National Track and Trace System

United Nations Development Programme, hereinafter referred to as UNDP hereby invites prospective proposers to submit a proposal in accordance with the General Conditions of Contract and the Terms of Reference as set out in this Request for Proposal (RFP).

The system will provide end-to-end electronic traceability of all in-scope medicines, from manufacture or importation to the final point of dispensing.

The implementation will be guided by the principles of the MCAZ/LED/GL-22 Guidelines but executed on a compressed timeline. It will be built on GS1 standards (e.g., GTIN, GLN, SSCC) and EPCIS 2.0 to ensure global interoperability. This initiative is intended to rapidly support the achievement of WHO GBT Maturity Level 4 (ML4) across key regulatory functions, including Market Surveillance (MI), Control of Distribution (DP), Regulatory Inspection (RI), and Vigilance (VL).

Key stakeholders for this project include:
• Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ)
• Ministry of Health and Child Care, Zimbabwe
• Local and foreign pharmaceutical manufacturers
• Importers, wholesalers, and distributors (including NatPharm)
• Public and private hospitals, clinics, and other health facilities
• Retail and hospital pharmacies
• Dispensing medical practitioners
• Customs and border control authorities
• Patients and the public
• Regional and international regulatory partners (e.g., ZAZIBONA, AMRH, WHO).

B. Specific Objectives
The primary objective of this consultancy is to execute a rapid, large-scale implementation of the complete National Medicines Track and Trace System for the Republic of Zimbabwe within a 3-month period.
The successful contractor will deliver a fully functional, validated, and operational nationwide system at the conclusion of this period, ready for handover to MCAZ or a subsequent support partner.
Specifically, the assignment aims to:
• Design, develop, and deploy the complete National Medicines Track and Trace System, including all functionalities from pilot to optimization phases within the contract period.
• Ensure the system is built on and fully compliant with global standards, including GS1 identification keys (GTIN, GLN, SSCC), GS1 DataMatrix data carriers, and GS1’s EPCIS 2.0 for the capture and exchange of traceability events.
• Establish the central national traceability repository and deliver all mandatory integrations (MCAZ, TRVST, Customs, NatPharm ERP, etc.) within the contract implementation period.
• Execute a massive, nationwide capacity-building and training program for all stakeholders concurrently with the system deployment to ensure readiness for the national go-live.
• Guarantee the system meets all stringent non-functional requirements for performance, availability (uptime), scalability, and security at a national scale from the point of go-live.
• Deliver a solution that supports all required functionalities as detailed in the URS, including serialization and aggregation management, a robust verification engine, mobile and offline capabilities, and comprehensive dashboards for regulatory oversight.
• Provide a comprehensive End-of-Project Transition Plan, including full system documentation, data export capabilities, and a final knowledge transfer report to ensure a smooth handover at the end of the contract.