Abstract:
Serialized barcoding has fallen out of favor as an anti-counterfeiting tool in the CPG industry for various reasons, principally due to implementation difficulties combined with its serious security flaws. A detailed discussion of these problems appeared in a 2017 white paper by Avi Chaudhury of Systech International, entitled "Serialization Reality Check: Where are all the Numbers? The failure of serialization-based technologies to drive brand protection, customer loyalty, and consumer engagement in the CPG sector".
In this follow up paper we extend those arguments and provide further insight into how serialized barcodes are now getting hijacked by counterfeiters, drawing on some very recent and troubling incidents that have unfolded in the marketplace.