Is the sluggish pharma supply chain hurting your business? Here’s what you can do
Manufacturers can’t catch a break when it comes to the supply chain. Even large corporations are fighting an uphill battle to meet the expectations of their customers and stakeholders.
Pharmaceutics is no exception.
The industry’s most alarming pain points hit harder than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now, four years down the road, vulnerabilities and inefficiencies in the global distribution system are still present. Shortages, delays, and non-compliances are three critical issues affecting pharma manufacturers, patients, and the market as a whole.
How can you escape the pharma supply chain Bermuda Triangle and gain a competitive edge (and more profits)?
My advice for you is to break the ice by clarifying what’s really derailing your supply chain performance.
Is it a matter of:
Lack of visibility and transparency involving third-party suppliers. Intermediaries who source your raw materials, handle the packaging, and final product delivery often fail to realize your actual demand and inventory levels. As a result, they might offer you mismatched support that can drag down your plans.
Poor triangulation of the complex pharma supply chain. Getting your product from the shop to the patient implies meeting quality standards, regulatory approvals, customs, and tariffs in every region you serve and connecting distributors, wholesalers, retailers, hospitals, pharmacies, and patients. A tiny misstep in this fragmented chain (with stop signs at every corner) is a constant threat to ensuring your service is at full capacity.
Limited resilience and agility. Natural disasters, geopolitical tensions, cyberattacks, trade wars, and pandemics. We live in times where these events are happening simultaneously. The aftermath for your business is a disrupted supply chain and a trail of losses and damages left along the way.
Or
Personnel shortage and dated equipment. Stockouts and delays from the loss of qualified labor who support the supply chain are a reality. Old fleets, which are prone to breakdowns and high maintenance costs, are also guilty of slowing you down and increasing the delivery times of medications to patients. Finding an answer to both is meaningful for increasing your responsiveness.
As you run your assessment, you may encounter difficulty spotting where the real problem lies. Treat this loss of accountability as another fueling factor to turn your supply chain into a consistent force for access to your medications.
How can you leave the shortcomings behind?
As an automation consultant, my recommendation for you is to let the sunshine in and open the window to the adoption of supply chain automation solutions.
Look for platforms and applications that strengthen your arsenal, offer you a favorable total cost of ownership (TCO), and give you the ability to:
Coordinate and collaborate with your stakeholders in harmony, under conditions you face or foresee.
Anticipate, mitigate, and respond to risks effectively.
Integrate your data and processes across the supply chain to avoid tracking and tracing adversities and ensure product quality and safety.
Among the key solutions the pharmaceutical industry can adopt to improve efficiency, ensure compliance, and enhance visibility across the supply chain are:
Integrated control and information systems for real-time access to manufacturing data of value for your supply chain operations.
Manufacturing execution systems (MES), such as Rockwell’s FactoryTalk® PharmaSuite® or Körber’s Werum Solutions’ PAS-X, allow you to plan and control factory shop floor operations, manage and track pharmaceutical materials, and more.
End-to-end tracking from material sourcing through final delivery. Technologies like electronic batch records and RFID are a big help in identifying and correcting supply chain inefficiencies.
Modular setups and remote monitoring systems for quick response to unfolding issues as they happen.
Robotic process automation (RPA) for repetitive tasks such as data entry, invoicing, and order processing.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) for predictive analytics, demand forecasting, and risk management.
Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain for real-time tracking, verification, and security of your products.
The final choice would depend on your pharmaceutical company’s specific needs and challenges. Consulting with an automation expert can only be beneficial for your case. It’s the easiest and safest way to book the right supply chain automation solutions for your business.
Do you need support to set your plan in motion?
Contact Verdusco Consulting here. We have a team of automation engineers who know your industry and are prepared to follow your lead, diagnose your supply chain problems, and pitch you the automation solutions available to solve them.
As we work by your side, we can also help you:
Reduce human errors.
Improve quality control.
Increase visibility and traceability of your inventory and shipments.
Enhance collaboration and communication with your suppliers and partners.
Save time and money by streamlining your processes and reducing waste.
Adapt your operations to changing market demands and customer expectations.
By automating your pharma supply chain, you can gain a competitive edge and deliver better products faster and cheaper. You can also reduce your environmental impact and comply with regulatory standards more easily.
Automation is not a luxury but a necessity for the pharma industry in the 21st century.
Until next time,
I’m Raul Verdusco.
