How a global brand combats counterfeit goods with trade data
At a glance
- From scattered tips to a focused risk pipeline
- HS codes and shipment descriptions revealed hidden movements across trade lanes
- Dashboards aligned legal, brand protection, and supply chain teams on one source of truth
- Court-admissible data backed early enforcement with facts
Background
Counterfeits were surfacing in retail and online channels. Shipments were occasionally intercepted, but too late. Teams needed to know where goods were coming from, who was moving them, and how they entered key markets. Historically, the brand relied on customs reports and scattered complaints, a reactive system that left critical blind spots.
Customer complaints and retailer audits confirmed what the brand feared: their supply chain was being mimicked.
Challenge
The brand needed real-time monitoring of risky HS codes, visibility into unusual routes and new traders, and a shared dataset that legal, procurement, and brand enforcement could all act on. Most importantly, they needed evidence that would stand up in escalations and enforcement.
Solution
What they did with ImportGenius:
The team searched by HS codes and product keywords — for example, footwear categories like 6402–6404 paired with terms such as “sneakers” and “running shoes.”
They tracked trade volumes, routes, and company profiles, and set live alerts when suspicious patterns appeared.
What they found
- Dozens of exporters with no prior history suddenly shipping under sensitive HS codes
- Shipments routed through unexpected hubs to disguise origin
- Product descriptions that didn’t match HS codes, or alternated to evade detection
- Abrupt volume spikes through major U.S. ports linked to small, low-profile importers
These were all real-world red flags backed by shipment data, not speculation.
Outcome
Results & strategic shift
What changed:
With ImportGenius, the brand moved from reactive enforcement to proactive risk detection. Enforcement teams focused only on the highest-risk actors, vendor screening became faster with shipment history at hand, and cross-functional teams finally worked from a single source of truth. Real-time alerts ensured new threats were flagged before products ever reached the market.
Key outcomes:
- Reviewed 3,200+ shipments across 17 ports and 12 trade lanes in 18 months
- Identified 44 exporters and 29 importers flagged for deeper investigation
- Flagged 7 suspicious routing hubs and 19 product descriptions misaligned with HS codes
- Created 12 live shipment alerts to track repeat exporters and keyword+HS code combinations
- Accelerated vendor approvals with shipment histories available during screening
- Reduced delays and disputes across legal, procurement, and brand protection teams
Why ImportGenius:
- Search by company, product keyword, HS code, lane, and time period
- Understand trade activity by volume, port, and seasonality
- Set custom alerts to detect new threats early
- Export reports or connect directly to platforms like Salesforce or NetSuite via API
Conclusion
This global athletic brand turned scattered intel into an organized, actionable counterfeit detection program. With ImportGenius, they no longer wait for a problem to surface; they track it before it lands.
Trade data became their early warning system. From HS codes to contact-level insights, the team is now equipped to act with confidence, speed, and clarity.
