What are the top supply chain issues for the healthcare supply chain in 2013 and 2014? In 2013 UPS published a revealing survey focusing on technology. Other sources discuss a heightened focus on cost cutting and logistics efficiency, while undergoing a re-invention and new strategy development.

Supply chain security in the pharma industry is a hot issue right now because the industry has seen tremendous global growth and change. More drugs are moving around the world than ever before. Also, more pharma companies are manufacturing overseas.

Three good takeaways from leading pharmaceutical supply chain consultants include ensuring product quality in the supply chain, California serialization and pedigree legislation and the re-designing pharma supply chains.

Considering the significant challenges faced by pharma supply chains, the future will no longer be about internal R&D, but instead about directing significant resources and efforts to collaborate with external supply networks and partners.

The pharmaceutical supply chain will undergo changes in the year 2014. New US government regulations, pressures to be more lean and an increase in outsourcing relationships will bring new challenges to the supply chain in the health care and pharmaceutical industry.

In the following video Conrad Ross from Establish discusses the opportunities for improvements in the pharmaceutical and healthcare supply chains. What Conrad has noticed is that in the pharmaceutical and related health care industries, it’s not uncommon for us to identify annual cost-reduction opportunities at 10 percent or more.

In the pharmaceutical and related health care industries it is entirely possible to achieve annual cost-reduction opportunities of at least 10% Cost reductions are part of a broader effort at improving your efficiencies and competitiveness. The following are some recommended steps that should be taken to improve efficiencies and attempt to cut costs in the pharmaceutical supply chain.