TraceLink unveils Product Information Manager
The standards-based network application is built on TraceLink’s end-to-end information-sharing platform
TraceLink, a Track and Trace Network, for connecting the life sciences supply chain and providing real-time information sharing for better patient outcomes, has launched Product Information Manager, a standards-based network application built on TraceLink’s end-to-end information-sharing platform.
Designed to leverage serialised product information and address a range of business use cases such as rich media product education, patient engagement and digital recalls, Product Information Manager will first deliver capabilities for master data sharing, verification routing and verification responses, to help companies meet the 2019 US Drug Supply Chain and Security Act (DSCSA) saleable returns verification requirement.
As a notable contributor to 15 industry standards workgroups, including the Healthcare Distribution Alliance (HDA) Verification Router Service Task Force, and co-chair positions on two GS1 workgroups, TraceLink has leveraged interoperable standards defined in partnership with these organisations to ensure that Product Information Manager meets the interoperability requirements for saleable returns mandated by the DSCSA.
More than 195 TraceLink customers from 93 companies spanning pharmaceutical manufacturers to healthcare organisations have also participated in a Product Information Manager solution innovation group to provide input into the application development process and ensure that their critical challenges associated with saleable returns verification and master data sharing are being addressed.
"The life sciences industry is at the inception of a digital transformation that will not only optimise existing business processes, but also create new business models and opportunities by enabling frictionless data exchange between direct and indirect partners," said Shabbir Dahod, president and CEO, TraceLink.
"Product Information Manager is a major first step in helping life sciences companies activate their digital supply chain strategies. By combining the value of unique product identification, an integrated network of trading partners and dedication to industry standards, TraceLink offers the only information sharing network capable of delivering transformative business value both to individual organizations and across the entire supply ecosystem in which they operate."
Seamless information exchange for the life sciences supply chain
As a network application, Product Information Manager enables sharing of serialised product information across the life sciences supply chain. This includes the ability for companies to share information with both direct and indirect trading partners, a cost prohibitive process with point-to-point architectures.
Through Product Information Manager, companies receive critical product information such as serialisation information and product master data, while providing the information provider with access controls to ensure that only verified, permissioned companies are receiving the data they choose to share.
To help companies meet 2019 DSCSA requirements for verifying returned products and reintroducing viable products back into commerce, Product Information Manager provides capabilities for product master data sharing, verification routing and verification responses.
The network application was developed using the same highly scalable, native cloud architecture as the Life Sciences Cloud, to ensure that verification responses are provided in near real-time to minimise operational disruption.
Product Information Manager supports requirements for both pharmaceutical manufacturers and wholesale distributors. When deployed by a pharmaceutical manufacturer, Product Information Manager provides a verification responder service that receives verification requests, verifies the GTIN, serial number, lot number and expiry date and delivers a response back to the requester.
When deployed by a wholesaler, Product Information Manager facilitates the routing of the request to the appropriate responder and receives the response back.
Product Information Manager seamlessly integrates with TraceLink's existing master data and serialisation solutions or can integrate to third party master data, Level 4 serialisation repositories or other business systems such as WMS or ERPs.
To meet the full end-to-end DSCSA requirements for wholesalers, Product Information Manager also integrates with TraceLink's serialization and IoT-based edge solution for capturing, routing and recording verifications during the returns process.