PACKAGING: SERIALISE, TRACK & TRACE
The role of serialisation in sustainable development As customers and consumers become increasingly aware of and concerned about climate change and economic and social inequality, they are looking for ways of influencing and effecting change. One of the ways they can achieve this is through their consumption decisions and purchasing actions, writes Glynis Stark of Adept Pharma.
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ustomers expect that the products they purchase and consume will have been produced in a way that not only has the lowest impact on the environment, but also positively contributes to its restoration. This expectation extends to improving the lives of the people involved in providing raw materials and ingredients and in manufacturing and distribution of the product. One way of assessing this is through the widely accepted metric of a company’s contribution to the achievement of the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This means that manufacturers of both ingredients and finished products need to not only consider these aspects when making business decisions, but will also need to be able to demonstrate that this is the case. Brand image and history will no longer be enough. This is where serialisation across the product supply chain can assist with developing and maintaining records as well as providing the necessary audit trail in case of queries (about quality or ingredients).
Jekson Vision equipment and systems add value at all five serialisation levels
THE CONFIDENCE FACTOR
UN SDGS APPLICABLE TO MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES • Goal 5: Gender equality • Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth • Goal 10: Reduced inequality • Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities • Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production • Goal 13: Climate action • Goal 14: Life below water • Goal 15: Life on land Source: sdgs.un.org/goals
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SEPTEMBER 2021 // WWW.PHARMACOS.CO.ZA
Serialisation has the ability to provide consumers with the confidence that producers are in fact doing what they claim to be doing, through the secure, detailed and accurate aggregation of information related to a product’s origin. It has application in the manufacture, packaging and repackaging of: • pharmaceuticals • cosmetics • personal care products • complementary medicines • health products • food • veterinary pharmaceuticals • animal feed. Adept Pharma is a Southern African company providing engineering and
project services to meet serialisation needs in manufacturing industries. In addition, Adept Pharma is the regional representative of Jekson Vision. Jekson Vision, established in 2001 in New Jersey in the US and now with offices in India, Germany, Russia and Singapore, has developed visual inspection equipment and systems which enable serialisation (trackand-trace) systems. The equipment and systems have the advantage of flexibility in that they can be added as the final stage on existing production lines, as well as offering a number of semi-automated and manual handling systems. Jekson Vision operates a 24hour customer care desk to support its customers.
