Innovation

OPTEL’s TrackSafe technology is a distributed software and hardware solution that is flexible and enables companies to do serialization and aggregation with focus on the preservation of the performance of the packaging lines and the overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).

At the packaging line level, all printing and scanning equipment has to be connected to a centralized point in order to distribute serial number information to each packaging level acting as a number validation at every observation point.The TrackSafe is specifically designed to connect in real-time to any printer and scanning device or hand-held scanners. With this centralized station, the line setup is reduced to a minimum, ensuring the integrity of each serial number. The serial number management is done by standard EPCIS messaging protocol. It can also connect directly to an ERP as a middleware. TrackSafe supports RFID encoding from item to pallet level, including the turnkey delivery of all encoding and decoding setup such as a labeler web antenna, bundle and case aggregation tunnel, bundle, case and pallet RFID label coding, and manual RFID scanning station.

By implementing the above technology for end to end traceability in Supply Chains, Optel aims to connect all stakeholders in an empowered, inclusive supply chain while fighting product counterfeiting across the pharmaceutical industry thus aiming at SDG 3 (Good Health and Well Being) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). TrackSafe also aims to increase productivity, control waste and promote a circular economy through smarter supply chains which targets SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) by use of SDG 9 (Industry,Innovation and Infrastructure).

Inspiration

The innovation has been inspired by the fact that passing medicines and drugs without proper checks will be detrimental to human health and the society as a whole. The counterfeiting of drugs is a huge problem nowadays. Optel Group has taken the responsibility to minimize the issues faced by the healthcare industry when it comes to counterfeiting of drugs and medicines. The creation of a sustainable environment is the primary objective of Optel Group.

Overall impact

The world is rife with environmental, economic and social problems. Many of these issues arise because today’s supply chains lack visibility and transparency at every stage, from raw materials to final consumer products. Counterfeit medications, faulty medical devices, contaminated foods and unsustainable sourcing practices threaten public safety, waste precious natural resources, erode consumer confidence, and destroy brand reputation.

However, technologies today can help mitigate these issues and lead to a safer, more sustainable world for all. Specifically, digital traceability technologies give us the means to create more intelligent supply chains capable of tracking, tracing and authenticating everything from coffee beans to catheters. Optel majorly aims at providing end-to-end traceability solutions for manufacturing companies in the field of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, hospitals, food and beverage industries and mining. It also deals with providing solutions for efficiency in manual packaging and handling, advanced data-management and reduction in human error. For the food and beverage industry, Optel offers an intelligent supply chain (ISC) to keep track of the granular data and the movement of products from the field to the mill until they turn into waste (recycling).

With the help of serialized items and data reporting, the location of products could be identified and only faulty products retrieved, instead of the entire batch. This helps reduce monetary losses and makes recall management faster and more efficient. Traceability has also helped healthcare institutions manage their inventory and allowed surgeons and doctors to know the full pedigree of the medical devices they are implanting in their patients. Since the food and beverage industry has a long and complex supply chain, a lack of visibility leads to more risks of food-borne illnesses, such as E. coli, listeria and salmonella. Manufacturers, retailers and consumers want and need to know everything about their food, such as the origin of ingredients and their attributes, where and how the products were processed, and so on. Traceability has provided the answers and mitigated potential risks and impact.

Business benefit

The innovation in traceability has led to the development of the organisation and the healthcare sector as a whole. When Optel Group thought of opening a centre in India they were optimistic about the fact that the huge population of India is important in their scope as they understand the fact that the amount of drugs supplied is also similarly huge. Supporting this fact was the need of preventing counterfeiting. The organisation started with a few people but now they have more than 250 people employed in order to serve the purpose. The are seeing a constant growth in their revenue and are building in more innovation to take the revenue model forward.

Social and environmental benefit

The innovations done by Optel Group is definitely important to the society because of the fact that they are serving an industry which is dependent on people - healthcare. The new strategies and tracing technologies ultimately benefits the people as they grow more inert to quality drugs.

Interview link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PRDiSUCCI5Iz2M_aPGPjqY2AV5nvRXHe/view?usp=drivesdk

Interview

Shaunak Dave, CEO & MD (APAC Region)