Lessons from A Multi-Industry Assessment of Product Counterfeit Risk and Investigative Resourcing

Symposium Moderator

Ahmet Kirca, PhD, Professor and Director, Michigan State University

International Business Center

Speakers

Jeremy M. Wilson, PhD, Professor, Michigan State University School of Criminal Justice

Tiana Gaudette, ABD, Research Specialist, Michigan State University School of Criminal Justice

David Shepherd, PhD, Senior Lecturer, University of Portsmouth School of Criminology and Criminal Justice

This symposium will feature the results of a cutting-edge research project aimed at integrating a total business solution for brand protection with workload and performance-based methodologies for resource optimization. Lessons draw on rare and unique data collected from nearly three-dozen multi-national firms across many industries. This symposium will help brand protection practitioners operating in the global marketplace who struggle to find the proper mix of structure and investment to assess, mitigate and respond to infringement risk, particularly as it relates to staffing and operating a product counterfeit investigations program. This symposium will:

• describe a total business solution for brand protection

• summarize the advantages and disadvantages of common approaches to resource allocation

• introduce the concepts of workload demand and staffing supply, and explain their utility for objective, collaborative, inclusive and evidence-based discussions about resource optimization

• demonstrate how to model workforce need to optimize staffing and investment for brand protection

• illustrate how firms are resourcing anti-counterfeit investigations and structuring their programs relative to the use of external contractors

• share results of allocation modeling across firms in multiple industries, offering useful illustrations on variations in risk, workload, staffing and investments

• showcase how allocation modeling supports strategic planning, budgeting, executive leadership team communication, ROI, and forecasting

• offer an opportunity to discuss the application of the findings to those involved in brand protection administration.

This workshop will be valuable to industry practitioners who oversee or are charged with brand and intellectual property protection, and those interested in how analytics can be applied to optimize resources in public or private organizations.