US Pharmaceutical Industry Overview
Increased globalization and complexity of the pharmaceutical supply chain has made the procurement process extremely challenging for organizations in the pharmaceutical industry. Companies are constantly facing supply chain interruptions, unexpected expenses, and quality control issues. As a result, they need to identify ways to increase revenues and efficiency in every business area. Innovative pharmaceutical procurement can certainly be an option for companies to gain a competitive advantage and improve sustainable efficiency. Certain strategies can also be followed by companies in the US pharmaceutical industry to address procurement challenges such as regulatory hurdles, supply chain disruptions, quality, and inventory issues.
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Steps to Achieve Procurement Excellence in the US Pharmaceutical Industry
Understand Regulatory Requirements
Numerous US agencies are involved in the legal process for pharmaceutical material imports apart from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Companies must navigate the nuances and requirements of all legal and regulatory entities to improve process efficiency. They should also have a thorough understanding of regulations to avoid non-compliance, unexpected delays, and excess spend. In most cases, regulatory issues can be avoided if organizations have a thorough understanding of regulatory requirements.
Break silos
Most companies in the US pharmaceutical industry still consider procurement as a support function rather than a strategic, integral part of the business, especially for complex categories such as clinical trial sourcing and production equipment purchasing. Business managers feel reluctant to rely on procurement departments for any major procurement decisions. However, companies need to create procurement standards, define procurement roles and responsibilities to help experts select the best partners for their business needs for strategic development.
Manage Quality
Ensuring quality is crucial for companies to sustain themselves in the US pharmaceutical industry. Organizations should maintain careful oversight of the supply chain to understand the inherent risks associated with products and perform quality assurance checks when an order arrives. While doing quality checks, the American National Standards Institute guidelines must be followed.
Whether you are sourcing from qualified suppliers or relying on a third party to select suppliers, spending extra efforts on due diligence can help you gain a competitive edge by ensuring the supply quality. Also, associating with qualified suppliers can help you determine the status of shipments in real-time.
Inability to meet ANSI guidelines or select the right suppliers can impact the pharmaceutical industry value chain. Stay a step ahead by requesting a free demo of our procurement platform and gain exclusive pharmaceutical industry insights from procurement experts.
Ensure on-time deliveries
While making purchasing strategies, include inventory management systems that can ensure efficiency throughout each step of the procurement process. Assess the request and prepare for any special handling, testing, and storage conditions the material may require. Also, identify potential supply chain issues before committing to place the order. Besides, companies should analyze records of ordering patterns, lead times, volumes, on-time deliveries, price and forecast fluctuation when negotiating pricing.
