Home > Case Studies > SHARP

Case Study | Sharp Partners with Systech For a Non-Additive Product Authentication and Supply Chain Security Solution

“We went all in with Systech. Their technology, experience and knowledge of the pharmaceutical market make them an excellent partner.”

– Sharp

Customer

Sharp Packaging, part of UDG Healthcare, is a global leader in contract packaging for the pharma and life science industries with headquarters based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA.

Operating from eight state-of-the-art facilities in the US and Europe and with over 100 packaging lines, Sharp delivers innovative contract packaging and clinical service solutions for the top 30 pharmaceutical companies in the world.

Challenge

For almost 10 years, Sharp has partnered with Systech to help clients protect their products and profits and ensure patient safety. Sharp invested in Systech’s UniSeries® platform—the industry’s first standard and productized serialization solution. This deployment enables Sharp clients to meet their global serialization and track-and-trace compliance mandates. However, serialization does not go far enough to deter tech-savvy counterfeiters and other bad actors from ramping up their activities to exploit gaps and weaknesses in the global pharmaceutical supply chain. The industry now finds itself confronted by:

An escalating threat from product counterfeiting and diversion
An increase in counterfeit medicines ($200B globally) that endanger patient safety and undermine economies and brands
The limitations of using yesterday’s technology to fight these modern-day challenges

In the face of this disruption, Sharp’s clients began asking for an additional layer of security to help harden their supply chains. In response, Sharp turned to Systech for a unique technology that is sophisticated in its simplicity.

“We are confident that Systech's solutions will help us to continue meeting the rigorous compliance requirements of our industry, while helping our clients combat current and future threats of counterfeiting and diversion.”

Solution

Non-Additive, Immutable, and Covert Security Solution

Sharp deployed UniSecure®, Systech’s revolutionary anti-counterfeiting technology and diversion mobile authentication solution. Designed to combat counterfeiting and diversion, UniSecure is a non-additive and rapidly deployable solution that works with existing package barcodes. Its patented technology analyzes the random micro-variances in native barcode printing to derive a unique digital signature or e-Fingerprint® for every package. This methodology:

Links each physical item to its specific digital identifier
Is foolproof and bank-safe secure
Cannot be reverse-engineered or duplicated in any manner

Sharp’s clients now have the benefit of a non-additive, immutable, and covert security solution that’s easy for supply chain partners to validate and affordable to quickly implement and scale. As authentication is done in the field, supply chain participants can use a mobile app to confirm that medicines are authentic, check tracking details, and exchange information with the brand from the time a product leaves the manufacturing floor to the time it reaches the patient’s hands.

Results

Competitive Differentiator – Since its implementation in early 2018, UniSecure has been deployed with clients in both the US and Europe. UniSecure has enhanced Sharp’s packaging offerings with functionality that meets global compliance requirements, while also providing additional product authentication, supply chain security, and brand protection. As a result, Sharp has appended its business presentations to include UniSecure as a value-added solution to:

Reengage with existing clients
Attract and engage new prospects
Differentiate its brand in a highly competitive field

Achieved High-Speed Data Capture – As a commercial packager, Sharp needed assurance that the UniSecure technology was able to capture data at production speed. To confirm this capability, Systech engineers tested the solution across several in-line processes and on different lines at varying speeds. The result was proven throughput of a minimum of 330 e-Fingerprinted pieces per minute, establishing UniSecure’s practicality and feasibility as a cost-effective tool. Subsequent solution upgrades have more than tripled throughput to 1,200 pieces per minute.

Next Steps

Based on the rapid deployment and early success of UniSecure, Sharp will look to leverage the Systech solution platform across all 100 lines. This enables Sharp to maximize its existing serialization investments and offer clients a cost-effective and easy-to-deploy additional layer of security that reduces supply chain vulnerabilities.

How can Systech help you gain supply chain transparency?

Tell us a little about your serialization and traceability requirements, and a Systech solutions expert will be in touch to learn more about your unique supply chain challenges.