Handling Fake Products
HANDLING FAKE PRODUCTS 2
Assignment Instructions:
Review the Case Study #2. The paper should be 3-5 pages in length addition to the cover page and
reference section. You must include at least two peer-reviewed sources that are both cited and
referenced.
- What are your instructions to the customer service group, what strategy is your strategy to address
these fakes? - What are your instructions to the returns group, regarding repairs? What steps will you take to make
sure that the fakes are not repaired and sent back to customers? - What will you tell the owner and the marketing department about the fakes? What information do you
feel is essential to include in the message to the media? - What organizational changes would you consider in the short term to assist in addressing this
situation? - What new revenue opportunities do you see from this situation? What would you recommend to sales
or marketing? - What virtual elements would you include in your solution? Consider using any of the tools in Chapter 8
or 9 of the Gordon & Curlee text.
Customer Service Group
Handling fake or counterfeit products is one of the most challenging aspects of
managing product development. Companies should have effective supply chain marketing
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strategies that should monitor, track and ensure that the product delivered to customers are of
high quality and meet the requirements of both market and customers. The fact that the company
experiences a fake product similar to its product should be handled effectively not ensure
customer safety. The company should establish product design and branding strategies that will
differentiate its products from counterfeits (Fearn-Banks, 2016). However, for effective handling
of the increasing customer service calls, the company should establish a revere logistics network
that will perfectly address all complaints and ensure that all customers’ demands and requests are
handled in time. The reverse logistics network should inform the customer that the company is
redesigning its labels for its product categories to differentiate it from the current fake products.
The customer service unit should advise customers to carefully inspect the packaging for a
correct brand name, graphics, and logo as well as warn then about low prices that send a red flag
about the authenticity of the product. The customers should be advised that the company is doing
follow-up testing to establish the designs that causing customer complaints.
Return Plan and Recall Strategy
Handling fakes products is not an easy task. The management should establish a
reverse logistics network that will ensure the fake products are identified and eliminated from the
market. Therefore, the company should ensure that its products are manufactured according to
the initial product design. The company should recall its products and ensure that the fake
products are identified. The company should inspect the product packaging to confirm the fake
products by using the correct brand name, graphics, and logo. The company should file a lawsuit
for companies making fake products using its brand ensure that its products are entirely
identifiable. Also, the company should recall the products that a causing red flag and ensure its
branding strategies are differentiated from the fake products. The company should ensure that
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any company making fake brands provide proof that the merchant they are offering is authorized
products (Fearn-Banks, 2016). The company should always be monitoring the market to ensure
that its products are not copied. Also, the company should build a proactive system powered with
artificial intelligence in order to detect anomalies in customer reviews, specs and product
listings. The company should establish a team to operate and continually refine the program for
identifying and preventing fake products. The company should establish policy and planning by
fostering recognition of recall readiness and assigning recall responsibilities as well as
developing and reviewing recall manual. It is also important to register a trademark with customs
agencies as well as police its product and pursue fake products. Thus, it is important to use
technology and educate customers on about the genuine company product.
Owner and the Marketing Department
Before a recall or product return happens, the management should foster an
organization-wide recognition and readiness. It is vital to inform company owners and marketing
department about the fake products in the market. It is essential to quickly communicate problem
awareness and company response to owners and marketing department. The marketing
department should be able to build organizational credibility in the eyes of owners and
incorporate crisis communication plan to all company shareholders (Fearn-Banks, 2016).
Therefore, it is essential to select proper media to decide the messages to convey to them. It is
vital that the marketing department order product recall and report the recall progress. This is an
essential process of reassuring customers and other stakeholders of the presence of fake products
in the market.
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However, it will be essential to telling the success stories about the product brand.
This is an essential basis for rebuilding a brand argument and its franchise through promotion
and advertisement. Thus, the process will allow management to identify glitches in the product
development process that lead to a fake product. Also, management will be able to monitor
customer satisfaction with product replacement and reintroduction of new product brand. This
should include a resolution plan and close efforts to develop and complete product
reintroduction. This is important because it will allow management to decide on the recall faster.
This will provide a design to resolve the issue and ensure close satisfaction. It will also allow the
setting of goals and objectives for solving the problem (Monczka, Handfield, Giunipero &
Patterson, 2015). The recall champion should recognize and reward the significant participants in
resolving the situation in order to encourage team members to perform their duties under intense
time pressure. This will significantly resolve the issue at hand ensure successful handling of
product returns.
Revenue Opportunities would and Recommendation
If the fake products are correctly handled, the company cannot only minimize the
damage but may find opportunities to reap unexpected benefits. The company should show
customers how far they could go to satisfy customers who were affected by the fake products.
This will not only improves sales but will enhance the image of the company. Besides, proper
handling of the situation will allow the company to coordinate its manufacturing,
communications, service and marketing activities. Therefore, a proper recall-management
strategy allows improved sales. Also, proper handling of fake products builds long-term
relationships with dealers and customers (Monczka et al., 2015). It is essential to recognize the
value of a recall plan that will effectively complement the company’s efforts in marketing. The
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subsequent action should be part of the business strategy in order to improve company revenues.
Therefore, the company should reintroduce product demand that will capture and retain more
customers as well as enhance the image of the company. Identifying the best customer
approaches to handle the fake products and ensure that all customers are satisfied through
product replacing with the genuine brand product should do this.
Elements of Solution
The logistics process of the product should provide rapid notification of fake
products and test the product traceability. Besides, it will be essential to establish a design
system for handling recalls as well as consider staging mock recall for testing systems. These
will be essential elements for solving the problem. Besides, it is vital to trace fake products and
their manufacturers by setting up recall management logistics and systems to maintain recall
logistics beyond recall and document recall notification processes. This will be important in
establishing improvements in the recall logistics and information systems. Management must
plan a resolution design to bring efforts to satisfactory. Besides establishing different branding
strategies, the management should reintroduce the product to the market. The reintroduction plan
should be designed and executed through the participation of all stakeholders who originally
designed and launched the product (Monczka et al., 2015). Thus, the new strategy should
relaunch marketing effort in order to reassert brand identity and create market share. Managers
should track and monitor competition and copy the best practices that will position the company
as one of the leading firms in the industry. The company should audit the recall in order to
establish how recall plan worked and carry out a review in order to identify weaknesses and
strengths of the plan and effort for establishing a more effective response in the future.
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References
Fearn-Banks, K. (2016). Crisis communications: A casebook approach. Routledge.
Monczka, R. M., Handfield, R. B., Giunipero, L. C., & Patterson, J. L. (2015). Purchasing and
supply chain management. Cengage Learning.
