What are the common challenges in pharmaceutical and healthcare logistics in India

Pharmaceutical and healthcare logistics is the transportation of various vaccines, medicines, and other medical supplies to their destination at the right time, in the right place within the right environment. Pharmaceutical products are mostly invaluable, expensive, and life-saving and are the most important and vulnerable in the list of different types of logistics.

Pharmaceutical and healthcare logistics in India, like any other industry, has its own set of challenges and shortcomings. But, unlike any other industry, failure here is not measured only in terms of lost revenue or potential but also in terms of patient lives. There are many other challenges that this stream of logistics faces. A few are listed below.

• Lack of coordination : Coordination is important to execute any transaction. But in the case of pharmaceutical logistics, lack of coordination can mean someone's life. People are always in need of some or other kind of medication. If pharma and healthcare companies can't coordinate and make the drugs and essential medical supplies available on time, people will be left with no other choice but to settle for inferior options or will unwillingly start to consume the replicas. Fake medicine can cause far more harm than good to the patient.
• Temperature control: Pharmaceutical products have the tendency to deteriorate if legit temperature and light conditions are not maintained. The pharmaceutical logistics solution to this problem is to maintain the required temperature condition throughout the transportation from the point of origin to the destination. The intention here is that the drug does not lose its potency and that the formula remains intact. Here, the companies will need to provide temperature-controlled freight options.
• Warehouse management: Over the past ten years, the global pharmaceutical market has nearly doubled, increasing sales and penetration in developing countries all over the world. Therefore, the importance of warehouse management and warehouse space for rent cannot be overstated. For this job, the pharmaceutical sector must rely substantially on logistics services. This requirement has become even more evident as a result of the expanding markets, improved chain of supply visibility, and falling costs.
• Shortage of raw materials: If the availability of raw materials is not known in advance, it can delay the production. Knowing lead times and accurate inventory quantities will help to bypass many hurdles in the process of procuring raw materials.
• Lack of integration across processes: We are living in an era where almost everything has been digitised. The inventory, manufacturing, and labelling operations should be well integrated so that business productivity doesn't suffer and the chances of error are minimised.  Ease in import and export customs clearance of pharma and healthcare goods is equally essential in allowing faster delivery.
• Need for qualified workforce

          As the stakes in the pharma industry are someone's life, it is vital for them to have a workforce with significant knowledge, experience, and skills. As work productivity in an industry depends on the qualification of the employed workforce, companies can even plan to train the employees.

Key Takeaways:

Pharmaceutical and healthcare logistics companies deal in a very sensitive segment of logistics. The solution to these problems is to be equipped with the right people and the correct equipment and to have a proper flow of instructions every time. The industry can't afford to miss a single point. It is important for them to streamline their operations to ensure the efficiency of supply chains. They will have to be equipped with the right technology for a better tomorrow.

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