Pharmaceutical Logistics in the Time of COVID-19 – Where are We Now?

We all know that the ongoing COVID-19 crisis has resulted in our supply chains being tested to breaking point. One must only recall the empty supermarket shelves of early 2020 to see how just the slightest disruption to our normal patterns of supply and demand can almost bring the whole thing crashing down.

However, if there is one industry which has been tested above all others, its pharma. The increased demand for critical life-saving drugs and now, vaccines, has created a need for these supply chains to operate smoother than ever before.

Brexit

Of course, if the coronavirus pandemic wasn’t enough of a challenge, the obstacles thrown in our path by the UK’s exit from the European Union have only served to further compound the issue.

With increased bureaucracy and scrutiny at the UK border, imports, and exports in and out of the country have slowed to a trickle. This means pharma brands which need to do business with the UK must find ways to offset these delays. Increasing efficiencies all the way from manufacturing, to warehousing, and distribution, should go some way towards mitigating the frustrations caused by Brexit.

Of course, as we move further out of lockdown restrictions, this will become easier. For example, the change from 2m to 1m social distancing requirements will help more people return to work and should get products moving out of factories and distribution centres at an increased pace.

Vaccines

We don’t want everything to be “challenge” this and “obstacle” that, as there is much to be thankful for.

The efforts by those working in the pharmaceutical supply chain to distribute the various vaccines for COVID-19 across the globe must be enthusiastically lauded. Not only have Pfizer, Astra Zeneca, et al, managed to produce these life-saving treatments in record time (which just goes to show what the human race can achieve when we are all focussed on the same goal), but their rollout and distribution has been staggeringly impressive – especially given the supply chain interruptions the globe has been suffering.

Sustainability

And the good news doesn’t stop there. Recent news has revealed that eight major players in the pharma industry have banded together to champion a new drive for greater levels of sustainability in their supply chains.

Alliance to Zero has been spearheaded by Ypsomed, Sharp, Health Beacon, Harro Höfliger, Datwyler, Dividella, SCHOTT, and Schreiner Medipharm and recognises the need for rival companies to work together to try and create a better world for future generations. The project has already started work on a roadmap to zero emissions and the steps needed to follow it.

“The formation of this alliance is the first step in a challenging but urgent journey that our member organisations have committed themselves to,” said Sebastian Gerner, President of Alliance to Zero. “Enabling the launch of net-zero pharmaceutical products in regulated markets will require companies like ours to transform our operations, products, services, logistics, innovations and investments. Our combined effort and our shared responsibility to ensure a real and lasting change is at the heart of the Alliance’s mission.”