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Life sciences organizations, including pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, had to dramatically shift their operations in 2020 and 2021 to account for restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although these innovative organizations faced numerous challenges in doing so, the result was a significant acceleration of their digital transformations.

According to a study by McKinsey & Company, this acceleration was apparent in numerous industries, not just in life sciences. The study also suggested that "companies have accelerated the digitization of their customer and supply-chain interactions and of their internal operations by three to four years." Other studies have suggested that organizations have accelerated their digital transformations by as many as five years.

Still, the pandemic also caused significant disruptions. A drop in elective procedures resulted in a loss of revenue for some companies, and supply chain disruptions proved challenging for most in the industry. Now, life sciences organizations are taking the lessons they've learned and advancements they've made over the past few years and applying them to their supply chain operations.

Here are just a few ways the supply chain will be optimized.

Revamping Internal Capabilities

Many life sciences organizations are reassessing their internal capabilities, paying particular attention to their systems and technology solutions. Legacy solutions like on-premises enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have long been necessary for organizations to integrate all their capabilities. But changes at the companies that provide these systems are making it necessary to replace systems that once seemed irreplaceable.

For example, SAP, a popular ERP software provider, is changing its offering. It's providing clients with the capability of hosting applications in SAP's cloud for a single subscription fee rather than making enterprises pay separate licensing and maintenance fees for each.

While this alternative could mean significant cost savings for both SAP and its clients, organizations must have a clear plan for migrating their applications as well as more transparency from SAP before they commit. Many organizations may also want a contingency plan for relocating their applications if the cloud service doesn't pan out as intended.

Still, this type of transformation has the potential to simplify many life sciences organizations' business processes, making it easier for them to modernize. Workloads could be hosted at scale as needed, adding more flexibility and agility.

There are also plenty of innovative supply chain technologies on the horizon that could dramatically improve operations, but only for those organizations that can leverage them.

Autonomous machines, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and 5G all promise to make the supply chain more efficient and transparent. Organizations must ensure their technology infrastructures are prepared to handle such advancements if they hope to generate value.

Obtaining End-to-End Supply Chain Visibility

Life sciences companies rely on a complex network of suppliers and logistics providers to bring products to market, and the supply chain spans the globe. For years, this has made it particularly challenging to gain end-to-end visibility.

Unfortunately, many aspects of the life sciences supply chain are still antiquated as well. For example, one executive of an online marketplace for life science products claimed that about 20% of all orders for lab supplies are still placed by phone and another 20% are placed by fax.

Inefficiencies and a lack of visibility into supply chain processes can cost life sciences companies serious funds, especially because most researchers require steady access to supplies and materials.

The good news is that organizations are taking steps to address this problem. Part of their digital transformation has involved the adoption of connective platforms that enable suppliers and manufacturers to get a real-time view of operations across the supply chain. Data standardization, neutral integration platforms, IoT sensors, and AI-based tracking software are also improving end-to-end visibility.

Nonetheless, most organizations will need to work directly with their suppliers to make visibility a reality. Often, this means extending data and integration standards across borders, companies, and geographies, so that every party can participate in the same data ecosystem.

Becoming More Patient-Centric

Finally, life sciences organizations are working to become more patient-centric, and they are working with their supply chain partners to do the same. There has been an increased emphasis on patient-centricity since the onset of the pandemic, as many life sciences organizations have become household names after the development of treatments and vaccines.

Still, patient-centricity was already a significant trend in the industry before COVID-19 ever stuck. According to Deloitte in 2020, "Companies should not only embrace this enterprise-wide approach of embedding patient-centricity efforts, but prepare to participate in an emerging ecosystem where disease foundations, patient advocacy groups, health plans, health systems and physicians, regulators, competitors, and technology and wellness companies are all better connected so that the patient is at the center."

Organizations must take steps to operationalize their strategic objectives around the perspectives of the patients they serve. Additionally, they can harness data analytics to be more transparent with patients, providing information about how their products are made and from where they are sourced.

Don't Miss the LogiPharma and LogiMed Virtual Event

Pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, and other life sciences organizations are still facing the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but their digital transformations have expanded over the past year. Although the industry is still operating in a time of disruption, there are opportunities for more efficiency and visibility in the supply chain on the horizon.

To learn more about how your organization can optimize its supply chain, don't miss the LogiPharma and LogiMed Virtual Event, happening online from July 20^th to July 21^st.

Register for free today.