< PreviousALPEGA TMS Q&A 20 Pharma Business International www.pbiforum.net Alpega TMS provides the pharmaceutical industry with software solutions that not only manage transportation digitally, but also increase resilience in pharmaceutical supply chains. This interview with Carolyn Hunt, Director Go-to-Market at Alpega TMS, examines the importance of transportation management for the pharmaceutical industry, its challenges and solutions. What is Alpega TMS? Alpega TMS is a cloud-based transportation management system designed to optimize logistics operations for efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Our solution transforms supply chains into collaborative ecosystems, where all partners get transparency and a single source of truth. Why is supply chain management important for the pharmaceutical industry? We recently asked one of our pharmaceutical manufacturer clients, a company in the top 5 for global revenue, about the importance of the supply chain and the value of our solutions. This was their response: “Get logistics processes done in the shortest period of time in order to deliver vaccines.” I wanted to share this quotation because it gets to the heart of why logistics matters now, more than ever, for the pharmaceutical industry. If pharmaceutical supply chains are not calibrated and managed with the utmost care, the results can have a measurable cost in human health. What are some of the unique challenges pharmaceutical supply chains pose for management? Pharmaceutical supply chains are notoriously complex – far too complex to manage with manual processes. The complexity stems from a wide variety of factors. The nature of pharmaceutical products requires intense regulatory scrutiny. A supply chain must align itself to the demands of audit- compliance and agency oversight throughout a given company’s markets (often many markets). From these demands, and from the need for enhanced security over highly regulated goods, arises another requirement: greater visibility. Pharmaceutical companies seek solutions that enhance their visibility over all nodes of their global networks in order to ensure traceability and safety of their medicines. A further challenge for supply chain management comes from the fragmentation of inbound pharmaceutical supply chains (an effect of the large number of suppliers needed to make a given pharmaceutical product). With supply chain fragmentation comes Q&A Top pharmaceutical companies get future-proof logistics solutions from Alpega TMS Carolyn Hunt, Director Go-to-Market at Alpega TMS 20-21.qxp_Layout 1 08/12/2021 12:23 Page 1Pharma Business International 21 www.pbiforum.net ALPEGA TMS Q&A additional challenges for visibility and hidden costs. What’s the next wave of challenges on the horizon for pharmaceutical supply chains? The stakes for future-proofing pharmaceutical supply chains have always been high. The widespread disruptions of 2020 and 2021 raised them even higher. Some pharmaceutical companies faced the concrete challenges of COVID-19 vaccine rollouts. Many more saw this landmark logistical challenge as an opportunity to get serious about supply chain resilience. Another reason pharmaceutical companies are currently motivated to improve their supply chains comes from broad market changes. New ways for patients to access healthcare are proving to have a significant effect on how pharmaceutical companies deliver their product – all while ensuring it arrives on time, is safe, and effective. The heightened expectations of patients – for service and delivery speed on par with, say, ecommerce – has driven pharmaceutical companies to rethink how to best orchestrate supply chains to serve patient needs. What’s the role of digitalization in solving challenges specific to pharmaceutical supply chains? Between the existing challenges inherent to pharmaceutical products, the recent supply chain disruptions of COVID-19 and the shift to patient-centric flows, the pharmaceutical industry has a lot of opportunities for improvement in their supply chains. To future-proof a given pharmaceutical supply chain is to address challenges with a lasting solution. Leading companies achieve this with digital systems for transportation management. Traditional transportation management relies on Excel spreadsheets and phone calls to plan transportation – and is surprisingly common in the healthcare industry; operations stay manual, data stays siloed and crucial regulatory documentation can be hard to track down when needed for audits. Any transportation stakeholder attempting to solve these complex logistical challenges soon find themselves cornered and stuck. In contrast, digital transportation management, such as an end-to-end transportation management system (TMS), offers a single platform for collaboration between transportation stakeholders. A TMS enables holistic visibility and management, based on a single source of data. When dealing with logistics challenges as complex as those of the pharmaceutical industry, these qualities are not only helpful – they’re essential. What’s the value of Alpega TMS for pharmaceutical companies? Pharmaceutical companies choose Alpega TMS because it’s specifically designed to handle the complexity of their needs, solve their challenges and provide solutions that safeguard against disruption. When Alpega TMS asked one pharmaceutical client (another top 5 company by global revenue) about the value they get from their solution, they responded with this short list of advantages: -Improved automation due to real-time communication with all supply chain partners -Improved systems exchange – seamless interaction with existing ERP systems -Reductions of freight costs and costs due to erroneous invoices -Reductions of manual effort for transportation management and invoice auditing But this is just one example. For a deeper look at how Alpega TMS serves the pharmaceutical industry, we recently released an ebook on the subject. It’s available for download here[RV1]. For more information visit www.alpegagroup.com Or email TMSdemo@alpegagroup.com 20-21.qxp_Layout 1 08/12/2021 12:23 Page 2MARKET RESEARCH 22 Pharma Business International www.pbiforum.net Advertising has come on in leaps and bounds since the days of newspapers, billboards and the television screen. The internet, perhaps the single most disruptive communication force of our times, has provided new avenues for marketers to explore. It wasn’t simply a case of having another platform in which to extol the benefits of a new product or service, but rather the ongoing evolution of the web has forever changed the way in which people interact, consume media and share information. Targeted advertisements, user preferences and cookies have made it so that no two people’s online experience is the same. Marketers are now able to conduct in-depth analysis of online activity, ensuring they target only the desired demographic for a new product or service. TV viewing is on the decline as consumers turn their back on the terrestrial in favour of curating their own viewing – namely, online streaming. This has presented new opportunities for marketers. Video marketing has never been more effective or relevant having evolved to keep up with the times. The consumption of video content is on the rise, with video sharing platforms forming the lion’s share of some companies’ marketing and digital strategy. The biggest influencer here, though, is social media, where users like, share and comment on content. This offers companies a valuable insight into the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns, as well as gaining first-hand feedback. This was the kind of insight that marketers could only dream of before the advent of the internet. Marketers now are preoccupied with chasing ‘viral’ videos. It’s difficult – often The digital age Social media and digital channels aren’t only changing the way in which pharmaceutical and medical products are marketed but are changing how companies conduct their market research. 24 Á 22-25.qxp_Layout 1 08/12/2021 12:24 Page 1Pharma Business International 23 www.pbiforum.net MARKET RESEARCH © stock.adobe.com/REDPIXEL 22-25.qxp_Layout 1 08/12/2021 12:24 Page 2MARKET RESEARCH 24 Pharma Business International www.pbiforum.net impossible – to predict which videos are going to become viral hits. This may happen inadvertently, for reasons a company might be keen to avoid – i.e. bad production values, poor acting etc. But if all press is indeed good press, then this can only work in a company’s favour. Provided a video campaign does indeed go viral, it will likely be picked up by major media outlets, exposing it to an even greater audience than might have seen it without. For this reason, marketing companies might try to replicate popular videos, hoping to capture some of that same quality that resonated with and/or amused consumers. However, marketers must remember that the internet is fickle and what may have been a hit one week may not be the week after. Consumers have grown more cynical of traditional adverts, especially the coveted millennial and Gen Z demographics, the latter of which has come of age surrounded by mobile browsing and digital technology. This same age bracket hungers for experiences, as well as media that reflects them. This demographic is also famed for its rejection of traditional gender and sexual norms. So, in order to secure the millennial dollar, marketers need to make connections. The days of a doctor in a lab coat waxing lyrical about a new drug product or medical device are over. Instead, companies should try and connect through inspirational messages, inject a feel-good factor and demonstrate good corporate social responsibility. Pfizer, Sanofi and GSK have all put this into effect with successful video campaigns which put 22-25.qxp_Layout 1 08/12/2021 12:24 Page 3Pharma Business International 25 www.pbiforum.net MARKET RESEARCH young people, inspirational messages and charity front and centre. And the results speak for themselves. Companies might want to also replicate the success of some of the web’s most popular video bloggers (or vloggers). Often these will involve a personality talking directly to camera, discussing a new product or experience with their viewers. This removes the boundaries between the two parties, making viewers feel very much a part of the wider discussion. Indeed, viewers are often invited to share their own thoughts in the comments. A company could even reach out to any vloggers that cover health, fitness or pharmaceuticals and forge connections. This kind of engagement has been seen in food and beauty, so why not pharma? Many of the top pharmaceutical companies also have a strong social media presence. Although companies have been wary of Twitter and Facebook et al in the past, those earlier reservations appear to be passing. Engaging with consumers on social channels is a great and low-cost means of spreading a company’s message and another example of how advertising has changed over the last decade. A few posts online may be just as effective now as a printed advert. Social media can be utilised as a valuable source of research. Companies can find out in real time exactly what consumers are thinking, how they’ve responded to certain products or marketing campaigns. Opinions have never been cheaper or more freely given and that’s an incredibly valuable resource, one the pharma sector shouldn’t shirk, but actively embrace. © stock.adobe.com/Chaosamran_Studio 22-25.qxp_Layout 1 08/12/2021 12:24 Page 4OUTSOURCING 26 Pharma Business International www.pbiforum.net Starting off as a support service for big companies, outsourcing has steadily become a fundamental part of the pharmaceutical industry. Today it is one of the most promising and profitable sectors in pharmaceutical and it is predicted to be worth 91 billion USD by 2028. Pharmaceutical companies turn to outsourcing throughout every step of the supply chain, from research and development, to manufacturing, distribution and marketing. The main driving force behind outsourcing is its cost-effective potential; outsourcing organisations and external service providers can help pharmaceutical companies finding time and cost- effective solutions to their problems, by providing them with the resources they need, including up to date equipment, trained specialists and training courses for their in-house staff, without directly investing large capitals on expensive, resource-consuming expertise that will soon be obsolete and not useful to them anymore. All kind of companies recur to outsourcing, from big to small, motivated by all kind of factors. While small companies might hire third organisations because they lack the necessary expertise, staff, resources or equipment to develop a new drug, bigger companies, that might have the in-house resources, turn to outsourcing to facilitate the development of the drug and speed time-to-market. Unfortunately, outsourcing is not always a smooth process and, whether a company is outsourcing the research and development of a new drug, or its manufacturing and distribution, there are several challenges that come with it: from ensuring performance, quality and compliance to regulatory requirements, managing clinical trials and different ethical guidelines, to handling logistics and distribution. There are also several risks companies can face throughout the whole outsourcing process, including: contract organisations failing to deliver the required supplies, failing to meet manufacturing deadlines, breaks of confidentiality, unnecessary investments on finding partners and maintaining relationships, or reduction of in-house resources and expertise that could damage the overall value and image of a brand. All the outsourcing-related risks and difficulties became particularly noticeable during the last couple of years as a result of the challenges the pharmaceutical industry had to face because of COVID-19. Despite the undoubtedly valuable assistance of outsourcing organisations and external service providers, the challenges related to the virus itself have only further highlighted the flaws within the outsourcing business. Between the high demand for new The value of outsourcing After proving its value during the COVID-19 pandemic, pharmaceutical outsourcing is ready to face its promising future 28 Á 26-29.qxp_Layout 1 08/12/2021 12:24 Page 1Pharma Business International 27 www.pbiforum.net OUTSOURCING © stock.adobe.com/BillionPhotos.com 26-29.qxp_Layout 1 08/12/2021 12:24 Page 2OUTSOURCING 28 Pharma Business International www.pbiforum.net therapies and new drugs, like the vaccines, and the introductions of COVID-19 regulations, like social distancing and lockdown, the pharmaceutical industry has been forced to work at a much faster pace and in much more challenging conditions that it normally does. Outsourcing has been an incredible resource for the pharmaceutical industry during COVID times and it has helped companies and organisations across the world obtaining successful results in a very small amount of time. However, if managing third companies was a tricky task before, trying to communicate with contract research organisations and contract manufacturing organisations to either set deadlines or set out logistics plans during the COVID- 19 pandemic was extremely difficult. Coordinating global efforts, or outsourcing expertise and resources across different organisations, when lockdowns and travel bans were in place and when companies were struggling at keeping structures open and running was a big challenge that tested the flexibility and ability to adapt of the pharmaceutical industry and outsourcing businesses. The increased demand for new products put the supply chain under a massive amount of pressure, with manufacturers and suppliers struggling to predict the demand and need for new resources and materials, which caused delays in production and distribution, and, therefore, a higher demand and pressure on the supply chain. COVID-19 has also been the proof of how quickly new diseases develop and how demanding the healthcare industry can be. The constant development of new therapies, along with the rise of new equipment and technologies, go at a speed pharmaceutical companies cannot keep up with, and that leave them with obsolete technological investment and untrained staff. 26-29.qxp_Layout 1 08/12/2021 12:24 Page 3Pharma Business International 29 www.pbiforum.net OUTSOURCING Furthermore, the speed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in higher expectations on speed of response to all other illnesses and diseases, and higher expectations on speed of development of all other life- saving therapies. This means that companies need to adjust to the new regulations and work harder to reach even higher standards and meet people’s expectations in the future. Despite all the difficulties, pharmaceutical companies have been overall successful at overcoming challenges and meeting the demands for new therapies and new drugs in a remarkably short amount of time. These results have saved lives and they would have not been possible without the help and assistance of outsourcing companies and external service providers. The outsourcing industry is still flawed, and the COVID-19 pandemic has proved it, but it has also showed how flexible the business could be and how successful it is at adapting and working under stressful and demanding conditions when necessary. There is still a lot of work to do to improve the efficiency of the outsourcing process and its ability to keep up with how fast technological innovation goes, but the industry seems to be heading towards the right direction. Outsourcing organisations and external service providers, research, development and manufacturing alike, are constantly investing in new technologies and improving and expanding the services they can offer to pharmaceutical companies, either by offering new services or by specialising in the ones they already offer. This ability to stay updated and adaptable, and keep up with how fast technologies evolve, has been the reason why the outsourcing market has grown so exponentially in last decade and why it is destined to grow even further in the future. © stock.adobe.com/Ivan T raimak 26-29.qxp_Layout 1 08/12/2021 12:24 Page 4Next >