Healthcare companies are pretty much like any other manufacturer when it comes to their chief supply chain challenges. "Capitalizing on new global market opportunities amidst an increasingly competitive industry landscape requires changes in supply chain and business strategies," says Bill Hook, vice president for healthcare logistics with supply chain and freight services company UPS. "It's crucial that companies have the supply chain flexibility to respond to changing market conditions in order to capture new market share and navigate the many complexities associated with global market access."
UPS, along with Harris Interactive, recently conducted a "pain in the supply chain" survey of pharmaceutical, biotech, medical and surgical device manufacturers. Some of the key findings of the survey:
61 percentage of healthcare companies planning a direct-to-consumer channel strategy
55 percentage planning a direct-to-wholesaler strategy
37 percentage who expect to go both direct-to-consumer and direct-to-wholesaler
60 percentage who expect supply chain spending to increase in next 18 months
23% average increase in supply chain spending expected
See Also
