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11 routinely underestimated aspects of serialization

While there are untold gotchas in any project, here are the areas that are most overlooked or shortchanged, based on feedback from those who’ve been there.

1. Investing in skills and resources of operators and technicians.  A mistake many companies make is to not build up the skills required for serialization on the part of the operators and technicians responsible for day-to-day running and maintenance of the packaging lines. Instead the tendency is to develop dependencies on vendors for support. By not empowering plant personnel with the resources and skill sets necessary to troubleshoot the technology, the people running these lines will be at a huge disadvantage when it comes to troubleshooting problems and taking corrective action.

2. Ensuring that aggregation can be counted on 100% of the time. It might be extra work and extra cost, with a potential hit on line performance, but the method of aggregation you choose must yield reliable aggregation data every time. Consequences are dire at the manufacturer level—where extensive rework can result from aggregation errors—and at the wholesaler/distributor level.

3. Integration challenges with MES and enterprise layers. In the last four years, companies have been so focused on testing serial number management that they haven’t focused on integrating the serialization solution into their core business systems.

4. Business process changes. Serialization brings dramatic changes not only to the jobs of operators, mechanics, and technicians, but also to the paperwork that goes along with those job changes—work procedures, SOPs, etc. Many people overlook these changes, which can result in delays and problems. Serialization is more than just serial number management. Think about how serialization is going to run 24/7 across most or all of your packaging lines, and think about what disciplines within your company it will touch.

5. Consultants and vendors may not be available when you want them. Finding qualified partners to help implement your solution will become more difficult the longer you wait. There are a finite number of vendors, consultants, and integrators that have actually implemented a serialization project. Their dance cards are filling up fast, leaving open the possibility that less qualified or experienced consultants may be presented in their place. Securing access to the proper vendor resources is key to a successful project. This risk is particularly acute for smaller companies, which may be put off by the vendor in favor of bigger customers that may receive priority treatment.

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