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EFFICIENCY INCREASE WITH AUTOMATIC ADDRESSING SYSTEM

Hakan Gündoğmuş, Warehouse Manager of Santa Farma, indicates that automatic addressing system increases the efficiency of their operators.

Hakan Gündoğmuş, Warehouse Manager of Santa Farma, tells that all inventory movements are performed through SAP WMS system at their warehouse. “After analysing our product ranges and material mobility, we set up an automatic addressing system based on plain manufacturing logic in order to reduce mobility of materials and employees. With this system, our operators achieve better results by sparing less time during the day,” he says.

To begin with, could you please tell us the organizational structure of your company and critical business matters currently involving the company? (e.g. product ranges, plants, headcount etc.)

With more than 75 years history in pharmaceutical industry, Santa Farma is recognized for the prominent, innovative and high quality solutions developed for improving life quality of patients with its qualified team by using eco- and human-friendly technologies at its high capacity, state-of-the-art manufacturing plant and R&D centre in EU standards thanks to its vast experience in contracted manufacturing processes. Santa Farma aspires to become a contracted manufacturer of choice for local and global pharmaceutical companies in terms of both domestic manufacturing and export processes by offering competitive advantages to stakeholders in line with their specific needs and strategic procurement plans. Thanks to an investment made for furthering our objectives, we are performing our activities on a manufacturing plant and R&D Centre comprised of an indoor area of 44 thousand sqm on a total land of 80 thousand sqm in GEBKİM OSB. The plant was issued a production license and GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) certificate from the Ministry of Health of Republic of Turkey in June 2015 and received the EU-GMP certificate (European Union Compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices) in 2016. Products in solid, semi-solid and liquid forms are manufactured in the plant. Solid manufacturing forms are comprised of capsule filling, sachet filling, powder filling and effervescent tablets while liquid forms are syrup, spray and drop. Cream, pomade and gel constitute the semi-solid forms. Boasting of a manufacturing capacity of 150 million boxes, the plant has the means to increase the capacity based on necessity. It is possible to expand the interior and exterior of the building in order to meet the requirements regarding capacity increases.  

Out of its dedication to adopt innovative technologies, Santa Farma uses BMS (Building Management System) in order to control and monitor the infrastructure at its GEBKİM plant. Santa Farma’s building management system is compatible with 21CFR Part 11 and makes it possible to guarantee cGMP (Current Good Manufacturing Practices) on a continual basis. The building management system is comprised of 20,000 automation points such as HVAC automation, lighting automation, cooling automation, heating and water preparation systems automation which are intended to control and monitor manufacturing, warehousing, lab, R&D and office spaces.

Santa Farma aims to become a service provider and business partner of choice at local and global markets by offering competitive advantages to local and global stakeholders in line with their specific needs and strategic procurement plans.

During the pandemic, we offered uninterrupted manufacturing and distribution services to meet the requirements of domestic and international patients. We made all plans by prioritizing the health of our employees and performed manufacturing operations without interruption at this period. Our plant qualified for TSE Covid-19 Safe Manufacturing Certificate as a result of the audits conducted by TSE.  

ST :    What sort of innovations did your company introduce for the benefit of our country?

           With its 75 years’ of history in pharmaceutical industry, Santa Farma continues to make dedicated efforts for developing new products for the benefit of the public. To that end, we use state-of-the-art systems in order to produce high quality and highly efficient products. In addition to the manufacturing operations, we make use of new technologies for warehousing and distribution processes so that we can use our capacity effectively and distribute our products to our customers safely as soon as possible.

ST :    Could you please tell us more about the process from design to shipment of products?

The process for developing products in line with international standards including GMP requirements begins at the R&D centre. In that respect, we perform our activities in line with the globally accepted Quality by Design (QbD) approach as well as leading global scientific guidelines (e.g. US-FDA, EMEA, WHO, ICH). Our processes are adapted to the updates in those systems and guidelines. Following the R&D process, we produce the products in our manufacturing plant with EU GMP certification. All processes from receiving raw materials at the warehouse till shipment from the warehouse are conducted under controlled conditions and monitored through automation systems. All components used for manufacturing of products (raw materials / packaging materials) are kept in warehouse sections which are controlled in terms of temperature and humidity. We check and receive the components under controlled conditions. All components are involved in the quality control process. In that respect, components may be used for production only after their compatibility is guaranteed through the necessary analyses. Raw material and material warehousing / Monitoring of production processes are automatically controlled with SAP – WMS systems. Raw materials are weighed with Weighing Integration systems integrated into SAP system in order to eliminate risk of errors. Once they are weighed, raw materials are transferred to manufacturing equipment through closed systems and manufacturing processes are performed in line with the dosage form. All semi-finished products are transferred to packaging units where primary and secondary packaging processes are conducted at integrated lines. All boxes manufactured at secondary packaging unit are registered through ITS (Pharmaceutical Track & Trace System). Finished products are monitored and stored through the use of SAP – WMS systems in the same manner with other materials.

ST :    How do you decide to invest in new warehouses, plants or technologies? What are the significant investment criteria?

           Santa Farma’s mission is ‘to remain in constant search for better in order to offer favourable solutions for human health and quality of life’ and our vision is ‘to grow faster than the market average’. With that in mind, we always strive for improving and innovating our processes in order to offer the best solutions to all patients. Since pharmaceutical industry is a highly competitive and well-regulated market, we prioritize investing in sustainable products which will make our users’ lives more comfortable. Technology investments, on the other hand, are made for increasing efficiency and making the best use of corporate resources in terms of production, sales, logistics and procurement processes in parallel with the current developments. 

ST :    Could you give an example about the recent warehousing investments? What sort of advantages did those investments guarantee?  

          We have a warehousing space of 6,500 m² with a capacity for 10,550 pallets. The relevant area was constructed simultaneously with the new manufacturing plant. All warehousing systems have the technological means required for electronic tracking purposes. Our systems are meant to eliminate all kinds of risks by promoting occupational safety in addition to storing and developing our products safely in order to serve the health of our users effectively. We also use ERP systems which enable instant monitoring of our performance. Hence, we are able to determine areas of improvement and take prompt action to increase our efficiency.

ST :    Which technologies do you use for internal logistics and warehousing  processes?

All stock movements are performed through SAP WMS system. While setting up the system, we analysed product ranges and material mobility and eventually, created an automatic addressing system that is meant to reduce the mobility of materials and employees in line with the simple production logic. With this system, our operators create more productive results by spending less time. We keep the temperature and humidity of the warehousing spaces under control through 24/7 BMS system. The ITS system which is required for monitoring sales and distribution of the pharmaceutical products is integrated into the other systems.

ST : Do you prefer domestic or international brands for warehousing equipment? Why?  

It is critical to ensure that the equipment we use will be safely operable, sturdy and continuously serviceable. We prefer collaborating with suppliers who are capable of meeting the requirements in order to perform our operations continuously and effectively.  

ST :   What sort of benefits do the production processes acquire through the warehouse management software and ERP integration?

We use ERP system for all operations conducted in our manufacturing facility. The manufacturing and warehousing operations are completely performed with ERP systems. We have to ensure zero error in terms of acceptance of materials to the warehouse as well as their use for production purposes and distribution of the products. We perform all process controls actively with ERP systems. Our goal is to perform our job correctly and accurately on the first try. Therefore, we use ERP systems in order to eliminate human errors. The installed systems are critical for accuracy and efficiency of manufacturing operations. ERP systems enable us to conduct performance measurements for all process steps. This, in turn, makes it possible ascertain the improvement areas. We strive for achieving perfection by making continuous improvement efforts thanks to the dedicated efforts of our employees.

ST :    What is your vision for Digital Transformation of Industry? Could you please tell us about your pilot practices, if any?

We need to measure and evaluate our operations constantly in order to guarantee continuous improvements and developments. Digitalization will mark the biggest transformation in terms of efficient and error-free operations in all industries along with the industrial developments. We all tested the importance of digitalization during the pandemic. Industrial actors that had already started the transformation had the advantage of performing its operations without interruption during this period. At Santa Farma, we keep reinforcing and investing in our infrastructure in order to expedite digital transformation in all processes. We keep making efforts to produce digital solutions.