To protect against the growing problem of counterfeit drugs, state and federal regulations require distributors to provide electronic “track and trace” records for the drugs they supply. These records, known as pedigrees, are not optional. For the Harvard Drug Group, based in Livonia, Mich., managing and authenticating the pedigree is serious business—without it, they're out of business.

The Harvard Drug Group supplies Rx brands, generics, and consumer products to retail, medical professionals and managed care providers. The company faced two challenges: Comply with the pedigree laws and meet customer demands for high fill rates with no monthly volume requirements, low up-charges and next-day delivery.

Adding voice to the Livonia and San Diego facilities made meeting the mandates and customer requirements possible.

“We achieved 100% payback on day one,” says Dale Swoffer, senior vice president of information technology at The Harvard Drug Group. “Without [this technology], we wouldn't have been able to get our products out within the two-hour ordering window—we simply couldn't validate our lots in enough time.”

The voice system allows the supplier to validate the lots and expiration dates to comply with the pedigree laws. It's also driven efficiencies into the supply chain and helped provide customers with competitive pricing, fast delivery and exemplary service.

Today, the Harvard Drug Group's 25,000-square-foot San Diego facility runs one shift and ships about 600 lines per night with five workers using voice. The 70,000-square-foot Michigan site runs 24 hours a day and ships 15,000 lines per night with more than 30 workers using voice.

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