Challenges of the Pharmaceutical Wholesale And Distribution Industry

The pharmaceutical wholesale and distribution industry contends with supply chain challenges with access to real-time data, temperature maintenance, compliance, and meeting demands.

FREMONT, CA: US healthcare systems save USD 33-53 billion annually through distributors, according to the Healthcare Distributors Alliance (HDA). Wholesalers purchase products, supply goods, collect payments, and take a percentage of the margin. Pharmaceutical companies take financial ownership of their products, take on market risks, and invest more in them.

The pharmaceutical wholesale and distribution industries often face challenges in the supply chain, and they need more visibility into the cold chain as they need real-time data. Pharmaceutical companies incorrectly handle perishable products if they need real-time location, temperature, and humidity data.

The pharmaceutical wholesale and distribution industry faces the following challenges:

Temperature excursions: Temperature-control failures across supply chains cost the biopharma industry USD 35 billion annually, according to the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science. These factors compromise drug quality and stability and jeopardize product compliance. Vaccines, such as Pfizer's COVID-19, need to be stored between -70°C and -60°C. The Moderna vaccine must 

be stored at 2–8°C for 30 days to maintain viability, while it must be stored at -20°C (-4°F) for six months during shipping and long-term storage. An entire shipment of vaccines can spoil if the temperature fluctuates outside of this range. Excessive temperatures can have costly consequences, such as the need to quarantine or declare a product useless.

Real-time data collection: Pharmaceutical supply chains face many challenges regarding data collection throughout transit. Temperature excursions cannot be handled in real-time without real-time product data. Identifying damage or delays requires real-time location and condition information. As a result of the lack of real-time data, ensuring delivery efficiency is also difficult because you lack insight into ETA.

Maintaining pharmaceutical compliance: Regulated business requirements have become increasingly complex and numerous in recent years. Patients' lives, costs, and reputations can all be adversely affected by non-compliance.

Accurately forecasting demand: It is challenging for pharmaceutical supply chain professionals to forecast demand accurately so that all pharmaceutical products are produced and delivered on time. It is essential to have end-to-end visibility to avoid obsolete inventory, maintain safety stock, fulfill omnichannel orders, and forecast demand for omnichannel orders.