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Building The Pharma Supply Chain Of The Future

Worldwide Disruption Has Pushed Logistics To The Front And Centre Of The Pharma World

 
• By Chloe Kent

The worst of COVID-19’s disruption appears to be in the pharma supply chain’s rearview mirror, but logistics stakeholders still have a number of questions to answer and challenges to overcome as they attempt to become future-proof.

World map decorated with oversized lorry, plane, cargo ship to represent global supply chain
The COVID-19 pandemic may have permanently reshaped the global supply chain • Source: Shutterstock

Across the pharmaceutical industry, stakeholders in the supply chain space appear to be breathing a tentative sigh of relief. Worldwide COVID-19 related disruption is at perhaps its lowest since the pandemic began, even while many of the same challenges which emerged in 2020 continue to bear down on the supply chain. Following the CBI Trade and Channel Strategies conference, Deutsche Bank analysts observed in a 15 December note that “the three large drug wholesalers [AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and the McKesson Corporation] are in as strong of a position as they have ever been in for the regular way distribution business”, a welcome remark after the logistics turmoil that has defined recent years.

Since March 2020 when the pandemic began in earnest, the pharmaceutical supply chain has been firmly in the spotlight, with...

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