Endless Smart Label Solutions for your Healthcare Packaging
Dear reader, Are you currently incorporating smart label technology into your healthcare packaging and products? If the answer is yes, then you understand the difference it can make to your supply chain process and the benefits that come from it. If the answer is no, first off – don’t worry! We realize you might have a lot of questions about the capabilities and uses. Our experts are here to help you understand everything you need to know about smart labels. Through our collaborative process, we will work with you to determine the real benefits smart labels can bring to your company. On the following pages, you will read a very informative interview with our friends, a market leader in the smart label industry, Talkin’ Things where we discuss the benefits of smart label technology and some common frequently asked question they get from clients. In addition, discover how you can overcome some of the current challenges you might be facing with smart labels. Finally, understand some of the benefits of adding an NFC tag to your healthcare packaging. Get ready to start your smart label journey! The MCC Healthcare Team
In this issue 3
A Conversation with Talkin’ Things: Smart Labels for Healthcare Packaging & Products
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Overcoming Challenges with Smart Label Solutions
10 Utilizing NFC Tags for Your Healthcare Packaging 12 3 Reasons to Get in Touch With Our Smart Label Experts
“Endless Smart Label Solutions for your Healthcare Packaging” is a publication of MCC.
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Copyright © by MCC. All rights reserved. The content of this document, including all copy, images, and attachment(s) are property of MCC and should be treated as confidential. It cannot be shared with or forwarded to third parties and cannot be published without MCC’s prior permission. If you have any questions regarding the use of this document, please email marketing@mcclabel.com.
A Conversation with Talkin’ Things
Smart Labels for Healthcare Packaging & Products Are you interested in smart labels but want to know more? At MCC, we see the need for healthcare companies to start to incorporate smart labels into their packaging. We interviewed smart label experts Marcin Pilarz, CEO, and Jakub Zaluska, Marketing Director, of Talkin’ Things to find out the benefits of adding smart label technology to your packaging. We also asked them some common frequently asked questions that their clients want to know before starting the smart label journey. Talkin’ Things enable digital transformation through physical products. Complete IoT smart packaging platform for brands to benefit from connected products throughout the entire supply chain.
How do healthcare companies benefit from implementing smart labels? Marcin: There are three key benefits: utilizing RFID technology, protection against counterfeiting and protection against refilling and using sensors to check the temperature of your product. When talking about RFID technology, Healthcare companies can put a QR code with a unique serialized number on every product SKU label and box them all up on a palette. They can keep track of this inventory by placing an RFID on the box that holds all the products. More and more healthcare companies want to product their products from counterfeiting. A tamper proof solution, like an NFC tag, could be used to protect the product. End-users could scan the tag with their smartphone and know immediately if the product is genuine.
Marcin Pilarz CEO at Talkin’ Things
The third benefit is using sensors to check the temperature of your product. Sensors provide companies with the knowledge that their vaccines are ready for use. We provide additional NFC sensor tags for every product box that is kept in the temperature sensitive environment. We have programs in place to check the temperature every 15 minutes. This ensures all vaccines are 100% safe to use and they can continue to go through the supply chain process.
What is the first step in the smart label process with Talkin’ Things? Jakub: Don’t be afraid to ask about smart labels and what they can do for your products. They are here to help you. We see that the biggest challenge is finding the right solution for Jakub Zaluska Marketing Director at Talkin’ Things the company’s product. We figure out what their needs are and search for a solution that meets all of them in collaboration with the company. If we can’t find one, we develop one for them. Marcin: In addition to that, we put a lot of focus on the customer needs. We try to understand the real benefits, what they are trying to achieve when implementing smart labels to their packaging. Do they want to increase their sales or do they want to find cost savings in their existing processes? We want to focus on these real benefits and KPIs they have in mind. Once we have an understanding, we come back to the client with a clear analysis of the project that focuses on those real benefits, the problems they are currently facing and how we would solve them with the smart label technology. We then provide a proof of concept and start working on the project with the client.
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Our clients need to understand that if they want to go into the smart packaging space, they are pioneers, making something very innovative. We are ready to help you on this journey and find a solution that has real benefits for you company.” Jakub Zaluska Marketing Director at Talkin’ Things
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When we are calculating everything, we try to ask so many questions to our clients that they understand why they really need this technology and why they would like to implement that to find the real benefits, because otherwise we will never be successful with such a project. This is very crucial for us to have that in mind, talking with our clients.” Marcin Pilarz, CEO at Talkin’ Things
Is it only the smart labels that companies need or do they need additional items? Marcin: Software is needed in addition to the smart labels. We provide the software to make everything happen. We recently optimized the functionality, making it user-friendly for you to navigate. We see this as a competitive advantage when using Talkin’ Things. We provide our clients with a one stop shop for everything they need. You mention the software that Talkin’ Things provides, but what about company’s data? Marcin: We are not holding their data. We are connecting their data to the healthcare company. We take data protection very seriously at Talkin’ Things. Our security is proven by ISO certification 27001 which states we are doing everything possible to protect your data. Even if someone would get their hands on your data it wouldn’t tell them anything because they are only numbers. They don’t combine them with your contact information or anything like that.
they are benefiting at every level due to the benefits. For example, the manufacturing, serialization, brand protection and other activities within the supply chain are all effected by smart label technology. We show our healthcare companies the added value that justifies spending the budget to cover the costs of one solution with multiple benefits. What can Talkin’ Things do in terms of scalability? Marcin: We have recently purchased a new machine which allows us to increase our production and the amount we can produce for clients. We can now produce hundreds of millions of tags for your company. We can handle the volume and easily tackle any project that you might have. What does the future hold for smart label technology? Marcin: It is growing very, very, very fast. We are seeing more and more initiatives from companies and even countries like Japan where there is a recommendation to use an RFID inside of every single product by the year 2026. I believe RFID and NFC tags will be the future smart label technology all companies will use because of their multiple functionalities and positive benefits. We are working on making the technology more and more flexible so it can be used for more possibilities. Jakub: I think it is also important that we have important allies in making this technology accessible for consumers widely. Allies like Apple and Google who continue to embrace the technology and use it in new innovative ways for a larger audience to understand the power of smart label technology. This will be of great help to widely adopt this as a basic smart packaging technology in the future.
Start a conversation with Talkin’ Things today. Contact us to learn more at marketing@mcclabel.com
What if a company is hesitant to add smart labels to their packaging because of the costs associated? Marcin: We explain to our clients that this technology is hitting the different touchpoints for their company and
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Overcoming Challenges with Smart Label Solutions Here are some of the current challenges we see companies are facing today in the Healthcare industry. Learn how our smart label technologies can help solve some of your problems!
Challenge 1: Traceability of Consumable Medical Devices In recent years the US has spent nearly 200 billion dollars on medical and health research which created thousands of new products that needed to be administered by the health care system. While at the same time, mass tort litigation is now a growing concern for medical device companies. Now these companies are looking for ways to manage risk while providing the best new technology to fight diseases. Smart labels create a trail Smart labeling is one avenue medical device manufacturers can use to ensure both the highest quality care and mitigate risk at the same time. A great example would be connecting a device consumable to a smart device. The system is set up to have a unique identification placed on the consumable using one of the smart label technologies. It also includes the means to read the identification in the smart device. The smart label information could be a traceable serial number, may include a lot number and expiry or even device settings such as temperature and flow rate. When the consumable is introduced, it can read the label, authenticating the consumable and can associate that specific consumable with a patient,
health care worker, facility and even set the delivery parameters correctly. Multiple versions of smart labels can be used for this ranging from a simple 2D barcode to a UHF tag (for longer range readings) to a near field HF tag (for security and more data). Advantages of these systems include simplified training, traceable lots, safeguards against use after expiry and a digital trail of verifiable events.
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We don’t favor one smart label technology over the other. We work with you to understand your needs and select the right one for you.” Dave Uland, Smart Label Expert at MCC
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Challenge 2: Inventory and Expiration Management of Consigned Material Many consumable medical devices are sold on a consignment basis through health care providers. Virtually all these implants have an expiry date which may vary by jurisdiction and are tracked by lot numbers. The lot number can be used to pull devices if a problem is found with another device from that lot. During medical procedures when these implants are needed, it’s difficult to find the right one because the packaging looks the same. The medical staff must also search for one that isn’t expired. This can take a lot time. In addition, these devices are very expensive and because of that can be returned to the manufacturer after expiry to be remanufactured and reconsigned. Identify and authenticate with UHF tags Smart labels can help with these issues. UHF tags are
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helpful in identifying and authenticating what is or isn’t useful in the storeroom. Typically, a system is comprised of a smart label on the product, a handheld UHF reader or fixed reader in the storeroom and software to store the location and status of the consigned inventory. This status can be read by the manufacturer’s rep, the health care provider or both if standard encodings are used. In addition, the manufacturer can use the same smart label to speed up reception and processing of returned goods. To be effective in this application, the UHF tag must be suitable for the required read range on the package. This is often complicated by metalized heat seal bags in the package or neighboring package. It can be overcome by optimizing the placement and performance characteristics of the tag.
Challenge 3: Controlling Delivery of Pharma Consumables Hospitals and clinics are busy places in a ‘normal’ world, but the pandemic has demonstrated the need to simplify and automate processes for health care workers. Smart labels can enable simplified, yet secure automation of consumable delivery, while also adding a layer of safety for the product. Monitoring the supply chain You can embed a UHF tag in the label on a reagent or pharma container and mount a reader inside the smart storage unit. The health care worker can access the smart storage unit through their hospital badge and remove the products they need. The reader can automatically detect what is removed and assign it to that health care worker.
The smart storage unit can also monitor for expired product or storage conditions like temperature and humidity. It will alert health care providers notifying them of the products associated so they are not used inadvertently.
Contact our smart label experts today for more information! marketing@mcclabel.com
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Utilizing NFC Tags for your Healthcare Packaging How advanced is your Healthcare packaging? Think about it. Does your packaging have the capabilities to put an emphasis on the user experience and maximize inventory management? Now, more than ever, digitalizing your products is necessary. At MCC, our premium smart label innovations ensure product authenticity, provide consumers with instant information and optimize your supply chain. Let’s focus on Near Field Communication (NFC) tags and discover how they can be used in your Healthcare packaging.
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Often innovation comes with high risk in healthcare, but we are finding the rewards far exceed the benefits at the beginning of the journey. Let us help you take your packaging to the next level.” Mark Bradley, Healthcare Sales Director UK & Ireland at MCC
Data in the palm of your hand Have access to all this information through a custom app that is created through the help of our partner Talkin’ Things. This custom app contains all the information needed for you and your end user. Enhance your patients experience using the app. Having all the information readily available in an intuitive, user friendly format in the native language. The app can help support patient adherence through sending reminders and positive reinforcement messages during the treatment plan on the health benefits. This builds brand equity, increasing the patient trust and confidence with your product. Protect your brand Why would you want an NFC tag on your products packaging or label? They protect your product against unauthorized openings. End-users are expecting their medical device, medicine or other healthcare related product to be unopened upon receiving them. They can scan the NFC tag with their smartphone to confirm the item is authentic. NFC tags also prevent your items from being counterfeited by third parties and resold. NFC tags are perfect antitampering solutions that confirm product authenticity. Connect with end-user How can NFC tags enhance patient experience? A quick and easy way to provide relevant and immediate information to your enduser is to place an NFC tag on your medical device.
Once scanned, they have access to all the custom content you uploaded to your app. For example, your medical device could be supported by a video explaining how to use the product. In addition, NFC tags give you the ability to monitor user treatment with dosage reminders and confirmations. This gives confidence to the patient that they have taken the prescribed medication correctly. This also informs the care support network of their ongoing dosage and treatment regime. Optimize your supply chain How do manufactures benefit from using NFC tags? NFC communication is a benefit at each step of the distribution chain - from a plant to an end-customer. The technology delivers a logistics management solution that consists of such features as track and trace and real-time stocktaking. They allow to have full control over the product’s distribution and prevent grey market activities. The benefits are endless when utilizing NFC tags on your products – it’s an easy, cost effective solution to your inventory management needs. Start the journey with us Smart Labels won’t remove Instructions for Use (IFU) and patient information leaflets (PIL) at this moment in time. However, this is the first step in collecting data and sharing it with regulatory commissions that is a viable option for companies and their end-users around the world to provide.
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3 Reasons to Get in Touch with Our Smart Label Experts
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Connect with your patient and protect and enhance your brand using innovative smart label technology.
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Collaborate to determine the real benefits, that smart labels can bring to your company.
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Unlock new processes that improve your supply chain to save time and money.
Our Smart Label expert Mark Bradley, Healthcare Sales Director UK & Ireland at MCC Contact: marketing@mcclabel.com
