Member Info for Nig1954

I forgot to mention in my haste that apart from Maxim Perry (referred to earlier), iTrackIndia (our Indian Distributor), Zubair Chopra, (iTrackIndia's Head of Sales),Jose Cuperman, Starcom's head of South American Sales and Luis Zambrano, (Operations Director at VTS Solutions) were all promoting that Dr Reddy’s tweet which was withdrawn last week. Why should that be so, unless Starcom are possibly involved in their Distribution Supply Chain. Call me paranoid, by all means, but i think something's afoot and all we need is an RNS to put us out of our misery

This morning on LinkedIn VTS Solutions, our South American Distributors,are again promoting Kylos Air/ Connect IoT device for Covid-19 Vaccine cold chain monitoring in real-time with any temperature range deviation from -200C to +200C which can source country and target country , local health points, inter modal transportation(truck,train,shuttle/ferry) etc..etc..etc.. which cover pharmaceutical regulations,local refrigeration centres, terrestrial cargo and local point of care, temporal point of care, location of any fixed or portable vaccine container etc..etc..etc.. and it’s connectability to Tetis R for real-time cold chain management
I think they’ve updated their literature as it’s entirely focused on Covid-19 vaccine and transportation etc…..
and it appears to have been modified/updated and is now specifically related to all things Covid.
It also shows the interaction between the Kylos family of products and Tetis R. This would be sufficient to provide full transparency from leaving the manufacturer to administration of the vaccine, in any location. A complete blockchain for safe transportation and delivery, avoiding theft/tampering/counterfeiting along the supply chain etc...etc...
https://bit.ly/2SkO4h2

Maxim Perry, Starcom's Head of Sales was again promoting this link, yesterday, on LikedIn. Why would he do that if it doesn't in some way impact upon Starcom.
Sputnik V covid vaccination to start in few weeks in India: Dr Reddy's
The first consignment of Sputnik V vaccines from Russia today arrived in Hyderabad. (ANI)
1 min read . Updated: 01 May 2021, 07:44 PM IST
Staff Writer
The vaccine will be available in a few weeks after it has gone through statutory clearances, Dr Reddy's said.

India received its first lot of Sputnik V vaccine on Saturday. The first batch of Russia-developed vaccine was delivered in Hyderabad as India battles a vicious second wave of covid-19 infections.

Dr Reddy's said that the vaccine will be available in a few weeks after statutory clearances. ''Today, we have received 1,50,000 doses of Sputnik V vaccine here in Hyderabad. The vaccine will be available in a few weeks after it has gone through statutory clearances. The price will also be announced then,'' Deepak Sapra of Dr. Reddy's Laboratories said as quoted by ANI.
This is the link that was removed a week ago https://www.linkedin.com/posts/itrackindia_sputnik-v-covid-vaccination-to-start-in-few-activity-6794512816201109504-rnBx

I'm saying there are a lot of positive signs. Maybe, in their own way the Distributors are trying to show us what is happening in the background because Starcom has been limited in relation to what information they can publicly release. Now that Dr Reddy's has gone public and everyone has some indication of their plans they might not be as commercially sensitive as they may have been before the vaccine had been approved, supplies were available, agreements were in place with the Indian government etc.. etc..etc..
Hopefully, if Starcom are involved they should be able to converse with their shareholders now that we've got past that commercially sensitive point. I'm an optimist. I'm satisfied that the Tech is of a high standard and at the cutting edge. Unless the company have been holding back there's nothing to fear.
Silence creates fear and paranoia even though there's neither good or bad news to release. As the really wealthy investors have said on many occasions it's the waiting that deters many investors and why they sell out before the good news arrives or can't hold sufficiently long enough to maximise their gains. I've not heard or seen anything to suggest that any adverse news is coming so i'm prepared to place my trust in the BOD as they want the same thing as us and aren't prepared to sell out on the cheap. That's a positive for me and a good sign

Yet more intrigue in relation to an article that appeared on LinkedIn , last week end, from VTS Solutions, our South American Distributors.only to be withdrawn within 12 hours. Possibly, because NDA's have been agreed as it was a very commercially sensitive issue until it recently became public knowledge.
Starcom Systems continues to be present in the fight against COVID-19 worldwide.
Introducing the Kylos Air Connect Intelligent IoT Solution, a portable GPS that together with BLE temperature and humidity sensors allows you to track the cold chain of vaccines in real time and know their location. In the event of a deviation from established temperature or humidity ranges, manipulation or theft, the system sends a real-time alert to the platform and a mobile application, allowing the correctives to operate and take the correctives in the shortest possible time.
Suitable for ground and air transport of vaccines.

This is an earlier comment on Starcom's Facebook page which implied they could be involved in the distribution supply chain for dealing with Covid.
https://twitter.com/messages/media/1396131532763504646

If my recollection of events is correct we first became aware of Kylos Forever Connect Units at the latter end of 2020. We were told they had been developed following discussions between a Distributor and a potential customer and Starcom announced “We are very excited and proud to be involved in the world wide effort to eradicate the Covid-19 pandemic . Our smart IoT Kylos Forever Units are already in use for real time monitoring of temperature and humidity in static vaccine refrigerators at health centres as well as mobile transport boxes for the delivery of the vaccine.”
Maybe that implies we were already involved in a pilot study to test the reliability of the technology in the field. Also, note how similar the tone of the language is to some of the statements recently made by Dr Reddy’s. It doesn’t necessarily mean anything in itself but is just one of those nagging similarities that gives some credence to the possibility that Starcom are a participant in the Dr Reddy’s initiative

The commercial launch of Sputnik V vaccines is expected by mid-June after cold storage studies are concluded . Dr Reddy’s are brand custodians of the Russian jab in India and have sole distribution rights of the first 250 million doses(first and second dose components) of the vaccine in India.
They are responsible for pharmacovigilance , post vaccination tracking , quality integration and quality management . The vaccine is currently stored at -18* C temperatures in India . They have finally put in place cold storage logistics as well as track and trace arrangements for the vaccine . These are designed to protect the safety and quality of the vaccine .
Stability studies on storage of the vaccine are ongoing at +2 to +8 C and have not yet been competed. Really hope that Starcom are a participant in this initiative

Bit of a catch up on various fronts as this is a very fluid situation. It's a bit like a large jigsaw puzzle, finding all the relevant pieces and trying to put them in the right places.
Just found the following interesting snippet. The CEO at Dr Reddys Laboratories is Erez Israeli who was educated at Bar llan university in Israel. Prior to his appointment he was CEO and President, Growth markets at Teva Pharmaceutical in Israel. His skills as as a strategic thinker includes operational and commercial decision making and structured business processes.His past experience includes global sales and marketing,manufacturing including business development , supply chains,project development and research and development. He’s been in his current position for 3 years 2 months so would have been at Teva when they were testing Various Starcom product offerings back in 2018. What’s the likelihood that he’s aware of what Starcom can offer and more so that he actually knows the senior personnel at Starcom given his background and Israeli education?.

The commercial launch of Sputnik V vaccines is expected by mid-June after cold storage studies are concluded . Dr Reddy’s are brand custodians of the Russian jab in India and have sole distribution rights of the first 250 million doses(first and second dose components) of the vaccine in India.
They are responsible for pharmacovigilance , post vaccination tracking , quality integration and quality management . The vaccine is currently stored at -18* C temperatures in India .
They have finally put in place cold storage logistics as well as track and trace arrangements for the vaccine . These are designed to protect the safety and quality of the vaccine . Stability studies on storage of the vaccine are ongoing at +2 to +8 C and have not yet been competed.
Really hope that Starcom are a participant in this initiative

Just found the following interesting snippet.
The CEO at Dr Reddys Laboratories is Erez Israeli who was educated at Bar llan university in Israel. Prior to his appointment he was CEO and President, growth markets at Teva Pharmaceutical in Israel. His skills as as a strategic thinker includes operational and commercial decision making and structured business processes.His past experience includes global sales and marketing,manufacturing including business development , supply chains,project development and research and development.
He’s been in his current position for 3 years 2 months so would have been in situ at Teva when they were testing various Starcom product offerings back in 2018. What’s the likelihood that he’s aware of what Starcom can offer and more so that he actually knows the senior personnel at Starcom given his background and Israeli education?. Just asking.
This doesn't provide any definitive confirmation of Starcom's involvement in the Sputnik V supply chain but the known associations with and links to Starcom via Teva Pharmaceuticals certainly makes it an intriguing possibility

I engaged with Starcom a couple of days ago to inquire why there has been no communication with Investors. The response was that NDA's are preventing the company from acknowledging what projects they're currently involved with but that they hope to enlighten Investors, very soon. Again no direct reference but plenty of intrigue. Also, i wouldn't be surprised if iTrackIndia weren't also bound by the same NDA's and that might again explain why there's so little news leakage on this
subject. We'll just have to be patient and continue to live in hope
Furthermore links with RDIF ,referred to below, have completely disappeared from the LinkedIn accounts of iTrackIndia, Zubair and Maxim Perry. Bit of a mystery is that. Have no idea why that should be the case unless someone is concerned that it may be in breach of NDA’s There's no direct reference to Dr Reddy's on the LinkedIn accounts of iTrackIndia but why make reference to that particular article. It's possible they were asked to take down these links as they disappeared within 12 hours of initially being posted.
With its Covaxin supply almost exhausted , the Delhi Government has reached out to Dr Reddy’s laboratories [DRL) seeking 6.7 million doses of Sputnik V vaccine, to increase the pace of the inoculation drive in the city
Also, New Delhi drug firm Shilpa Medicare has entered into a 3 year definitive agreement with DRL for the production-supply of Sputnik V vaccine. Targeted production for the first 12 months is 50 million doses from commencement of commercial production . Under the agreement Shilpa will be responsible for manufacturing with DRL responsible for distribution/marketing of the vaccine in its marketing territories.
3 days ago Dr Reddy's announced that the Apollo Hospitals network will be used nationally for storing, monitoring and administering the vaccine. Rollout has begun today in Hyderabad and will be extended to other metro cities from yesterday. 8-9 States have now approached DRL for procurement of Sputnik V .
DRL is working with hospitals in metros that can handle -18*C storage for the vaccines. There's a supply commitment of 36 million doses from RDIF in the next 2 months.
In summary, there's lots going on and that's without reference to other avenues that are beginning to open up. However, there's lots of unanswered questions but hopefully enough to suggest that it's going to be a very interesting period over the course of the next few months

Also, allocating resources to institutionalise and coordinate the entire response management including plan, partners, infrastructure and IT are solutions to overcome the challenges is required. 15 Million cool boxes is an extremely tall order and Kylos have just the product with all the relevant credentials. Just need some confirmation that iTrack are supplying Dr Reddy's and that Kylos is being deployed
It is widely known by now that temperature is a critical factor for the COVID-19 vaccine. Even the regions with the most developed logistics infrastructures and resources needed to support a cold-chain network are sure to struggle with distribution.
The complexity of the problem increases further when considering countries such as India that do not have cold-chain logistics networks that meet vaccine requirements. Despite India’s network of 28,000 cold-chain units, none are capable of transporting vaccines below -25°Celsius. While India’s Serum Institute has licensed to manufacture AstraZeneca’s vaccine, which can reportedly be stored in standard refrigerated environments, even a regular vaccine cold chain poses major challenges.
Furthermore, security will undoubtedly become a significant concern that global authorities must address with a coordinated solution. According to the Pharmaceutical Security Institute, theft and counterfeiting of pharmaceutical products rose nearly 70% over the past five years. As with any valuable and scarce product, counterfeits will emerge. Suppliers and producers are actively working on innovative approaches to limit black-market interference.
Global production, distribution and social equality present dependent yet conflicting realities that will demand global supply chains provide complete transparency and an immutable chain of custody imperative to vaccine distribution. The technology is available today – we just need to use it. We have the ability to track every batch, pallet, box, vile and dose along the supply chain. We have the ability to know with absolute certainty that the vaccine is approved, where and when it was manufactured, how it was handled and whether it was compromised at any point in the supply chain. Modern blockchain technologies should be applied so that every nation, institution, regulator, doctor and patient can have confidence in knowing that they are making an impact in eradicating COVID-19.
The Indian authorities are aware of what needs to be done. We know that Starcom's tech is capable of supporting vaccine distribution on many different levels. The big question is, will the Indian authorities be prepared to commit the financial resources required to enable them to get on top of their Covid problems

The Sputnik vaccine has to be stored at -18*C and there's a severe lack of cold chain infrastructure in India. The smart IoT Kylos Forever Connect Units are ideal for real time monitoring of temperature and humidity in static vaccine refrigerators at health centres as well as mobile transport boxes for the delivery of vaccines.
They're beginning in the Metros and Tier 1 cities and plan to scale up to the rest of India. Dr Reddy's plan is to vaccinate 125 Million people over the next 8/12 months with approx 20% of the vaccine coming from India. The rest will be manufactured under Licence in India by 6 Indian firms.
The next consignment arrives in a week and 36 Million doses will be available over the next 2 months. Given that Dr Reddy's is an iTrack customer there has to be an odds on prospect that Starcom will benefit from this as their tech is ideally suited to this operation, especially for transporting vaccines into the hinterland of India
India has confirmed that the big challenge for them is storing the vaccine at -18*C as this is especially difficult in public hospitals. They're currently exploring a number of options which will enable them to overcome this obstacle. Hopefully, one of those options is Starcom as their product offering is ideal for these specific circumstances
Dr Reddy's has recently confirmed after prolonged discussions with the Indian Government that “We will be an integral part of the government’s vaccination programme,’’ Sapra said. Deepak Sapra is CEO (API and Services) at Dr. Reddy's Laboratories
Organising the administration of the vaccine to the huge (1.35 billion) population will call for a large health workforce," says Professor K. Srinath Reddy, president of the Public Health Foundation of India. "It will be especially demanding if it is a two-dose vaccine," he added. Experts noted that nothing on the scale of vaccination planned for COVID-19 has been attempted in India before. "I feel the biggest challenge would be cold chain (management), depending upon what vaccine is to be deployed," leading epidemiologist Shahid Jameel told The Straits Times.
To provide coverage of COVID-19 vaccines, up to 2,000,000 pallet shipments and 15 million deliveries in cooling boxes as well as 15,000 flights will be required across various supply chain set-ups in the next two years. Potential bottlenecks along the key supply chain can happen in intermediate transport, intercontinental shipment, warehousing, downstream distribution and final short-term storage at the point of use.
Building a partnership network of both public-private and public-public partnerships, identifying and ensuring access to required physical logistics infrastructure, establishing IT-enabled supply chain transparency and creating organisational structures.

The frustrating aspect is the recent lack of communication with shareholders regarding the ongoing situation. We've been advised in the Trading Update and again in the Annual Report that they hoped to make an announcement soon regarding the award of new contracts. The company were very active on social media until the end of March 2020 and it seems as though there's been a news blackout since then apart from reference to some product upgrades and the introduction of some new Covid related products a based on feedback from some of their larger Distributors.
The company maintains that it is very busy and i get the feeling that they're as frustrated as ourselves that it's taking such a long time to progress the new contracts. However, i'm informed that there are serious ongoing issues as a direct result of Covid 3rd/4th waves which are hampering everyone's efforts to fully reopen their economies and that despite the rosy picture painted in the UK media this is still a serious problem in South America, India and the Middle East where we're hoping to make inroads. Governments in those regions aren't helping matters and whilst we're extremely critical of the UK governments handling of Covid, i think we'd be apoplectic in relation to the handling of matters by the Brazilian and Indian governments, to name but 2.
Now and then we glean snippets from VTS Solutions, our South American distributor and iTrack our Indian distributor. We know that Dr Reddy's are a customer of iTrackIndia but don't know to what extent iTrack may be supporting them with their huge logistic exercise to safely transport and deliver the Sputnik V vaccine to the metro cities and later to the hinterland regions.
We know that Dr Reddy's have been authorised by the Indian government to supply Sputnik V to private hospitals ( the Apollo Group has been specifically mentioned), general hospitals and health centres. Dr Reddy's have signed a deal with a Russian sovereign wealth fund (RDIF) to procure 150 Million doses of Sputnik V, initially to be supplied from Russia with a further 100/150 million doses to be manufactured, subject to licence in India by Indian pharmaceutical firms.
On April 12th India’s health ministry recommended granting an emergency use authorisation to the Sputnik V manufactured by Dr Reddy after the company submitted the immunogenicity data

When the 2020 final results were published i contacted Igor as i was intrigued by the going concern reference in the Annual Report. I established that the Auditors had undertaken a rigorous exercise of the company's financial forecasts and cashflows and after adopting a very conservative position were satisfied that the company had access to sufficient financial resources covering a period of 12 months up to the date of their report. That gives me sufficient assurances that the company is financially sound and barring a financial disaster will still be here next year.
The Directors Loans are due to be repaid by 30th September 2021 but they can be rolled over or even converted into shares. Given the manner in which the BOD have conducted themselves to date and that they've introduced personal funds, at their personal risk, to provide ongoing financial support, i don't have any immediate concerns regarding the company's financial stability.
Their relationship with their Bankers is extremely good and i'm very positive that the Bank will continue to provide adequate financial support. Again, Loans will be rolled over, if required, barring an unforeseen financial disaster. In summary, i'm not expecting a placing or dilution of shareholders interests. Naturally, anything is possible but the BOD have shown plenty of integrity in the past and have aligned themselves with their shareholders so for the time being i'm happy to continue to provide them with the benefit of doubt

Starcoms collaboration with Technoton can transform analogue products into smart digital applications.Adding IoT connectivity and intelligence at the Edge it creates the ability to monitor and to configure your product from a user-friendly interface.
This approach enhances the functionality of your IoT product and targeted on real-time market solutions. Embedded analytics opens functionality for both a manufacturer and an end consumer. http://bit.ly/2OPegiE

https://twitter.com/riddler_smitb/status/1380852404829184000

The following is a brief extract from a recent article explaining how company's such as Starcom are beginning to transform how the manufacturing industry operates and maintains that many companies are now restructuring their operations and will shortly be spending heavily as we emerge from Covid to take advantage of the commercial benefits this technology is now capable of delivering.
Manufacturers are implementing industrial IoT(IIoT) to leverage predictive maintenance , data analytics and more It is taking networked sensors and putting that technology to use directly on the manufacturing floor, collecting data to drive predictive analytics.Those sensors gather data, store it wirelessly, and use analytics to take some kind of action. It’s transforming manufacturing supply chains into dynamic, interconnected systems. IIoT technologies help to change the way products are made and delivered. They make factories more efficient and safer for human operators. In some cases, they save facilities millions of unnecessary dollars.
One of the many benefits of IIoT is how it can improve operating efficiencies. For example, if a machine goes down, connected sensors can determine where the issue is occurring and trigger a service request to an engineer. IIoT can also work together with an EAM CMMS where engineers can receive these generated requests on their mobile device and immediately go to the location to repair or assign it to another engineer near the asset.
IIoT can also predict when a machine will likely breakdown or when its useful life cycle is about to end—before it ever happens. It’s taking a preventive maintenance approach to the next level by saving factory owners thousands of dollars on unwarranted repairs or replacements. Beyond saving time and money, IIoT can keep workers safe. If an oil well is about to reach a dangerous pressure condition, for example, operators will be warned well before it explodes based on the nature of the sensors and vibration analysis. Sensors can even be used to manage and monitor workers’ locations in case of an emergency or evacuation.
IIoT is already boosting efficiency, productivity, and safety within the workplace. The future looks bright for several industries. The following is an example of how some companies are taking advantage of IIoT technology. Infrared thermography allows engineers and mechanics to see electrical systems, mechanical equipment, building applications, and fluid systems through the use of thermovision. Engineers can spot faulty connections, abnormal motors, pipe temperatures

Look at the following extract from Chairman's statement in 2019 Accounts. It makes reference to Polish customers. Lokies
The Company’s intelligent keyless padlock, branded as Lokies, was successfully launched in April 2019 and
has been well received in the market, with proof of concept (“POC”) projects having been initiated with various
key customers. In addition, a number of customers in Russia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Bulgaria and Poland,
have placed initial orders, forgoing the customary POC stage in order to reach their respective local markets
faster. The Board believes that this innovative Internet of Things (“IoT”) product can become a leader in the
“smart padlocks” market and has the potential to spearhead significant growth for Starcom as it can be
marketed via both B2B and B2C models.
It has also been said in the past, probably at the 2019 Accounts Meeting, that Starcom are seen as one of the best technology companies sitting in the Global Cargo market. Great things were expected in 2020 but these didn't materialize for reasons we're all familiar with. May be that will become evident in 2021 as national economies begin to return to some form of normality. There's more to be optimistic about than pessimistic.