Coordinating artwork and master data at a pharmaceutical leader

At a glance

For a global pharmaceutical company, Lanark took on the role of master data expert to support an impactful serialisation project, assigning unique serial numbers to all products. When the artwork and master data department moved to an operating centre in Asia, Lanark facilitated the knowledge transfer.

The challenge?

In 2018, the EU launched a large programme to combat medication fraud. This meant pharmaceutical companies had to use unique serial numbers for their medicines. As a result, all products of this global pharma leader had to undergo technical artwork changes. It also implied significant adjustments to their master data system.

Lanark’s solution

Medicine artwork is more than a simple label, leaflet or box. It contains crucial information for the country involved, the production, the pharmacists, and the patients. Think barcode, format, colour, production date, expiry date, and lot number. Both the artwork and master data teams are involved and manage, amongst other things, the technical requirements needed for production and the master data system.

When Lanark stepped in as master data expert at this multinational pharmaceutical company, their main responsibility was to manage the variable data so that it was printed correctly at the production line, in compliance with each country’s regulations. The master data experts also maintained the master data system, creating new product codes and approving the bill of materials (BOM).

The Lanark supply chain engineer evolved into a new role as artwork and master data coordinator. In this role, they worked closely with the artwork studios and followed up on and improved procedures, while ensuring monthly KPIs were met.

After more than 2 years in the role, the artwork team – and later also the master data team – were outsourced to an operating centre in Asia. The Lanark engineer facilitated this transition through knowledge transfer, clear and straightforward process documentation, and operational support.

“One minor mistake in master data can bring the entire production to a halt. Having correct master data is therefore essential to guarantee a safe production of medicines.”

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