As part of a layered security approach, we recommend using advanced fluorescent pigments in track and trace technology. Adding this element makes your shipments more secure against counterfeiters who can cost your company money with fake goods. Counterfeit products cost companies $500 billion collectively every year, according to ULSE. That figure doesn’t count the possible lives lost due to counterfeit parts or products.
Track and trace technology represents one way to safeguard your products and your brand. Read our complete guide to track and trace technology as part of your overall layered security approach for keeping your shipments safe in transit.
Table of Contents
Elements of Track & Trace Technology
There are four main elements of track and trace technology, all of which work together to optimize this type of system.
Unique Identification
Every item you need to trace, whether it’s a crate, carton, or individual product, must have a unique identifier associated with it. These identifiers can be serial codes, barcodes, RFID tags, or other marks that distinguish it from any other item.
Data Capture
Next, you need a way to interpret the unique identifier. This usually means some kind of handheld device that converts the identifier into usable information. Barcode scanners, chip readers, RFID scanners, and even sensors can identify the object. These devices can be finely tuned to detect very specific elements of a shipment to ensure accuracy.
Data Management & Transmission
The device used to interpret the unique identifier typically transmits the information to a remote database. The data stored there can tell a user what is contained in the package, where the package came from, where it’s going, and to whom it belongs. Both the data transmission and the database must be secure for track and trace technology to work properly.
Verification & Authentication
Lastly, the team at the site who scanned the unique identifier must have a method to verify and authenticate the items. This can be done by cross-referencing a database in a separate computer system, receiving verification on the device used to scan the identifier, or consulting with a printed manifest or bill of lading.
Role of Advanced Document Security Features in Track & Trace Technology
One key element of track and trace technology is advanced document security features. These are typically found on the unique identifier and are combined with other security features as part of a layered security approach.
Advanced Fluorescent Pigments & Dyes
Using advanced fluorescent pigments and dyes requires a UV light to scan the identifying label. These can be hidden, meaning the advanced fluorescence has a color that matches the surround substrate, or it would contrast the substrate so that personnel can locate it. Under the presence of UV light, the advanced fluorescent pigment will alter its color to reveal a hidden mark used as a way to verify the shipment as authentic.
Detection Methods
Detecting the advanced fluorescence should be as precise as possible. Here’s why. Knowing that the color change happens at specific wavelengths, say, 400 to 415 nm, you can see the change using only a specific UV reader. If you don’t see a change at that wavelength, then you may suspect it’s a counterfeit.
Layered Security Features With OVPs & Taggants
Using optically variable pigments on an identifier can point staff to a specific code or direction to find another security element. Here’s what we mean. Suppose there is an OVP mark in the lower-right corner of a shipping label. Looking at the OVP from a different angle reveals a two-digit number. You can then cross-reference that two-digit number to reveal where the UV-activated barcode is before using the UV scanner to find it.
The OVP could also be an initial identifier of the shipment as an added layer of security. For instance, it could denote box number 10 out of 15 by the numbers 10/15 when revealed at an angle.
Integration With Other Security Measures
Fluorescence and OVPs can easily be integrated with other security measures. For example, fluorescence can reveal a barcode or an alphanumeric code. You can then scan the barcode or match the code with the known database to validate the shipment.
Another way this could work would be revealing a mark that shows where a secondary security tag is located, like microprinting, guilloche, or laser engraving. Then you could verify the shipment using that method as a sort of two-factor authentication.
Prevents Counterfeiting
Track and trace must be both efficient and effective to prevent counterfeiting. You don’t want to have too many steps to verify what you have in front of you. But you don’t want to make it too easy on counterfeiters. Once you find a viable track and trace system that’s robust, stick with it. Track and trace systems should be adaptable to the technology at hand, such as using smartphones to connect to databases.
Industries Benefitting From Track & Trace Technology
Several industries benefit from track and trace technology as part of a layered security approach. These industries typically have very valuable goods, rely on a specific supply chain, or belong to an industry where lives are at stake with these products, and purity must be ensured.
Pharmaceutical
The pharmaceutical industry relies on track and trace technology for patient safety, regulatory compliance in some jurisdictions, product recalls, preventing counterfeits, supply chain transparency, and brand protection. The World Health Organization estimates that around 1 million people die every year due to counterfeit drugs, and around 10 percent of medications are either fake or below standards. Track and trace technology can protect stakeholders on all ends of the supply chain. Individual packaging may contain security measures like OVPs or holograms to verify authenticity.
Food & Beverage
Like pharmaceuticals, the food and beverage industry has high regulatory standards to meet. This industry uses track and trace to quickly identify contamination in the event of a foodborne illness outbreak, managing product recalls, preventing fraudulent products, and maintaining consumer confidence in their products. Consumers might use QR codes to get more information about a particular product on store shelves.
Agriculture
Agriculture uses track and trace technology to monitor how various products perform, such as new seed variants or different fertilizers. Tracing the source of sustainable products offers a way for organic food suppliers to show consumers where their food comes from, protecting the integrity of the brand. Track and trace technology is also important with regard to tagging animals that might be sick or if there are recalls associated with agricultural products.
Luxury Goods
Luxury goods have a brand reputation to uphold because their connoisseurs only want to buy the best. From watches and footwear to handbags and clothing, fake luxury goods cost brands billions of dollars every year. Track and trace technology, even down to certain labels on individual products, can verify the authenticity of high-end products for consumers.
Electronics
Electronics represent high-value items that face counterfeiting on a regular basis. Every time new technology comes out, like wireless earbuds or new computers, knock-offs proliferate the market. Track and trace technology can verify valuable shipments of goods, perform quality control checks on various components, manage recalls, and comply with environmental regulations. Extra security measures can verify the authenticity of these products, such as marks on a tag.
Automotive
The automotive industry needs to manage its suppliers and perform quality control as it assembles parts and vehicles. It also faces logistical and supply chain challenges due to the many parts that go into a vehicle. Trace and trace technology also helps with recall management to minimize costs. Considering that automotive parts may come from many countries, track and trace protocols can prevent counterfeiting. The Federal Trade Commission estimates that counterfeit auto parts cost the automotive industry $12 billion annually worldwide.
Healthcare
The healthcare industry faces high regulatory compliance by its very nature. Medical devices and equipment can face malfunctions or have recalls. The right track and trace technology manages inventory and maintenance. However, it can also prevent the wrong medications from being administered to the wrong patients in hospitals and doctor’s offices. Authentication of incoming shipments can prevent patient deaths.
Logistics & Supply Chain
Every logistics company uses trace and trace technology to keep up with shipments. With more than 50 million packages delivered per day in the United States alone, there are bound to be errors.
But there are more serious problems aside from missing packages and porch thieves. Brushing scams occur when consumers receive packages they didn’t order so that the sender gets better Amazon reviews. Third-party sellers, people on eBay, and Etsy sellers may not all be legit. Online sellers frequently buy things at retail and then mark them up substantially based on demand or sell fraudulent items that look like your real products. Bad actors will try to make money by any means possible.
Protecting your brand is essential when sending items through a logistics company. Adding layered security to trace and trace technology reduces the chances of fraud while protecting your brand.
Strengthen Your Track & Trace Technology With Angstrom Technologies, Inc.
Angstrom Technologies, Inc. has led the industry with advanced fluorescent dyes, pigments, and taggants for decades. Talk to us about your requirements, and we can collaborate with you to create a solution that strengthens your track and trace system through a layered security approach.
Contact us or call 859-282-0020 to start the conversation.
