Global Serialization, Traceability, and Compliance Platform

TraceLink  is used primarily for government regulations to make products serialized and to ensure that products are authenticated, with the main purpose of implementation being to avoid counterfeit products.

A product master is added to TraceLink , and once added, a serial number is generated. The generated serial number is then passed to a line system that prints the numbers, and at the time of dispatch, the number is uploaded to TraceLink. As the shipment starts from the warehouse, it is exchanged with the supply chain, and when the supply chain syncs with the repository called VRS, it has been verified in the USA. For other markets, the data is synced with government portals that ensure product authentication when required.

TraceLink offers a rigid platform that is very elastic as per data requirements, along with 24/7 customer service and a knowledgeable team. Recently, TraceLink has launched generative AI for their new product over supply chain, and they are yet to launch it for their existing modules that are in the pipeline.

As a pharma industry, the focus is on product and manufacturing facility and market expansion, and TraceLink helps by providing a good platform so that the business can be concentrated on instead of worrying about platform requirements or development.

There is not a need for improvement yet because TraceLink's full offerings are not yet fully utilized, but currently, there are enough features to use.

TraceLink has been used for the last six years.

When two or three shipment dispatches are planned, or even more than 20 or 80, each shipment has data that fluctuates between 80 MB to 2 GB with more than 10 to 12 events per unit. TraceLink is very elastic, and whenever there is a huge dispatch planned, there are no hurdles in dispatching data to customers in the supply chain. If anything goes wrong, an email is received from TraceLink before even reaching out to them, showing their proactive approach.

TraceLink offers a rigid platform that is very elastic as per data requirements, along with 24/7 customer service and a knowledgeable team.

If anything goes wrong, an email is received from TraceLink before even reaching out to them, showing their proactive approach.

A recent evaluation process found that TraceLink is smooth and easier to use than SAP ATTP, which is why a rating of nine was given.

TraceLink is currently transitioning from their classic portal to the Opus  platform, which is very rigid and designed for future expansion, indicating specific improvements that have been seen since using TraceLink.

Currently, TraceLink's AI has a generative approach, and they are working on qualifying and certifying an AI approach with the ISO team, which is still in progress, so a comment cannot be made at this time.

The AI capabilities are not yet released and are under qualification, so updates regarding their accuracy and reliability of output will have to be awaited.

TraceLink is always the preferred choice. The overall rating given to TraceLink is nine out of ten.

My main use case for TraceLink  involves product registration, commissioning a file verification, disposition assign, CMO and customer onboarding, and tracking of the orders with our customers.

Regarding product registration, I go to the products tab and provide the product name, which country I am manufacturing in, the generic name of the product, the strength, and the count type such as 100 count, 20 count, or 50 counts. I provide the counts and then the GTINs for the particular product against NDC. I also provide the number of units and number of shipper per case such as bottles per case with aggregation quantities and the SSCC number for that. Additionally, I provide the NDCs and internal material numbers such as NDC 532 and 542, and save it. This process is for product registration.

For tracking orders with my customers, I go to the product track verification tab, and there I can find day-wise tracking. On the current date, I can see how many orders have been released, to which customer, and the quantity released, which I can verify against the PO number. Inside that, it provides the details of which product it is and how long it took to release it. This is part of product verification. If I go to Info Exchange, I can also find information on whether the respective data and files have moved to the customer or not.

In addition to my main use cases for TraceLink , I have to handle CMO onboarding in a manner similar to product registration time, where I provide the GLN of the manufacturers and the GLN of the CMO who is going to process it. I also have to utilize Service Links from the manufacturer to CMO in TraceLink so that the communication between both customers initiates. This is a basic activity we perform for Service Link and assigning activities of disposition, including assigning serial numbers to the required CMO from the manufacturer.

The best features TraceLink offers in my experience include order tracking, which is one of the best, and the fact that I have never faced serial number duplicacy in my 12 years of experience with TraceLink, which is commendable. Apart from the basic TraceLink features, there is TraceLink University that provides an overview of different countries and an examination for TraceLink authentication, resulting in TraceLink certified users. Additionally, there is another platform called Opus  that provides an enhanced experience.

TraceLink has positively impacted my organization because everything is transparent, allowing us to easily track orders customer-wise and verify serial number statuses, confirming whether serial numbers are assigned or not. This transparency provides a lot of positive support for our day-to-day operations, and I truly appreciate using TraceLink.

There are improvements TraceLink can make. For example, the search buttons only function for a particular time frame such as a 30-day limit. When searching for data from six months ago, I must manually select from date to date, which is cumbersome. It would be beneficial to have a one-year time frame for searching easily. I currently find it inconvenient to go back to find older orders using the outdated calendar navigation. Additionally, sometimes the receipt of an order during outbound delivery creation times leads TraceLink to get stuck, stating it cannot communicate with the server, which I believe is an issue from TraceLink's end. Lastly, the report printing feature only allows for printing one page at a time rather than all pages at once, which should be improved.

I would like to add that while TraceLink has other applications called Opus  and University, there is little awareness of them, as there are not many ads or training available. We have accounts for Opus, but we could not utilize that application effectively due to a lack of training. Providing training modules for Opus and communication regarding new application modules would be very beneficial for users.

I believe TraceLink needs to adopt the latest AI technologies, as the pharmaceutical industry is advancing in that direction. Many peer applications of TraceLink already incorporate AI, so keeping up with these updates is essential for operational and quality improvements.

I have been using TraceLink for the last four years.

TraceLink is, in my experience, very stable.

The scalability of TraceLink is excellent; in recent years, I have added many products, and numerous orders get dispatched daily. The application flow remains smooth, which is why I rated it an eight.

My experience with TraceLink customer support is mixed; I sometimes receive a quick response and resolution within one to six hours, while other times it can take two to three days to get follow-up actions.

Before choosing TraceLink, we evaluated a different application called Verify Brand, which is an in-built software of Optel solutions. We decided to switch to TraceLink for a more standardized application.

I do not see any challenges with the implementation process of TraceLink; it is standard and managed professionally.

We have in-built experts on TraceLink, such as myself, who primarily handle user training and onboarding. I create accounts for the new users based on our internal processes, and provide them with training on how to operate the TraceLink application, including the options they need to use, how to search, how to export reports, and how to verify various elements and use other platforms such as Opus.

I have seen a return on investment with TraceLink because of the SIT application. We are fulfilling orders of our controlled substance products within our ANA Pharmaceuticals premises, which, without SIT, would force us to engage another vendor or 3PL to store and deliver our products, significantly increasing costs and space usage.

Regarding pricing, setup cost, and licensing for TraceLink, I received the complete contract renewal details from the TraceLink team last year. I gathered the necessary and non-necessary information, including the licensing part, for my management's approval. My inputs helped finalize the number of licenses and costs of the applications.

Since day one, we have been using TraceLink and have not switched to a different solution.

We use two systems in our manufacturing unit, including an Optel system that is completely integrated with TraceLink numbers. We have been directly integrated with TraceLink since 2016, exchanging serial numbers and commissioning from day one.

TraceLink helps me manage supply chain disruptions or unexpected changes through SIT and Opus. We utilize SIT daily, and if unexpected errors or changes arise, TraceLink provides pop-ups detailing the reasons behind the work stoppage, enabling us to address the issues.

TraceLink supports collaboration between different teams in our supply chain, as we have integrated it with our ERP  system, ensuring that activities reflected in our ERP  are mirrored in TraceLink after fulfilling the orders.

We do not have any specific metrics to measure TraceLink usage, and I do not follow regular checks.

My advice to others looking into using TraceLink is that if you want a stable application that supports your growing business plans, you should definitely choose TraceLink as your number one option. I rated TraceLink an eight based on its overall performance and capabilities.