Blog Post

Internet of things adding value to your biopharmaceutical supply chain

Adapt Ideations • November 25, 2019

The supply chain has greatly evolved in recent years with the rise of the digital age.

The supply chain has greatly evolved in recent years with the rise of the digital age. Many industries however have not been able to keep up. It has now become a high priority for the pharmaceutical industry to step up and take the leap. As reported by Mind Commerce Publishing, the value of IoT within the healthcare sector will rise to 117 billion by 2020. Consider for a moment the impact. With the increasing complexity of pharmaceutical supply chains, it’s more important than ever for companies to implement IoT technology in their logistics processes to meet the increasing demands of the industry. A vicious cycle is created between cutting costs, increasing regulations, while meeting supply demands, that simply never ends. 

Adapt Ideations is helping companies to revolutionise their supply chain by increasing visibility.

IoT technology itself has been implemented previously in the biopharmaceutical industry however, its full potential has never been leveraged. The power lies within the statistics…A McKinsey research report has suggested that companies “aggressively digitalising their supply chains” are able to increase their revenue growth by 2.3%. The report also states that it's estimated that biopharma companies roughly lose 2 billion in revenue each year due to problems within the supply chain. Asset tracking and monitoring solutions will enable greater supply chain visibility to be achieved.

Complexity will continue to be amplified with ongoing challenges in the supply chain if the issues at hand are not rectified. Not to mention the increasing black market of counterfeit pharmaceuticals. Packaging World believes the counterfeit pharmaceutical market is estimated to be worth over 200 billion per year. It’s undeniable that the increasing pressure will only rise for government, manufacturers, and suppliers, with the counterfeit market growing. How can companies understand how their products are handled and stored correctly during transportation to ensure they are safe during the supply chain?

The real true power of IoT lies in the capability of real-time data and analytics. The power of data is under-utilised. The real question after data is collected is what do we do with it now? One answer is to use the data to make informed business decisions to improve supply chain efficiency. Undeniably the data being generated is valuable, and can assist the biopharmaceutical industry to optimise their supply chain operations. The collection of data through asset tracking solutions allows decisions to be backed by data.

Quality assurance and reducing bottlenecks is more important than ever with the ongoing pressures from multiple bodies. IoT technology has tremendous potential when effectively utilised in the biopharmaceutical industry. By developing a connected IoT ecosystem through asset tracking devices, monitoring such high value consignments along their journey can be made smoothly by relaying the data in real-time. This helps to reduce inefficiencies in the supply chain and maintain the quality of the biopharmaceuticals being transported.

The use of IoT technology, allows for greater supply chain visibility to achieved. IoT enhanced asset tracking solutions also reduces manual labour and paperwork from all parties involved in the supply chain, from the beginning to end. Ultimately the use of IoT technology will be a game-changer for the pharmaceutical industry as it allows companies to become more sustainable throughout their entire supply chain.

With a McKinsey study stating that warehousing associated costs account for 95% of all pharmaceutical logistics, it is evident that the industry needs to embrace IoT technology and move towards a more connected ecosystem.

Adapt Ideations prides itself in making sure our customers come first by making our solutions customisable and working together each step of the way. IoT can increase transparency, enable the collection of near real-time data, increase quality assurance and reduce bottlenecks. IoT can undeniably assist the industry to increase supply chain visibility and improve operational efficiency.

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