Understanding the pharmaceutical supply chain landscape
The overall pharmaceutical supply chain landscape is constantly changing. This is due to the introduction of new technologies to streamline the flow of drugs across the different entities that take part in the process. There are three main entities when it comes to the overall landscape of the pharmaceutical supply chain industry:
- Drug manufacturers
- Distributors or wholesalers
- Consumers
Drug manufacturers
The pharmaceutical supply chain process starts from the manufacturing of the drug or biologic. They are manufactured by pharmaceutical organizations themselves in their own facilities or are outsourced to manufacturers who manufacture the drugs on their behalf. Drug manufacturers are responsible for ensuring the continuous supply of drugs for their consumers. They track market demand and make adjustments to their manufacturing volumes accordingly. It is also critical they do not over manufacture the...