Improving a Supply Chain Management in Pharma Industry

Improving the supply chain performance

moldovan vasilie , MD

mail : moldovan@artelecom.net

Table of Contents

Abstract ..............................................................................................................3

Short description of the company .......................................................................4

Characteristics of the supply chain and logistics in pharma.................................5

Downstream supply chain in pharmaceuticals ..................................................7

Particularities of SCM in pharmaceutical field ................................................8

Supply to stock and Supply to order method .....................................................9

Performance measuring of indicators SCM .Considerations .............................13

Solutions to improve effectiveness in various processes of the SCM ................13

Pharmaceutical warehouse .Warehouse management ......................................15

Continue improvement in SCM .Collaborative Planning System.......................16

Conclusions ........................................................................................................18

ANNEX ..............................................................................................................20

References ...........................................................................................................25

Abstract

Supply Chain Management is one of the most complex business disciplines, comparing the interactions within and between many of the traditional functional areas of a company and their channel partners. Long-term success is becoming increasingly dependent on action and decision of upstream and downstream firms in the supply chain. (Darke and Mawhiney, 2006)

Probably the most recommended definition of supply chain management is the one developed and used by the Global Chain Forum in 1998: “Supply Chain Management is the integration of the key business processes from end user through original suppliers that provides products, services, and information that add value for customers and other stakeholders”. (Lambert et al.1998).

Figure: Hierarchy of Objectives

Because of the fact that this material refers to a drug producer, a definition that is close to the actual meaning of supply chain management is the following: the integration of all activities in a cycle that starts from raw material acquisition, followed by its transformation into finite drug, its distribution and its use by the sick patient – client. Of course, such a cycle includes information transfer between the members of such a network, the technical and scientific improvisations brought to the SCM in order to fulfill its purpose of reaching a sustained competitive advantage with respect to other players and competitors from the more and more globalized market. (Handfield and Nicholas 1999) Everywhere, the regulators are asking the pharmaceuticals industry to find appropriate solutions to ensure that our supply chain is safe, effective and affordable.

The aim of this paper is to analyze and support the changes of the supply chain management and logistics in the factory, from a theoretical point of view, starting from these premises. These changes are required by the introduction of new technologies and the automation of production, by the introduction of a last generation information management system (IT SCALA), by a new HR policy, by a newly emerged general management – all these being connected to the change of the owner of the stocks of the drug factory during 2005.

Short description of the company

The Romanian company, the most important platform for producing sterile infusible drugs (infusible solutions),