GMC Packaging

Original products, unofficial channels: How serialization helps tackle the “gray market” problem

What does “gray market” actually mean? Why is it such a challenge for manufacturers, retailers and consumers? And what role does product serialization play in combating the gray market? We address these complex questions in the first part of our news article.

The term “gray market” refers to the selling and buying of original products through unauthorized channels. While often this type of trade is not as directly illegal as the sale of counterfeit goods on the black market, it still lacks full legitimacy. The motivation behind the gray market is often to counteract the controlled/official supply of certain goods through legal sales channels, or to obtain better prices for original goods by bypassing authorized distribution networks. However, the effects are far-reaching and they impact authorities, brand owners and consumers alike:

•    Bypassing official distributors:
Gray market goods are procured from the manufacturer through unauthorized channels, bypassing official retailers. Products are often distributed across international borders to take advantage of country-specific price differences or to dispose of products that are difficult to sell.

•    Damage to official pricing policies: 
Gray market products are usually less expensive than those available through official channels, thus damaging a manufacturer’s official pricing policy.

•    Lack of manufacturer warranties: 
Purchasing gray market products may result in the unavailability of manufacturer warranties and support. In the case of defective products, consumers can neither assert their rights of recourse nor have products repaired or replaced. This leads to customer dissatisfaction, which reflects poorly on the manufacturer’s reputation and brand image.

•    Legal implications: 
Countries have different laws and regulations regarding the importation and distribution of goods. Purchasing gray market products from unauthorized sources can violate property and trademark rights. In addition, gray market goods can be used to avoid local taxes, which makes them illegal, especially for regulated products such as tobacco and pharmaceuticals, resulting in a significant loss of government revenue.

•    Compromised quality and safety: 
Although gray market products are original, they can pose significant quality and safety risks to consumers when sold within uncontrolled supply chains. For example, they may originate from the sale of discarded or perished goods. Or products intended for professional use may also reach end consumers. Gray market products may also be improperly transported and stored.

Detecting gray market activities

Combating the gray market is not easy. What is needed is a reliable system that can be used throughout the supply chain to ensure product traceability. Diverted original products should be tracked, and the appropriate gray market channels must be identified.

Serialization: a successful strategy

Measures such as serialization to track products throughout the entire supply chain, as well as high-profile campaigns to raise consumer awareness of unauthorized procurement and distribution channels have proven successful. Serialization in particular plays a key role in combating the gray market, as it offers many benefits:

•    Traceability: 
Serialization allows companies to monitor the movement of products along the entire supply chain. This helps identify weak points to be found where goods leave or enter the legitimate supply chain. This makes it easier for brand owners to identify unauthorized channels and take the necessary corrective action.

•    Identification: 
Serialization enables brand owners to clearly identify products by comparing their serial number to a central database and differentiate them from gray market products.

•    Quality control: 
By monitoring serialized products, manufacturers can identify and isolate gray market goods that do not meet established quality standards. This product monitoring also facilitates suitable responses, such as the organization of product recalls.

•    Supply chain security: 
Prevents diverted products from entering the supply chain. Serialization ensures that consumers are supplied with products that comply with transportation and storage regulations.

•    Access by authorities: 
The collection of serialization data by authorities and manufacturers allows legal action to be taken against unauthorized distributors and sellers. This serves as a deterrent and can prevent other market participants from entering the gray market.

•    Gained trust: 
Serialization fosters consumer confidence. It demonstrates a manufacturer’s commitment to ensuring the transparency of its brands and products.

•    Consumer engagement: 
Serialization enables the implementation of customized brand engagement campaigns.

Conclusion: Product serialization can effectively combat the challenges of the gray market, protecting both consumers and the brands of the respective products. The effectiveness of serialization depends on its diligent implementation. In the second part of our news article, you’ll learn what to look for in serialization and how Atlantic Zeiser’s GMC Pro can help you establish a workflow for unique, effective product identification.

GMC Packaging

Example of a typical serialized packaging
 

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Table of Contents

 

1. An overview of data protection
2. General information and mandatory information
3. Data protection officer
4. Data collection on our website
5. Social media
6. Analytics and advertising
7. Newsletter
8. Plugins and tools

1. An overview of data protection

General
The following gives a simple overview of what happens to your personal information when you visit our website. Personal information is any data with which you could be personally identified. Detailed information on the subject of data protection can be found in our privacy policy found below.

Data collection on our website

Who is responsible for the data collection on this website?
The data collected on this website are processed by the website operator. The operator’s contact details can be found in the website’s required legal notice.

How do we collect your data?
Some data are collected when you provide it to us. This could, for example, be data you enter on a contact form.
Other data are collected automatically by our IT systems when you visit the website. These data are primarily technical data such as the browser and operating system you are using or when you accessed the page. These data are collected automatically as soon as you enter our website.

What do we use your data for?
Part of the data is collected to ensure the proper functioning of the website. Other data can be used to analyze how visitors use the site.

What rights do you have regarding your data?
You always have the right to request information about your stored data, its origin, its recipients, and the purpose of its collection at no charge. You also have the right to request that it be corrected, blocked, or deleted. You can contact us at any time using the address given in the legal notice if you have further questions about the issue of privacy and data protection. You may also, of course, file a complaint with the competent regulatory authorities.

Analytics and third-party tools
When visiting our website, statistical analyses may be made of your surfing behavior. This happens primarily using cookies and analytics. The analysis of your surfing behavior is usually anonymous, i.e. we will not be able to identify you from this data. You can object to this analysis or prevent it by not using certain tools. Detailed information can be found in the following privacy policy.
You can object to this analysis. We will inform you below about how to exercise your options in this regard.

2. General information and mandatory information

Data protection
The operators of this website take the protection of your personal data very seriously. We treat your personal data as confidential and in accordance with the statutory data protection regulations and this privacy policy.

If you use this website, various pieces of personal data will be collected. Personal information is any data with which you could be personally identified. This privacy policy explains what information we collect and what we use it for. It also explains how and for what purpose this happens.

Please note that data transmitted via the internet (e.g. via email communication) may be subject to security breaches. Complete protection of your data from third-party access is not possible.

Notice concerning the party responsible for this website
The party responsible for processing data on this website is:

Atlantic Zeiser GmbH
Carl-Benz-Strasse 16
78576 Emmingen-Liptingen
Germany

Phone: +49 7465 291-0
E-mail: info@atlanticzeiser.com

The responsible party is the natural or legal person who alone or jointly with others decides on the purposes and means of processing personal data (names, email addresses, etc.).

Revocation of your consent to the processing of your data
Many data processing operations are only possible with your express consent. You may revoke your consent at any time with future effect. An informal email making this request is sufficient. The data processed before we receive your request may still be legally processed.

Right to file complaints with regulatory authorities
If there has been a breach of data protection legislation, the person affected may file a complaint with the competent regulatory authorities. The competent regulatory authority for matters related to data protection legislation is the data protection officer of the German state in which our company is headquartered. A list of data protection officers and their contact details can be found at the following link:
https://www.bfdi.bund.de/DE/Infothek/Anschriften_Links/anschriften_links-node.html.

Right to data portability
You have the right to have data which we process based on your consent or in fulfillment of a contract automatically delivered to yourself or to a third party in a standard, machine-readable format. If you require the direct transfer of data to another responsible party, this will only be done to the extent technically feasible.

SSL or TLS encryption
This site uses SSL or TLS encryption for security reasons and for the protection of the transmission of confidential content, such as the inquiries you send to us as the site operator. You can recognize an encrypted connection in your browser’s address line when it changes from “http://” to “https://” and the lock icon is displayed in your browser’s address bar.

If SSL or TLS encryption is activated, the data you transfer to us cannot be read by third parties.

Encrypted payments on this website
If you enter into a contract which requires you to send us your payment information (e.g. account number for direct debits), we will require this data to process your payment.

Payment transactions using common means of payment (Visa/MasterCard, direct debit) are only made via encrypted SSL or TLS connections. You can recognize an encrypted connection in your browser’s address line when it changes from “http://” to “https://” and the lock icon in your browser line is visible.

In the case of encrypted communication, any payment details you submit to us cannot be read by third parties.

Information, blocking, deletion
As permitted by law, you have the right to be provided at any time with information free of charge about any of your personal data that is stored as well as its origin, the recipient and the purpose for which it has been processed. You also have the right to have this data corrected, blocked or deleted. You can contact us at any time using the address given in our legal notice if you have further questions on the topic of personal data.

Opposition to promotional emails
We hereby expressly prohibit the use of contact data published in the context of website legal notice requirements with regard to sending promotional and informational materials not expressly requested. The website operator reserves the right to take specific legal action if unsolicited advertising material, such as email spam, is received.

3. Data protection officer

Statutory data protection officer
We have appointed a data protection officer for our company.

Atlantic Zeiser GmbH
Carl-Benz-Strasse 16
78576 Emmingen-Liptingen
Germany

Phone: +49 7465 291-0
E-mail: datenschutzbeauftragte@atlanticzeiser.com

4. Data collection on our website

Cookies
Some of our web pages use cookies. Cookies do not harm your computer and do not contain any viruses. Cookies help make our website more user-friendly, efficient, and secure. Cookies are small text files that are stored on your computer and saved by your browser.

Most of the cookies we use are so-called “session cookies.” They are automatically deleted after your visit. Other cookies remain in your device’s memory until you delete them. These cookies make it possible to recognize your browser when you next visit the site.

You can configure your browser to inform you about the use of cookies so that you can decide on a case-by-case basis whether to accept or reject a cookie. Alternatively, your browser can be configured to automatically accept cookies under certain conditions or to always reject them, or to automatically delete cookies when closing your browser. Disabling cookies may limit the functionality of this website.

Cookies which are necessary to allow electronic communications or to provide certain functions you wish to use (such as the shopping cart) are stored pursuant to Art. 6 paragraph 1, letter f of DSGVO. The website operator has a legitimate interest in the storage of cookies to ensure an optimized service provided free of technical errors. If other cookies (such as those used to analyze your surfing behavior) are also stored, they will be treated separately in this privacy policy.

Server log files
The website provider automatically collects and stores information that your browser automatically transmits to us in “server log files”. These are:

  • Browser type and browser version
  • Operating system used
  • Referrer URL
  • Host name of the accessing computer
  • Time of the server request
  • IP address

These data will not be combined with data from other sources.

The basis for data processing is Art. 6 (1) (f) DSGVO, which allows the processing of data to fulfill a contract or for measures preliminary to a contract.

Contact form
Should you send us questions via the contact form, we will collect the data entered on the form, including the contact details you provide, to answer your question and any follow-up questions. We do not share this information without your permission.

We will, therefore, process any data you enter onto the contact form only with your consent per Art. 6 (1)(a) DSGVO. You may revoke your consent at any time. An informal email making this request is sufficient. The data processed before we receive your request may still be legally processed.

We will retain the data you provide on the contact form until you request its deletion, revoke your consent for its storage, or the purpose for its storage no longer pertains (e.g. after fulfilling your request). Any mandatory statutory provisions, especially those regarding mandatory data retention periods, remain unaffected by this provision.

Registration on this website
You can register on our website in order to access additional functions offered here. The input data will only be used for the purpose of using the respective site or service for which you have registered. The mandatory information requested during registration must be provided in full. Otherwise, we will reject your registration.

To inform you about important changes such as those within the scope of our site or technical changes, we will use the email address specified during registration.

We will process the data provided during registration only based on your consent per Art. 6 (1)(a) DSGVO. You may revoke your consent at any time with future effect. An informal email making this request is sufficient. The data processed before we receive your request may still be legally processed.

We will continue to store the data collected during registration for as long as you remain registered on our website. Statutory retention periods remain unaffected.

5. Social media

LinkedIn plugin
Our site uses functions from the LinkedIn network. The service is provided by LinkedIn Corporation, 2029 Stierlin Court, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA.

Each time one of our pages containing LinkedIn features is accessed, your browser establishes a direct connection to the LinkedIn servers. LinkedIn is informed that you have visited our web pages from your IP address. If you use the LinkedIn “Recommend” button and are logged into your LinkedIn account, it is possible for LinkedIn to associate your visit to our website to your user account. We would like to point out that, as the provider of these pages, we have no knowledge of the content of the data transmitted or how it will be used by LinkedIn.

More information can be found in the LinkedIn privacy policy at https://www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy.

XING plugin
Our website uses features provided by the XING network. The provider is XING AG, Dammtorstraße 29-32, 20354 Hamburg, Germany.

Each time one of our pages containing XING features is accessed, your browser establishes a direct connection to the XING servers. To the best of our knowledge, no personal data is stored in the process. In particular, no IP addresses are stored nor is usage behavior evaluated.

For more information about data protection and the XING Share button, please see the XING privacy policy at https://www.xing.com/app/share?op=data_protection.

6. Analytics and advertising

Please find out more detailed information at our Cookie policy.

7. Newsletter

Newsletter data
If you would like to receive our newsletter, we require a valid e-mail address as well as information that allows us to verify that you are the owner of the specified e-mail address and that you agree to receive this newsletter. No additional data is collected or is only collected on a voluntary basis. We only use this data to send the requested information and do not pass it on to third parties.

We will, therefore, process any data you enter onto the contact form only with your consent per Art. 6 (1) (a) DSGVO. You can revoke consent to the storage of your data and e-mail address as well as their use for sending the newsletter at any time, e.g. through the “unsubscribe” link in the newsletter. The data processed before we receive your request may still be legally processed.

The data provided when registering for the newsletter will be used to distribute the newsletter until you cancel your subscription when said data will be deleted. Data we have stored for other purposes (e.g. e-mail addresses for the members area) remain unaffected.

8. Plugins and tools

YouTube
Our website uses plugins from YouTube, which is operated by Google. The operator of the pages is YouTube LLC, 901 Cherry Ave., San Bruno, CA 94066, USA.

If you visit one of our pages featuring a YouTube plugin, a connection to the YouTube servers is established. Here the YouTube server is informed about which of our pages you have visited.

If you’re logged in to your YouTube account, YouTube allows you to associate your browsing behavior directly with your personal profile. You can prevent this by logging out of your YouTube account.

YouTube is used to help make our website appealing. This constitutes a justified interest pursuant to Art. 6 (1) (f) DSGVO.

Further information about handling user data, can be found in the data protection declaration of YouTube under https://www.google.de/intl/de/policies/privacy.

Google Maps
This site uses the Google Maps map service via an API. It is operated by Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA.

To use Google Maps, it is necessary to save your IP address. This information is generally transmitted to a Google server in the USA and stored there. The provider of this site has no influence on this data transfer.

The use of Google Maps is in the interest of making our website appealing and to facilitate the location of places specified by us on the website. This constitutes a justified interest pursuant to Art. 6 (1) (f) DSGVO.

Further information about handling user data, can be found in the data protection declaration of Google at https://www.google.de/intl/de/policies/privacy/.

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