PALO ALTO, Calif. - HP today announced that Brady Corporation, a world leader in the development of identification solutions, is working with HP to deliver a one-stop resource for product tracking and authentication that helps enterprises protect their brand.

Brady Corporation is the first authorized reseller of the HP Global Product Authentication Service (HP GPAS), a flexible, cloud-based solution that enables clients to identify, locate and combat counterfeit activities.

According to the Counterfeiting Intelligence Bureau of the International Chamber of Commerce, counterfeiting is one of today's fastest growing economic crimes. The counterfeiting industry continues to create significant and costly problems for global enterprises, creating revenue loss and damaging brand reputation. For example, counterfeit products such as pharmaceuticals, electrical and electronics products, as well as other consumer goods, could put unsuspecting consumers in potentially threatening situations, and liability often falls with the brand owner.

Offered by HP Software Professional Services, HP GPAS generates security codes that Brady Corporation can download and apply to its customized authentication labels. The process of printing and shipping the labels occurs within Brady Corporation's secure infrastructure to help eliminate the potential for theft or fraud. Brady Corporation's facilities are certified by the North American Security Products Organization (NASPO), a nonprofit organization that certifies providers of security materials under a set of operational standards and security protocols.

"Counterfeiting and product diversion are complex and potentially detrimental problems that many industries face on a daily basis," said Matthew Williamson, president, Brady Americas. "By extending HP GPAS cloud-based capabilities, we offer peace of mind to our customers with holistic product authentication, tracking services and analytics that counteract counterfeiting and ensure brand integrity."

With advancements in smartphone technology, Brady Corporation recognized the increasing role consumers play in the product-authentication process. After researching multiple providers of product authentication services, Brady Corporation selected HP GPAS and signed on to be an HP GPAS Foundation Partner.

Part of the HP Converged Cloud portfolio, HP GPAS provides a secure method for creating security codes and employs a mass serialization engine that generates unique codes. The real-time download capability of codes offered by HP GPAS has boosted Brady Corporation's readiness process to become exponentially faster.

 HP GPAS also features real-time authentication capabilities that enable supply chain partners and consumers to easily verify products with a smartphone by scanning a bar code or sending an SMS text all while the brand owner receives real-time business intelligence and analytics.

"A company's brand reputation can be severely damaged when consumers unknowingly purchase inferior counterfeit products that don't perform as expected," said Michael Garrett, worldwide vice president and general manager, Software Professional Services, HP. "HP GPAS and Brady Corporation's combined offering provides a robust and secure solution for enterprises to detect and eliminate fraudulent activities."

Brady Corporation is the security print provider for HP Inkjet and Printing Solutions, and downloads security codes from the HP GPAS portal for printing on HP-branded labels used around the world. The combined solution has helped HP Inkjet and Printing Solutions protect its brand and improve supply-chain efficiencies.

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