Table of contents
Key Takeaways
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More than 60% of pharma companies and contract manufacturers say they lack standardized processes for collaborating on, tracking, and quickly resolving issues with upstream supply chain partners.
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Multienterprise work management software enables you to bring your entire supply network together in a single, virtual workspace, so you can resolve issues faster, avoid or mitigate disruptions, and improve on-time, in-full (OTIF) delivery performance.
Material shortages. Quality deviations. Last-minute delays. When unexpected incidents and issues threaten production schedules and on-time, in-full (OTIF) delivery performance, your supplier relationship management team needs to quickly get in touch with stakeholders from inside the organization and across the supply network to orchestrate a response and resolve the problem as fast as possible.
Agile is people, process, technology, and leadership—and you can't get agile just by putting good systems in place. People are a fundamental part of this, and the technology has to augment the way people are operating.
But the traditional manual processes for addressing supplier issues may be holding you back. With supply chain disruptions like those caused by COVID-19 on the rise, the time is right to consider digitally transforming your supply network with a multienterprise work management solution, so you can reduce inefficient manual processes, ensure the coordination and alignment of internal and external teams, and ultimately build a more agile and responsive supply chain, according to the latest pharma industry research from IDC.
“If we accept that pandemic-like disruptions will be the new normal in the pharmaceutical supply chain, then visibility must be accelerated through the use of more diverse data sets, digital network platforms, holistic analytics, and better collaboration within the relevant ecosystems,” Simon Ellis, IDC Program Vice President, wrote in a recent IDC white paper. ”... Whether participating in multienterprise supply chain networks, leveraging AI, or using patient data, the adoption of technology generally means better visibility, greater agility, and better overall supply chain resiliency.”
A better way to tackle supplier relationship management issues
The supplier relationship management team at your pharma company has likely become extremely adept at using manual tools and processes to respond to and manage through incidents, disruptions, and eleventh-hour order changes. Addressing issues that affect the entire supplier network typically requires a great deal of skill, flexibility, and ingenuity—not to mention a keen ability to juggle a slew of phone calls, emails, spreadsheets, and text messages.
The problem with these disconnected processes is that they prevent supply chain stakeholders from seeing the bigger picture. As a result, developing a truly agile and responsive supply network is nearly impossible. Manual processes also create inefficiencies that can have a negative impact on the business in the form of:
- Missed or late delivery dates.
- Higher product costs.
- Extended cash-to-cycle times.
- The need to carry higher inventory levels.
- Sub-optimal OTIF performance.
A multienterprise work management application that runs on a digital network platform lets you create a virtual workspace that brings your entire supply network together. As a result, you can collaborate more effectively, track and resolve issues faster, and identify process improvements that can lead to significant cost savings.
A multienterprise work management solution empowers you to launch a coordinated response to even the most complex incidents and ensure that each stakeholder understands their role in getting the issues resolved. The right multienterprise work management solution will enable you to:
- Build and orchestrate shared incident response workflows that span enterprises and teams.
- Create your own business process networks with easy onboarding for all supplier partners and stakeholders.
- Leverage pre-built solutions configured for specific use cases and business processes.
- Customize policies, workflows, and user experiences based on specific requirements, roles, and responsibilities.
- Notify partners when deadlines are coming due or past due.
- Easily onboard suppliers, customers, and service partners.
- Maintain confidentiality with secure communication and access controls.
Multienterprise work management software is a critical enabler of greater supply chain resilience. But achieving a truly resilient supply chain will also require a commitment to digitalization and a rethink of the way supplier issues have typically been resolved, according to TraceLink Digital Transformation Strategist Roddy Martin, who appeared with Ellis in a recent TraceLink webinar featuring IDC’s pharma industry research.
