Why Are Product Loading Deadlines Required?

Organizations across Canada’s pharmacy supply chain have demonstrated their commitment to ECCnet Registry, with a growing number of manufacturers, retailers, distributors and wholesalers not only undertaking implementation, but also making ECCnet Registry and other GS1 Canada services part of their standard terms and conditions of trade.

With the availability of Rx2 product data attribute fields, organizations are now planning full integration of ECCnet Registry data within their systems, with the expectation to “turn off the paper” in 2010. Organizations planning to integrate or have already initiated implementation of ECCnet Registry include Jean Coutu Pharmacy, McKesson Canada, Kohl and Frisch Limited, and Sobeys, among others. Public service agencies are also realizing the benefits of accessing product data through ECCnet Registry, with the Public Health Agency of Canada planning integration in order to access vaccine information.

Benefits to Industry

Industry commitment to ECCnet Registry is predicated on the need for a single source of complete and accurate product information. This improves product traceability within the supply chain, enables enhanced patient safety capabilities by reducing medication errors, and decreases business process costs.

Many Canadian pharmaceutical manufacturers use ECCnet Registry to streamline their product listing processes by extracting critical product data – such as the Drug Identification Number (DIN), Natural Product Number (NPN), Active Ingredient, and Dosage Form, to name a few – in a format (i.e. listing form) required by their retailer and wholesaler trading partners.

By providing trading partners with accurate and up-to-date product data in their specified format, Rx and OTC manufacturers can limit the pain points that occur in daily business processes due to incomplete and/or inaccurate product data, realizing such benefits as:

• Providing product information to multiple trading partners in a single, standardized format;
• Gaining access to new retail and wholesale trading partners by listing product data in ECCnet Registry;
• Improving the accuracy of purchase orders and invoicing through clean and up-to-date product data;
• Lowering logistics and transportation costs resulting from correct product orders;
• Reducing out-of-stocks and misshipments for retailers and wholesalers as a result of accurate data and complete product orders; and
• Increasing the speed-to-market of new product information with ECCnet Registry’s streamlined product listing process.

About GS1 Canada

GS1 Canada is a member of GS1, the world’s leading supply chain standards organization. As a neutral, not-for-profit organization, GS1 Canada enables its more than 10,000 members – trading partners of all sizes from over 20 sectors across Canada – to enhance their efficiency and cost effectiveness by adopting electronic supply chain best practices. Go to www.gs1ca.org for more information.

GS1 Canada Healthcare Pharmacy Sector Board

GS1 Canada’s Healthcare Pharmacy Sector Board will identify projects that support the adoption of a common system of supply chain standards both in healthcare institutions, and retail pharmacy. This will improve patient safety, cost efficiency and staff productivity, ultimately ensuring that Canada’s healthcare trading partners are able to fully operate in an increasingly e-driven global supply chain reality.