Aggregation is the association of uniquely serialized items to higher packaging levels, which also have a unique serial number. The serialized items inside a container are known as the “children,” and the serialized container containing these packs is called the “parent.” In a bundle of bottles or cartons, each unit has its own serial number, but the bundle itself has a top label that includes a unique serial number. In this case, the bottles or cartons are the children, and the bundle itself is the parent.
In short, aggregation is the process of creating a hierarchical relationship between unique identifiers assigned to packaging containers.
Some of the biggest pharmaceutical companies fully implemented aggregation at the same time as serialization, since they knew it would be worth the effort, resulting in improved inventory, rework and recall management, among other benefits.
Manufacturers who had only implemented serialization to quickly comply with the statutory serialization requirements now need to carefully plan the implementation of aggregation in their facilities. Although the process may be one you are not looking forward to, it is important to keep in mind that aggregation presents numerous long-term benefits.
The aggregation process is meant to facilitate and benefit everyone involved in the supply chain, from manufacturers of medications to the end consumer. First, the new requirements make it extremely easy to rework packages, meaning that all necessary and important information about the medications will be accessible when scanning the parent. This saves an enormous amount of time, as it will no longer be necessary to open each container to scan each individual child. Since all the data is easily accessible, tracking products throughout the supply chain becomes much easier, and the entire distribution system becomes more efficient, secure and trustworthy.
OPTEL’s full-stack serialization, aggregation and track-and-trace technologies can help your business comply with all current and future regulations while guiding you through each crucial step toward a more intelligent supply chain.
When you choose OPTEL as your aggregation partner, this is what you get:
OPTEL’s aggregation technologies and expertise also help you:
