Counterfeiting: an omnipresent, critical, and yet elusive supply chain issue

Counterfeiting activities are no longer limited to easy-to-produce luxury branded consumer goods. Over the last few years, they have evolved from localized activities to a global phenomenon that requires cross-national countermeasures on an industrial scale, at times with dire consequences. Aside from economic detriment, consumer safety is also at risk as counterfeiting activities are encroaching across a wider range of safety-critical products such as pharmaceuticals, electronic components, medical devices, and automotive and aircraft parts that are critical to their safe operation. Companies are executing various anti-counterfeiting initiatives that address different points in the supply chain network. These initiatives can be broadly described as detect-and-deter approaches designed to improve detection of counterfeit parts and institute barriers to deter counterfeiters. The goal of these approaches is to prevent counterfeit parts from getting into the operations or in the hands of customers, as well as minimize the counterfeiter's opportunities to infiltrate the legitimate supply chains.