Track & Trace

Imagine a package delivered to your doorstep that is designed and printed just for you. This is the next level of experiential package design. Personalization, which means individualizing experiences based on customer preferences and needs, has taken over the digital world, but personalization in experiential packaging has lagged behind.

Customer participation has been a hot topic as far back as 2013, but the difference is that in 2021, the focus is on leading with empathy and understanding. As such, customer participation is beginning to be seen in a new light. The customer is more than a consumer of a product or service; they now have opportunities to shape, create, and define a brand, and to become brand advocates through direct participation with the brand.

Nearly everything we buy these days comes in some kind of packaging, and the debate over brands using too much of the stuff to wrap their goods rages on. But is there also an opportunity in the packaging stakes that could ease environmental concerns whilst also providing an opportunity to connect with the customer?
Digital transformation is touching every aspect of our world, and smart packaging is also a new way for brands to connect their online and offline offerings.

As food and beverage manufacturing companies compete for the best packaging setup that they can offer to their new target customers, millennials and Gen Z, how can the use of design-wise QR codes include more information in food and beverage packaging?

While in the FMCG market, brands are competing on various points, with value for money being the most significant purchasing motivator. In luxury fashion for example, perceived value rather than commodity has enabled high end, functional goods to remain resilient to the challenging market conditions, as consumers are seeking to get more out of their purchases.

Speciality security printer Eltronis has launched new cloud-based software to link products to the internet through consumers’ smartphones.

For each plastic Lush item returned, customers will receive a 50p (€0.57) deposit to spend on their Lush basket that day.
The returned packaging will then be sent to the Greenhub, Lush’s recycling hub, where packaging is processed and then sent to partners to be remoulded into new black Lush pots or used as industry feedstock material.

As more customers are pursuing the opportunities in smart packaging and connected products featuring NFC technology, the companies sought to create an easy-to-use kit that would allow customers to use NFC tags in their environment. With a few clicks within the DIRX2 platform from Tapwow, a customer could create a working demo or proof of concept, including tap analytics that could be accessed from any smartphone.

To circumvent the risks along with ensuring patient safety, pharma manufacturers are coming up with numerous proficient anti-counterfeit strategies. The contemporary methods to combat counterfeiting include legal actions on illicit traders, countermeasures using technologies, consumer education and awareness, private investigations, and cooperation with enforcement agencies.

These "passports" could prove to be a solution for travelers crossing borders, but they also come with their own set of challenges

Having developed Covid-19 vaccines in a fraction of the time it takes to create new treatments, pharmaceutical companies need to protect the priceless IP, supporting data and supply chains from cyberattacks.
Showing how powerful global collaboration between pharmaceutical industry leaders can be, the world's leading vaccine producers delivered new vaccines in record time. The IP behind Covid-19 vaccines and their supporting supply chains need state-of-the-art protection comprised of cybersecurity technologies and systems, as the vaccines' IP is an asset that cyber attackers have already tried to obtain.

As 2020 transitioned to 2021, we took another step closer toward the implementation of 2023 Drug Supply Chain Security Act, Phase II. From manufacturers to wholesalers, pharmacies and other stakeholders, many uncertainties are swirling around the subject, so today we are writing to try to dispel some of the concern.

The ability to track & trace pharmaceutical product in the distribution channel has always been a regulatory imperative, but those regulations are evolving and becoming more sophisticated to improve drug safety and the threat of counterfeits in the supply chain. In spite of the regulatory burden, the ability to accurately track and trace product and manage the disposition of stock after its sale can add business value beyond efficiently demonstrating compliance.

Traceability has become a keyword for the pharmaceutical industry over recent years, with serialization as the enabling concept in providing each individual product with a unique identity in data, including manufacturing source, Global Trade Identification number (GTIN) and expiration date. This is the most effective counter-measure to counterfeiting, which now accounts for more than 10% of all medicines in circulation according to the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The pharmaceutical industry has a paper problem. Every single box of medicine must include a paper insert with dosing instructions and technical information that can measure several feet long. Some patients read it over, some patients stash it in a drawer, while others just dump it in the trash. These pesky printouts can cause a massive headache for the entire drug supply chain if they are outdated or incorrect and result in a recall.

With the Covid-19 “infodemic” of erroneous, scare-mongering or outright fake information arising in part out of fear, panic and political agendas — in part from distrust of governments from their mishandling of the virus — it is no wonder that societies’ faith in vaccines has been rocked to the core. But it’s a critical public health issue, and the integration of new technologies such as blockchain is not only improving the integrity of public health information but also vaccine development, distribution and supply for the medical and pharmaceutical industries.

The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in the world has led to a rise in falsified drugs entering the supply chain, thus putting public health at risk in domestic as well as global markets. The global Anti-counterfeit Pharmaceutical Packaging market size is expected to gain market growth in the forecast period of 2020 to 2025, with a CAGR of 6.2% in the forecast period of 2020 to 2025 and will expected to reach USD 124.5 million by 2025, from USD 97.7 million in 2019.

As more individuals get vaccinated, companies are identifying a new way to allow consumers to feel safe—hence, the launch of digital health passports. The concept allows those who have been vaccinated to carry the medical documents to prove it seamlessly on their person at all times. The digital health passport would be especially handy for those who are planning to travel, enabling a level of convenience and comfort.

Based on application, the track and trace solutions market is segmented into serialization, aggregation, and tracking, tracing, and reporting solutions. The tracking, tracing, & reporting solutions segment is expected to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The high growth of this segment is attributed to the increasing number of regulations such as DSCSA, UDI, and Medical Device Reporting (MDR) for medical devices and pharmaceutical products.

Clients stand to benefit from seamless connectivity between Kezzler and Laetus platforms, creating an integrated end-to-end traceability solution from two market leaders – from factory floor to the cloud.

A pretty huge infographic detailling, country by country, the boundary conditions of seriaization implementation (type of GS1 code, deadline...), and reminding of a single todo list:

• Set serialisation as a top corporate priority
• Build cross departmental project team
• Prepare your IT infrastructure in particular Level 3
  & national systems
• Avoid vendor lock-in by selecting an open & flexible serialisation solution.

Traceability: the keyword of the pharmaceutical industry over the last few years, with serialization as the first core concept. The idea behind serialization is that each individual saleable product is provided with a unique code which, when scanned, provides all the crucial information about this particular medicine – including the manufacturer, Global Trade Identification number (GTIN) and expiration date.

Early in January 2021, YLE reported of a device monitoring the last mile of the covid vaccine cold chain alerted the staff on a temperature breach. In this particular case, the healthcare station in Northern Finland only had hours to act before the vaccines would spoil. However, thanks to the alert, the vaccines could be injected in time.