The good times with more or less guaranteed high margins are over for pharmaceutical companies. The coming years, reduced costs, greater agility and improved speed to market - whilst ensuring the often complex regulatory legal framework in countries are being met - will form a challenging operating landscape for companies in the industry. Buck Consultants International drafted a white paper which outlines a strategic agenda companies within the industry have to review. "Key to this agenda is the changing commercial business model pharmaceutical companies are starting to address. Pharmaceutical companies will have to turn more towards direct sales channels and therefore also direct distribution models to reduce margins in their current business. This includes direct deliveries to the patient", says Eelco Dijkstra, senior consultant Buck Consultants International.
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Source: BCI
The white paper specifies 8 key challenges and shows what the step change should be.
Source: BCI
For many companies the key objective will be to first develop a more cost efficient supply chain with the corresponding organization and infrastructure focusing on network and distribution optimization. For some pharmaceutical companies, parts of their business model will require a more agile and responsive distribution model. Here the key drivers will focus on distribution solutions with CMO’s and postponement models to allow for greater flexibility and scalability beyond costs alone.
Moving forward, it is essential that the supply chain is a critical part of the financially driven business model of pharmaceutical companies. A cost effective supply chain should be integrally linked to the order to cash cycle and will play a more important role in the pharmaceutical business model of the future.
You can download here the white paper.
