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Pharmaceutical manufacturers know that EU FMD is coming in February of 2019 but according to results from our recent Meeting EU FMD Warehouse Requirements webinar, they are far from ready.
Over 60 attendees, representing more than 50 pharmaceutical companies, gathered during the live webinar to understand more about EU FMD warehouse-related requirements. If companies are not fully prepared for EU FMD, their products will be non-compliant, tying up business operations, and impacting customers' businesses and their own reputation.
Here are the top four poll findings on the requirements, readiness, and more:
1 in 3 warehouses have yet to onboard with National Systems.
Only 3% of respondents are live and operational on at least one National System, with 27 of 30 National Systems presently live. 27% have begun testing, 30% have signed one or more agreements; and a full 33% haven’t started onboarding at all. In addition, 6% of respondents didn’t know that they had to onboard with National Systems.
3 out of 10 warehouses don’t understand EU FMD requirements.
When polled, 32% of respondents admitted that the most challenging part of implementing EU FMD in their warehouse is understanding the requirements themselves. 45% of respondents agree that changes in their day-to-day operations, along with installing or upgrading IT systems to prepare for serialized data, will be the top challenge. Communication is also a concern, with 22% of respondents struggling to coordinate with other stakeholders in their supply chain regarding EU FMD.
6 out of 10 warehouses expect EU FMD to impact their operations.
Attendees overwhelmingly indicated that they are aware that EU FMD is going to have an impact on their warehouse operations. In fact, 40% said they're expecting a moderate impact while 25% are anticipating a substantial impact. 22% of respondents are uncertain or haven't considered the impact EU FMD will bring to their operations.
7 out of 10 are focused on compliance, while some see future value.
71% of our poll respondents indicated that they are updating their operations for serialized data just to satisfy compliance requirements. 23% are looking beyond just the compliance benefits of serialization, and are exploring how it can make their warehouse operations more efficient and add value to their customers.