Life Sciences and Healthcare supply chains

 Understanding external trends and environments has become increasingly important in the modern world. The Life Sciences and Healthcare (LS&H) supply chain is a great example of how manufacturers are aligning their internal activities with partner organizations, healthcare providers, customers and patients to meet their client’s needs and to comply with rules and regulations.

LS&H is an ever-changing field, with plenty of political, economical and sociological considerations; healthcare has to be considered a service-driven more than market-driven field. It’s essential for supply chains to work in context and understand any surrounding issues or changes that have the potential to affect supply, demand, and general processes. 

Five years ago, very few large LS&H companies outsourced distribution operations, opting for big warehouses to store goods before being shipped to customers. Today, changing trends and increased competition mean business models need to be leaner and more cost-efficient. All the top 10 global pharmaceutical manufacturers outsource some distribution operations. Many of these companies are in the process of outsourcing even more. Businesses entering emerging markets are increasingly looking to outsource supply chain operations from the outset.

The continued pace of mergers and acquisitions in the field has meant companies have to change at a moment’s notice, and the facilities and resources of global supply chains mean they have the support to do so. Bringing in the existing asset and risk management infrastructure of a Logistics Service Provider (LSP) makes everything run more smoothly.

Storage and handling is a growing, complex component that needs to be put in an expert pair of hands. For example, leading LSPs are equipped to sterilize, repair and assemble medical devices. When it comes to healthcare, safe, secure, flexible, timely and compliant delivery is of the upmost importance.

This paper explains how to choose the right supply chain partner and why flexibility and understanding makes contractors worth their salt. Outsourcing provides full transparency of total supply chain costs on top of the flexibility. Manufacturers should look closely at the range of potential future scenarios as well as current requirements, to make sure the necessary flexibility is part of the assessment process.

Copyright DHL SC 2013