In the “Consumer Beware” era, most people want to know about their food source. The desire to eat healthy and the increased technology adoption have resulted in the transformation of agri-input supply chains.
Fig.1: Demand for food information
Source-Consumer Preferences for Traceable Food
Due to the increasing demand for product information and the complexity of the supply chain in agriculture, businesses struggle with a lot of intensive manual work and slower financial transactions. Moreover, counterfeiting at different product stages can bring negative consequences to consumers, businesses, and governments.
Why is addressing traceability and counterfeiting important?
With counterfeiting marking its presence in every industry, there is a dire need to combat it with the proper traceability and anti-counterfeiting technologies. The key sectors include healthcare and pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, consumer products, and the industrial and automotive sectors. The pharmaceutical industry is one of the most impacted sectors, as fake drugs can harm millions of people across the world. This industry’s counterfeiting cases can seriously damage human beings, brands, and the environment. Furthermore, with the growing use of online medicines and the increasing production of counterfeit medicines, the falsified drug market has expanded like never before. According to WHO, more than 50% of online drugs are fake.
Gone are the days when the product authentication process was conducted manually or through serialization. Now, every product has different security requirements, and specific solutions are required to secure different products. The new-age digital solutions help improve the food quality, safety, and traceability of the entire supply chain management.
Learn How Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning is Changing the Pharmaceutical Industry?
Factors driving the growth of anti-counterfeit technologies
Most businesses are using anti-counterfeit technologies to manage their Agri-input supply chain. The major drivers include the evolving regulatory landscape for protection of the authenticity of products, the need for protecting the brand, and technological advancements in context to anti-theft measures.
The rise of anonymous selling platforms is also a significant driver for adopting anti-counterfeiting technologies as they encourage the sales of fake products online. In addition, the expansion of e-commerce enhances the need for tighter packaging and supply chain management. As a result, it leads to the increased usage of track and trace features to keep a check on their supply chains. Due to these reasons, organizations are investing heavily in traceability and anti-counterfeiting technologies.
How to leverage technology for traceability and anti-counterfeiting?
Technology is doing wonders in the traceability and anti-counterfeiting aspects. The demand for authentication technology is expected to reach USD 12670.22 million by 2025, with a CAGR of 17.5% for 2020-2025. Below are some technologies that help in addressing agri-input supply chain traceability and counterfeiting issues.
RFID: This technology applies to various industries, including chemical, food and beverages, automotive, construction, and pharmaceutical industries. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) helps retrieve relevant information and quickly track the products in the supply chain. It also helps in avoiding the cost associated with fake or counterfeit products. This technology uses radio waves to track objects, people, or associated information. When an RFID tagged product is sent through the reader, a distinct data code is transmitted and transfers the information from the tag to the reader.
Barcode: This technology segment has the highest demand in the anti-counterfeiting market. It is preferred because barcode protects the brand across multiple industries. The code and information embossed over the barcode cannot be read or displayed on the label, making it difficult to counterfeit the product.
Track and trace: This technology is expected to gain more traction with the strict regulations and rapid industrialization to safeguard duplicate packaging. This technology is mostly used in packaging and product manufacturing to trace the items by identifying the package across the entire supply chain.
Blockchain: This technology is a digital leader and is considered the next significant disruption in the sector. With the ever-evolving demands of consumers and businesses, industry players are constantly driving innovations to reduce environmental impact, enhance customer experience, and improve security and efficiency. It helps gain enhanced visibility and traceability to reduce the gap between demand and supply within the agri-input supply chain.
Unlock the true potential of traceability and counterfeiting solutions for your business
Leveraging the right technology is the only solution to address the challenges of traceability and counterfeiting concerns. And there is nothing better than an AI-powered supply chain solution to do it all. DforD helps businesses design and deploy anti-counterfeiting solutions to upscale their supply chain management, reduce fraud, and create a strong trust network. Schedule a DEMO with us to get a free consultation with your supply chain technology experts today.
