AMD joins anti-grey fight

Chip maker becomes latest big-name vendor to join AGMA

Let battle commence: AGMA members include vendor titans HP, Cisco, IBM and Microsoft

The Alliance for Grey Market and Counterfeit Abatement (AGMA) has added another high-profile member in the shape of chip heavyweight AMD.

Last year saw AGMA sign up a number of big-name vendors, including Juniper Networks, Oracle, IBM and Samsung Electronics America. Cisco, HP, EMC and Microsoft are also part of the organisation's manufacturer line-up.

AGMA aims to crack down on grey market operators and promote best practice. As a member, AMD will now benefit from various initiatives and processes designed to address salient issues in the grey market arena.

Corrina Sinatro, AMD's director of brand and marketplace for corporate investigations, said joining AGMA means his firm is "aligning itself with some of the most respected companies in the technology sector".

"Combating and deterring grey market and counterfeit activities are important priorities for AMD," he said. "We look forward to the exchange of best practices and successes between members on these topics, as well as other strategies that will enable us to continually improve customer satisfaction and preserve the integrity of AMD's branded products."

AGMA has also announced the results of its latest member survey, conducted in conjunction with PricewaterhouseCoopers last month. Key contributory factors to grey market activity include the misreporting of customer names in incentive claims, which was cited by 53 per cent of respondents.

Data errors from channel partners were cited as a significant problem by 33 per cent of vendor members, while OEM or manufacturer errors were cited by 20 p er cent. A fifth of respondents cited sales or inventory timing differences.

AGMA president Ram Manchi said: "These study findings should serve as a wake-up call to all in the technology sector. Clearly, there is much more work to be done to educate manufacturers, channel partners and consumers about the issue of grey market fraud, as well as what can be done to lessen its impact."