American Pharmaceutical Partners (APP)

Real-time Label Changes with Custom Software

The Challenge: Escalating Costs and Regulations
American Pharmaceutical Partners (APP) labels and packs 18 trays of vials a minute, 24 hours a day. Given that volume, a new label design can cause significant delays. APP was sending each change, no matter how minor, to its print and apply vendor. The vendor programmed the change, and then APP installed and ran the software on its own system. This costly approach limited how often APP made changes. Unfortunately, ever-more-stringent regulations demanded further modifications.

Tom Vella, APP's Senior Manufacturing Engineer, called Loftware® for advice. Loftware introduced him to Mike Shacket of Corner Office Consulting, a firm that specializes in labeling software for pharmaceutical companies. Shacket's APP Label Printing or APPLP system meets these challenges head on. "That first call to Loftware sold me," Villa recalls. "The staff answered all my questions and pointed me in the right direction. Companies like that earn your loyalty."

Loftware's Solution: Complete Control of Label Design
With the Loftware Label Manager, APP has full control of label design. Authorized users can create, edit and maintain label templates. The APPLP system uploads the templates and automatically populates the production line with the new data.

The new custom application includes role-specific interfaces that promote security and meet the strict guidelines of the pharmaceutical industry. In this environment, there is little need for operators to enter data, further increasing operational integrity. APP now meets requirements for 21 CFR Part 11, the FDA's guideline for best practices.

Both the APPLP application and Loftware solution work with a many hardware and connectivity options and are completely scalable, so APP looks forward to rolling out the system on seven other production lines. Villa sees that process as very affordable, "I actually lowered my overall cost for software. I purchased the full edition of the Loftware Label Manager to create templates, but on the line I use a Loftware Print Module (a print-only version) that costs less."

Benefits to the Healthcare Industry: Ability to Respond to Ever-Changing Requirements
Cost control and compliance are the watchwords of the pharmaceutical industry, so it is imperative to have the most flexible, powerful and reliable label system available. Loftware enables APP and other healthcare companies to benefit from the ability to:

Respond immediately to evolving specifications from the FDA, HIPPA and EHCR
Make real-time changes to label design, processes and platforms
Run label printing across multiple printers and sites
Employ any combination of RFID, bar coding and auto-ID infrastructures
Cut labeling time for a huge surge in productivity