GS1 India and AHPI releases report on the state of healthcare supply chain in India

GS1 India, in joint collaboration with AHPI undertook a comprehensive study of the existing supply chain ecosystem of pharmaceutical and medical devices manufacturers, the challenges faced and their impact on the other stakeholders in the healthcare supply chain

GS1 India, a global supply chain standards organisation, and Association of Healthcare Providers India (AHPI) have conducted a comprehensive study on the healthcare supply chain in India. The findings and recommendations of the study was released as a report titled “Building resilience in India’s post covid healthcare supply chain”. The report was released by Dr Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, MD and CEO, Fortis Healthcare on occasion of the GS1 India silver jubilee celebrations of GS1 India.

GS1 India, in joint collaboration with AHPI undertook a comprehensive study of the existing supply chain ecosystem of pharmaceutical and medical devices manufacturers, the challenges faced and their impact on the other stakeholders in the healthcare supply chain viz hospitals, retail and online pharmacies. The study also explored how global regulatory mandates have played a key role in Indian manufacturers implementing a track and trace system for exports and how the learnings can be applied in the domestic market supplies. The study was based on personal interviews and surveys of various stakeholders in the industry.

Findings of the study

The main findings of the study are as given below:    

• In the current scenario, over 80 per cent of the pharmaceutical and medical devices manufacturers do not have product visibility till point of care
• Best-in-class pharma companies globally have inventory period of 64 days as compared to Indian counterparts having 98 days, leading to inefficient inventory management and adding to the inventory holding costs, driving the product prices upwards.
• The overall supply chain, logistics and warehousing costs in India are 15 per cent higher compared to other countries.
• More than 50 per cent of pharma and medical devices manufacturers lose 1 per cent of their sales due to expiry and pilferage.
• Nearly 69 per cent of survey respondents (pharma and medical devices manufacturers) do not have the capability to implement product recall beyond the distributor due to lack of end to end visibility.

Key takeaways

Making the healthcare supply chain resilient will require end-to-end supply chain visibility through digitalisation and use of global standards which facilitate interoperability. All the stakeholders including the government, the regulators and the industry need to work together to build a resilient healthcare supply chain.

The report provides a roadmap for healthcare industry which will help in bringing in greater efficiency and resilience in the supply chain as well as reduce the costs. Implementing the recommendations of the report will greatly benefit the healthcare sector as it moves into a post COVID era.