PRESS RELEASE 21 July 2008

SSL INTERNATIONAL IMPLEMENTS Ci-DMS DISPENSARY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR MEDICINE PRODUCTION

SSL International, the global healthcare company, has implemented the Ci-DMS dispensary management from CI Systems in its production plant in Peterlee, County Durham, for use in the manufacture of medicines such as Syndol, Meltus, Medised and Remegel.

SSL International dispensing stations

Four dispensing stations and two supervisor's stations have been installed with the aim of improving SSL's GMP capability. In addition, the DMS has enabled SSL to re-allocate staff so that, instead of having an operative and a checker at each dispensing station, there is now one operative per station and a single checker covering two stations. With the plant operating two shifts per day, this change means that the DMS is on target to achieve payback in approximately two years.

Ian Maitland, the site engineer, explains why Ci-DMS was selected over any of the alternatives available:

"A bespoke system would not have been appropriate for our needs, so we looked at configurable systems. There were really only two that matched our requirements. In terms of functionality, they were very close, but another user which operates a number of Ci-DMS packages in its plants around the world, strongly recommended Ci-DMS. Although SSL is not fully FDA-compliant, we prefer to purchase FDA-compliant products and systems wherever possible and, again, Ci-DMS ticked this box."

When calculating the cost justification, Mr Maitland found that payback could be achieved in just two years and one month. He comments:

"Given the way the system has performed so far, I am confident that we will be very close to achieving that goal."

John Stout, the Warehouse Manager, says there have been further benefits as well:

"It appears that the throughput and efficiency have increased. On the rare occasions when there has been an unusual event, Ci-DMS quickly enables us to identify the cause, which saves hours of manual investigation."

Because the plant could not be shut down, it took longer to implement the DMS than might otherwise have been the case, with some production being transferred to night shifts to enable the installation to take place. Nevertheless, Stout says the process went smoothly, with almost no teething problems.

Stout is highly satisfied with the Ci-DMS suite, commenting:

"I love having the ability to monitor progress, search data, and print reports and batch records. Product traceability is now excellent and the electronic data management is far superior to paper documents and manual signatures. CI Systems has also proved to be an excellent supplier. If ever we need to ask anything we always get a fast response and very helpful advice. Overall I am very pleased with both the software and the supplier."

For more information about CI Systems' Ci-DMS Dispensary Management System,
call 01722 424100 or email sales@cielec.com

www.cidms.co.uk