At Apotheca, We Have Your Supplies

A Johns Hopkins University white paper “The Pandemic and the Supply Chain: Addressing Gaps in Pharmaceutical Production and Distribution” published in November 2020 described the COVID19 pandemic panic as “Provoking both unprecedented shifts in demand and new uncertainties in production and distribution of essential medications, the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the fragility of the U.S. drug supply in a public health crisis. Documented shortages in recent months have included medications used to treat COVID-19 itself, medications used in intensive care, and medications for related conditions. These shortages point to serious vulnerabilities in the pharmaceutical supply chain that can compromise the response to future crises as well as new waves of the current epidemic that may be yet to come.”

Where many pharmaceutical distributors have struggled Apotheca has taken several steps to make certain that our supply chain has remained robust and uninterrupted. And have posted to our social media platforms:

“As many of our customers know, the last year has been painstakingly demanding when it comes to receiving and maintaining #supplies and #medication due to the pandemic.

 

Through our supply chain, we’ve managed to maintain large quantities of supplies to keep our customers stocked and their shelves full for their patients.

 

If your facility or practice is looking for products that are hard to obtain, DM us or visit us at .apothecainc.com”

Many of the current struggles in the pharmaceutical supply line were foreseeable according to a Department of Homeland Security report on “Threats to Pharmaceutical Supply Chains” in 2018. A pandemic wasn’t even considered in many of the hypothetical scenarios that DHS presupposed, the concept wasn’t even mentioned a single time. However, the recommendations they drew were still very prescient and likely to see implementation (if not already enacted). Furthermore, suppliers and distributors like Apotheca who were able to anticipate the impact of a global logistical disruption maintained large stockpiles of supplies allowing us to keep our customers stocked and their patients cared for.

Here are a few of the key steps we identified in February that allow firms to successfully navigate the supply disruption:

• Decentralized, Digital record-keeping- Paper records are a key weakness in a world where contact-less deliveries and real-time tracking are becoming more and more commonplace.
  • The potential for disruption of manufacturing and transportation of temperature sensitive materials makes this all the more critical.
  • In-person presence to physically interact with shipments may not always be possible, this can cause supply-chain to collapse if digital tracking is not precise.
• Managing Costs- There is so much uncertainty right now in the wake of a tumultuous Presidential election with regard to freight and fuel costs, labor rates, technology costs and regulatory changes that every step must be taken to manage costs. Through platforms like TMS (Transportation Management Systems) and YMS (Yard Management Systems), professionals gain the necessary transparency into the shipping process to enable them to streamline procedures and keep costs low.
• Advance Supply Chain Management- The regulatory landscape that protects pharmaceutical distributors and patients is vast and complex. The regulatory powers of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) is exercised by authorities to target controlled medicines as they travel the supply chain and provides traceability through electronic means to eliminate illegal transactions. Also the Controlled Substance Suspicious Order Monitoring (SOM) programs protect patients, distributors and practices alike by requiring mandatory reporting of suspicious activities.
• Leveraging Relationships for Our Clients- Apotheca possesses the history and relationships to help you navigate successfully.Since its’ founding in 1876 the HDA or Healthcare Distribution Alliance “has helped members navigate regulations and innovations to get the right medicines to the right patients at the right time, safely and efficiently. HDA’s members include 36 national, regional and specialty primary distribution companies who are not just distributors, but are technology innovators, information management experts, security specialists and efficiency professionals. Their expertise streamlines the supply chain to ensure safety and efficiency, while also achieving cost savings for our nation’s healthcare system.”

The suppliers and distributors who can pivot from the previous framework of just-in-time production to the new regulatory environment imposed by COVID19 and the maintenance of a standing inventory to buffer disruptions will succeed, those who cannot either fail and collapse or require massive government subsidy to survive (barely, if at all.) The true winners will be our patients and our partners when we work together smoothly, efficiently, and reliably to close supply gaps by managing both demand and customer expectations.

Our role is to facilitate your success providing the framework within which supply, and demand find one another and business is safely, legally and regularly conducted in a world that is becoming increasingly physically hazardous, legally unpredictable and costly in terms of finances and lives.

Apotheca Wholesale Pharmaceuticals is well equipped and ideally suited to help your business wade through the uncertain changes that 2022 will bring, supporting you as we have since the beginning of the COVID19 Emergency.

Contact us today at Customerservice@apothecainc.com or call us at 602-252-5244.