Ensuring the quality and safety of products in the pharmaceutical industry is critical, without question. The global population depends on many of the modern medicines produced in pharmaceutical manufacturing for health and survival. But recalled, substandard, or counterfeit drugs have the potential to cause substantial, in some cases irreparable harm, a risk manufacturers simply can’t afford to take.
Fortunately, Industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing technologies are now making advanced traceability in supply chains possible, and the result is an unprecedented level of quality and safety in one of the world’s most fundamental industries.
Safety First In Pharmaceutical Manufacturing With Supply Chain Traceability
Poor quality and counterfeit drugs are an increasing issue in the pharmaceutical industry today, having caused tens of thousands of deaths and an economic fallout of up to $200 billion annually. Globalization and the increasing complexity of pharmaceutical supply chains has only exacerbated the problem.
With the threat of such harrowing consequences hanging in the balance, it is imperative that pharmaceutical manufacturers take measures to ensure the integrity of the pharmaceutical supply chain.
End-to-end supply chain traceability provides an effective pathway to safer pharmaceutical products, fewer recalls, and improved patient lives.
What is traceability? Supply chain traceability means a product can be tracked and traced through its entire life cycle, from raw materials to finished goods, and every intermediate in between.
With the advanced supply chain traceability made possible by Industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing technologies, granular, realtime data is collected, analyzed, and contextualized at every stage through production and distribution, providing specific, accurate information to pharmaceutical manufacturers as to the quality, authenticity, and safety of their pharmaceutical products across the supply chain.
And just how does traceability affect pharmaceutical supply chain safety?
The pharmaceutical industry is of course subject to strict safety regulations. With Industry 4.0 traceability, pharmaceutical manufacturers can demonstrate compliance with these regulations, quickly and efficiently, with all the detailed, relevant data at their fingertips.
Traceability is made possible with the help of Smart Manufacturing technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in conjunction with the industrial internet of things (IIoT). These technologies allow for autonomy in pharmaceutical manufacturing operations, making processes and decision-making faster and more reliable, and reducing the risk of human error. Any critical data collected can be monitored via a material-centric view of operations, where previously unseen correlations and root causes can be identified all across the pharmaceutical supply chain.
Realtime data collection in a connected, digital network along with early warning alerts mean anomalies can be spotted much quicker, and predictive analytics can even prevent trouble before it occurs.
This level of traceability can help pharmaceutical companies achieve transparency, easily verify product authenticity, rapidly identify issues, and act immediately and decisively where needed to ensure quality standards are maintained, thus avoiding costly product recalls and protecting not only company integrity and reputation, but consumer trust and well-being.
With the web of health concerns plaguing our world today, the critical need for end-to-end supply chain traceability in the pharmaceutical industry looms large. Quality, integrity, safety — these must not be compromised by pharmaceutical manufacturers and needn’t be with the help of Industry 4.0 Smart Manufacturing technology.
Advanced Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Traceability - It's Possible With ThinkIQ
With ThinkIQ’s Transformational Intelligence platform, pharmaceutical manufacturers gain access to a complete overview of all operations. From lab to jab, our Smart Manufacturing technology, including our semantic model and material ledger, dramatically reduces recalls, identifies weaknesses in the plant, and eliminates safety concerns.
ThinkIQ’s material ledger provides pharmaceutical manufacturers with an innovative approach to intelligent tracking of material, and energy movement and transformations, their associate monetary value, and quality data. It delivers insight that improves yield, quality, safety, compliance, and brand confidence through a fact-based, granular, data-centric contextualized view of material flows and related provenance attribute data. We utilize existing IoT infrastructure on which a cyber-physical system can be built to decentralize decision-making in favor of autonomous task-completion of all but the highest-level exceptions. It’s the next generation of Smart Manufacturing for the most mission-critical industry.
If you’re ready to reach unprecedented levels of supply chain safety with Industry 4.0, contact us for a no obligation Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Traceability demonstration. We also have a new selection guide eBook, “Advanced Material Traceability Revolutionizes Digital Transformation,” which will help you better understand the questions you should be asking. Download your copy today.
