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In the past ERPGenie has served up many tips, tricks and articles, in the generic ERP and SAP. We like to think that we pioneered the age of sharing information when it wasn't cool to do so!

As a company, ERPGenie LLC, focuses on SAP Supply Chain Management and specifically, we are experts in the traceability and automation space. If SAP EM, OER, GTT, GTS, GBT, TM, EDI, AIF and PI are no foreign to you then you will begin to see a bigger focus on these topics in our blogs going forward. IOT and Blockchain are also near and dear to our hearts as we see the great potential that these technologies are already bringing to the Supply Chain process. Exciting times call for exciting changes... Join us for this new Journey. Discover the new Supply Chain - The 4th Generation Supply Chain with us...

Digitalization in the Extended Supply Chain

Top 20 software suppliers, 2016

Top 20 software suppliers, 2016: "The story for the 2015 market for supply chain management (SCM) software, maintenance and services is a tale of two currencies, according to Chad Eschinger, vice president at the research firm Gartner.  

International SAP Conference on Supply Chain

SAP and T.A.Cook are delighted to invite you to attend the International SAP Conference on Supply Chain
TITLE: International SAP Conference on Supply Chain
DATES: October 1-2, 2015
LOCATION: Darmstadt, Germany
EVENT WEB SITE: http://goo.gl/mZs5nC - use code ERPGSCM15_10 during the online registration, for an exclusive 10% discount for ERPGenie.COM subscribers

Event Highlights Include

• Keynote presentations: Featuring the latest industry news, best practices and innovations. In addition, learn about market opinion from experts in the field and hear from SAP’s customers on their innovative approaches
• Customer case studies: Gain an informed perspective from leading companies on implementing and working with SAP’s SCM applications
• SAP sessions: Hear details of the latest industry trends, solution road maps, developments, and a vision for transformation from senior executives at SAP on topics including HANA and cloud-based innovations
• Live demos: See demos of the applications first-hand and get answers to your questions about the featured SCM solutions from SAP and their partner organizations
• Meet the experts: Get your questions answered. Visit the showfloor to discuss your challenges with SAP solution management, and hear more about new offerings and tools from leading SAP Partners
• Network: In addition you will find ample time to get to know your peers and build lasting relations with subject-matter experts throughout the event.

Discover how SAP’s portfolio of supply chain management applications can support organizations across different business scenarios and industry sectors, while remaining compliant with today's more complex regulations.

Brochure Download the brochure by clicking the image

Early Bird Discount Secure your place by Friday, 28 August 2015 to save on the pass price. Register now and save Use code ERPGSCM15_10 during the online registration, for an exclusive 10% discount for ERPGenie.COM subscribers Key Speakers From Unilever, Mondelez, Whirlpool, Caterpillar, Philips, RWE, Boehringer, Nussbaum, ÖBB, M.Video

RxTrace.com: Estimated Rise in Serialized Drugs in The U.S. Supply Chain, 2015

Dirk Rodgers of rxtrace.com writes "It’s August and that means it is time to check in on the progress toward full serialization of drugs in the U.S. supply chain.  This is an annual look I’ve been doing for five years now.  For my previous essays, see:

• “Estimated Rise In Serialized Drugs In The U.S. Supply Chain”;
• “Estimated Rise in Serialized Drugs in The U.S. Supply Chain, 2011“;
• “InBrief: Estimated Rise in Serialized Drugs in The U.S. Supply Chain, 2012“;
• “InBrief: Estimated Rise in Serialized Drugs in The U.S. Supply Chain, 2013“;
• “InBrief: Estimated Rise in Serialized Drugs in The U.S. Supply Chain, 2014”.

In each essay I produced a graph of my own personal estimate of the likely rise in the percentage of drugs that I thought would result, based on the deadlines that were in place at the time.  Of course, things changed last year because the Drug Supply Chain Security Act had preempted the California Pedigree law the previous November, so last year I made a new estimate that took into consideration the DSCSA dates.

Unilever uses SAP HANA to Enhance its Supply Chain Decision Making

 

Unilever uses COPA Accelerator to accelerate its month-end closing by 30-60%. And will be looking to SAP Business Suite powered by SAP HANA to further overcome supply chain bottlenecks and drive efficiencies, accessing 27 terabytes of data and 4.6 billion records in its ERP system.

Why serialization is vital for pharmaceutical product integrity in the cold chain

Read entire article at the Cold Chain View blog.

More than ever before, drug security is an important issue in ensuring the integrity of medicines and vaccines reaching patients. The industry needs to demonstrate that we care for patients, and are putting all necessary measures in place to ensure that medicines are safe to be taken.

That means knowing the entire journey of a medicine through the supply chain, and having fully automated documentation about the conditions on its journey. One of the ways in which this can be addressed in the cold supply chain is through serialization. A key driver for implementing serialization will be global compliance requirements coming into play. The USA introduced the Drug Supply Chain Security Act at the end of 2013, which will require the availability of information at individual package level about where a drug has been in the supply chain.

Making the business case for implementing serialization cost-effectively in the supply chain

Read the full article at the Cold Chain View blog.

As part of the implementation of serialization, automation of the process will become law within 10 years. As already highlighted previously, serialization provides accountability and traceability of every item shipped in the supply chain. The need to conform to these new requirements might at first glance look like it would require costly additional investment. But it need not be – and it might even be more cost-effective, once you take into account the additional benefits that could be obtained.

SAP Track and Trace solution – Part 1 – Outbound Logistics

Most organizations deal with the shipment of goods in to and out of their premises. With the increasing demand for a better customer experience it is a challenge to provide a high level of customer service when parts of your supply chain fall somewhat out of your “sphere of influence”. Sure, through contractual obligations, you can try and force your suppliers and carriers to behave in a certain way but as the old saying goes “stuff happens!”. If the supply chain breaks down outside of your 4 walls, are you aware of it? Do you have enough time between when you find out about the issue and the time needed to correct it? Do these issues in the supply chain cause disruption and potentially lead to lost customers and sales?

The key to remedying this issue was discussed back in the 1990’s and was termed Supply Chain Event Management – Give me the ability to monitor the events occurring THROUGHOUT my supply chain as and when they occur – Let me measure these events against what I had expected to occur and if it differs in any way let me know so that I can take proactive measures to correct it.SAP was a part of the “think tank” that came up with the term “Supply Chain Event Management” and created the product SAP Event Management to provide us with this functionality. It went in to General Availability in 2004 so has been around rather a long time…

In this article I want to describe how SAP Event Management forms the back-bone of your Track and Trace requirements and specifically focus on the outbound logistics scenario.

Firstly let me describe what Track and Trace is and how it relates to my issue described above.

5th Traceability and the Drug Quality and Security Act - ExL Events

5th Traceability and the Drug Quality and Security Act - An ExL Event

5th Traceability and the Drug Quality and Security Act– 5th Traceability and the Drug Quality and Security Act

Join us in Morristown, New Jersey at the 5th Traceability and the Drug Quality and Security Act conference to learn from leading supply chain experts about they have managed to provide business value through serialization and pedigree beyond regulatory compliance. Make sure you have everything in place to be able to respond to FDA inquiries within 48 hours to avoid high fines and work effectively together with your wholesalers and dispensers. This interactive forum discusses best practices for track and trace and lessons learned from implementing an integrated global supply chain security program that improves transparency, secures your supply chain and protects your brand, all while leveraging business benefits.

Identification Of Pharma Cases In The U.S. - Dirk Rodgers

Article from Dirk Rodgers - "Last week I discussed controversy over the use of GS1’s Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC) in the Brazil pharma supply chain to meet regulatory requirements imposed by ANVISA. But there are different controversies, or at least potential confusion, in the U.S. pharma supply chain surrounding case labels, and some of those are relate to the SSCC and its use. 

A case product identification label is the label a manufacturer usually places on each homogeneous case at case-packing time to identify what is inside the corrugated box. A “homogenous case” is a case that contains units from a single NDC and all units are from a single packaging lot. The product identification label should not be confused with a shipping/logistics label, which, if it exists, is applied at the time of shipment and contains information about the destination.

Typically, cases that are shipped from a higher-volume manufacturer to a larger wholesale distributor will be placed onto a pallet. The pallet often has cases of multiple products, and even different homogeneous cases of the same product can contain different lot numbers. You can sometimes even find a Non-homogeneous case mixed in with the homogeneous cases. Further, cases on the same pallet can actually be fulfilling different purchase orders submitted by the buyer. All of these variations complicate the job of the receiving clerk." - Read full article at RxTrace.com

Using SAP Event Management to ensure cold chain compliance

Serialization is a buzz right now, and for good reason as the DQSA kicks in to "low" gear. Pharma companies can no longer procrastinate and need to start the long process of imbdessing serialization in to all phases of their supply chain. The fun part is that they need to become compliant to satisfy the regulatory need but also need to ensure that their supply chain operates as efficiently in order to remain financially viable as a business. That is no easy task. I do digress a little from the topic I want to write about in this article although it is relevant to compliance.