UPS Annual pain in the (Supply) chain survey snapshot

UPS has just released data from its 2015 survey in which they questioned 421 global healthcare executives on their top logistics issues and business strategies.
The biggest supply chain concerns globally are still:
- product security
- regulatory compliance
- product damage and spoilage
- cost management
However, in just one year, healthcare logistics decision makers have made significant strides in addressing these top supply chain pain points:
- 75% of respondents report success addressing product security vs. 55% in 2014. IT investments such as bar coding and serialisation and co-operation with law enforcement agencies are reported to be among the top reason for success.
- 70% of respondents report success in addressing regulatory compliance vs. 57% in 2014. Partnerships with local third-party logistics providers (3PLs) is the top strategy used to combat regulatory compliance challenges (cited by 55%).
- Physical protection from theft (46%), poor supply chain visibility and too many supply chain hand-overs (40%) are the biggest product security challenges.
- Only 50% of respondents report success addressing supply chain cost management. The top challenge in managing costs is rapid business growth, cited by 56%.
- Partnerships are the top successful strategy healthcare companies are using to address regulatory compliance, product damage and spoilage, and cost management.
Delivering longer lives and improving quality of care for a global population of more than 7 billion people is a difficult task, yet with the right logistics partner it should be an inspiring challenge.
Source: UPS