Transforming Medical Device Supply Chains via Robotic Automation and SAP Integration: A Success Model for Medical Device Distribution at Jabil Inc

Abstract

The combination of robotic process automation and enterprise resource planning systems is powerful in medical device distribution, meeting the dual imperatives of operational efficiency and regulatory compliance in highly regulated environments. The implementation at Jabil Inc. shows how strategic integration of automated picking systems with the SAP  Warehouse Management architecture can achieve significant productivity improvements while ensuring full validation and traceability requirements mandated for FDA Class II and III medical devices. Technical architecture also features advanced middleware integration layers of heterogeneous robotic fleets and enterprise systems; full serialization layers that ensure full product lineage tracking; multi-layered audit trails to allow readiness to regulatory inspections. The validation procedures under the GAMP 5 framework and the FDA guidance documents are the procedures that ensure that automated processes retain the data integrity, quality control, and compliance requirements within system lifecycles. The effects of operations relate to a great enhancement in pick-and-pack performance, almost complete removal of mispicking, enhancement of inventory precision, better usage of space, and enhancement of customer service indications. The implementation provides a template that can be followed by organizations that have to maneuver their way through the mayhem of implementing automation in GxP-compliant settings, demonstrating that even the most stringent regulatory conditions can be employed together with the latest and most sophisticated technologies. In this manner, the combination of warehouse robotics, enterprise resource planning systems, and quality management platforms forms synergistic capabilities that actually improve both operational performance and regulatory adherence, challenging conventional assumptions regarding inherent tensions between efficiency and compliance objectives.