The supply chain needs of the pharmaceutical industry have become increasingly complex, especially with the development of cell and gene therapies that require timely delivery of pharmaceutical ingredients that must be maintained at a stable temperature.
A new report from Microsoft highlights factors that have strained supply chains over the past 18 months and how the company is responding to the crisis as it lays the groundwork to minimize the impact of future global events.
While the Covid-19 pandemic has had the most significant impact on supply chains, other factors have exacerbated the problem, such as a container ship that blocked the Suez Canal for weeks, a ransomware attack on one of the largest U.S. pipelines , shortages of truck chassis and warehouse pallets, and natural disasters.
Resilience in Fluctuations: Supply Chain Modernization, which highlights three areas that Fortune 500 companies and midsize companies need to address to unlock the benefits of modern supply chains:
- Operational disruption
- lack of visibility
- underprediction
Companies need to learn more about their supply chains to avoid siloing vital information, especially as these systems become increasingly complex, the report said. It urges companies to identify and try to predict where their respective supply chain networks are strained and be prepared to respond quickly.
It identifies some of the challenges facing different industries, including the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. Companies also need to make five key technology investments to build supply chains that are agile, flexible and resilient, the report said.
The report explores some of the main reasons for drug shortages and how the healthcare sector can address it. It also highlights innovations in the healthcare industry to address critical needs amid the global pandemic.
“The lack of supplier visibility impacts the ability to forecast inventory, determine ETA and optimize production capacity. Better network mapping and supplier risk analysis allow companies to ingest, reconcile and standardize data from disparate sources to reduce operational costs , achieve higher inventory turns and improve fulfillment. While these challenges and concepts are not new, the importance of addressing them has been magnified due to the significant disruptions of the past two years,” the report said.
To learn more about supply chain challenges and how companies are addressing them, download the report, Resilience in Fluctuations: Supply Chain Modernization, here.
Photo: Zola Zhuang, Getty Images
