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21st Century Supply –
A Holistic View
The 21st Century Supply Chain needs to be longer and broader,
more secure but more transparent, stronger yet also more
adaptable. Buildings survive a storm or earthquake not by being
tough, rigid and immovably bolted down, but by being firm and
flexible. As it is the supply chain that links a company to its
suppliers, partners and customers, this is the part of a business
that most needs to offer support and generate real value, yet
also to be able to give as required.
Rather than persisting with the fragmented multitier supply
chain model that may from time to time require patching up, an
entirely novel, holistic approach to supply chain management in
the 21st century should be taken. To this end, the best parts of
each of the three supply lines need to be taken and woven
together to create a completely new system – one that extends
beyond the traditional ends of the supply chain and
encompasses more of the growing pharmaceutical/medical
field. At its core is the idea that true value can be generated only
with robust knowledge and visibility of the whole supply chain,
where the results of every action can be immediately determined
and any issues that arise are instantaneously dealt with. It
introduces a measure of flexibility into the supply chain as
resources are less stringently committed and can be quickly
re-deployed should the need arise. Given the speed and capacity
demands that will be placed on the system, the 21st Century
Supply Chain Ecosystem must utilise the best of all the current
technologies to monitor and streamline the supply chain, and
management becomes a process of exception, freeing up
resources to focus on critical issues rather than mundane ones.
The new unified 21st Century Supply Chain Ecosystem
represents the convergence of what were previously separate
industries. It acknowledges that the full pharmaceutical product
life-cycle starts with innovative but market-orientated R&D and
will inevitably end with price-sensitive generic versions. It
accommodates the fact that, along the way, there will be
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