In the rapidly changing world of pharmaceutical and healthcare manufacturing, particularly in a period where patents are coming to an end with the rise of lower price generics; the focus on operational efficiencies and maximising profit margins are becoming increasingly important in a more competitive open market.

According to one supply chain consultant to the pharma industry:  “Now the focus is end-to-end operational excellence, strong fill rate, on-time delivery and inventory fulfilment with the most nodes and the least inventory. It’s the entire timeline from the customer back to the manufacturer.”

So, the pharmaceutical supply chain needs to address flexibility in production, reducing wastage, optimise batch sizes, decrease time to market, minimise storage time and intelligence about consumption rates – all in order to eradicate inefficiencies from production through to distribution, as the industry evolves from a stock-based model to an order-based model.

Integration of data sets and the intelligence gleaned from it is therefore paramount in discovering what are the most efficient production and operational procedures for a pharmaceutical manufacturer.  An industry specific ERP solution for semi-process manufacturers helps pharma companies to understand where their controls and processes can be improved by offering a complete view of their production and supply chain.

According to a recent article in The Manufacturer, “The UK is a player in the global market with an estimated £60.1bn annual turnover… In  2012, UK R&D spend by the pharmaceuticals sector accounted for 24.6% of all R&D spend in UK businesses.”

The increased exploitation of big data (before and after products reach market) in pharma manufacturing can assist in research and development, supporting collaborative working up and down the supply chain and increasing the chances of that product’s success within the market.

So, it is clear that the life sciences manufacturing industry is well under way into a new era of tighter margins, it must leverage the data it has access to and make business decisions and investment into all areas of the business in order to become more flexible and more profitable.

Speak to Prodware today about how we have helped pharmaceutical manufacturers optimise their entire business processes in order to become more competitive and responsive to today’s environment.