Systech International general manager on leveraging packaging protection and brand identity

Systech International is a software development company and a comprehensive identification and traceability platform based in Princeton, US. It also supplies pharmaceutical packaging solutions, working primarily in track-and-trace and brand protection.

We sit down with the company’s general manager Sreedhar Patnala to discuss the significance of product protection and the steps Systech is taking to provide solutions for its customers. Patnala further discusses the importance of packaging to branding and how this can be achieved while ensuring proper product protection. 

“We have comprehensive solutions. We’ve been in the industry for more than 40 years, and we also recently acquired another company called Pharmacontrol Electronic, based in Germany and together, we produce both software, hardware for serialization, aggregation, track-and-trace and more,” Patnala tells Packaging Insights. 

Packaging types for product protection

Patnala tells us more about how different packaging types address the issue of product protection and how Systech innovates to find solutions. 

“Packaging goes from primary to secondary to tertiary packaging, which is key to the overall supply chain logistics. Systech has been helping with the primary packaging and secondary packaging for a long time, and we believe companies continue to invest quite a bit in the packaging to show their differentiation, both from a brand experience point of view as well as from a product protection point of view,” he details.

Systech leverages AI for additional product protection.“At Systech, while we supported serialization with 1D/2D codes, we also realized that the same technologies can be leveraged with the latest and greatest foresight as well as AI in order to be able to provide the additional protection that was previously non-existent or required additional investments that companies need to provide.”

The expert argues that packaging can help protect products while providing a brand experience for customers. “That’s where Systech does a lot of R&D to help provide solutions that actually help customers.”

Challenges and solutions

Discussing the challenges producers and customers frequently face when working to ensure product protection, Patnala points to initial costs, training, consumer education and illicit suppliers. 

“As with any product protection, you have the initial cost, training, supply chain logistics and then, finally, consumer education. There are issues all over the place as constant threats continue to evolve. Just like cyber security, the more you improve your protection, the more the illicit suppliers will get more and more intelligent on how to combat that from their side. It’s a continuous loop.”

“While on the one hand, you have to continue to innovate, on the other hand, you have to make sure you take care of your investments, overall education and supply chain partners. This is needed to make sure everybody participating in this scenario will be successful and effective. Those are some of the challenges I know brands and various partners go through today.”

He states that one of the most important factors that brands need to be aware of is that: “It’s not about finding a solution and then thinking that the problem is addressed. It’s also about how you as a company make investments and educate internally and externally.”

“Externally could mean your distribution network or your consumers. This ensures that the program has a closed loop. So, as you make good progress, the other side makes good progress as well. You need to take that input and see what really happened, continue to evolve and ensure that the overall program has a continuous structure.”

Trends and upcoming developments

The expert continues by highlighting the diverse key trends and upcoming developments in product protection packaging, including sustainability and AI. 

“Product protection is not a one-size-fits-all area. It’s not about finding one solution that addresses every single challenge out there,” says Patnala. 

“It varies by segment, the type of product it is, by the customer or, in our case — our customers, which could be brands or distribution networks. Their appetite for the investments is of importance.”

“Usually, there are a lot of existing packaging reuse trends, which is effective from a sustainability point of view.”

He adds that AI is “one of the key elements” currently being applied “everywhere.” And we can leverage not only AI but also the data that it provides. This is the case also from the point of view of the brands using the solution and the customers using the products.”

“Overall, the trends in both the packaging side and the consumer experience side are improving quite a bit.”Systech leverages AI for additional product protection.

On the topic of illicit suppliers, Patnala re-asserts that they are getting “smarter and smarter” and attempting to mimic various branded ways to protect products. 

“Then there is also the question of how you can provide a unique solution that you can validate at the consumption place.”

“NFC (near-field communication) and RFID (radio frequency identification) are an old trend that is making its way back.”

Supply chain transparency 

Patnala argues that supply chain transparency is “the key factor for manufacturers as well as the distribution networks to know where a product is at any given point.”

“You can do this in multiple ways. You have codes printed on the packaging, and you can scan them. And then as it travels along the distribution network, you know where your product is, but it does require scanning,” he explains. 

“Now, with various IoT sensors and other elements, you have the ability to be able to have non-scanning elements as well. So, you can have a combination of scanning and non-scanning products. This is why Systech provides various anti-counterfeiting products as well.”

He says that these systems do provide transparency, starting from what happened at the factory, before the product leaves, all the way to the place where it is received by the consumer.

“The focus is not so much on knowing where the product is and what really happened to a product, but why it happened. Foresight and forensics are critical. Supply chain transparency involves real-time tracking as well as historical analysis. These both play a role in combating this deviation and counterfeiting problem.”