Intro.
Supply chains have always been business-critical but often operate behind the scenes.
But a new digital transformation [1] replace legacy connectivity technologies of electronic data interchange (EDI) with the Internet of Supply Chains (IoSC) [2]
Internet of Supply Chains (IoSC) links systems, processes, and people into a collective information network for intelligent business execution.
In the pharma industry, a magic quadrant is as follows:
First: SAP Information Collaboration Hub for Life Sciences [3]
SAP Information Collaboration Hub for Life Sciences is a cloud-based network solution that allows pharmaceutical partners to exchange drug serialization information securely and easily.
But a lot of SAP ATTP customers have a complicated landscape with interaction with many IoSC
For example: AmerisourceBergen (screenshot from [4]) connected to SAP ICH and Mediledger simultaneously.
Second: Tracelink [5]
Tracelink’s Life Sciences Cloud platform ensures compliance throughout the global life sciences supply network. TraceLink is a key part of the global pharmaceutical supply chain, with more than 440 pharmaceutical manufacturers, wholesale distributors, hospitals, and pharmacies using the company’s SaaS solutions.
Third: Mediledger [6]
The MediLedger Network is the industry network 2.0 for the life sciences and healthcare industries, that runs solutions for real-time alignment, rule enforcement, and settlement of transactions directly between trading partners.
Fourth: Movilitas Cloud [7]
Movilitas.Cloud is a cloud-based platform hosting a group of tailor-made applications to enable companies to meet manufacturing, serialization, and reporting requirements.
We start a cycle of blog-posts about the integration SAP ATTP with Tracelink through SAP PO.
Business Scenario.
A pharmaceutical company (MAH)* places an order to CMO**.
*MAH - Marketing Authorization Holder
**CMO—Contract Manufacturing Organization. A company providing manufacturing, and sometimes packaging, services for one or more companies based on contracts or service agreements. Also referred to as a Contract Packaging Organization (CPO) or Third Party Manufacturer (TPM).
Business Step 1
MAH requests serial numbers with crypto-codes from government authorities.
Business Step 2
MAH creates a production order with GTIN, quantity, and a bundle with serial numbers and cryptocodes and sends it to CMO via IoSC TraceLink.
Business Step 3
CMO manufacture products and send information about labeling and aggregation via IoSC TraceLink to MAH
Architecture at a glance.
Diagram from my blog-post Compliance with SAP ATTP, S/4HANA and EWM. Technical details [7] enriched with a few additional blocks:
SAP PO [13] - IoSC TraceLink[14]
Architecture in some details.
Technical Step 1.
SAP PO(Process Orchestration) is an enterprise integration platform that provides seamless integration between SAP (SAP ATTP in our case and non-SAP applications (TraceLink in our case)
TraceLink accepts
SFTP and
AS2 (Applicability Statement 2) protocol [9]
To work with both protocols in SAP PO, Add-on installation is required [8], [10]
For example: SFTP settings from SAP PO. Screenshot
Technical Step 2.
For example: TraceLink supported B2B Connections & File Formats. Screenshot from [11]
Additional custom development in SAP ATTP is also needed
For example universal tool for creating events (Object Event, Aggregation Event) from EPCIS.
Links.
[1] Digital Transformation – Everything you need to know about Digital Transformation in the current world of SAP
[2] The Internet of Supply Chains (IoSC), a Model in the Cloud.
[3] SAP Information Collaboration Hub for Life Sciences
[4] AmerisourceBergen. SAP Innovation Awards 2021 Entry Pitch Deck
[5] TraceLink: End-to-End Supply Chain Solutions
[6] The MediLedger Network
[7] Compliance with SAP ATTP, S/4HANA and EWM. Technical details.
[8] SFTP addon installation in PI NW 7.5 using SUM 15
[9] Protocol AS2 explained. Wiki.
[10] SAP Process Integration Business-to-Business Add-on 2.0
[11] Partner Onboarding eLearning Course