With the growing rise of counterfeit products in the market, product serial numbers are a powerful tool to help protect against counterfeiting and intellectual property theft. By assigning unique serial numbers to each product, manufacturers can easily track their products from production all the way to the consumer.
This helps identify counterfeit goods, allowing for better enforcement of product authenticity and improved safety for customers. But what is product serialization? Let’s explore this in detail.
What Is Product Serialization?
Product serialization is the process in which a unique identifier, like a serial number, is assigned to each product unit, which is further used for tracking the specific unit throughout its lifecycle. This method is adopted by the supply chain managers to track every single product and its movement within the supply chain, starting right from its manufacturing to distribution to customers.
With the growing rise of counterfeit and fake products, brands and companies are rapidly moving towards product serialization to safeguard their authentic products with their respective unique serial numbers. Besides this, it’s also used to track the movement of each product and its pathway from the inventory to the customers.
Moreover, product serial numbers play a pivotal role in almost all stages of supply chain management. In the manufacturing stage, product serialization helps companies track the production and assembly of each individual product unit. Besides, it’s also helpful in monitoring the quality of the raw materials and components used and ensuring that the finished products meet the required standards and specifications.
Similarly, in the sales and distribution stage, product serial numbers track the movement of products, thus preventing their theft, diversion, or counterfeiting.
Product serialization is much more than an anti-counterfeit strategy and plays a crucial role in inventory tracking.
How Does Product Serialization Work?
Now, you must be wondering how this entire process of product serialization works. Well, let’s understand it steps by step.
- Firstly, unique identification codes are generated for each product.
- After the codes are generated, they need to be physically applied to the products. This can be done in many ways, such as printing the codes on labels or packaging, engraving them onto the product itself, or embedding them in the product’s RFID tag.
- Once the codes are applied to the product, they must be recorded in the central database and all product serialization information.
- Once the codes are stored in the database, they are now scanned and verified whenever the product reaches any checkpoint. You can go for a software or use handheld scanners for this purpose.
- As the product continues its journey within the supply chain, it can now be tracked using the unique product serial number with all its crucial details.
Isn’t the process simple? Undoubtedly, it is. This simple procedure saves companies from huge financial losses caused due to counterfeiting and theft of products.
How Product Serial Number Helps in Preventing Counterfeiting?
Counterfeiting is a serial global issue affecting both consumers and manufacturers. Product serialization aims to solve this global problem by creating a unique identification number for each product, which is generally attached to it.
Using this unique product serial number, manufacturers, supply chain managers, and retailers can track and trace the product’s pathway through the supply chain, thus ensuring authenticity. When a product is serialized, all the crucial information related to it and its authenticity is stored in its unique product serial number, which is then stored in a centralized database.
This way, when a product with an invalid or duplicate serial number is found, it can be flagged as a potential counterfeit and can be investigated further. This allows manufacturers to identify and stop the production and distribution of counterfeit goods, which helps protect consumers from buying fake or potentially harmful products. This is how product serialization helps in preventing counterfeiting.
Other Benefits of Product Serial Number
Besides preventing counterfeiting, product serialization comes with a ton of other benefits for the brand and its supply chain managers. Let’s explore the benefits of product serialization.
1. Improves visibility and traceability
With product serial numbers, supply chain managers can easily trace a vehicle’s position within the supply chain operations at any time, thus improving visibility and traceability within the supply chain.
2. Improves quality control
Serialization helps manufacturers track every single unit of a product, so it becomes extremely easy to identify quality issues quicker, thus enabling targeted recalls whenever necessary.
3. Increases efficiency
Product serialization streamlines the supply chain operations, thus ensuring faster tracking and minimizing the risks of inventory loss. Thus, it makes supply chain operations more efficient.
4. Improves inventory management
Besides accurate inventory tracking, serialization also helps manufacturers in the optimization of production and distribution processes. This contributes to better inventory management while saving money and reducing waste.
5. Provides greater data insights
Serialization can provide better and more detailed data insights to manufacturers and supply chain partners. This includes information such as where products are sold and how they are used. The company can further use this information to improve the quality of products.
Industries Which Benefit the Most from Product Serialization
Product serialization is important in every industry. However, in some industries, such as pharmaceuticals and electronics, they become extremely crucial, keeping in mind the consumers’ safety.
Here are some industries in which product serialization is extremely important.
1. Pharmaceuticals
Counterfeit medicines and pharmaceutical products are hazardous to the customers’ health. Thus, product serialization ensures the authenticity of these products, thus reducing the risk of patients getting sick after receiving fake medicines.
2. Food and Beverage
Product serialization aids in tracing the origin of food items and identifying issues with the supply chain in the food and beverage industry. This is especially crucial in the case of food safety issues, as it allows for prompt action to be taken to recall counterfeit products. It also helps to reduce food waste by ensuring that products are tracked and distributed correctly.
3. Electronics
With a global supply chain, the electronics industry is most susceptible to counterfeit products. You must have come across people or advertisements selling high-end functional phones at prices way below their actual market price. Well, these low-cost phones are actually examples of counterfeit electronics. A product serial number in an electronic device ensures its authenticity and tracks its movement within the supply chain, and reduces risks of theft.
4. Automotive
Product serialization in the automotive industry helps in tracking the manufacturing and distribution of auto parts. It helps in identifying counterfeit or faulty parts, which can be dangerous for drivers and passengers. It also helps in improving supply chain efficiency by tracking the location of parts and ensuring they are delivered to the right location at the right time.
Are you looking for a comprehensive and reliable traceability software with robust product serialization features? Look no further than OneSETU by QodeNEXT. Using our master traceability engine, you can generate digital twins of finished goods.
Not just this, you can also connect with suppliers, manufacturers, supply chain partners, dealers, retailers, and consumers through its various modules, which gives you a 360° view of your inventory movements.
Our product has the best set of functionality which helps businesses like yours achieve consumer protection, supply chain visibility, statutory compliance, warranty tracking, and other crucial applications.
FAQ: Product Serial Number
1. What is product serialization?
Product serialization is the process in which a unique identifier, like a serial number, is assigned to each product unit, which is further used for tracking the specific unit throughout its lifecycle.
2. What is a product serial number?
A product serial number is a unique identification code applied to the product for its easy identification and tracking within the supply chain. These codes are a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols. Moreover, they should be complex enough to ensure that they are not duplicated.
3. How does product serial numbers help in preventing counterfeiting?
Product serial numbers help in preventing counterfeiting by providing a unique and traceable identification for each product, making it easier to identify and track authentic products and detect and remove counterfeit ones with duplicate or invalid serial numbers.
4. Which industries benefit the most from product serial numbers?
Product serialization is important in all industries, especially pharmaceuticals, electronics, and food and beverage industries.
5. Why should you consider product serialization for your business?
Product serialization helps improve supply chain efficiency, reduce counterfeiting and theft, and ensure product safety and authenticity, making it a worthwhile consideration for any business.
Conclusion
Product serial numbers can be an effective way to protect against counterfeiting. This helps protect their reputation, brand image, and bottom line while ensuring customers are receiving the original item they paid for. With its ability to increase the transparency of your supply chain, a product serial number can be a valuable asset in protecting your products from fraudulent activity.
Do you want to simplify the product serialization process? Well, OneSETU by QodeNEXT is here to rescue you! Using our master traceability engine you can generate auto reports and have real-time data collection and analytics related to traceability and inventory control.
Check out Qodenext today to take the first step to automate your business.
Get in touch with us now to help you make the best choice to manage your fleet!
