Amazon Transparency vs. Amazon Project Zero
Along with fraudulent reviews, counterfeit goods pose one of the biggest challenges to Amazon vendors. It can be challenging to defend your brand on Amazon from these problems. And if you're hoping that Seller Support will come to your aid and save the day, the likelihood is that it won't.
As a result, Amazon launched two programmes: Project Zero in 2019 and the Transparency initiative in 2018.
This article will explain the two programmes, their benefits and drawbacks, and the prerequisites for enrolling in each of them.
Under the Microscope: Transparency vs. Project Zero
What is the Transparency Program?
The issue of counterfeiting on Amazon affects all of the brands that sell there. On Amazon, counterfeiting has grown more pervasive and challenging to eradicate. Amazon's response and next line of defence against dreadful product counterfeiters is transparency.
How does the Amazon Transparency Program work?
Transparency by Amazon is essentially a product tracker that enables sellers and customers to view information about the product's origin, production details, and even the materials it was produced of. Manufacturers and brand owners can use this unit-level labelling system to each of their products.
Before sending every product to a customer, Amazon will check the barcodes. If the codes don't match, the business will halt delivery, flag the item as possibly being a fake, and launch an investigation.
Who Can Sign Up for the Transparency Program?
The following requirements must be met by Amazon sellers before they may join the Transparency programme:
- You must register your product(s) with the Amazon Brand Registry.
- To demonstrate that you are the brand owner, your product(s) must have a registered trademark.
- A Global Trade Item Number (GTIN), such as a UPC or EAN barcode, is required for your product or products.
- Make careful to add distinct Transparency codes to each and every unit you produce.
- Only a few nations presently offer the programme. Discover which nations may sign up for the Transparency Program here.
- You can sign up for Amazon's Transparency Page if you have satisfied all of these conditions. You can select the items you want to safeguard, however our advice is to give priority to those that have the following features.
What are the pros and cons of the Transparency Program?
The Transparency Program is all about defending your brand from imitation, but it's not for everyone's budget. As with everything else on Amazon, you will have to pay for this "benefit" in order to protect yourself against copycats. Let's examine the benefits and drawbacks of this programme
Because hijackers lack access to the Transparency codes that Amazon creates for products, this program's main benefit is its capacity to stop them from selling on your listing. The program's ability to safeguard your brand from imitations while also safeguarding its reputation is one of its many advantages.
The major drawback of this programme, in our opinion, is that it takes a lot of time and results in increased manufacturing and shipping expenses.
Undoubtedly, it gives many sellers peace of mind, but like anything else on Amazon, there is a cost, and you are responsible for covering the full cost. You must pay for each Transparency code and sticker for your products and packages if you are a small brand and choose to sign up for Transparency. The outcome? a decline in your profit margins. Therefore, this price is inappropriate and unaffordable for certain firms, particularly small brands.
This is one another illustration of how Amazon gives those big businesses precedence and respect while ignoring the small and medium-sized brands.
What is the Amazon Project Zero Program?
As we've previously reported, Amazon has a HUGE problem with counterfeit goods, and many Amazon merchants are making money by selling these goods. As a response to counterfeit products being sold on this e-commerce site, Amazon launched the Project Zero programme at the beginning of 2019. With the help of the application, merchants now have more control over removing fake vendors from their listings.
Transparency on steroids is what Amazon's Project Zero is. Sellers are given unique numbers for each item they produce, but they also have the option to remove their own product listings from Amazon if they think the listings are fake.
How Does Amazon Project Zero Work?
How precisely does this tool help you avoid counterfeit goods? Three tools are included in Project Zero:
- Automated Protections: This programme uses machine learning (ML) from Amazon to scan more than 5 billion listings each day and weed out fakes.
- Self-service counterfeit removal: Using this technology, companies can take down flagged listings for counterfeit products without getting Amazon's approval. Additionally, the information you supply to this tool is immediately added to Automated Protection.
However, there are worries about how sellers are exploiting the usage of this technology, therefore if they don't maintain a counterfeit elimination accuracy of 99%, Amazon may remove sellers from this programme.
- Product serialisation: This technique enables Amazon to determine a product's legitimacy. Each product from the brand must have a special serial code attached, and Amazon will use this code to check its legitimacy whenever a serialised product is purchased.
Who Can Sign Up in the Amazon Project Zero Program?
Amazon no longer requires brands to be invited to Project Zero, but if you choose to sign up and get started, there are some standards you must follow.
-To defend a trademark, you must be its legitimate owner.
-The Brand Registry on Amazon requires that you register your brand.
-You must have reported a probable infringing act to Amazon during the last six months and have a minimum acceptance rate of 90%.
Simple as pie, right? Unfortunately, in order to prevent misuse of their capabilities, Amazon has the authority to consider additional criteria when determining a user's eligibility. Undoubtedly, Amazon gains from maintaining positive brand relations.
What are the pros and cons of the Amazon Project Zero Program?
Brand protection and product serialisation, which includes a self-service removal tool that you can use without Amazon clearance, are, as was already mentioned, two of Amazon Project Zero's main advantages.
The expense of product serialisation, however, should be your top priority because you will be responsible for putting each of the unique codes to every box.
As Amazon won't do it for you, you'll also need to take the time to review your listings and check for potential fakes on your own.
Final Thoughts
The Transparency and Project Zero programmes are both constructive moves in the right direction, however they do not completely solve the issue of fake goods. Sellers are still responsible for keeping an eye on their listings and the entire Amazon marketplace to make sure there are no fake products available.
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