Supply Chain Disruptions; Time to Reimagine the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain
Pharmaceutical supply chain disruptions
COVID-19 catalysed the exposure of vulnerabilities that exist in pharmaceutical supply chain management (SCM). From the supply of APIs to delivering the final drug to the end consumer (the patient), the supply chain suffers from a lack of visibility, transparency and security.
Challenges?
Do you know who your tiers-2 and 3 suppliers are?
The lack of this visibility at each node of the supply chain raises concerns about the quality of the drugs and their delivery OTIF (on time in full).
You must be aware of the supplier tiering in SCM. In most cases, a pharmaceutical company relies on Tier-1 for its supplies. It has a minimum or no collaboration with the lower tiers(Tiers 2 and 3), which might pose a severe risk to the standard of the end product as it has no or little control over the sourcing of the raw materials and other intermediates.
The knowledge and communication should stretch beyond tier-1(direct suppliers), without which it becomes quite a task during a disruption because of no alternatives to keep the wheels turning.
How do you store, process and retrieve your data?
In an interview with outsourcing pharma, Gaëlle Jaron, co-founder of Rephine catena mentions that many pharma companies still use traditional spreadsheets and emails to process and communicate information that is clearly obsolete, expensive and not secure.
To be better prepared for any anticipated or unanticipated catastrophes, it is essential to adapt digital technology to the PSC (Pharmaceutical Supply Chain) and ditch the traditional model of processing information.
Consequences?
Drug shortages, Nitrile gloves and PPE kit inadequacies, Counterfeit medicines, tampering with the packaging, cold -chain failures resulting in vaccine wastage are just to name a few.
Given the complexity and enormity of the pharmaceutical supply chain, it has become a tedious task to track the journey of the drug from the manufacturer to the patient.
Solutions?
Blockchain coupled with IoT
Blockchain is the decentralised supply chain model, which connects information and data in the form of blocks- called Block Data. Block-chain coupled with IoT provides much-needed better integration and communication of real-time data on the go among all the parties. It records data and information regarding all transactions and dispenses it among all participants [4].
FIGURE: Centralized systems with intermediaries versus decentralized blockchain systems.
[Future Directions] — Scientific Figure on ResearchGate.
Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Centralized-systems-with-intermediaries-versus-decentralized-blockchain-systems_fig2_323491592 [accessed 29 Aug, 2022]
Author: Saraju P. Mohanty
This is where the traditional centralised supply chain framework fails, where one major party has the central authority to make decisions, and all the other participants cannot make a quick and timely decision.
For instance, the Pfizer vaccine must be maintained within a temperature range of 2°C- 8°C throughout its journey and until it is administered.
Sharing information regarding the standard environmental conditions of Pfizer vaccines at every stage is very vital to prevent cold chain ruptures and take swift action in the event of failure.
IoT-based Controlant Temperature Monitoring Devices (TMDs) help us understand if the vaccines are maintained within the predefined thresholds, thus making it possible to achieve end-to-end visibility and transparency. [3]
IoT-based sensors and devices also help us track and trace shipments, provide real-time communication of the data through alerts, and reduce the threats of thefts and tampering with Pharmaceutical products.[2]
While pharma companies have successfully implemented Blockchain technology and the use of IoT devices to monitor predefined parameters for a pharmaceutical product steadily, there is still a lack of proper digitalized communication channels among all the stakeholders to exchange information on the physical location and status of these products.
Incorporating digital technologies in PSC also helps identify, recall and remove expired, spoiled pharmaceutical products from the supply chain. For example, a two-way radio communication system makes it easy to get instant alerts on information regarding the shortage of supplies and stock levels etc. This information is valuable for making well-informed decisions, reducing the wastage of supplies and preventing financial losses.
Supply chain immunity-Dr. Robert Handfield
Dr Robert Handfield,( the executive director of the supply chain cooperative and Professor of SCM(Supply Chain Management) at North Carolina State University) emphasizes the need to build a comprehensive, more secure supply chain that not only predicts a Global crisis and its implications but also has a plan B to withstand the calamity with little damage [1].
Dr Handfield terms this as building a “supply chain immunity”[1]. He insists on a supply chain that is immune, not resilient [5] and doesn’t interrupt the seamless flow of drug delivery. It might be a laborious task, but not impossible.
An infographic to summarize…
References:
- https://scm.ncsu.edu/scm-articles/article/building-a-more-immune-supply-chain-focusing-on-the-basics
- https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/PDF-166/Accenture-Pharmaceutical-Supply-Chain.pdf
- https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/admin/storage/toolkit/storage-handling-toolkit.pdf
- https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9042950
