The Importance of In-Plant Quality and Location Tracking

Pharmaceutical companies provide essential products for health and safety. Manufacturing companies use raw materials to assemble products. Proper handling techniques are crucial for raw materials — they ensure the items stay in the right condition for future use. This is especially crucial in the pharmaceutical industry, which provides essential products for health and safety.

Internal inventory management is also crucial for raw material movement. Tracking lets you monitor shipment and product movements, making sure they stay in the right storage conditions. Detailed tracking efforts can lower costs, improve product longevity and boost your facility's efficiency. Learn more about why to track raw goods in the supply chain and how ParkourSC can help.

Importance of Raw Materials Tracking

Inventory management is vital for handling materials. Many pharmaceutical and third-party logistics (3PL) providers handle raw materials that require additional care and management techniques. Many of these goods are fragile or need specific temperatures to stay safe, placing additional responsibilities on inventory management.

Thorough tracking efforts let you monitor the materials through every step of the supply chain. The benefits of raw material tracking include:

• Reduced costs: Detailed tracking helps you minimize waste. You can trace products through each step and ensure they receive the proper storage procedures when they arrive at your facility. If you lose products, you also lose revenue. Products might also become unsafe to use after spending too much time away from a controlled environment, making it necessary to dispose of them. Or, losing track of their location requires you to order replacements. Keeping close track of products lets you maintain your revenue cycle.
• Improved consumer satisfaction: The pharmaceutical industry relies on rapid turnaround times. Maintaining a stock of medications, vaccines and other life-saving products is crucial. Raw materials tracking helps you monitor progress and meet important deadlines. You can closely monitor delays and make the necessary adjustments to keep shipments on schedule. That way, you keep customers satisfied and safe. 
• Enhanced efficiency: Many businesses need a sufficient stock of raw materials to maintain efficiency. Without enough materials on hand, it becomes impossible to assemble final products and move forward with distribution. Smooth tracking helps you stay on schedule with production and distribution times.
• Proof for compliance standards: Thorough internal tracking also provides concrete data. You gain proof of all raw material movements and confirmation they were handled correctly. This documentation can certify you met particular compliance standards.

How Do Facilities Lose Materials?

It's crucial to track raw materials, but obstacles are often unavoidable. Your pharmaceutical facility might lose materials due to challenges like:

• Supply chain disruptions: Supply chain operations can become disrupted by many factors, from natural disasters to port congestion. These delays can impair data tracking across all channels, making monitoring raw materials' movement much harder. For instance, a shipment might be scheduled to leave at a certain time, but an abrupt traffic delay stalls movement. The data tracking might not reflect the delay, so you still assume the shipment is on time. 
• Employee mistakes: Lack of employee understanding and human error can also cause displaced materials. Employees might incorrectly log items or use the wrong identification materials, causing significant confusion for later location efforts. Supply chain operations that rely on manual processes might see more instances of human error. Manually inputting thousands of numbers can lead to mistakes, which is detrimental to supply chain processes. Automated software can significantly reduce these errors and enhance accuracy.
• Lack of visibility: Visibility is essential for proper material handling. Precise tracking gives you a detailed picture of your current and upcoming stock. Without clear visibility, you can quickly lose track of materials. These lapses could result in more waste and lost revenue. For instance, you might be unaware of a recent shipment arriving at your facility. Pharmaceutical products require specific storage approaches for safe use, but lack of visibility might prevent these methods. The products could move past their expiration date and become unusable, wasting an entire shipment. 
• Compliance issues: Health care products must meet strict compliance standards. Keeping track of these requirements can add extra time to distribution procedures, complicating schedules. Using the wrong packaging or mishandling a product could result in wasted inventory and significant compliance fees.

How Can You Improve Raw Material Planning in the Supply Chain?

Proactive approaches help you improve internal and external tracking of raw materials. Despite supply chain obstacles, you can rework inventory management techniques to improve visibility. Here are a few strategies for tracking improvement:

1. Improve training efforts: Proper training is essential for safe handling. Your internal warehouse employees should have a thorough understanding of the products they organize and the tools they use. If you introduce a new management software, it's essential to provide thorough and ongoing training resources. Refresher courses can inform employees about current trends and remind them of essential techniques for their jobs.
2. Enhance your data tracking: The best tracking efforts involve an end-to-end view of the supply chain. Tracking your raw materials internally and externally gives you a complete view of their movement. You can view data from all stages, giving you more connected and precise insights into materials. Software solutions provide key insights into stock levels and upcoming shipments, helping you make the most informed decisions.
3. Monitor demands and trends: Keeping up with current demand is essential for inventory stocking decisions. You can stay updated on in-demand or hard-to-find items and adapt your approach as needed. For instance, staying aware of material shortages allows you to prepare more effectively. You can order more or less stock to stay competitive with current market demands. 
4. Conduct frequent audits: Audits are crucial for internal inventory efforts. Physical inventory counts are necessary to ensure you have sufficient stock and see that everything is in the proper place. You can conduct random checks throughout the year to ensure levels are on track. 

Comprehensive software can assist with inventory management by boosting visibility and streamlining manual processes.

Request a Demo From ParkourSC Today

Visibility is essential for inventory management strategies. If you're seeking an inventory management software solution, choose ParkourSC today. Our inventory visibility platform transforms your management approaches, allowing for more detailed insights and enhanced efficiency. You can manage all inventory procedures from one centralized source, eliminating miscommunications or visibility errors.

Our solution minimizes raw material waste with advanced monitoring features. You can track stock across its entire supply chain journey with connected sensors. End-to-end visibility of all supply chain features and statuses allows you to optimize approaches, reducing monetary and product waste.

Request a demo from ParkourSC today to learn more about how we can improve inventory visibility.