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Think Tank Session

"RFID IN THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY: WHEN BUSINESS CASES MEET THE REALITY OF TECHNOLOGY PROMISES"

POSTPONED UNTIL SPRING 2005

Invitation-only.

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The Silicon Valley World Internet Center is conducting a multi-corporate Think Tank Session to understand business cases for and technology challenges faced by the implementation of RFID technologies in the pharmaceutical industry. The characteristics of the pharmaceutical industry make it particularly attractive for the use of RFID technology. The industry loses millions of dollars yearly from theft, diversion and counterfeiting, and has to be worried about patient safety. This session will delve into the reality of the claimed cost savings for the pharmaceutical industry around the use of RFID in the supply chain. Beyond that, however, looms a technology horizon full of "promises" that may or may not fit the business needs articulated by the pharmaceutical industry. As a first step, this session will address ways to improve inventory management, data management across companies, and general business issues about recalls and counterfeiting. The session will delve into what kinds of tracking technologies will be most suited for and welcomed by the pharmaceutical industry in the near- and medium-term future. This Think Tank Session is being sponsored by SAP Research.

The objectives of this session are:

  • to understand the security, scalability and services around the distribution of data generated by RFID technology within the pharmaceutical industry
  • to identify end-users' preferred tagging targets and match those to the realistic capabilities of the available technologies; and
  • to explore the future tracking technologies and business cases for the pharmaceutical industry.

Representatives from several large companies producing software and hardware (i.e., tracking technologies, primarily RFID) along with representatives of the pharmaceutical industry are being invited to participate in this 20-person, six-hour, invitation-only Think Tank Session.


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