The biggest trend in supply chain transparency in 2021 is shifting from the linear to cyclical supply chain. This new turn from manufacturer to end consumer has now gone full circle economy into waste, whether we reuse it, recycle it, or dispose of it in an environmentally unhealthy way, the waste part of the supply chain will be under transparent measures in many industries, and in many countries per new regulations in the supply chain in the 2020’s.
Although many measures throughout the world have been already signed and awaiting beginning, or have already been put in place, there are new regulations to be expected. Many countries have already adopted safer human rights laws such as the Netherlands, Great Britain, and the United States, but others are urging for the regulations to go completely global, or to abide by standards in their home country, all over the world, like Germany.
Preparation now with track and trace software solutions, plus strategies to comply with new traceability requirements, are going to be increasingly apparent, with management teams focusing on creating new circular supply chain models based on their needs, products, and environment. This will also affect competitive pricing and purchasing departments reaching out to find more sustainable packaging materials that are durable to the product, in 2021. In fact, the pharmaceutical industry’s focus in the next year is more traceability and blockchain and track and trace software to accommodate safety for consumption.
Traceability software like Supertrace can alleviate how this process is demonstrated to the consumer and down the supply chain line. How the company connects to suppliers and consumers and everyone through the process will be easier with traceability software they can trust like Supertrace.
This law has certain prohibitions regarding the use of single-use plastics and waste of food and non-food products. It requires them to inform consumers about the recyclability and reusability of waste products and how they measure up to environmental standards. This requires the transparency through labeling or otherwise about the sustainability, compostability, hazardous substances, rare earths and precious metals. This information must be available to the end consumer. They have put a special emphasis on the textile industry but they really want this to be successful in all industries.
Notices on products such as, “do not discard in the wild” or “biodegradable” or “environmentally friendly” must be on packaging, especially ones made of plastic.
This had been signed in 2020 and will become enforced January 1, 2022, and failure to comply based on labelling, size of company, and compulsory measures, will result in 15,000 to 30,000 euro fines.
Having track and trace software such as Supertrace for this kind of circular economic law will assuage the stress of physical transparency to the end consumers, avoiding fines and other unnecessary costs of rearranging the supply chain strategy. With supertrace traceability software, it is easier for companies to track the whole process and ensure that they work with the right partners when choosing suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors. By scanning a code, supply chain workers and end consumers can inform themselves all about the product, such as materials, values, working conditions, and factories. With Supertrace technology, both businesses and consumers get access to all the data and everything they need to ensure efficiency within the business and to establish a trusting relationship with customers as they pragmatically open up about how they produce and ship all goods.
On September 23, 2020, the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had proposed that by next year that transparency of track and trace standards in the food logistics industry improves, in order to prevent food borne illness or deaths because of mislabeled or adulterated foods. The FDA proposes that record keeping be tighter on creating, packaging, shipping and handling foods. This proposal is in accordance with the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and will be receiving comments until January 21, 2021.
Traceability in agriculture and food supply chains is especially under watch because of the pandemic this year. Also, there are certain foods that are more high risk than others and in this case would be put on a food traceability list so that they can be seen with more transparency for the safety of humans and animals. This would also help recall events proceed faster and easier.
The goal is to have an “84 percent traceback time improvement.” A standardized approach to traceability is key to unnecessary costs and wasted time. “Timeliness, precision, and accuracy” are all important measurements taken in the traceback of food logistics. The FDA states that there are still too many unexplained food borne illness breakouts despite the signing of the FSMA in 2011 and that the lack of traceability between manufacturers, truckers, grocers, and end consumers, is one of the leading causes.
Supertrace supply chain traceability software can add any information needed for product knowledge and track and trace transparency in the food industry. Based on the level of visibility that the company requires, add videos or stories, or simply track and trace information to the content. With Supertrace software, consumers have the ability to see all the information about the ingredients, how they are sourced, and who the farmers and producers are. With that information people can make better choices and ensure that the food they eat is safe and healthy.
“The Annual Pharma Supply Chain and Security World Summit is back in London for the 3rd time, and this time with more focus on optimizing your supply chain challenges to ensure an agile, responsive, streamlined and secured supply chain.” - says Corvus Global Events
Pharmaceutical track and trace software will be one of the most necessary technologies for this upcoming trend.
Some of the biggest challenges faced in the pharmaceutical industry is counterfeiting, diverting, adulterating, and shipping improperly. In 2021 the summit will include many different ideas of innovating the supply chain process from start to finish and implementing the new techniques with new technologies. Blockchain, machine learning, and artificial intelligence in general are going to be key players in the future of pharmacy supply chain management.
Authentication and serialization will be even tighter and combining those with blockchain technology and improved traceability software, this will bring safety precautions to a new standard in 2021. Knowing exactly what is in the product, where it has been, and how it gets to the end consumer and under what temperatures, all affect the ability for the drug to even work, and authenticating that it isn’t a counterfeit to begin with.
It will be a challenge globally as all countries do not follow the same best practices and standards in the drug logistics process. Pharma track and trace software can be used anywhere but unless it’s a law globally, many companies won’t comply. Many of the larger powers such as the EU and the USA are doing their best to fight pharmaceutical crime. Pharma track and trace software will make it a lot easier to detect any fraudulent activity and without the software know that the drugs were not from somewhere trustworthy. In fact, they are going to push laws that make the sales illegal if they don’t meet traceability standards.
Supertrace is designed to fight against counterfeit products. Since Supertrace records data at every stage of the production process, the software enables the producer and the distributor to check what was done at every stage. There is a record taken of what and where and when the ingredients were put into the medicine, the quality and who the sources were, who packaged the medicine, who shipped the medicine, and how it was stored by the distributor. The end consumer can be ensured of the whole history and safety of the product, based on this digital passport.
Many German and European companies have little transparency regarding human rights in the supply chain. Implementing new strategies and best working practices to accommodate that need paired with the right track and trace software is a goal that can be achieved but with much work. The goal of the transparency regulation is that too often children are involved with illegal labor, globally and while the EU cannot control what happens in other parts of the globe, the EU standard of transparency will bring to light their supply chain process, making the companies there forced to comply. Moreover, the new standard EU law will force companies within the EU to follow the human rights regulations at every step of the supply chain, therefore if another organization is breaking child labor laws in another country, for example, the company is going to have to find another factory, manufacturer, supplier, or possibly even in another country if none comply to the EU standards. This can also get burdensome for those who have contracts with certain suppliers abroad, so the EU companies are better off getting started moving towards a new standard in their labor strategies, because the regulations will be coming soon.
"A look abroad shows that in many countries (including the USA, France, Great Britain and the Netherlands) there are already laws in place regarding the observance of transparent supply chains and thus against child labor, modern slavery and for the respect of human rights. The probability is therefore high that a legal framework will also be created in Germany and throughout the EU.”- Gregor van Ackeren, Adconia General Manager & Tim Rohweder, Adconia Partner
Supertrace offers the simple solution to track and trace software in the shifting supply chain moment of 2021. With easy to use technology and supporting blockchain supply chain traceability, Supertrace can take the supply chain traceability standards to an advanced level in any industry.
