Regulation, Security Among Top Concerns for Healthcare Supply Chain, UPS Survey Finds
Regulatory compliance, product security and cost management were the most commonly cited supply-chain concerns for the global healthcare industry in an annual survey by UPS Inc.
Meanwhile, the recent economic recession “still casts a shadow” on healthcare logistics, according to the 2014 UPS Pain in the Supply Chain survey of executives in the pharmaceutical, medical device and biotech industries.
The survey, conducted between January and March, gathered input from more than 530 supply-chain decision makers in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Western Europe and Asia.
Healthcare executives pointed to regulatory compliance as the top “pain point” for the healthcare supply chain for the third straight year, with 60% of respondents citing it as a top concern. Meanwhile, 78% said the regulatory environment was a leading factor driving business changes.
Product protection was the second-leading concern in the survey, with 46% of respondents citing it as a key challenge. At the same time, 40% listed product damage or spoilage as a concern.
Managing supply-chain costs also remained a top issue, but the level of concern has eased from previous years. Globally, the percentage of executives concerned about cost management declined to 44%, compared with 51% in 2013 and 60% in 2012.
In North America, the most frequently cited concerns were regulatory compliance at 66%, cost management at 47% and product security at 43%.
Although economic conditions have improved, the recent recession continues to affect the healthcare supply chain in the form of tightened spending and other reductions, according to the report.
Six years after the arrival of the global recession, 49% of healthcare logistics executives said their companies continued to feel the effects of the downturn. That figure rose to 54% among respondents in North America and 60% in the United States specifically.
Forming partnerships and increasing technology investments were among the leading strategies to reduce supply-chain risks and boost efficiency.
The survey found that 78% of executives relied on logistics and distribution partnerships to help manage costs.
Meanwhile, 80% of respondents said they will invest in new technologies during the next three to five years.
“Companies that embrace new technologies and transformative supply-chain strategies to mitigate risks will be more likely to capitalize on new growth opportunities in the healthcare marketplace of tomorrow,” John Menna, UPS vice president of global healthcare strategy, said in a Sept. 23 release announcing the survey results.
UPS, based in Atlanta, ranks No. 1 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America.
