Supply Chain World - Volume 7, Issue 3 - 8

SHIPMENTS

As the on-demand pharmaceutical
market grows, the need to ensure
product integrity and an intact
chain will increase.

	 In	addition	to	myriad	business	benefits,	advanced	sensors	and	tracking	
technologies	enable	manufacturers	to	
better	adapt	to	the	evolving	behavior	
and	information	needs	of	today's	physicians.	Adherence	is	one	of	the	biggest	
pain	points	in	the	pharmaceutical	
industry	and	can	be	easily	addressed	via	
programmable	tags.	
	 Physicians	can	use	tags	to	communicate	dosage	and	usage	instructions	to	
consumers	via	their	smartphone.	They	
can	also	log	interactions	and	reports	in	
real	time	to	illustrate	how	patients	are	
interacting	with	surveys	and	marketing	
campaigns.	Environmental	and	distribution	data	can	be	further	leveraged	to	
provide	alerts	to	customers	who	may	
have	acquired	less-than-ideal	products	
and	monitor	possible	medication	mismanagement	down	to	the	pill	level.
	 Amidst	the	national	opioid	epidemic,	sophisticated	sensors	and	trackers	
ultimately	streamline	the	supply	chain	
to	manage	medications	for	millions	of	
consumers.	They	protect	against	illegal	
tampering,	the	inclusion	of	foreign	ma8

Supply Chain World VOLUME 7, ISSUE 3

terials	and	can	help	track	down	entire	
truckloads	of	missing	medications.	At	
the	pharmacy	level,	these	technologies	
prevent	mix-ups	and	over-prescription	-	
significantly	cutting	down	liabilities.	
	 Too	often,	manufacturers	place	greater	emphasis	on	optimizing	packaging	
rather	than	addressing	environmental	
fluctuations	and	human	errors	that	
can	spoil	shipments	in	the	first	place.	
With	advanced	sensors	and	smart	tags,	
data	can	be	gathered	down	to	the	driver	
level,	allowing	you	to	gauge	whether	
anomalies	were	caused	by	unforeseen	
circumstances	or	could	be	avoided	with	
training	and	education.	
	 While	advances	in	sensor	tech	and	location	tracking	are	enabling	a	safer	global	pharma	supply	chain,	relationships	
are	still	key	to	their	success.	There	is	no	
technological	substitute	for	clear	communication	and	collaboration.	From	
day-to-day	sampling	to	data	breaches	
and	disaster	response,	technology	must	
be	fully	integrated	with	internal	policies	
to	ensure	smooth	decision-making.	Develop	proactive	guidelines	on	the	ideal	

as	well	as	less	than	ideal	scenarios,	such	
as	equipment	malfunctions,	natural	disasters	and	other	crises	-	and	make	sure	
that	documentation	is	fully	compliant	
with	the	latest	regulations.	
	 Failure	to	communicate	along	the	
supply	chain	is	a	risk	to	your	bottom	
line,	but	more	critically,	public	safety.	When	a	handful	of	suppliers	are	
responsible	for	serving	a	region,	a	
production	snag	can	have	far-reaching	consequences.	Take	for	example	
the	intravenous	saline	shortage	after	
Hurricane	Maria	or	the	CDC's	failure	
to	communicate	with	distributors	
regarding	the	shortage	of	Tamiflu	in	
early	2015.	When	U.S.	suppliers	do	not	
have	the	inventory	to	serve	the	public's	
needs,	providers	are	forced	to	seek	
medications	from	countries	where	
oversight	is	not	as	strong.	
	 As	the	on-demand	pharmaceutical	market	grows,	the	need	to	ensure	
product	integrity	and	an	intact	chain	
of	custody	will	increase.	Due	to	the	
broader	global	adoption	of	time	and	
environment-sensitive	medications,	
manufacturers	will	also	need	to	gear	
up	for	unforeseen	conditions	that	can	
affect	the	potency	of	medicines.	Packaging	alone	cannot	spot	nonconforming	
elements	and	nefarious	behavior.	
	 The	solution?	Sensor	and	communications	technologies	combined	with	
cloud-based	analytics.	From	Ebola	to	
the	Zika	virus,	diseases	and	natural	
disasters	are	obviously	not	a	one-time	
occurrence.	To	prepare	the	entire	pharmaceutical	ecosystem	for	the	challenges	of	tomorrow,	manufacturers	must	
invest	in	the	latest	technologies	today.		
As a recognized industry leader in the wireless IoT/M2M
market, Jeff Newman has over two decades of
experience as an early pioneer within the M2M wireless
industry. He is currently the vice president of business
development for CalAmp. In his current position, he
works with key partners and enterprise executives in
the areas of Connected Car Telematics Solutions, Industrial IoT applications & Insurance Telematics, helping
companies derive new sources of revenue and improve
operational efficiencies on a global basis.
Supply Chain World - Volume 7, Issue 3

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Supply Chain World - Volume 7, Issue 3
