A recent study found that the Indian pharma industry exported drugs worth INR 1.8 trillion between 2021 and 2022 while at the same time, APIs worth Rs 30,000 crore were imported into the country. Being one of the fastest growing sectors in the Indian economy, the pharma industry, owing to the increase in Covid-19-centric products, witnessed 15 percent growth during the same period. The combination of people stocking immunity boosters and the rising demand for over-the-Counter (OTC) drugs, as well as other medical essentials accelerated the growth of the market during the last couple of years. In the medical field where every second matters,
Pharma warehousing and pharma logistics are two crucial facets of running a successful pharmaceutical company as it plays a major role in providing the right medicine at the right time to the right patient. Also, for large pharma companies that can have a large number of stock keeping units (SKUs) distributed worldwide which might include highly specialized medicines, the importance of having a proper logistics structure is crucial. Even with that being the case, in India, where the logistics industry contributes to nearly 15 percent of the nations’ economy, the fact of the matter is that, the major share of Indian pharma companies view logistics as an area that they could cut cost. While, R&D, clinical trials, new drug developments and quality control receives key focus from companies, when it comes to logistics, the decisions taken by pharma companies are primarily cost-driven. In the pharma industry, where anything less than 100 percent is unacceptable, many pharma companies hired conventional transporters who lack the required knowledge and infrastructure to carry out such an important task.
With that said, over the last couple of years, things have changed for the better and pharma logistics is going through a profound change not just in India but across Asia. The ageing population in these countries is driving the need for improved pharma solutions, and owing to this, pharma companies are left with no other option but to bring disruptive changes into their logistics operations. Still, there are multiple logistical pain points that pharma companies face and in this article, we will analyze these problems and their possible solutions.
Precise conditions and on-time delivery In the pharma industry, logistics businesses deal with highly-sensitive products and they should have state of the art infrastructure to transport these products from its origin to its destination. Outside of that, logistics businesses in the pharma business are also subject to strict regulations and logistics suppliers who deal with vaccinations and drugs also have to comply with strict supply chain visibility regulations and fleet monitoring. Even with this being the case, a previous report from World Health Organization states that due to incorrect transportation, nearly 25 percent of vaccinations arrive at their destinations in degraded conditions.
The same report also stated that 20 percent of temperature sensitive products are damaged during transportation. Smart Container Monitoring Systems (SCMS) are a great solution for this issue as they will allow pharma companies to not only ensure the precise conditions of the goods that are transported but it can also help when it comes to ensuring on-time delivery of the products. SCMS allow the logistics companies to not only view, analyze and manage temperature as well as humidity of the cargo but it can also help the company to look into the data of containers 24/7 while they are in transit.
MSC, India is one of the leading players in this space and their smart container devices can be integrated into their clients’ IT systems and owing to this, they can provide meaningful and timely shipment insights to their clients. Other than that, the company’s smart container devices will also allow their clients to receive 24/7 data about the containers temperature, humidity, and position whether it is on land or at sea.
Hesitancy towards technology adoption When it comes to adopting the latest technologies, pharma companies have taken a passive approach on the logistics and this is predominantly owing to the complexity of their logistical operations. With that said, it is high time that pharma businesses digitized this segment as it can significantly transform their logistics operations for the better. Some of the improvements digitization can have on logistics in the pharma domain include improved processes, increased efficiency, and enhanced safety.
Also, by incorporating the latest technologies like IoT, big data, and AI, pharma businesses will be able to achieve greater levels of flexibility in their supply chain while at the same time remove human errors and reduce the cost. Ceva Logistics, France is a great example of a logistics provider using cutting edge technologies to offer solutions to their clients.
In their healthcare vertical, the company offers temperature monitored and controlled warehouse facilities, Vaccines and Biotech, Medical disposals, Prescription-only medicines (POMS) and Supply chain solutions (Supply Chain Services, 4PL and 24/7 availability Control Tower Services) to Biopharma, Medical Devices, Diagnostics & labs, Hospital and Home Care businesses. Being a frontrunner in integrating technology into their operations, Ceva Logistics aspires to streamline and improve the efficiency of their logistics operations and ensure consistent results for their clients.
Trust in logistic partnerships The absence of a competent and trusted logistics partner has always been a major concern for many pharma companies. The sensitivity of pharma products demand top-notch logistic services owing to the fact that people’s lives are at stake. At the same time, a recent study from GS1 India, which is a global supply chain standards organization, found that 50 percent of medical devices and pharma manufacturers lose one percent of their sales due to pilferage and expiry.
To tackle this scenario, now pharma companies are aiming to build strong partnerships with logistics companies. Through these relationships, pharma businesses are aiming to get a trusted partner who can assure the security and on-time delivery of their products and not just a transportation vendor.
Logistics and transportation services giants FedEx have a great case study that highlights the importance of trust between a logistics service provider and a pharma company. Chugai Pharmaceutical, Japan is a forerunner in R and D when it comes to new drugs and owing to the fact that many of the samples they import and export are valuable and sensitive, they wanted a trusted and capable logistics partner. Leveraging their expertise, FedEx was able to offer 24/7 monitoring for these samples through specialized solutions while at the same time, ensuring their speedy movement.
End to end supply chain visibility and the use of global standards that can facilitate interoperability is crucial for the pharma industry to keep up with the ever increasing demands in the market. This can be achieved through digitization of the logistics operations and this can also help to improve its flexibility and efficiency. And through all this, pharma businesses can improve their operations multifold and deliver their products to more patients quickly.
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