Updated directive to help fight counterfeiting of pharmaceutical products voted on today, at the European Parliament
Zetes' solutions for the pharmaceutical supply chain help turn new regulations into a competitive advantage
Zetes will present its solutions for the pharmaceutical supply chain at several industry events across Europe, including Pharmapack in France and Logipharma in Switzerland
Brussels, February 16, 2011 - Today, the European Parliament is voting on a proposal to prevent the entry and dissemination of falsified medicines through the pharmaceutical supply chain. The objective of the directive is to improve the traceability of medicines throughout the whole value chain and increase consumer safety.
Whatever the outcome of today's vote, Zetes is ready to help the pharmaceutical industry comply with existing and upcoming regulations on the traceability of their products with a range of specialised goods identification and mobility solutions.
Ensuring compliance, improving traceability, increasing security
Zetes ensures that medicines and medical goods are traced alongside the pharmaceutical supply chain and across multiple stakeholders. The company can make this possible by combining several advanced identification technologies:
Secure Datamatrix identification and serialisation
Zetes offers high-speed marking systems for secure identification and serialisation of the secondary packaging of medicines and medical goods at the production line. Identifying these goods with a Datamatrix code (which includes information, such as expiration date, lot number, and product number) and a serialisation number helps combat counterfeiting, facilitates problem resolution of claims and recalls, and helps prevent theft. In addition to this, Zetes' extended experience and solutions for labelling ensure perfect data aggregation from item to pallet.
Optimise order preparation
To supply pharmacies with the right order in a timely manner, often multiple times daily and at short notice, pharmaceutical wholesalers and logistics companies can optimise their order preparation processes with Zetes' 3i Voice solutions. This solution helps optimise efficiency, reduces mistakes, and allows for flexible resource management at peak times.
100% accuracy of shipped pallets
Visidot, Zetes' automatic shipment verification solution which uses Image-based technology, ensures the right medicines are sent to the right pharmacy or hospital, achieving 100% accuracy of the shipped pallets. This solution can also be used to inspect items when preparing boxes/crates on the production line, or to manage returns from pharmacies.
Cold chain management
Some medicines must be stored at a constant temperature along the supply chain. Making use of special RFID tags, Zetes' solution enables pharmaceutical companies to ensure that the temperature level remains optimal from the moment medicines are produced until they are delivered to the end customer.
Alain Wirtz, CEO of Zetes says: "As it is the case in other market segments, the end consumes - and, more particularly, an ever increasing concern for their health and safety - has become central to the pharmaceutical supply chain. Therefore, there is pressure from legislators on the producers from this sector to invest in better product identification and traceability. Zetes has years of experience in supply chain optimisation and an extended portfolio of automatic identification solutions. Based on this strong know-how, we can help pharmaceutical companies comply with the latest regulations but also enable them to transform inherent traceability challenges into a competitive advantage."
Zetes' existing customer references within the pharmaceutical industry include leading European pharmaceutical manufacturers and wholesale distributors such as Bristol-Myers Squibb, GSK, Pfizer, UCB, CERP, Merck, and Pharmamar, among others.
Zetes will present its solutions for the pharmaceutical supply chain at several pharmaceutical industry events across Europe, including Pharmapack in Paris, (February 23-24, 2011) and Logipharma in Geneva (March 29-31, 2011).