Shiva Kabra, Joint Managing Director, Control Print

2 Mar 2022 , 02:43 PM

In an interaction with Mamta Maity, indiainfoline.com, Shiva Kabra, Joint Managing Director, Control Print said “The Indian Government has made QR Codes mandatory on Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) in making the medicine supply chain more secure.”

A Brief about the Coding and Marking industry.

One of the most important parts of manufacturing and logistics process of industrial and consumer goods, Coding and Marking systems is a potent tool that is used to print the variable information of the product such as lot size, expiry date, manufacturing date and other related details on the product and on its packaging to provide authentic information to the consumer. One of the uniqueness of the coding and marking systems is that it also aids the manufacturers in differentiating their brand against cheap counterfeits existing in the market. The given codes and marks on a particular product make it easy to track the goods from factory to the last mile user. Besides, having the coding and marking systems in place also indicates the manufacturer’s seriousness towards brand building, product traceability, increased safety issues, adherence to regulations and focus on quality assurance of the product.

Coding and marking solutions have increasingly seen traction from more and more industries driven by (a) the increasing need for variable printing for product tracking and branding (b) the need to adhere to government regulations (c) increasing characters required to be printed with increasing regulatory compliances (4) shift from analogue to digital (5) Industry 4.0.

What are the challenges Indian manufacturing companies face?

– Consistency of doing business — Since manufacturing has a long gestation period, the policies need to be consistent and taxes transparent, to ensure that foreign investors have the confidence to invest and stay invested for a long time

– Make In India but also on Create In India – We need to design and engineer in India. So, the software and hardware part of it is essential

– Consistent Power Availability: Due to unavailability of power 24 / 7, there is decrease in productivity and efficiency, and lower output rates.

– Labour Productivity & Skill: Labour productivity is lesser in India than many competing countries. This is because of lag in supply chain management, transportation, production planning, and maintenance.

– Cost and Fragmentation of Transportation and Logistics: Transportation is very costly and slow in India. It can take long delivery time to get products to the coasts from some places in India. Furthermore, logistics are inferior.

– Cost of land and power

– Cost of capital

– Complex labour laws

How crucial is barcode technology for industries like Food, FMCG, and Pharma industry?

Barcode technology ensures anti-tampering, anti-counterfeiting and traceability thus leading to improved traceability, supply chain efficiency and consumer protection.

The Indian Government has made QR Codes mandatory on Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) in making the medicine supply chain more secure. The pharmaceutical sector is creating a high demand for such systems due to the burgeoning usage of packaging to ensure safety, increasing proliferation of blister packaging, and increasing awareness about the mentioning of drug information on the package.

According to you what is the future of coding, marking, and labelling in India.

Growth is being spurred by the surging demand from various end-use industries specifically food and beverage, cosmetic and pharmaceutical sectors. Legislative specifications, industry standards Increase in consumer incomes, westernization, sustained technological developments, increase R&D spending, improved lifestyles and marketing / retailing practices are poised to enhance demand for packaged consumer goods in developing markets, while presenting growth opportunities for coding and marking systems.

What is the significance of employee training in the manufacturing industry?

Employees need to be upskilled & reskilled to prepare for the demands for automations and digitization as part of 4th Industrial Revolution.
There will be a shift in the skill profile of jobs to come of tomorrow with increase in automation. Companies will need people with the right skills to develop, manage, and maintain their automated equipment and digital processes and to do the jobs that machines cannot. Augmented reality, manufacturing apps, and IoT connectivity are each making training programs more customizable and effective. These technologies are reducing onboarding times, simplifying re-skilling, and closing the skills gap.

How important is coding and marking for the MSME sector?

Currently, the Indian coding and marking systems market is observing the substitution of analogue coding and making technologies with digital variants. With the ongoing Industry 4.0 revolution, the automation of industrial practices is being done rapidly. Manufacturers need to mark, label, and code an array of products and shipments without compromising the production speed. Manufacturers go through these procedures to identify pallets, devices, parts, cartons, and shipments in an effective manner. Due to this reason, the availability of digital technologies is making analogue technology obsolete.

The implementation of stringent government regulations and an escalation in the demand for tracking will boost the Indian coding and marking systems.