How can Pharma Companies tackle Poor Quality Issues by implementing ERP

The Indian Pharma industry has experienced a huge change over the last decade and holds a respectable position globally. The Indian government is encouraging a lot of domestic manufacturing under the scheme ‘Aatma Nirbhar Bharat’. According to an Indian economical survey, the pharma market size is expected to reach $US 120-130 million by 2030. 

India is a major exporter of pharmaceutical drugs for over 200 plus countries. But very recently it has come to light about a pharma company that exported a contaminated drug which caused the death of a person and infected many others. And soon the product had to be recalled. There was another infamous incident where an Indian company exported contaminated pediatric syrup, which claimed the lives of many innocent children. What is possibly going wrong with the Indian pharma companies? And how this can be avoided.

How can Pharma Companies tackle Poor Quality Issues

Pharma companies come under the health sector which aims in saving the lives of people on humanitarian grounds. And thankfully, the government is taking all the measures to prevent such incidents. Recently, the Drugs controller general of India set out on a 15 days campaign to inspect pharma companies across India. They inspected about 76 pharmaceutical companies and cancelled the licences of 18 pharma companies for manufacturing poor-quality drugs. That was a good move to prevent the production of spurious drugs. 

The Pharma sector is a vast market in India and we have officials taking efforts to prevent the production of counterfeit and poor-quality drugs. But those involved in the pharma business should take serious steps to produce high-quality goods as it impacts the lives of consumers. 

The main challenges that are leading to these mishaps are many. Some of the reasons are enumerated below :

• Poor visibility in end-to-end business processes.
• Product traceability in batches is complex in the supply chain operation.
• Unalterable production process.
• Confusion and miscommunication in the entire supply chain channel.
• Failing to track changing regulations. 

In this blog, read more on how an ERP system can help pharma business to focus on manufacturing high-quality goods and adhere to all the compliance. 

<<<Also read: How can ERP manage Supply Chain for Pharma Industry?>>>

How can ERP help in the faster production of pharma products without compromising on quality?

There are a lot of changes taking place in the way businesses operate. For the manufacturers, it has become complex to deal with the changing compliance and it is difficult to get good quality raw materials from the vendor. But we can address this issue by deploying an ERP system that will help them to enhance the quality of goods and for extensive pharma production. If not, these businesses have the risk to get their licenses revoked by the CDSCO (Central drugs standard control organisation).

Enterprise resource planning software is the solution for businesses to stick to drug safety standards and follow stiff regulations. It can automate and optimise processes such as sales, batch production, quality assurance, back office functions(accounting etc.), and inventory control. Some of the benefits of ERP for pharma businesses are enumerated below.

Effectively manage formulation

Managing formulation is significant for the pharma sector. That determines whether the business will become successful or not. And a formula is developed after intense research and testing, it takes a lot of time and effort.

Deploying ERP software for the formulation will help in the processes such as storing, retrieving and securing every used formula and maintaining innumerable production instructions.

In addition, it has functionalities such as multiple packaging of the same formulation, formula approval, patenting, formula sizing, formula security, scheduling drug manufacturing steps, calculating and measuring drug production quantities etc. 

Quality Assurance

So post-production process, the drug is tested to determine if it qualifies all the quality and compliance standards. It has to undergo multiple levels of approvals before proceeding to the next process.

ERP for the pharmaceutical industry allows the effective use of e-signatures and electronic records regarding approvals needed to follow all the guidelines.

A customised pharma ERP helps to manage the entire plant, follow relevant compliance, advanced delivery performance, excellent quality control measures, and cost-effective manufacturing process. Plus, the real-time features enable visibility of the product in all the stages till it reaches the end user.

Purchasing raw materials from authorized vendors

In order to manufacture a high-quality product, the raw materials should be of good quality. An ERP software ensures that the raw materials is bought from an approved vendor. And make sure that it undergoes stages of inspection to consider it safer to use.

Effective Inventory Management

For any business, managing inventory is a crucial task. In the pharma sector, ERP provides real-time traceability of all product data. It will give information regarding the total number of stocks left, duration of their stay, expiration date and many other information. Plus, it allows serialization of the products which saves time and reduces inventory bottlenecks. 

So sometimes demand overtakes supply, and an ERP notifies this trend to the companies if this imbalance occurs. This process is possible with predictive analytics integration.

Streamlines Workflows

Pharmaceutical manufacturing is risky as a single error can spoil the entire batch.  It will have a huge impact on the cost, and time, sometimes get involved in legal lawsuits and can even tarnish the company’s reputation. This situation can be avoided by getting effective batch control which can be achieved with an ERP solution.

Sample management and commercialisation

Testing such as clinical trials, sample testing, product lifecycle etc. in the pharma industry is essential to track any hazards.

ERPs help in storing all the histories of any product’s test records in a centralized system which helps any user to access it. This helps for reference purposes and for any audit use.

Track and adhere to compliance

ERP helps in tracking any accurate information due to its real-time and traceability features. All the data is stored in a centralized database, so any user can access it for reference. In addition, it notifies the executives about the latest compliance that must be followed. This transparency of business operations helps in complying with any regulations with ease.

Reduces downtime of the equipment

Automatically schedule equipment maintenance regularly with the assistance of an ERP system. This will impact the company by reducing downtime and making the production process faster.

<<<Also read: Why Business Intelligence is important for Pharma Manufacturing?>>>

How will Sage X3 help in adhering to compliance and maintaining the highest quality?

• Automated workflow process, thereby reducing the complexity of the audit.
• Transparency in all operations helps to improve the overall workflow process which helps in following the regulations promptly.
• It helps in maintaining quality with its features such as serial numbers, stock status(inspected, accepted, rejected), batch and sub-batch numbers management, expiry and re-inspection.
• Easily tracks and records accurate information about financials, production and inventory.

Apart from these benefits, Sage X3 has many benefits to offer for the pharmaceutical business. To know more about our product, visit our website.

Wrapping up, we have many pharma companies growing at a fast pace. It is also an industry with strict rules and complex processes. But the right technology can ease the processes and help businesses to keep up with the rules. 

Invest in the best ERP system to help your company thrive by following the best and the right strategies. Sage X3 is the right decision for your pharma business to qualify in terms of quality and compliance, and to have a competitive advantage in the market.

Sage Software Solutions is a leading IT company with an array of advanced ERP Software solutions. Our proprietary products — Sage X3 and Sage 300, will help you cut operational expenses, improve business productivity, increase operational efficiency, forge robust customer relationships, and strengthen associations with vendors, suppliers, and distributors.

So, if you are looking to reinforce your business fundamentals and emerge as an industry leader, then please schedule a call with one of our sales representatives.