Let’s face it, the pharmaceutical industry has become one of the best-performing and increasingly competitive industries in the last decade. Whether it’s research & development, sales & marketing or manufacturing, pharma companies are excelling in various aspects while maintaining the quality standards and safety regulations. But it won’t be wrong saying that the industry has also seen the rise of counterfeit drugs, serialized mandate and strict quality regulations which necessitated the pharma supply chain to be traceable and robust.

Pharma supply chain includes hospitals, clinics, government agencies, retailers, and research organizations, whose main motive is to distribute the prescription drugs and over the counter medicines. This whole process also includes many other organizations like insurance companies, GPOs, healthcare management organizations, etc., which further increases complexity due to their different business objectives.

Moreover, because of the regulatory nature of the industry, numerous supply chain networks have grown in an uncontrolled manner rather than being planned for optimal performance. This mismanagement has risen various questions for supply chain giants, some of which include: “How could you run a supply chain tightly that is increasingly virtual” and “How could you manage workflows that involve exchanging information with outside parties across the multiple tiers of your supply chain”.

In this blog post, we’ll try to explain some best practices that you need to implement in your pharmaceutical supply chain process to make it a less complex and easily manageable process. Read on to find out some crucial ones.

1. Complete collaboration through a business network

The multitude of organizations is using an old model of the supply chain which has become the primary reason for their downfall. Unlike a digital business network that connects all the supply chain partners electronically via the cloud, the old supply chain model doesn’t allow the partners to work together in sync. That’s why the supply chain firms must use a digital business network that could provide end-to-end visibility and complete collaboration needed to support the business interactions among the supply chain partners.

2. Clinch end-to-end traceability

To track the material flow, processing steps, yields, test results, and product quality across the multi-enterprise, multi-tier supply chain, its necessary to ensure end-to-end traceability. Due to the involvement of multiple CMOs (Chief Medical officers), pharma companies need to have visibility into their partner’s manufacturing. Tracing the process and controlling the quality of the manufacturing firms could help you manage and control the quality of all the pharmaceutical supplies.

3. Acquire complete inventory visibility

Implementing good shipping practices and getting complete downstream inventory visibility are the key considerations when competing for shelf space at drugstore chains and pharmacies. In the present scenario, many pharma companies rely on external partners for warehousing, transportation, and other value-added services. So, ensuring proactive management and acquiring inventory visibility could help you deliver the right products to the right customers and make reliable delivery commitments.

4. Respond instantly to demand changes

Detecting and responding quickly to the changes in demand and supply picture is another way to streamline your supply chain process. Traditional planning systems lack the decision-support capabilities and quick problem resolution required to manage trade-offs and suggest alternative scenarios offered by state-of-the-art planning applications. However, be it a supply chain disruption or an instant demand change, using modern-day business networks could allow rapid evaluation of information and provide alternative ways to respond quickly to such circumstances.

5. Detailed analysis of the manufacturing process

Pharmaceutical products need to be consistent and repeatable. For this to be possible, it’s necessary to analyze the manufacturing process in detail. Focus on the required set of good manufacturing practices so that all the products are consistent across all the batches. Try to implement good weighing practices to ensure that the recipe of a drug is not adulterated. Moreover, keep an eye on the factors that affect the accuracy of analytical balance.

Conclusion

To conclude, the performance of pharmaceutical companies as the main player has a noteworthy impact on supply chain management efficiency. Added to that, identifying the risks and preventing them in pharmaceutical companies not only lead to process optimization but also help health systems to meet goals of supply chain management like accessibility, quality, and affordability.

If you are looking for a company that could help you bring visibility into your pharmaceutical supply chain, then Debut Infotech could turn out to be the perfect go-to partner for you. From procurement planning to logistics & inventory management to real-time product monitoring and beyond, we offer a gamut of end-to-end blockchain in supply chain solutions that help reduce your operations & logistics costs, while improving sustainability and enhancing performance. For a free consultation visit our website or call us at +1 7035375009