FourKites, Accenture release pharma supply chain report

While approximately half of pharma organizations have already implemented visibility technology to track raw materials and to better plan their manufacturing, many are dissatisfied with the capabilities of their current solutions. As a result, more than nine in 10 executives plan to implement a more robust digital supply chain visibility (SCV) solution over the next 12 months. This, according to “The Pharmaceutical Supply Chain: Closing the Visibility Gap,” a new report recently issued by FourKites, a supply chain visibility platform company, and Accenture, a professional services firm specializing in digital, cloud and security.

As the involved parties have alluded to, many existing visibility solutions fail to account for the unique nature of pharma supply chains, including cold chain shipping, raw material availability, security of shipments in transit, stringent temperature and quality control measures and high inventory costs. Covid-19 further highlighted the need for visibility at every chain in the pharma supply chain.

To better understand the state of the pharma supply chain, FourKites partnered with Accenture to survey supply chain executives working in pharma, biotech, cell and gene therapy, medtech and other related industries.

Among the findings, 32% of executives identified product protection and the need to quarantine as their biggest pain points in transporting and storing goods, while nearly 50% cited security and temperature reporting as the biggest issues. Beyond real-time reports for temperature and security, the survey revealed many opportunities for supply chain visibility to help improve inbound challenges and operations.