At the PPL Conclave 2025 in Hyderabad, a session titled ‘Cutting-edge Advancements in Traceability Technology for Enhanced Tracking and Transparency’ was conducted by Hiren Rathod, Regional Account Director – West, North & Madhya Pradesh, Optel Group.
Rathod began by highlighting Optel’s all-in-one solution, which integrates printing, checking, tamper-evident labelling, and checkweighing into a single process. He also introduced Optel’s CountSafe tablet inspection solution, designed to be compatible with all tablet counting systems. This solution detects incorrect products, broken or defective tablets, and colour variations, ensuring accuracy in pharmaceutical manufacturing. Additionally, Optel’s L4 solution supports multiple regulatory markets and facilitates seamless connectivity across various contract manufacturing organisations (CMOs).
Expanding on traceability solutions, Rathod discussed how Optel offers end-to-end tracking systems that enhance regulatory compliance and optimise supply chain performance. The Optchain platform provides supply chain visibility, supporting ESG compliance and transparent product life cycles. Meanwhile, TrackSafe integrates serialisation, aggregation, and AI vision systems for manufacturing solutions, while VerifyBrand focuses on downstream traceability, regulatory compliance, and counterfeit prevention.
With billions of products tracked annually for global brands, Optel’s production data solutions ensure seamless data extraction using the Op300 and Line Master. Through a secure industrial communication protocol (OPC-UA), manufacturers can access critical production information, including machine state availability, alarm status, product counters, and active production ID.
To further enhance quality control, Optel has developed an inspection system for detecting defective tablets on bottle counting machines. This system integrates with existing counting machines and features ejector units that remove defective tablets in real time based on camera inspection. It identifies incorrect products, broken or oversized tablets, and colour inconsistencies without disrupting the production line. The solution is compatible with 12, 16, 24, and 48-track systems. Addressing regulatory compliance, Rathod noted that manufacturers of the Top 300 drug formulations under Schedule H2 must incorporate barcodes or QR codes on packaging labels. These codes contain critical product data, including product identification codes, drug names, brand names, manufacturer details, batch numbers, and manufacturing and expiry dates, ensuring greater transparency and traceability in the pharmaceutical industry.