Supply Chain in the Pharmaceutical Industry

The global market for pharmaceutical products is growing rapidly, having increased sixfold in the last two decades. The supply chain in the pharmaceutical industry has, amid this growth, become increasingly complex. Underpinned by a global supply chain, the pharmaceutical industry is expanding consumer access to safe, effective and affordable medicines worldwide. However, this also increases susceptibility to disruptions such as has been experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, pharmaceutical companies need to move from a single-sourced supply chain to a multi-sourced pharma value chain network. Pharma companies that understand this opportunity are embracing digitalization technologies that empower the Pharma 4.0 digital transformation of the interconnected production and distribution networks.

There are several digital strategies and associated technology in the pharmaceutical industry that help streamline the pharma value chain network, such as analytics in pharma. 

What is the Supply Chain in the Pharmaceutical Industry?

In short, the pharmaceutical supply chain is the network of suppliers, producers and distributors that enable pharmaceutical products to be made and distributed to pharmacies and hospitals and ultimately to the end consumer, the patient. The extension of the pharma supply chain to a pharma value chain network denotes moving from single sourcing each incoming material to being able to switch flexibly with confidence to multiple alternative suppliers as the need arises.

Factors Impacting the Efficiency of the Supply Chain and How Pharma Companies Can Improve

Some factors that can affect the efficiency of a pharma company’s supply chain include the:

• Availability and cost of raw materials
• Consistency, speed and cost of production
• Logistical efficiency of product distribution

Pharmaceutical companies can maximize supply chain efficiencies by tackling each of these factors with forward planning and modern supply chain management technology. 

Some important considerations include:

1. Building sales and distribution networks that make sense.
2. Reducing the time it takes for a drug product to reach the market through process optimization in pharmaceutical industry operations. 
3. Tracking products through the supply chain through post-market surveillance.
4. Using advanced pharma data analytics to quickly drive new insights.
5. Employing predictive and prescriptive maintenance to proactively maintain equipment only when needed and in advance of disruptive, unexpected breakdown and associated production downtime.
6. Implementing MES for pharma to enable more tightly controlled, consistent and efficient production with full, digital visibility in real-time. 

FAQs

Why is the pharmaceutical supply chain important?

To provide patients with the right medicines when and where needed, an efficient and effective global pharmaceutical supply chain is essential. Even greater optimization is needed to ensure global access to essential medications and life-saving drugs for improved quality of life. 

The supply chain in the pharmaceutical industry helps to provide medicines at the right quality and in the right quantity at the right time, to save patients from potential harm and to improve patient care. Likewise, a robust supply chain ensures that patients have access to the latest treatments and drugs.

What is CFA in pharma?

In the pharma space, CFA stands for Contract Fillers Association. Considered a trade organization, the CFA represents the interests of pharmaceutical suppliers and contract fillers. Contract fillers are companies that fill pharmaceutical drugs and other products for companies, often as a response to an order placed by a consumer.

Prior to 1990, most healthcare businesses established their own warehouses and storage facilities to store raw materials and finished products alike. During the ‘90s, though, the outsourcing of manufacturing to contract fillers became widespread. Contract fillers everywhere were tasked with packaging and storing the manufacturer’s product.

The CFA, formed in 1990, gave these contract filler companies a voice to share best practices and other valuable information. It was a way to provide pharmaceutical contract fillers with a forum to feel connected and part of a larger community. Today, the CFA has over 220 member companies.