You can prove to consumers where products came from and how they arrived at their destinations.
