The primary driver behind serialization is patient safety. Serialization provides a safeguard from illegitimate product entering the supply chain (counterfeiting) and legitimate product entering illegitimate markets (diversion). Both random and sequential serialization are effective tools against diversion so long as you know which codes were shipped to which supply channels and that they were verified at each transaction in the supply chain.

Random serialized data can be more difficult to manage, but it does offer an advantage over sequential data in combating counterfeits. What prevents a criminal from getting one code and then creating a counterfeit sequence by increasing the code by increments of one? Since most serial codes use open bar coding technology, this is a real risk. In the case of random codes, the counterfeiter is unable to create such a sequence.

When it comes to security, I have often heard “there is no silver bullet,” and this applies to serialization as well. The best practice is to combine serialization with other layers of authenticating technologies (taggants, optics, invisible marks, etc.) This will help address both counterfeiting and diversion. There are also some emerging technologies for encrypted serial codes, which offer both serialization and authenticating features in one mark.