Pharma 4.0 and the supply chain

Industry 4.0 has transformed manufacturing with technologies including automation, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). In the same way, Pharma 4.0 is reshaping pharmaceutical supply chains to improve the prediction of bottlenecks and enable faster decision-making and automated stock replenishment. Pharma Logistics IQ takes a look at the technologies that have emerged as key to digitalizing and improving supply chain operations.

Internet of Things (IoT)

Internet of Things (IoT) has become an important tool offering real-time visibility and the ability to track variables relating to the shipment of medication, such as location, temperature and light. Sensors such as radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags passively gather data, providing near real-time information on where shipments are located and environmental conditions.

Aðalheiður Pálmadóttir, Vice-President of Business Development at cold chain as a service provider Controlant, explains: “You need to know exactly where your goods are, what their status is and if there are delays. If you are shipping sea freight and there are delays in the vessels’ departure, you can step in and ship something with air freight to be on time for the market. This has shown the importance of utilizing the Internet of Things (IoT).”

Control tower technology

IoT has enabled a huge increase in the amount of data organizations can capture. It is not enough, however, to gather this data without knowing how to use it. Control towers act as a central hub, similar to an airport control tower, gathering data in real time from multiple sources, feeding this into a database and providing a readable end-to-end view of events.

Pálmadóttir explains that control tower technology has been particularly useful for the distribution of Covid-19 vaccinations. “As well as gathering information on the temperature and location of the goods as they travel, we also connect directly with the couriers,” she says. “Milestones for courier delivery are fed directly into our system, so that we know when it is at the airport, when it is handed from the courier to the airport’s ground handler, and when it is on the flight.”

Just as an effective airport control tower does not just track flight paths, but also keeps passengers safe by ensuring flights stick to schedule and do not collide, the pharma control tower keeps track of the pharmaceutical supply chain and ensures products reach patients on time and intact.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

As methods of gathering data improve, the amount of data available is growing rapidly, reaching quantities that are beyond the scope of human operators to properly process and analyze. AI, in combination with machine learning (ML), is a powerful tool that can be harnessed to automate data analysis, making connections instantaneously and suggesting courses of action that optimize quality and efficiency.

AI applications can conduct scenario modeling to predict events that might negatively impact the supply chain, such as weather events or transportation bottlenecks, and immediately find ways to resolve these challenges. It can be utilized to predict fluctuations in demand and adjust distribution accordingly.

Implementing AI can improve transparency across the supply chain too, enabling more informed decision-making on everything from business performance to carbon emissions. It has the potential to greatly improve the agility of the supply chain, strengthening its resilience to any disruptions or challenges.

Read our report: Why digital transformation is essential in the pharmaceutical supply chain

Augmented reality

Augmented reality (AR) is a useful tool for warehouse operatives, providing additional information to the user by overlaying data onto real-world elements via a pair of 3D glasses. It can be used to provide transportation instructions to operators scanning packages, or important regulatory information for the destination country.

AR can also be a useful tool to monitor stock inventory, issuing alerts when supplies are dwindling before they run out and therefore avoiding downtime.

Digital twins

Digital twin technology can enhance predictive modelling and enhance visibility. By creating a virtual replica or “twin” of a medicinal product, operatives can use real world data to create simulations that help them predict how they will react in certain scenarios, for instances changes to temperature.

Parameters such as weight, materials and shipping date are fed into the digital twin and then monitored. Businesses can then make predictions based on the results and plan ahead of time for potential problems.

Blockchain

Blockchain is being hailed as a gamechanger due to its ability to improve the visibility of lengthy, complex supply chains. With a blockchain, data related to each stakeholder and each stage of the chain is stored in a “block” which cannot be altered, so that information from the source, including the manufacturer, packaging plant and distribution warehouse is stored securely, all the way through to the end destination, avoiding the risk of counterfeit medicines entering the chain.

Marco Cuomo, Manager in Applied Technology Innovation at Novartis, and Pharma IQ advisory board member, refers to the complex web of pharmaceutical supply chains as the “API spaghetti code.” “With blockchain, in addition to the security of the blockchain itself, you also bring a simple way to connect to each other. It is a kind of simple foundation enabling everyone to connect. Because it is immutable, it is not owned by any person who is managing it.”

Realizing the full potential of blockchain will require buy-in from stakeholders. The PharmaLedger consortium – of which Cuomo is Architecture and Reference Implementation Co-Lead – was established in 2020 with the aim of bringing together big pharma companies to develop solutions that will encourage the wider adoption of blockchain. PharmaLedger members include Novartis, Abbvie, Bayer, GSK, AstraZeneca and Pfizer, as well technology experts, hospitals and patients.

Quick links:

• Top three technologies transforming pharma supply chains today
• Pharma IQ Live: Digital Supply Chain
• Digital transformation of MSD's plant-to-patient supply chain

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