How cloud-based labeling helps medical device makers unlock faster time to market

Modernized, cloud-based labeling solutions are helping global medical device manufacturers expedite new product approvals, expand global market reach, customize product label content, and reduce regulatory delays

Every second counts in the fast-paced world of medical device manufacturing. When life-saving products aren’t introduced quickly enough, it can have a significant impact on patient outcomes.

Unfortunately, product labeling is one potential bottleneck that can create significant blockages if not addressed early in the product development process. Issues such as version control chaos, siloed labeling systems, and data errors can quickly spiral into delays, reworks, and higher costs.  

Medical device manufacturers can avoid these and other roadblocks with a modern, cloud-based product labeling solution that enables real-time collaboration for global team members, streamlines processes, and reduces errors.  

The efficiency boost that every manufacturer needs

Knowing that cloud-based product labeling is no longer a luxury, but a necessity, cutting-edge cancer treatment developer Varian recently upgraded to Loftware Cloud. The Siemens Healthineers company develops, builds, and delivers innovative technologies and solutions that help its clinical partners around the globe treat millions of patients each year.  

Headquartered in California, and with offices in 70 locations around the world, Varian develops advanced imaging, radiation therapy, software and services to its global customer base. Prior to Siemens’ acquisition of Varian in 2021, the company was using Loftware LPS to manage its medical device labeling.  

Varian wanted a modern cloud-based labeling solution that would help it create a standardized labeling process across the entire Siemens enterprise. Loftware Cloud was seamlessly integrated into the company’s SAP Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. “We were looking for a state-of-the-art, enterprise-wide labeling solution for all Siemens Healthineers to keep pace with market demands,” said Mark Illgner, senior labeling development engineer.

Cut the red tape, not corners

Today, Varian’s labeling team knows that label output always matches label design, without the need for any manual intervention during label printing. “We can now ensure global market access for our medical devices and tailor label content as required, leading to faster product approval and reduced regulatory delays,” said Illgner.

Here are four more ways Varian is leveraging the power of cloud labeling in its growing, global operation:  

#1 Compliance with localization requirements. The company needed a system that would help it comply with local regulations regarding medical device labeling in all the countries where it does business. With its cloud-based solution, the company can comply with these localization requirements, distributing its medical devices across markets while tailoring label content as needed.  

#2 Reduced label versions, complexity, and confusion. Inconsistencies in label layouts meant that business rules couldn’t be applied across the label database. Today, Varian uses business rules to create variable label content, such as the manufacturing date, serial number, and Unique Device Identifier (UDI), based on a country’s regulations.  

#3 Improved regulatory compliance. With its former labeling solution, the company was grappling with inconsistency between label templates and the final printed labels, resulting in discrepancies in the new label versions. Loftware Cloud streamlines the labeling process by automating label layout adjustments, effectively eliminating the need for manual intervention when printing labels and ensuring seamless adherence to specifications.

#4 Fewer failure rates and less IT intervention. With Loftware Cloud’s standard business rules, the Varian team can use less complex scripting, which reduces the failure rate for new label layouts and the level of expertise required to design labels. Varian also eliminated the need for on-premise servers along with the local IT support that would be required to maintain them.    

Driving massive efficiencies

Loftware Cloud serves as a strategic label content management solution for Varian, which seamlessly integrated the solution with its existing SAP ERP. Today, the labeling team can easily locate all instances of a specific symbol across various label templates, enabling agile adjustments to meet evolving regulatory requirements and avoid penalties or fines.  

By embracing this technology, global medical device manufacturers like Varian are unlocking their full potential as they continue to deliver life-changing devices to market faster, ultimately improving patient care.  

To read more about Varian’s modernization to cloud labeling to keep pace with market demands, download the case study.