Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for capsule manufacturers.
A checklist built from how capsule manufacturers work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Raw material lots
- Solution batch records
- Dipping and drying runs
- Printing and sorting
- Laboratory results
- Finished lots and cartons
- Certificates and dispatch
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For plant heads
- For solution and dipping operators
- For quality and laboratory staff
- For stores and dispatch
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Yield by size, colour and dipping machine
- Reject counts by defect type and pin set
- Lots on hold with the failed parameter
- Raw material lots with expiry and balance
- Moisture and lock length trend per customer and size
- Retained samples by lot and shelf
- Orders open against promised dispatch dates
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- WhatsApp or other messaging
- Accounting export
- Barcode labels
- Laboratory instrument export
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Can I see which gelatin lot went into a lot of size 0 shells?
- Does it work for HPMC and pullulan shells?
- Can limits differ for each filler?
- Will it replace the control charts on the kilns?
- What happens to a lot that fails lock length?
- How are retained samples handled?
- Can the certificate show our own layout?
- Can our current shell sizes and stock figures be brought in?
- What does a plant of our size pay?
- Who looks after changes once it is live?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Solution batches lose their ingredients
- Drying conditions are not tied to the lot
- Customer specifications live in email
- Rejected shells are counted loosely
- Certificates are typed again for each shipment
Prefer to talk it through? See the capsule manufacturers page.