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Robust traceability & authentication solutions critical for supply chain security in pharma: Manoj Kochar
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Nandita Vijayasimha, Bengaluru
February 03 , 2025
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As global trade and e-commerce are expected to expand rapidly in 2025, the need for robust traceability and authentication solutions has become critical. Counterfeiting, product diversion, and parallel trade pose serious threats to pharmaceuticals among others resulting in financial losses and eroding consumer trust, stated Manoj Kochar, president of Authentication Solution Providers’ Association (ASPA).
To combat these challenges, businesses are turning to innovative technologies such as smart packaging, holograms, blockchain, and digital identity solutions. These advanced tools are transforming supply chain security by ensuring transparency, authenticity, and accountability at every stage of the product lifecycle, he added.
Smart packaging has emerged as a powerful solution, integrating technologies like NFC chips, dynamic QR codes, and environmental sensors. These features enable real-time monitoring of product movement and conditions, ensuring an unbroken chain of custody from manufacturing to end consumers, Kochar told Pharmabiz.
Unlike traditional anti-tampering methods, smart packaging now provides comprehensive data on temperature, humidity, and handling, ensuring product integrity throughout the supply chain. This proactive approach not only deters counterfeiting but also enhances operational efficiency and consumer confidence. In parallel, holograms and security labels continue to be a key authentication tool. Today’s holograms are more sophisticated, offering multi-layered verification by integrating with digital platforms for tracking and authentication. When combined with blockchain technology and smart packaging, holograms provide an additional layer of security, making counterfeiting significantly more challenging, he stated.
Blockchain technology is revolutionizing supply chain security by offering an immutable, decentralized ledger that records every product movement and transaction. This transparency makes it nearly impossible for counterfeit goods to enter legitimate supply chains. When integrated with smart packaging and authentication systems, blockchain creates a secure and traceable product journey, enhancing trust among businesses and consumers alike, noted the ASPA chief.
In fact, the combination of blockchain with real-time tracking data allows instant verification of product authenticity, ensuring supply chain resilience against fraudulent activities. Similarly, digital identity solutions have evolved beyond traditional barcodes, utilizing AI-powered image recognition, DNA barcoding, and biometric tagging. These technologies create unique digital fingerprints for products, enabling quick and reliable authentication across the supply chain. Digital identity solutions empower consumers with greater visibility into product origins while helping businesses maintain compliance with regulatory requirements.
In response to the evolving landscape of supply chain security, the Traceability and Authentication Forum (TAF) 2025, ASPA's flagship event on March 17-18, provides dedicated platform for industry stakeholders to collaborate, share knowledge, and develop innovative solutions. It helps to explore emerging trends and establish global standards for traceability and authentication. The theme for this year, ‘Path to a Secure Future – Authentication and Traceability for All, will give a peek into the latest innovations and challenges in the field. It helps integration of technologies, address existing challenges, and drive industry-wide adoption of best practices. It will aid to reshape supply chain security by fostering innovation, enhancing interoperability, and ensuring consumer-centric solutions.
Our objective is to create a future where supply chains are fully transparent, consumers have greater confidence in product authenticity, and businesses can combat counterfeiting more effectively. There is an imminent need to pave the way for a more secure, reliable, and trusted global trade environment, said Kochar.
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