Welcome to the SPACT web page and our first blog post. When I first became interested in security printing and anti-counterfeiting research several years ago I did not have a sense of how big of a problem counterfeiting was. Actually, given its underground nature I can confidently say that nobody has a definite idea of the actual magnitude of the problem.

It is safe to say counterfeiting is rising and can be thought of as an epidemic of sorts. For example, it has been estimated by the International Chamber of Commerce that counterfeit goods account for $650 billion of lost business and 250 million lost jobs.

There are other indicators of the problem, including public and private reports and calls to action. Some notable reports include those from the Semiconductor Industry Association, the White House, World Health Organization and the Pharmaceutical Security Institute to name just a few. In fact, the White House has addressed this problem from both a supply chain as well and intellectual property standpoints.

Of late, I have focused upon better understanding of supply chains and how they can be better managed to thwart counterfeiting. I find it interesting that one of the most forward looking analyses of supply chains (Materials Handling and Logistics) fails to address the counterfeiting issue.

So what is the answer to the counterfeiting epidemic? Obviously, there is no short answer to that question, but I believe it lies in true collaboration between many different academic disciplines, as we have organized within the SPACT Center, along with collaboration between governmental and private industry.

Check back to the SPACT blog as we begin to explore issues associated with security printing and anti-counterfeiting in more detail.