All industries have specialized needs that make their supply chain more delicate, time-sensitive, or complex, but pharmaceutical supply chains have all three. Every step from manufacturing to final administration must be carried out to the letter to ensure the safety of your final customers, and this can come with major complications when building a global logistics network for your product. The good news is a reliable 3PL partner will know how to handle it:
Rapidly Changing Regulations
Medication, medical devices, and other medical supplies are all sensitive products that can have a big impact if they’re tampered with or otherwise mishandled. They’re also high-value, which means a lot of shady characters will do just about anything to get their hands on them. To keep up, governmental regulation must change frequently for continued protection, and you need supply chain experts committed to compliance to stay on top of it. We don’t want your product falling into the wrong hands, and we refuse to put your business in jeopardy by slacking off on industry regulatory compliance.
Supply Chain Security
As previously mentioned, pharmaceuticals are a high-value product. Even on the black market, the right pharmaceuticals can be worth a lot. And in the hands of a desperate person, they can mean the difference between life and death. All of this puts your stock at risk. You need a high-visibility supply chain with track-and-trace technology to keep track of each package of product. This paired with good physical security and a well-protected digital security system for supply chains will keep your stock safe and on-track to for a routine delivery.
Temperature Control
Pharmaceuticals often have strict parameters for temperature, humidity and other environmental factors for storage that must be adhered to in order to ensure the potency and efficacy of the product. Mistakes can endanger an entire supply but also potentially many lives as well. Because of this, it’s important to have redundant temperature and humidity control in warehouses and transit vehicles. And a prepared pharmaceutical supply chain should stock a full range of active and passive climate control packaging solutions just in case.
Drug Shortage Avoidance
Keeping up with demand in the pharmaceutical industry can mean life or death for some patients. So, you don’t want to find yourself with a drug shortage. There are many inventory management techniques that can help create stop gaps in times of need and prevent it in the first place. The most impactful of which may be the principle of first in, first out to avoid issues with expiration. Knowing your ABC priorities, safety stock levels, and automatic reorder points will keep your warehouse stocked, and creating a supply chain contingency plan will help your team make decisions quickly when time is of the essence.
The high-value, high-sensitivity products with regular changes to regulations and the life-and-death nature of the pharmaceutical industry is a potent combination that can quickly complicate a supply chain. That’s why you need a third party logistics partner with the specialized knowledge to build a global supply chain network and solve the challenges the pharmaceutical industry faces. Get in touch with our team today to learn more about how to protect your pharmaceutical distribution system.
