The past year showed us how quickly supply chains can be pushed to their limits and come close to breaking down. What makes it more worrying is that this happened at a time when efficient supply chains are needed the most, during a pandemic. Shortages in supplies can put healthcare professionals (HCPs) and their patients at risk; this was especially noticeable with the shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE). This in turn led to further risks to HCPs and patients as in some countries emergency orders for PPE meant that inferior products which did not meet safety standards were delivered and used. Supply shortages were exacerbated when members of the public also started buying supplies of certain items of PPE, such as N95 masks.
In the US, one young entrepreneur saw an opportunity to help. Sean Kelly noticed that hospitals and nursing homes were unable to secure the PPE that they needed so he sprang into action to deliver N95 masks, nitrile gloves and other supplies at reasonable prices. He teamed up with a partner to form PPE of America with the objective “to cut through the noise to quickly vet and connect procurement professionals with the sales and distribution channels of the leading PPE brands in the USA”.
There are ways in which technology can strengthen the healthcare supply chain. Blockchain can support supply chains as it can reduce waste and repurpose resources to meet new needs. This was shown in a recent paper published in Sustainable Production and Consumption and included in the Elsevier Public Health Emergency Collection. As blockchain is resistant to data tampering, this helps build trust.
Applications (apps) can help show where the most acute issues exist; two such apps are Frontline. Live and NHSPPE. These apps are used by people working with the UK’s National Health Service and they allow users to request PPE and alert others about shortages. In the US, the platform GetUsPPE.org uses algorithms to match available PPE with the locations that need it most. Initially, the matching progress was done manually but when they switched to using algorithms there was a 280% increase in the number of matches completed daily.
In 2019, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center alongside Premier and its own cognitive supply chain company Pensiamo developed an artificial intelligence-based pharmaceutical supply chain platform to reduce the risks of supply disruption. The platform, CognitiveRx, uses machine learning to monitor market demand signals, predict shortage risk, and recommend optimal inventory levels.
Of course, this problem is not unique to the pharmaceutical industry. Indeed, the President of the US ordered a review of critical supply chains to reduce US dependence on China, and other international rivals. This was done to ensure that pharmaceuticals, electric vehicle batteries and critical minerals do not suffer supply chain problems in the future, at least in the United States of America. During his presidential campaign, the US president pledged to reduce the supply chain shocks that emerged at the start of the pandemic.
Worldwide, the supply chain management industry is expected to reach more than $40 billion by 2026. Growth drivers for this market will include increasing demand for greater visibility and transparency in supply chain data and associated processes. However, there are concerns around security and privacy issues.
The vulnerabilities and interconnectedness of supply chains mean that the pharmaceutical industry needs to invest and strengthen its own supply chains in order to help avoid any future crises.
#SupplyChains #RedesigningSupplyChains #Blockchain #Apps #SupplyChainDisruption
Sources
https://www.ft.com/content/83388b13-c562-492b-9e0e-bb30874bb74a
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7566799/
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41746-020-00375-3
https://hitinfrastructure.com/news/upmc-develops-ai-based-pharmaceutical-supply-chain-platform
https://revolutionized.com/resilience-for-pharmaceutical-supply-chains/
https://www.labnews.co.uk/article/2031159/4-ways-technology-is-improving-the-healthcare-supply-chain
https://www.ft.com/content/83388b13-c562-492b-9e0e-bb30874bb74a