Bureau Veritas and OPTEL partner together to launch V-TRACE, a complete and assured traceability solution for COVID-19 vaccines along the whole supply chain

PRESS RELEASE

Neuilly-sur-Seine, France – January 6, 2021

                   - COVID-19 vaccine logistics chain reliability and compliance -

 Bureau Veritas and OPTEL partner together to launch V-TRACE, a complete and assured traceability solution for COVID-19 vaccines along the whole supply chain

, a world leader in testing, inspection, and certification, and , a leading global provider of pharmaceutical supply chain traceability platforms, join forces to address the critical issue of reliability and traceability in COVID-19 vaccine logistics chains.

In the next few months, billions of doses of COVID-19 vaccines will need to be rapidly and safely administered to people around the world. The complexity of cold chain conditions, the timeliness of delivery as well as the need to mitigate risk of any deviation are identified as critical challenges for successful large-scale vaccination.

V-TRACE is an integrated solution designed to track and trace COVID-19 vaccines, while ensuring risk mitigation thanks to controls and inspections all along the logistics chain. V-TRACE provides a global control of the supply chain thanks to the local presence of inspectors in the field.

Didier Michaud-Daniel, CEO, Bureau Veritas, commented:

“The priority for all governments and private institutions is to ensure that vaccine doses are safe and secure. This means tracking and tracing vaccines along the supply chain. Bureau Veritas’ experience in independent inspections along the supply chain to control inventories, storage and logistics conditions complements OPTEL’s ability to provide real-time traceability information. By combining our respective expertise, we are able to provide a single solution to control and mitigate risk throughout the logistics chains. Building on almost 200 years of expertise in shaping trust between companies, governments and society at large, Bureau Veritas is proud to partner with OPTEL to ensure the health and safety of people around the world.”

Louis Roy, Founder and CEO, OPTEL Group, added:

''The COVID-19 vaccine distribution is an unprecedented challenge for nations across the world. To successfully address this challenge, nations will need transparency at every level of the supply chain. This is precisely what OPTEL’s traceability platform has been built for, over the last three decades. OPTEL is proud to be joining forces with Bureau Veritas to bring complete visibility and certainty to the distribution of vaccines. As the leader in digital traceability, our mission is to use our technologies to create a better world. We know our traceability technologies combined with the expertise of Bureau Veritas can make a difference to overcome this historical challenge. ‘’

Thanks to this partnership, OPTEL and Bureau Veritas are able to offer a combined expertise that is unrivalled in the pharmaceutical industry and in supply chain assurance.

V-TRACE is a unique integrated solution providing Governments with:

• VISIBILITY to control their vaccine orders all along the logistics chain in one single control tower, ensuring the traceability of every batch of vaccines.
• COMPLIANCE of vaccine batches through verified collected information on storage and distribution conditions all along the logistics chain.
• ASSURANCE that their vaccines are well stored, transported and conserved, in particular assurance that cold chain requirements are met, with temperature verification performed by Bureau Veritas’ inspectors along the logistics chain.

About OPTEL Group

OPTEL is a leading global provider of traceability systems whose goal is to use its innovative technologies to build a better world through the Intelligent Supply Chain®.

OPTEL is the only company with the ability to offer true end-to-end traceability, providing actionable, granular data at every step of the supply chain—from raw materials to the consumer and beyond.

Founded in 1989, OPTEL is a Certified B Corporation headquartered in Canada, with facilities in India, Ireland and Brazil, as well as employees worldwide.

With more than 30 years of expertise and experience in the pharmaceutical supply chain, OPTEL is working with the world leading brands and tracking 15B items per year.

For more information, visit .

About Bureau Veritas

Bureau Veritas is a world leader in laboratory testing, inspection and certification services. Created in 1828, the Group has more than 75,000 employees located in more than 1,500 offices and laboratories around the globe. Bureau Veritas helps its clients improve their performance by offering services and innovative solutions in order to ensure that their assets, products, infrastructure and processes meet standards and regulations in terms of quality, health and safety, environmental protection and social responsibility.

Bureau Veritas is also a global leader in supply chain assurance and COVID-19 hygiene protocol audits: with 70+ accreditations, 145,000+ certificates, a presence in 140+ countries, and recognized experience with governments, the group has supported its clients in the restart of their activities post COVID-19 lockdowns.

Bureau Veritas is listed on Euronext Paris and belongs to the Next 20 index.

Compartment A, ISIN code FR 0006174348, stock symbol: BVI.

For more information, visit , and follow us on (@bureauveritas) and .

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