We thank all of the participants for contributing and sharing their expertise with us. Member companies are randomly chosen each month to participate as a way to connect and educate our member community. To view our previous member spotlights, click here.
Fool proof authentication is a “must have” for global companies to protect the integrity of brand investments. All existing anti-counterfeit solutions are imitable and require changes in the production process, including significant CAPEX and OPEX.
Our cloud based solution is agnostic of any manufacturing or packaging process and can be implemented rapidly without any modifications to existing processes. Our patented solution can encrypt cryptographic signature on the artwork of the package. The encrypted signature is invisible to the naked eye and can be retrieved using any smartphone. Our solution enables customized experience for all stakeholders across a company’s value chain.
How do you show your clients the value of brand protection?
While our technology makes it possible to scan any part of the package and can also be enabled for audio output for a more inclusive customer reach, Brand protection is much more than just authentication at customer level.
The customer scans also provide a very valuable heatmap that showcase geography / retail outlet where the scan happened. This can help in identifying supply chain leakages & parallel distribution. Random sampling exercises can be done in suspect areas.
A business that protects its brand also sends a message to counterfeiters helping reduce level of attraction for them.
Who has influenced you most when it comes to how you approach your work?
I’ve been fortunate enough to have worked with good leaders; from my first boss Mr. Vijay Vir Singh to the current Chairman of Ennoventure Mr. Ahmad Chatila, former CEO of Sun Edison. Vijay was a leader who brought out the best in every team member, helping them achieve their full potential. Ahmad brings with him extensive leadership experience in diverse businesses and the core values of truth, generosity, courage & openness. They reaffirm my conviction that a team that believes in these values can have an exponential growth story while doing good for the society at large.
I lead Global Brand Protection, along with Commercial Fraud and Abuse. As we compete in the Medical Device category, my role is simple; to ensure our patients measure their blood glucose with genuine, fresh OneTouch test strips.
How do you show your company the value of brand protection?
Counterfeit products not only damage the name and value of a business and products, but they can cause harmful and sometimes fatal consequences for the customer. Company’s dedicate significant time, money, and employee resources building a brand. Focus is placed on package design, shelf placement, advertising, and merchandising. A strong brand protection program helps with customer retention, recovered revenue, and increased reputation. It is critical that Brand Protection leaders understand their company’s commercial targets and “go to market” strategies for each brand they are tasked to protect. Brand protection objectives must evolve from just the number of online takedowns and the number of counterfeit seizures to growing legitimate sales.
What are the biggest impacts of counterfeits on your industry?
At LifeScan, our first responsibility is to our customers, healthcare professionals and all those who use our OneTouch® brand of products. Globally, more than 20 million people depend on OneTouch® test strips, meters, and lancets to help manage their diabetes. Blood glucose test strips are sensitive to temperature and humidity, so it is important that they are manufactured, transported, handled, and stored in a controlled manner. Counterfeit products can potentially return incorrect blood glucose readings, which can result in patients taking too much or too little insulin, leading to serious injury or death. To protect our customers, LifeScan maintains a zero-tolerance policy to IPR violations.
Who has influenced you most when it comes to how you approach your work?
My Father was the greatest influence in how I approach my work. He passed away unexpectedly 3 years ago, and I miss him dearly. My Dad taught principles with little sayings. Some of his most famous were:
“Your word, is really all you have and is what you will take with you when you die.” “If you promise to do something, do it!” and “Plan your work and work your plan.”
He taught me the value of hard work and to be passionate in what you do. He continues to motivate me and influence the values I bring to work each day.
Can you provide your top 2 best practices for protecting IP?
Brand owners benefit from having proactive brand protection programs. This includes applying to register key marks in important countries, recording those marks with local customs offices, educating law enforcement, and employing monitoring programs to detect IP violations early on, when it can be easier to reach a quick resolution. Additionally, regular check-ins between the brand protection, in-house anti-counterfeiting, and product development teams can help ensure that the company's brand protection strategies are consistent with, and help support, its marketplace plans, and vice versa. This also helps ensure that the information provided to customs / law enforcement is accurate and up-to-date.
What's the most rewarding part of your job / what is the thing that you've been most proud of in your anti-counterfeiting work?
My brand protection practice is the perfect balance of creativity, collaboration and judgment, allowing me to apply my interests in many ways with many types of professionals. I enjoy the variety of my practice where some days I’m in a conference call with my client's legal team discussing brand protection, anti-counterfeiting and enforcement strategies, and other days I’m liaising with law enforcement to assist with brand authentication, conduct a training session, or help investigate the source of counterfeit goods. The diversity of my practice keeps it fresh, and I find that very rewarding.
Can you tell us something about yourself outside of your job?
I am an avid reader. There is nothing better than getting lost in a good book. With two young and very active children at home and a busy job, unwinding with a good book grounds me at the end of hectic day and helps me clear my head. From fiction to memoires - I love them all. Some of my favorite authors include Kate Quinn, Kristin Hannah, and Lisa See. Another way I like to spend my time outside of work is hiking with my family. We frequently explore surrounding forest preserves and nature trails.
Director Global Account & Product Management, U-NICA
Munich, Germany
What is your role in your company/organization?
Since 2015, I have been responsible for Global Account Management at U-NICA for the regions Europe, Russia and India. I have also contributed to the design and implementation of market-based identification and authentication solutions as director of product management. From the latter position, I am responsible for the expansion and further development of the scryptoTRACE® digital product group.
What makes your company unique?
What makes U-NICA unique is its low entry threshold and multi-level approach. It is incredibly easy for manufacturers to start with protecting their brand from counterfeiters because our solutions are scalable and one can start small. Furthermore, there is no need for complicated technology to authenticate your products, our solutions can be used in combination with smartphones. In addition, our web-based data analysis and brand monitoring services allow our customers to monitor their products worldwide and locate counterfeits immediately.
What are your top 2 recommendations to a brand that is building up its IP enforcement program?
Our two main recommendations for companies that are building up their IP enforcement program are: get to know your own market and start with small steps.
If you don't have the complete data about your own market; you can't effectively start with brand protection. It is important to know how much is currently being counterfeited in your market and how they are doing it.
You don't have to start with a multitude of protection solutions: start small and expand based on the data you get from our technologies.
How did you get into brand protection?
My background is in the security market segment, which includes high security applications such as passports and ID cards. I learned a lot from my years working in this sector and I felt the need to apply this to other market segments as well because counterfeiters are everywhere. Having had the opportunity to create solutions for various industries that allow them to protect their products, I have been able to use this knowledge to come up with new solutions.
Contact info: Andreas.Mehlhaff@u-nica.com
International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition, 727 15th Street NW, 9th Floor, Washington, District of Columbia 20005, United States
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