Creating the Chain
Posted February 05, 2009No company wants to make it more difficult for new customers to do business with them than it has to be. For many firms, it’s simply a matter of shaking hands and exchanging money for product, value for value. Unfortunately, when you’re in the brand security business, it’s not that simple. Nor should it be.
While there are companies that will simply ship taggant to any buyer anywhere who requests it and provides payment, this method of doing business compromises the effectiveness of the product. When the taggant is intended for use as a brand security solution, the lack of a secure chain of custody will render the taggant useless.
BrandWatch has worked to create a streamlined process that will allow our customers to get the brand security taggant they need quickly but that will also ensure a secure chain of custody for the product from the time of formulation and manufacture all the way through to end use. When we identify our taggant embedded in a customer’s product, we can tell you when it was manufactured, the exact formulation used and where it was at every point in time from the day it was created until it was accepted by the client and embedded in the product.
This does require us to place certain requirements on the companies we do business with, including the requirement that secure facilities be used to store any unused taggant and that paperwork be completed at all points along the path. Our customers don’t find these requirements particularly onerous and they appreciate the fact that it makes our brand security solution effective. Any company that makes buying taggant too easy isn’t doing their customers any favors.
