Grey-Market Control Genuine products. Wrong market.
Grey-market goods pass every authenticity check - because they are genuine. What gives them away is where they turn up. Each code knows the market it was meant for, so units scanned somewhere else become a case you can act on.
- Authenticity
- Genuine
- Intended market
- Germany
- Scanned in
- Market X
- Article · batch
- A-4100 · B-2231
A grey-market product is real. It is just not where it was meant to be.
Grey-Market Control by authentic.network links each serialised code to the market the product was intended for. Every verification scan records where it happened, so genuine units scanned outside their intended market are flagged as grey-market cases - with the article and batch they belong to.
Two problems. One scan tells them apart.
A counterfeit fails the authenticity check. A grey-market product passes it - and is only visible because the scan knows where it happened and where the product should be.
Not your product.
A reprint of your code. The security pattern is destroyed, so the check fails wherever it is scanned.
- Authenticity
- Fails
- Location
- Anywhere
Your product, in the wrong place.
A genuine unit that left its intended channel. It passes the check - and shows up in a market it was never meant for.
- Authenticity
- Passes
- Location
- Outside its intended market
Diverted goods are genuine. The damage is real too.
Prices under pressure
Goods priced for one market undercut your pricing in another - and your authorised partners there.
Partners lose trust
Distributors who respect their territory compete with your own products coming in through the back door.
Wrong product for the market
Labels, approvals and service can differ between markets. A diverted unit may not meet what the local market expects.
Blind planning
When goods move outside your channels, your sales data no longer shows where your products actually end up.
Every unit knows where it belongs.
Every scan is a signal. Inspectors, retailers and customers check products wherever they are. That gives you a view of diversion without connecting a single logistics system - and earlier than any sales report.
- 01 · Assign
Link the intended market
Each serial is linked to its product data - including the market the unit is meant for, along with article and batch.
- 02 · Scan
Record where it is checked
Whoever scans the product - inspector, retailer or customer - the scan records where it happened.
- 03 · Flag
Turn mismatches into cases
A genuine unit scanned outside its intended market is flagged as a grey-market case in your dashboard.
Evidence, not suspicion.
"Our products seem to be turning up there" is a suspicion. "These units from this batch, meant for this market, were scanned there" is a basis for a conversation.
About grey-market control.
What is the grey market?
The grey market is the trade in genuine products outside the channels and markets the manufacturer intended - for example goods allocated to one country that are resold in another. Unlike counterfeits, the products themselves are real.
Why don't grey-market products fail the authenticity check?
Because they are genuine. The authenticity check confirms that a product is original. What identifies a grey-market product is the combination of a passed check and a location outside the market the unit was intended for.
How does authentic.network detect grey-market products?
Each serialised code is linked to the product's intended market. Every verification scan records where it happened. When a genuine unit is scanned outside its intended market, it is flagged as a grey-market case in the dashboard.
Do we need to map our distributors' routes?
No. It is enough to link each serial to the market it is meant for. The scans show where products actually turn up.
Can we see which article and batch are affected?
Yes. Because serials can be linked to article, batch and production date, every grey-market case shows which products it concerns.
Do we need to connect our logistics systems?
No. Grey-market cases come from verification scans in the field, compared with the intended market linked to each serial. There is no logistics or ERP integration required to start.
How early do we see diversion?
As soon as units are scanned outside their intended market. You don't have to wait for sales figures at the end of a period to notice that goods are moving where they shouldn't.
Works together with
Find out where your products really sell.
Tell us which markets and articles worry you most. We show you how the intended market is linked to each code - and what your first grey-market cases could look like.
Real impact.