Allpack and advanco – A Partnership That Continues To Gather Momentum, Even After Six Years

The recent development has seen further investments into the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector – a major move which underlines the ambition the Swiss-based company has as it continues its growth phase. Advanco has been providing serialization solutions for Allpack for over six years. This partnership is set to take on even more importance as the company continues to grow as part of the Rhenopharma Group following its acquisition of Konapharma AG, under the leadership of CEO, Christoph Staub. This customer reference story will look at how Allpack is evolving, underlined by its relationship with advanco.

About Allpack

• Founded: 1973 Headquarters Switzerland
• CEO: Christoph Staub
• Locations: Allpack operates from two sites in Switzerland
• Industry: Pharmaceutical packaging
• Products: Commercial and clinical packaging
• Special Expertise: Based on GMP-compliant processes, certified by FDA and Swissmedic and in accordance with PMDA standards (Japan), Allpack’s packaging operations satisfy the highest standards of quality and compliance
• Website:allpack.ch

A 24/7 operation

Allpack’s twelve production lines never sleep – they operate in three shifts over a 24-hour period, producing more than 2,500 orders of varying sizes every year. They can produce up to 25,000 blisters per hour, label up to 3,600 bottles or jars per hour for liquids and fill up to 1,500 bottles per hour for solids in its primary packaging operations. When it comes to secondary packaging, up to 6,000 folding boxes per hour can be processed.

A busy production centre like this relies upon swift, efficient levels of support. If a support ticket is raised by one shift, a lengthy delay raises the danger that the reply will be received by team members on a different shift, people who may not have the valuable first-hand knowledge and insights needed of the original issue. Indeed, this could lead to all manner of issues, including the last resort that the line operations need to be suspended while the issue is resolved. The rapid support provided by advanco is something that has been highlighted by Allpack as being central to its ongoing, smooth packaging operations. It enables support tickets to be answered quickly and a solution to any problem to be rapidly deployed, ensuring packaging lines remain operational all hours of the day and night. This watertight support function is just one of several benefits that Allpack has experienced through its collaboration with advanco underscoring the growing importance of their partnership in the years ahead.

Allpack, advanco and the future

Allpack is an ambitious company in the middle of a major growth trajectory. It has recently more than doubled its headcount from 120 people to 300 following the acquisition of Konapharma AG, a Switzerland-based firm which develops and manufactures solid dosage medicine forms, including tablets, capsules, pellets, powders and granulates. Oral solid dosage forms such as these constitute the largest share of all drugs administered worldwide today, making them an indispensable contribution towards the world healthcare. Konapharma AG offers two independent bulk production plants and two primary and secondary packaging units with a large warehouse area incorporating state-of-the-art machinery. Christoph Staub, CEO of Allpack and Konapharma predicts significant development potential, now that both companies are member of the newly formed Rhenopharma Group. The development will also see the partnership with advanco, which started in 2018, become even more important in the future. Currently, Allpack uses advanco’s ARC MES/Cockpit for the compilation of all its master data and order management tools for its entire serialization and aggregation processes. However, it has even bigger plans for ARC MES/Cockpit in the coming years, looking to run all its order through ARC – both serialization and non-serialization orders. In effect, this will promote ARC to the position of main order provider tool. In addition, further developments of training programs with advanco are on the horizon. This initiative is aimed at empowering line managers by giving them increased responsibility for overseeing each production line.

Providing valuable counsel that resonates

Allpack and advanco jointly pride themselves on being able to identify an issue and provide a solution in a rapid timeframe. This approach allows strategic advice to be provided to customers when required. Flexibility is also a vital component of Allpack’s offering, something that is also aided by its partnership with advanco. Their customers include global multinationals providing medications that are relied upon by many millions of people. On the other end of the spectrum, but of equal importance, customers include much smaller manufacturers, including those specializing in so-called “orphan drugs” developed to treat rare diseases or conditions, affecting only small numbers of people.

Therefore, advanco’s solutions need to be very flexible. What is needed for one customer will be vastly different to what is needed for another. Customers also often require very specific packaging solutions, perhaps something that has never been supplied before. On occasions like this, Allpack and advanco will work closely together to deliver the perfect packaging and serialization solution – further demonstrating advanco’s ability to provide a fully flexible, rapid response.

Conclusion

As a leading pharmaceutical contract packaging organization (CPO), Allpack has specific business needs dependent on the size and the specific requirements of its customers. However, these needs are set to change even further following the company’s acquisition of Konapharma AG, meaning it will be entering the pharma production market in addition to packaging. As a result, advanco’s ARC MES/Cockpit, already relied upon for all serialization and aggregation, will become Allpack’s main order provider tool. Furthermore, the rapid, quality levels of support and the overall flexibility provided by advanco will continue to be central to Allpack as it continues to provide its customer with the highest quality, most flexible levels of support available today.