Track And Trace Solutions Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Hardware, Software), By Technology (Barcodes, RFID), By Application (Serialization, Aggregation), By End-use, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2021 - 2028

Report Overview

The global track and trace solutions market size was valued at USD 2.5 billion in 2020 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.0% from 2021 to 2028. Associated advantages such as continuous transparency, packaging and logistics management, and product ID verification services facilitating hassle-free product movement within the distribution channel is the key growth driver for this market.

The COVID-19 impact is revealing the importance of traceability and standardization to effectively monitor people, supply chain, and assets in the healthcare industry. The COVID-19 outbreak has heightened the risks posed by the global trade in counterfeit pharmaceutical products. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a rising capacity of false medicines linked to COVID-19 is on sale in developing countries along with an upsurge in counterfeit medical products related to coronavirus.

The growth of the market for track and trace solutions is anticipated to be fueled by the rising deployment of track and trace solutions by pharmaceutical and medical device companies. Drug counterfeiting is a major problem faced by pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceutical companies. Thus, companies are adopting track and trace solutions for supply chain monitoring. It has been found that the influx of substandard/counterfeit medications is more prevalent in low to middle-income countries such as India and Africa. According to the United States Trade Representative (USTR) report in 2019, around 20% of all sold drugs in India were counterfeit.

Moreover, stringent regulations and standards pertinent to serialization implementation and aggregation are expected to drive the market for track and trace solutions. In July 2019, Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) imparted new guidelines on product coding in order to reduce counterfeiting in Australia. However, the high cost connected with the track and trace implementation, and lack of unified global standard regulations for serialization and aggregation could hinder the growth of the market for track and trace solutions.

Product Insights

The software solutions segment dominated the market for track and trace solutions and held the largest revenue share of over 54.0% in 2020 due to its growing adoption in healthcare companies, including pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals, and medical device companies. These software solutions are used for continuous management of manufacturing facilities, product lines, case and bundle tracking, and warehousing and shipping. Companies developing this software are investing in R&D for better product development which is expected to propel the growth.

The hardware solution segment is expected to show lucrative growth over the forecast period. The printing and marking solutions segment held the largest revenue share in the market. This system plays important role in the production and supply chain to ensure quality and product authenticity. Rising demand for serialization and the need to achieve regulatory compliance is fueling the market growth. Printing and marking equipment is expected to play a crucial role to meet the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) requirements by 2023. Moreover, advancement in coding technologies such as laser marking systems, Large Character Marking (LCM), and Thermal Transfer Overprinting (TTO) is expected to fuel the market in the coming years.

Application Insights

The serialization solutions segment dominated the market for track and trace solutions and held the largest revenue share of over 56.0% in 2020 due to the increasing focus of regulatory bodies on the implementation of the same. The federal agencies, country governments, and healthcare industry are taking measures to decrease product diversion and drug counterfeiting. Serialization is a major step to comply with new ePedigree regulations that are required for product traceability during the supply chain. In addition, the increased focus on patient safety and brand protection by manufacturers is expected to propel the segment growth during the study period.

Manufacturers are facing challenges due to growing complexity and diversity in serialization requirements, primarily in the pharmaceutical industry. Variations in standards and regulations across the countries, as well as management of aggregated complex data, makes it difficult for manufacturers to implement serialization in track and trace. However, the increasing rate of counterfeiting of pharmaceuticals and other healthcare products drives the adoption of serialization in the supply chain.

Technology Insights

The barcodes technology segment dominated the market for track and trace solutions and accounted for the largest revenue share of over 84.0% in 2020. The 2D barcode is the dominant segment of the barcode technology and is expected to maintain its position throughout the study period. The increased application of 2D barcodes in pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical product packaging is a major factor that contributed to the higher revenue share. Also, ample data storage capacity of 2D barcodes than linear barcodes, as well as its higher popularity in the industry boosts the demand for 2D barcode-based solutions.

Government regulations and an increase in counterfeit drugs sale led to the implementation of barcode technology in the healthcare industry. For instance, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade issued a notice announcing the execution of a track and trace system integrated barcode technology for pharmaceutical products exported from India since 2011. Thus, demand for barcode technology in the track and trace solutions market has increased and is expected to remain high during the forecast period.

End-use Insights

The pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies dominated the market for track and trace solutions and accounted for the largest revenue share of over 28.0% in 2020. Ensuring safe product track and trace abilities across various entities throughout the supply chain by implementing serialization is a crucial step to address the challenges faced by the pharmaceutical & biopharmaceutical companies. Currently, it is mandatory for pharmaceutical manufacturers to comply with federal and state regulations for track and trace solutions, which is fueling the demand. In September 2013, the Drug Quality and Security Act H.R. 3204 were approved by the Senate as the U.S. federal law. According to this bill, manufacturers are required to incorporate a product identifier number on each package and case of prescription drugs. The demand for track and trace solutions for the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical supply chains was high in 2020 and is expected to increase further during the forecast period.

The consumer goods segment is expected to show significant growth over the forecast period. Common counterfeit goods include clothing, footwear, handbags, watches, OTC products, household products, books, batteries, cigarettes, and video games. According to the Office for National Statistics, counterfeit trade in the U.K. was worth 9.3 billion in the year 2017. Consumer safety, brand retention, and product recalls are some of the major concerns owing to disorganized supply chain logistics. The growth of e-commerce globally has led to rise in counterfeit production as consumer demand for these goods increases. Therefore, a rising number of manufacturers are adopting the use of track and trace solutions to provide consumers with authentic products.

Regional Insights

North America dominated the market for track and trace solutions and accounted for the largest revenue share of 38.0% in 2020, primarily due to the presence of highly regulated serialization and aggregation standards, as well as advanced healthcare infrastructure. Automatic identification technologies including barcoding and RFID are recommended to pharmaceuticals and other healthcare companies by the FDA. Furthermore, the presence of highly developed healthcare infrastructure and adoption of this technology in the U.S. is expected to drive the market in the region.

Europe is the second-largest market for track and trace solutions in terms of revenue share and is expected to remain unaltered till 2028. They can be attributed to the presence of developed economies, such as Germany, Turkey, the U.K., France, and Italy, in the region. The European Union aims to progressively implement track and trace solutions in the healthcare supply chain to deal with drug counterfeiting and theft. According to the Falsified Medicines Directive, manufacturers failing to comply with drug serialization regulations would not be allowed to market their products in Europe.

Key Companies & Market Share Insights

There are multiple small and large manufacturers offering products for tracking and tracing applications, resulting in intense competition among vendors. The vendors are increasing their focus on strategic partnerships with their consumers and are collaborating with other players in the sector. For instance, in January 2021, OPTEL partnered with Bureau Veritas and introduced a V-TRACE traceability solution for the management of COVID-19 vaccine supply chain logistics. Furthermore, in June 2020, Zebra Technologies Corp. introduced Zebra Motion Works Proximity which is featured with proximity sensing at the user level that permits alerting and contact tracing. This initiative is expected to help the company to increase its market footprint. Some of the prominent players in the track and trace solutions market include:

• Axway

• Mettler-Toledo International, Inc.

• Optel Vision

• TraceLink, Inc.

• Adents International

• Antares Vision srl

• Siemens AG

• Seidenader Maschinenbau GmbH

• ACG Worldwide

• Systech, Inc.

Track And Trace Solutions Market Report Scope

Segments Covered in the Report

This report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2016 to 2028. For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global track and trace solutions market report on the basis of product, technology, application, end-use, and region:

• Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)

  • Hardware Systems

    • Printing & marking solutions

    • Monitoring & verification solutions

    • Labeling solutions

    • Others

  • Software Solutions

    • Plant manager software

    • Line controller software

    • Bundle tracking software

    • Others

• Technology Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)

  • Barcode

  • RFID  

• Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)

  • Serialization solutions       

    • Bottle serialization

    • Label serialization

    • Carton serialization

    • Data matrix serialization

  • Aggregation Solutions

    • Bundle aggregation

    • Case aggregation

    • Pallet aggregation

• End-use Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)

  • Pharmaceutical & biopharmaceutical Companies

  • Medical device companies

  • Healthcare Others

  • Food and beverage

  • Consumer goods

  • Luxury goods

• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2028)

  • North America

    • U.S.

    • Canada

  • Europe

    • U.K.

    • Germany

    • France

    • Italy

    • Spain

    • Switzerland

    • Belgium

    • Russia

  • Asia Pacific

    • Japan

    • China

    • India

  • Latin America

    • Brazil

    • Mexico

    • Argentina

  • Middle East & Africa

    • South Africa

    • Saudi Arabia

    • Egypt