4 Factors That Pharma Supply Chains Need To Address Swiftly

The post-pandemic future of healthcare has compelled one to re-evaluate the supply chain from end-to-end.

Be it new technologies, shortened clinical trials, next-gen medical innovations, digitization, or risk management, all have and are going to set new benchmarks and redefine industry norms.

More than 50% of the new drugs of today happen to be biologically derived, making them fragile and requiring very specific transport and storage temperatures. Every sample is time-bound; hence, the logistic companies face the challenge of giving out uncompromised quality and being on time at all instances.

Cold chain networks, because of the significance they hold, are important at every shipment stage and even during development and have now formed the base for patient-centric care as well as medical innovation.

Because of the rapid COVID-19 vaccine development, one has seen authorities and governments move quickly to authorise policies to hasten clinical trials as well as reviews of drug development. Hence, in order to sustain a competitive edge, how can pharma firms get their findings from clinical trials to the patient as swiftly as possible? It is well to be noted that as review times as well as trial stages shorten, healthcare firms ought to have an adaptable and dependable supply chain that is ready to move forward. Notably, a patient who is in urgent need of a cancer drug or a vaccine cannot just wait for weeks before a logistics partner comes into the picture and designs a fresh supply chain. The times are such that a logistics partner must quickly adapt as well as tweak the current established supply chains.

Visibility is the key

The best healthcare logistics partners have transformed their physical supply chain networks into worldwide-quality digital ones that happen to be end-to-end.

The agile and the smart platforms that they operate on give out a granular visibility and also data insights that go on to produce a dependable speed, consistent experience as well as the one that produces control. They happen to be ready with temperature monitoring as well as cold chains, and with track-and-trace locations and GPS locations available, re-routing or even recovery of highly-priced shipments is a given. It is not just the fragility of these next-gen products which happen to be driving the change, but also a transition towards a more value-based care.

Both private as well as public health providers are eyeing hospitals less as physical space but more like hubs that connect patients from home or local pharmacy. This goes on to give a completely varied distribution algorithm for healthcare services and pharmaceutical companies.

Last mile services, underpinned by tech are going to be increasingly significant with sample treatments as well as kits and patient samples coordinated so as to monitor the inventory levels and join the dots to align the placements orders and also deliveries.

Going ahead with community partners

This added control mechanism also draws out benefits from companies whose investors, customers, and also relevant public authorities are keeping a close watch on the environmental, social as well as governance objectives thereby targeting to manage complexity, fuel consumption and also compliance.

This also helps in improving the abilities of the company to engage in novel public-private partnership programs, which have been spurred by the COVID-19 vaccine delivery success. 

Mixing long-term public perspectives and financial resources along with the private sector’s infrastructure has always and shall continue to take out benefits and also deliver healthcare treatments where they are supposed to be given at the right temperature and time.

Coming up with reliable, resilient connections

It is a proven fact that an adaptable and resilient supply chain is more important than ever. The supply chains need to be in line with a wider range of risks, such as economic, social, and geopolitical elements, all of which can change in a jiffy. Relying on multi-modal supply chain networks that shift on a global scale to meet all these needs is pivotal.

In order to avoid such risks, firms are also looking out for alternatives that happen to be closer to the hub for devices and drugs. It is well to be noted that diversification and nearshoring of supply chains isn’t theoretical. Operations that happen to be closer to home reduce complexity and expense to a great extent. It helps with elevated control over products and also moderation of restrictions pertaining to the financial impact of deliveries and shipping. Being in the same time zone improves business as well as collaboration.

There are many competitive issues which the healthcare companies are witnessing in generic drug sector’s in India and China.

What Lies Ahead

A blend of shortened clinical trial cycles, novel technologies, next-gen medical innovations, collaborations, risk tolerance reappraisals, and equal care have gone on to set novel standards for the industry.

The shift in the philosophy of healthcare underlies this progress. In order to accomplish and prosper under the gamut of these new norms, healthcare firms will have to go ahead with standardising things like reliable speed, control and consistency, precision with high-end quality and also visibility at all levels.