Product serialization is more important now than ever before. Around the world and across industries, consumers are demanding more visibility into the lifecycle of the products they buy. At the same time, governments are implementing higher compliance standards for product traceability to ensure the safety of their populations. Counterfeiting continues to plague global supply chains, causing huge losses for manufacturers. As a result, industrial organizations are moving towards the Digital Supply Chain (Tracking & Tracing), and advanced solutions for Serialized Manufacturing & Logistics are a critical piece to achieving end-to-end supply chain traceability and regulatory compliance.
What is Product Serialization?
Serialization is the assignment of a predetermined code to an item, product or batch, giving it a unique identity to be tracked and traced to its current location in the supply chain or where it had been during its lifecycle. Serialization codes can be as detailed as a customer or government regulation requires and can include data such as:
The data stored within these codes is used to ensure the authenticity of products, maintain regulatory compliance and manage product recalls.
Serialized Manufacturing & Logistics Solutions
Our solutions for Serialized Manufacturing & Logistics enable industrial enterprises to access product information in real time for supply chain excellence and business transformation.
When serialization is applied to a manufacturing setting, it serves the purpose of managing end-to-end traceability and serialized packaging operations, including labeling, re-labeling and aggregations. Our digital solutions for serialized manufacturing oversee serial number distribution and Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC) repositories, keeping track of the complete lifecycle of items, products and containers while they are on the factory floor. These technologies can be integrated with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) and shop floor operations, enabling automation of aggregation lines with in-line printing directly on packages. Our digital solutions also integrate Marketing Authorization Holders (MAH) and Contract Manufacturing Organizations (CMO) in real time to exchange serial numbers and commissioning details.
Logistics involves the storage and movement of goods between different points in the supply chain, coordinating facilities, people, equipment and other resources to ensure products move when they are supposed to and there is space for them at the next stop. When serialization is applied to the logistic process, its primary focus is the delivery of products to end consumers and the decommissioning of serial numbers at the end of the product lifecycle. Most ERP and WMS solutions are not capable of managing serialized logistics on their own, and if this complicated process is mishandled, it can negatively impact business processes across the entire supply chain. Our solutions for serialized logistics help stakeholders across the supply chain reduce the complexity of this process, enabling effective management of inbound and outbound goods, re-aggregation and SSCC re-labeling.
As consumer demands and government regulations for product traceability grow in size and scope, so will the value of integrated technologies for Serialized Manufacturing & Logistics. Our supply chain specialists’ extensive technical knowledge, expertise across industrial sectors and successful delivery record make IndX a power player in the arena of manufacturing and logistic serialization. We will continue to transform how companies manage the entire lifecycle of their products – driving smarter decision-making, creating new revenue streams and maximizing the value of their investment in Digital Supply Chain technologies.
