Page 21 - ITLN May-June 2021 issue for Magzter

We are clearly in unsettling times.
How has this pandemic impacted your
supply chain activities over the last
one year?
The pandemic was a truly Black Going forward, business
Swan event. We've seen supply continuity will become
chain disruptions in the past but the a critical node for
magnitude of this disruption was very companies. We need to
far reaching because both supply and ensure that we continue
demand end of the value chain got
impacted simultaneously. As you know, doing what we were able
the pharma industry gets a lot of bulk to do and disruptions like
drugs, chemicals and key starting a Covid-19 pandemic
material from China. In the past, given does not bring us back to
the disruptions that supply chain ground zero that we need
professionals have seen, specifically in to re-build again.
pharma, we had some inventories built
up. We were thinking that once China
probably is out of the disruption, we
will be back to normal. This was some pharma and healthcare companies. pharma. There is intent from a lot of
time in February last year, when the What has been your experience organizations to see how we can adopt
virus started to spread. By March, India, in the last year and what are the AI/ML, if not in the manufacturing
along with the entire world, came to a opportunities you see in the future? process, at least in the planning side.
grinding halt. Though pharmaceutical Pharma has been in the midst of the For example, how do you sense demand,
was part of the essential service entire mayhem. We have been actively how you can look at micro and macro
services, we have to understand trying to support in terms of drugs and factors, move away from the traditional
pharmaceutical manufacturing is medications. Then with the vaccine forecasting methods and eliminate
dependent on very long value chain. For discovery and other medications coming those biases which we have in terms
example, you can manufacture all the along, a lot of pharma companies of generating a unified demand view.
drugs and keep them ready but how do saw this as an opportunity to grow. So, you can reduce the downtime and
you pack them? The local printers, foil But the main silver lining was in the improve productivity. Pharma has
manufacturers, carton manufacturers acceleration in the pace of digital traditionally done batch manufacturing,
have to be ready and operating to transformation of the pharma business where every batch is manufactured,
supply you those printed components process. Nobody could have imagined tested and released, which takes a lot
to pack the material. But with help us working from home, especially in of time. So, how we can improve on
from the government of India, the state the pharma industry, this was a taboo those cycle times and have continuous
government and the administrative because of privacy issues. But the manufacturing are some critical areas
machinery, essential service providers digital push has helped us collaborate that the pharma industry is looking at
and the ancillary support were given further with our suppliers, both down now, with respect to newer technologies
special provisions to start operations. So the value chain and up the value chain, coming in. Technology can also help a
from April last year and then beyond, we with our distributors, with our sales lot in terms of vendor management and
started to recover and the supply side and marketing team. So the entire in improving visibility. Blockchain can
of the supply chain recovered. But the collaboration, to my mind, has also bring vendors and the customers on
demand remained muted as there were come to the fore. one platform and can make information
lesser patients visiting the doctor and sharing easy and transparent.
there were lesser elective surgeries. Pharma companies are either slowly
So, in phase one, there was a complete adopting or are looking at Industry What will your top areas of focus be for
demand disruption where only Covid- 4.0 tools (AI, Blockchain, Advanced supplier management risk mitigation
specific medicines were getting sold. Analytics, Cloud based networking, in the post-pandemic world?
But in phase two, we started to see a etc) for reducing manufacturing costs, The single most critical factor that
demand recovery probably from the improving quality, and increasing comes to my mind is collaboration.
July-August timeframe. The demand supply chain flexibility while making We need to start working with our
curve began to witness a V- or U- to deliveries more reliable. What are the suppliers as business partners in
probably a W-shaped recovery. critical digital capabilities you need to this VUCA environment where supply
focus on to prepare for future supply chain disruptions can be of global
At the same time, the pandemic network disruptions? significance. With India going through
has presented new and expanded Industry 4.0 is definitely going to be an a very severe second wave, people are
opportunities and challenges for adoptive technology going forward for fearing about the drug supply to the rest

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