A DOSE OF INNOVATION CURES SUPPLY CHAIN AILMENTS
RISK TO RESILIENCE When any part of the healthcare supply chain is broken or vulnerable, it creates a domino effect that ripples across the entire entity. “It doesn’t matter which part of the chain is attacked, the entire chain is compromised,” says Sanjay Brahmawar, CEO of QAD Inc., an enterprise resource planning (ERP) provider. Brahmawar considers ongoing developments with predictive analytics and AI to be among the most exciting and transformative of current healthcare supply chain advancements. Currently, QAD’s Process Intelligence solution acts as a control tower and utilizes data from QAD’s ERP or other
components, or instruments—items such as syringes, pens, and auto-injectors. As price hikes and increasing demand continue to impact the healthcare supply chain, PIA Automation offers solutions to cost-effectively increase production at the source. “Medication costs for consumers can only be signi cantly reduced if you automate your manufacturing,” says Thomas Schwoerer, managing director for PIA Automation U.S. HANDLING HIGH DEMAND Pharmaceutical companies that use PIA equipment to manufacture on their own premises include Schott Pharma, Roche, Sano , and Flex Ltd. PIA production methods deliver the highest level of product safety, says Schwoerer. The company’s assembly systems demonstrate a high degree of standardization and enable short time-to- market cycles. “We can start with ve or 10 parts a minute on a small, isolated machine and then grow easily to 40 or 50 million once a system begins producing 100 and more parts a minute,” explains Schwoerer. Sudden spikes in demand, such as the current clamor for semaglutide injections, require this kind of rapid scaling. Once used primarily to treat Type 2 diabetes but now widely used as a weight loss tool, the popularity of semaglutide has suppliers scrambling for auto-injectors. PIA Automation is helping pharmaceutical companies ef ciently meet demand. As the pharmaceutical supply chain continues to evolve, the integration of advanced technologies, smarter strategies, and more agile production methods proves essential. These innovations don’t just help companies weather disruption—they enable them to proactively manage risk, meet rigorous regulatory requirements, and respond rapidly to shifting demand. In an environment where precision, speed, and resilience are critical, the future of healthcare is dependent on these advancements. n
TARIFF RELIEF: JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED Global tariffs have the potential to significantly disrupt the healthcare supply chain. In light of the steep tariffs imposed by the United States on medical imports from key manufacturing countries, healthcare providers and manufacturers are concerned they’ll face increased expenses and operational challenges. With China—a primary supplier of healthcare goods—directly impacted, sector leaders are bracing for disruptions reminiscent of those experienced during the pandemic, when lockdowns in China’s manufacturing facilities led to widespread PPE shortages. As the industry grapples with today’s renewed uncertainty, one organization offering strategic decision support is ECRI. An independent, nonprofit organization, ECRI has helped healthcare systems strengthen supply chain resilience and reduce clinical spend for nearly 40 years. On average, the organization analyzes $74 billion in annual supply and capital spend across more than 4,000 health systems worldwide. ECRI’s clients uncover more than $13 billion in savings opportunities each year through its benchmarking and data-driven tools. “ECRI provides comprehensive insights fueled by holistic data sets—spend, clinical, safety, and quality across thousands of medical categories,” says Stuart Morris- Hipkins, chief solutions officer. As tariff-driven disruptions evolve, ECRI’s expertise and robust datasets prove helpful for healthcare organizations aiming to safeguard supply chains and maintain cost- effective, high-quality care. safeguard potential
ERP systems to monitor processes and implement change in order to
consistently identify areas of pro t leakage and deviations from standard procedures. The company also uses AI in its QAD Digital Supply Chain Planning solution, which learns over time to predict potential supply chain risks. Similarly, QAD Global Trade and Transportation Execution with AI learns product classi cation patterns, helping users expeditiously manage import costs in a dynamic environment and identify inconsistencies in their existing classi cation databases. As a result, managers spend less time repetitively searching for product classi cation codes while organizations realize greater cost savings. THE STARTING LINE Enterprising drugmakers and healthcare manufacturing companies seeking to prioritize supply chain resilience, ef ciency, and agility are taking a closer look at the source. That’s where a production system developer and manufacturer like PIA Automation plays a role. A global company offering advanced automation for the healthcare industry, PIA designs and builds assembly systems for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) that produce or manufacture medical devices,
130 Inbound Logistics • July 2025
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