Pharma pulls together biggest supply chain event in Europe for the life sciences sector

April 19, 2016 – Logistics –

Nearly five hundred lifesciences professionals, supply chain executives
and related logistics specialists descended on the Montreux Music &
Convention Centre in Montreux, Switzerland for a jam-packed,
luminary-studded, LogiPharma supply chain symposium on 19th – 21st
April.

With more than fifty speakers, a host of workshops and
debates and a bustling exhibition arena, the 2016 LogiPharma experience
continued its tradition as a vibrant, professional yet highly congenial,
occasion. The event was themed around “Supply Chain Transformation” and
a broad church of delegates pro-actively examined the many barriers,
opportunities and solutions facing the pharma supply-chain in its bid to
develop, optimise and reinvent its connections and processes. The
event’s interactive approach to delegate engagement provoked a welcome
number of stimulating debates and an air of common-purpose was clearly
in evidence as the pharma industry squares up to its collective
responsibilities and contemplates the threats and possibilities stemming
from a world of breakneck change.

“REVOLUTION”

The
2016 LogiPharma opening address came from Carlo Notaristefani, president
and CEO, Global Operations at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries.
Notaristefani set the tone for the ensuing three days by presenting an
intriguing take on the factors that have shaped the pharma supply chain
and those that are going to define its future. He explained that by 2020
there will be almost five hundred new drugs compared to today to test
rare and orphan diseases. “Scientific innovation is still well alive,”
he said. “We are seeing great advances happening in pharma at the moment
but the chronic disease burden on the system is putting pressure on
everyone.” “The problem is that many of the new products are aimed at
rare diseases with the cost of development having to be absorbed by a
very small number of patients.”

Notaristefani went on to explain
that although the pace of growth in pharma will continue unabated “our
industry, compared to others, is still extremely fragmented and there
are needs and opportunities for more evolution in our business model.”
“I believe we are on the edge of a revolution in the healthcare system
and we don’t know, yet, how this is going to shake out. But every time
there is a revolution some new leaders emerge.” Notaristefani talked
about the “incredible transformation” that is going to take place as new
suppliers encroach on the pharma market, as patient demographics change
and as we increasingly entertain remote digital medical services. “Who
wants to be competing with Google or Apple?” he inquired. “It is a new
world. The traditional cost-competive model is not enough any more. We
must move beyond the product.”

In addition to the need for more
joined-up supply chains he suggested that the biggest changes will be
associated with the customer and patient sides of the business. “This
will create great opportunities for the supply chain,” he said.
“Suppliers have always talked about getting a seat at the table and the
way to do this is to demonstrate that you can create value. This is the
best time ever to be a leader in the supply chain. There are many
unfulfilled needs that require initiative but you must be prepared to
participate in shaping the future.”



COLLABORATION

Collaboration
was a fundamental issue on the lips and minds of many speakers and
delegates at the conference as the industry explores new ways of
improving teamwork and supply chain performance amongst the various
pharma-delivery stakeholders. One of the speakers on this subject was
Mark James, Vice President Europe at logistics specialist Movianto.
Addressing an attentive audience, James stressed the need for a
completely new buyer-supplier relationship, one that is driven by
cultural fit, mutual understanding, team-work and aligned objectives
rather than one that is managed on traditional ‘master-servant’ lines.
“Business is moving away from a simple transactional approach towards
one where processes are integrated end-to-end all the way through from
point of manufacture to point of dispensing,” he explained. According to
James, traditional cost-focused relationships are increasingly
obsolete. The future for logistics suppliers, he asserted, will be
increasingly about value-centred, patient-centric network relationships
where 3PLs will be “playing a part in enabling better patient outcomes”
rather than merely performing “the bit where something goes in a
warehouse and gets distributed”.

Other ‘hot potato’ topics
covered during a super-charged three days of discourse included
customer-centricity, segmentation, serialisation, network visibility,
temperature control, portfolio management, digitalisation, regulatory
compliance, emerging markets, corporate responsibility and women in the
supply chain. A veritable cornucopia of knowledge, imagination, energy
and inspiration.



INDUSTRY TRENDS

Predictably, in a
period of great change for the industry, much time was spent
deliberating the future. One of the presenters to cover this topic was
Sheena Behn, VP Commercial Operations at AstraZeneca who shared her
informed opinions about the supply chain of the future and AstraZeneca’s
ambitious ‘2020 Supply Chain Journey’.”We are looking at cutting edge
roadmapping where we ask ‘what technology do we need now and what do we
need in the future’,” she reported. Continuous manufacturing, brand
segmentation and capacity planning were some of the areas she cited as
being at heart of this process as the company seeks to improve its
medium-term strategic modelling capability.



SUPPLIER INNOVATION

The
event’s display area was, as always, the centre of much engagement
between buyers, suppliers and partners, old and new. For Amsafe Bridport
the event marked the European launch pad for a new, third generation,
Tyvek thermal cover while Emirates SkyCargo also unveiled their latest
pharma protection solution based around Tyvek technology. The latest
serialisation, authentication and temperature monitoring solutions were
much in evidence from companies such as Systech International,
Berlinger, Movilitas and ELPRO while cold-chain containers and packaging
solutions were on display from Envirotainer, va-Q-tec, AeroSafe,
Emball’iso and others. The logistics fraternity was represented by
players like Panalpina, Movianto and Yusen Logistics while integrators
UPS and Fedex were both present.

INSPIRATION

Keeping
the delegates’ feet on the ground was guest motivational speaker Major
Chris Hunter QGM who, as the British Army’s one-time most experienced
counter-terrorist bomb disposal specialist, kept a spell-bound audience
very much awake at the close of Day Two. His inspirational narrative on
how good logistics plays a critical role in the deadly theatre of war
was delivered with harrowing ‘as it happened’ video footage which
graphically illustrated the consequences of getting things wrong or
taking unnecessary risks. Even so, “Don’t be afraid of change or
failure.” was one of Major Hunter’s parting shots to the audience.

CONCLUSIONS

When
it comes to supply chain sophistication, the pharma sector, by its own
admission, still has some way to go to be considered ‘World Class’.
There is still a lot of slack between the various stakeholder groups and
the industry is facing an unprecedented array of challenges that, taken
together, are compelling wholesale and radical change. As always, the
individual winners and losers in this scenario will be determined by
Darwinian forces. But if the energy, insight and commitment on view at
LogiPharma 2016 in Montreux is any guide there can be no doubt that this
vital industry is readying itself for the momentous possibilities that
lie ahead.