The Open Serialization Communication Standard (Open-SCS) Group, a collection of healthcare sector companies dedicated to standardizing packaging line serialization and aggregation data exchanges, is making steady progress in its goal of drafting a core set of industry-wide serialization standards, the organization reports following its latest gathering in Princeton, NJ.
Founded last year, Open-SCS is an initiative driven by leading serialization solution vendors to address the healthcare industry’s wave of serialization regulations spanning the next decade. Vendors comprising the group include Advanco, Antares Vision, OCS, Omron, Optel Vision, Systech, TraceLink, and Werum IT Solutions. The group also includes global pharmaceutical manufacturers such as Abbott, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Roche, and Teva. Several new companies—both vendors and end users—are expected to join Open-SCS in the near future.
In partnership with the OPC Foundation, the Open-SCS group’s ultimate goal is to develop an open source standard in the Packaging Serialization Global Name Registry, and an associated set of subscription-based work products. The open standard and work products are focused on the standardization of data exchanges for healthcare packaging serialization and the aggregations between a healthcare provider’s enterprise serialization management function and its product packaging lines. This includes interfaces between packaging levels of automation (equipment, line, plant), supply chain (distribution centers, warehouses, CMOs operations) and—in perspective—notification to regulatory.
In its current phase, the Open-SCS Group is working to create communication specifications between Levels 3 and 4 layers (plant versus enterprise repositories), leveraging its combined experience deploying serialization platforms and interfacing with all common repositories and ERP solutions.
Vendors are encouraged to contribute to the definition of use cases, while customers gain free access to a number of deliverables, including advanced packaging serialization User Requirement Specification (URS) for the proposed use cases. The standard, once published, will be free for anyone to utilize.
The next workshop has been scheduled for September 2016 in Germany. Companies seeking more information, and those wishing to join the Open-SCS Group, can contact its Marketing Director, Adriano Fusco, at [email protected].
