The Bellwether Group, Inc.

Situation

A global producer of consumer products wanted to take its anti-counterfeiting capability to the next level.  It had developed a robust investigative capability but was not getting much support from certain law enforcement agencies and administrative entities. The company wanted to focus its new intelligence on areas that would get both media attention and make the public more aware of safety issues and pressure various administrations to take action. 

Approach

Bellwether aggregated intelligence data generated over a 12 month period and categorized it in a number of different ways depending on the dissemination strategy to be adopted. Alternatives categories were identified and prioritized for ease of use and value in an outreach strategy. They included counterfeit manufacturing, alternate sourcing, distribution, on-line pharmacies, payment and fulfillment infrastructure and judicial jurisdictions.  Case information was then triaged into that involving consumer safety, large volumes and/or criminal organizations. A standard database was then created that could be used to identify and sort information for use in the dissemination strategy.

Analysis & Results

The case management system used by the company made analysis and strategy development very difficult as the previous databases were extremely limited in their ability to be queried and provide aggregated data. The new database was easy to use and still tied back to the more complete case management system for detailed information retrieval on a case-by-case basis.  An outreach strategy was developed that targeted different groups through e-mail, the company intranet, hard copy reports, senior leadership briefings, press releases and selected lobbyists. The outreach database was used to generate and track information used in reports for distribution pursuant to the outreach strategy developed.

Benefits to Client

At no time before had the company’s counterfeiting and product diversion intelligence been aggregated, distilled and presented in this form to a series of targeted audiences. This new knowledge quickly caused the company to adopt new strategies to engage perpetrators, lawmakers and elected officials. Sales groups started to report increased volume in certain markets where these activities were taking place and business units requested additional investigative capability be put in place in under-served markets. Additional funding was made available for this purpose and geographic coverage was improved.  Widespread recognition of this positive contribution to the business occurred and represented a welcome accolade for the company.