Tools and Machinery
Tools and machinery include hand-held tools, power tools, construction machinery, protective equipment, and more. The tools and machinery industry caters to a wide array of businesses. At the same time, one can find essential tools and machinery in every household. Lack of awareness amongst buyers and a poor economy have fueled the counterfeit market for tools and machinery. Well -known global brands like Makita, Bosch, Hilti, and more have reinforced their anti-counterfeit attacks. Although the number of arrests, seize, and raids have increased, companies need public support to intercept and stop the grey market.
Brands like Makita have come up with a few pertinent questions that a buyer needs to ask himself or herself before making a purchase. These are some apparent giveaways that will help a buyer spots a fake tool or machinery.
- Why is a genuine professional tool being sold at a suspiciously low price?
- Why does the purchase not come with a warranty?
- Where is my receipt for the purchase?
- Why is there no user manual?
- Why is a branded tool or machinery being sold clandestinely in an unauthorized vehicle?
Why Counterfeit Thrives in the Tools & Machinery Sector?
- Substantially Cheap: Fake goods compromise on quality. Thus they are more affordable. However, despite the low cost, the substandard tools do not value money.
- Easy Infringement of IP Rights: Some counterfeit manufacturers make copycat products. Except for the branded label, the genuine and fake products look the same. In countries where Intellectual Property laws are not implemented stringently, the grey market of copycat products thrives.
- Lack of Awareness Amongst Customers: Unsuspecting buyers do not understand that they have been cheated until they start using the product. The lack of a robust track and trace system makes authenticity verification difficult.
- Supply Chain Gaps: Fake goods enter the supply chain at any point in time. People are often seen purchasing tools sold by unauthorized sellers. The latter may park their vehicles outside a well-established DIY store. The hustle-bustle in the spot and the target audience make for a thriving grey market.
- The Advent of Online Markets: The Internet has given a broad platform for the tools and machinery sector to advertise and sell their products to customers directly. However, many spurious manufacturers use online auction sites to sell fake products. These sites often go unchecked.
Why We Need to Act NOW?
- Brand Reputation: Unlike luxury brands and consumables, people are not brand-conscious when buying tools and machinery. However, when things go wrong with fake tools, the genuine brand pays the price in terms of market reputation and trust.
- The Variety of Industries that Use Tools and Machinery: Tools and machinery are used in almost every sector. When fake goods, unsuspectingly enter high-risk sectors like construction, manufacturing, and others, they can lead to substandard outputs. The fake tools and machinery become safety hazards.
- DIY Culture: Rise in the Do It Yourself culture means many amateur users using professional tools. The safety hazards of fake tools increase manyfold when first-time novice buyers use them for home projects.
- Revenue Loss: Any fake product means a loss of revenue for the genuine manufacturer and a cost to the exchequer.
ACVISS's Offerings
- Serialization: Most counterfeit manufacturers of tools and machinery bulk print one sticker from a genuine product. Thus, every other set of one tool will have the same serial number. A company’s commitment towards ensuring serialization of every item, combined with customer awareness, goes a long way in checking the sale of fake products.
- Authenticity Verification: Acviss’s anti-counterfeiting technology, while complex for counterfeiters to replicate, is incredibly simple for a consumer to use. Our proprietary computer vision algorithm helps consumers verify all complex, unique random markers for authenticity verification of a product in just a few seconds.
- Awareness Campaigns: We offer customized solutions for brands to build awareness amongst their customers on possible sources of counterfeit products. We assist in lobbying and educational programs for law enforcement authorities to effectively tackle the menace of counterfeit products.
- Warranty Management: Our warranty management solutions provide automobile manufacturers and OEMs with a complete view of a product’s manufacturing and warranty details. We provide multiple vendor access and real-time customer insights and alerts to ease warranty-related pain points.
