Pharmaceutical logistics and the challenges of drug distribution

Traceability must be complete. Temperature controls and recording are carried out in chain, from the logistics platforms where vaccines are stored, to refrigerated transport. This highlights the importance of carrying out good practices in storage and distribution and requires agile processes throughout the supply chain.

Increase in online sales in the pharma sector

During 2020, the penetration of the pharmaceutical sector in the ecommerce market exceeded 26% in Spain. A year later, the intention to purchase products in online pharmacies rises from 22% to 31% according to the ‘Annual ecommerce 2020’ Study of IAB Spain. The change in habits generated by the coronavirus in Spain leads us to predict that the purchase of medicines online will continue to grow exponentially in the coming years. The incorporation of pharmacies into online commerce is something that is still in process, to some extent, because it is a sector that has always been characterized by the physical environment, where the action of the pharmacist and his advice has been considered essential. However, due to the change in habits that has been accentuated by the pandemic, the pharma sector has been forced to adapt to online sales.

These challenges facing the sector raise the question of a new pharmaceutical logistics.

How to Prepare Pharmaceutical Logistics for the New Landscape:

Big data and predictive data

Looking ahead, all experts agree that the application of big data technologies will be key to the development of pharmaceutical logistics. The collection and subsequent analysis of large volumes of data from the various logistics operations allows obtaining valuable information to optimize strategic decision-making. Big data is creating a new scenario for logistics. It offers a great opportunity to generate more efficient logistics processes, reduce costs and improve the quality of service and user experience. Systems based on big data identify patterns and trends, and analyze historical and current data of various kinds. From inventories, orders or customers, to extreme peaks in product demand, weather forecasts, mass events such as fairs, strikes, etc.

Events such as Covid-19 have shown the importance of implementing this type of technology. Companies that were already working with big data and predictive data, although they could not foresee a scenario like the one that occurred, thanks to machine learning, were able to adjust their predictions to the new reality in a short period of time.

Information shared in real time

The information shared between all the agents involved in pharmaceutical logistics such as pharmaceutical companies, distributors, hospitals and pharmacies can avoid future supply problems in the face of unforeseen events. The Spanish Association of Generic Medicines (AESEG) is already participating in the development of a global European program to have a digital system where all agents involved in the pharmaceutical supply chain can access information shared in real time.

Correct lay out design

A good warehouse design, in addition to maximizing the available space, must allow the activities carried out in it to be carried out in the most efficient way. Specifically, in the design of a warehouse for the pharmaceutical sector, a series of conditions must be taken into account:

• Define the areas of the warehouse intended for low-rotation products, or medium/high rotation.
• If we need to store at room temperature, controlled temperature or freezing.
• Organize the products by blocks and define what entry and exit flows those blocks are going to have. In a pharmaceutical warehouse, it is usual to store medicines using the FIFO or FEFO storage system. That is, what comes in or expires first is the first to leave, considering the expiration date of the products.
• Distribute the merchandise taking into account the weight and volume of the different articles. The heaviest and most voluminous merchandise will be placed on the lower shelves and the lightest on the upper ones.

Suitable storage systems for a pharmaceutical warehouse:

The storage of pharmaceutical products combines the activities of reception, classification, location, custody, handling and control of their existence. During their stay inside the warehouse, the products must retain their characteristics so that they reach the patient in optimal conditions for their use and can exert the expected therapeutic action. Likewise, storage must ensure rapid location and accessibility, secure identification, visualization of available inventory, and maximum use of space, mainly in temperature-controlled warehouses or refrigerators.

Depending on the type of storage, we will opt for some systems or others:

Pharmaceutical picking

Most pharmaceutical products, especially medicines, are small load units that are usually stored in boxes, so storage systems for manual handling or picking are required. In addition, due to the increase in online sales in the pharmaceutical sector, orders are becoming smaller and with many lines, going from preparing pallets to picking units.

There are specific storage systems for storing and performing pharmaceutical picking:

• Shelves with trays:

The POLYPAL annual loading system with trays allows multiple possibilities in its configuration and has a wide range of accessories that easily adapt without screws to the volume and weight needs of the stored product.

These shelves have an antimicrobial protection finish, ActiveCoat, which provides constant protection against fungi and bacteria, inhibiting their proliferation. This coating complements existing hygiene protocols in this sector, helping to create a cleaner, more hygienic, and safer environment.

• Dynamic wheel shelves:

The gravity dynamic system for manual loading consists of shelves built with inclined planes of rollers to store boxes or containers of different sizes. The load is introduced through the highest end of the shelf and, thanks to the effect of gravity and the inclination of the rollers, the loads themselves move to the opposite side of the shelf, thus forming a 100% FIFO system.

This type of shelving, also called Carton Flow, is mainly used in areas of the warehouse with a high volume of picking and in those places where high-rotation medications are stored.

• Miniload, automatic warehouse for boxes:

This system allows optimizing the space to the maximum, therefore it is the most suitable option to install in cold rooms. Thanks to the space optimization it offers, the cost of storage and cooling per product is reduced, and with this energy saving, the investment is easily amortized.