Summary In the contemporary business environment, digital procurement is becoming increasingly popular and sought after by businesses around the world. The relationships …
Leveraging procurement automation in the pharmaceutical industry
One of the biggest challenges pharma companies face is enhancing operational efficiency to ensure success in the currently demanding conditions. Here is how improving your procurement function with automation may help.
The COVID-19 pandemic was an eye-opener for organisations around the world, regardless of industry, about the fragility of their supply chains and the lack of strategy for bounce-back.
As an industry that often faces regulatory challenges and cost pressures, the pharmaceutical industry has seen particular pressure from these conditions, not to mention the extent of expectations during the crisis times brought around by the pandemic.
As pharma companies slowly emerge from the chaos of the pandemic, they face a new and increasingly challenging landscape that requires high operational standards to succeed.
This is where procurement automation comes into play. Procurement is already a core operational function within pharma companies, one that is long overdue—an upgrade at that. Automating the procurement process is an effective way to enhance the resilience of the procurement function and improve its efficiency.
An increasing number of pharma companies have been leveraging various automation solutions in their operations, especially as a result of the unprecedented growth in demand experienced as a result of the pandemic. The pharma automation market is projected to reach $18.2 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 12% from 2022 to 2029.
Here is how pharma companies benefit by placing this renewed focus on automation technologies in their procurement functions.
How does procurement automation improve operations in pharma companies?
Pharma companies now face a range of challenges, such as diminishing returns from new research and drug innovation, increasingly stringent regulations, rising costs, and the current state of disease control encouraging more preventive measures while stifling progress in research and development.
Here is how automation in procurement can contribute to addressing these challenges and improving the overall operational efficiency of pharma companies.
Increase visibility into the supply chain
Automating procurement processes immediately provides a much more comprehensive view of the supply chain. This allows pharma companies to identify bottlenecks and areas for improvement that need to be addressed, while also enabling them to consolidate suppliers and drive a more efficient procurement process.
Facilitates faster and accurate decision-making
Digitalisation naturally comes with a much more structured approach to data collection and processing. This enables pharma companies to make key decisions much faster with a lot more information in hand that can not only affect the supply chain but also other core processes like manufacturing and logistics.
Improve adaptability and responsiveness
The process of automating the procurement function also provides an extensive amount of information on suppliers, logistics partners, and other stakeholders in procurement. This results in pharma companies being able to adapt faster to changing market conditions and respond to market changes more effectively.
Enhance planning and optimisation efforts
Procurement automation facilitates more accurate planning and optimisation of core business processes, resulting in a faster time-to-market for critical pharma products that address demand and save lives. This results in the overall improvement of productivity, manufacturing efficiency, and service quality.
Enhance your pharma procurement function with Kronos Group’s specialised procurement transformation offerings
Kronos Group provides informed solutions for sustainable business through best-in-class procurement, finance and project management.
Our group of procurement professionals is dedicated to uplifting your procurement function with proven solutions for procurement automation that are guided by decades of expertise and industry best practices.
Kronos Group’s expertise in procurement consulting will help you build the ideal digital supply chain ecosystem, combining digital supply chain control tools and a digitally enabled supply chain to enhance operational efficiency, reduce risks, and drive growth in a hyper-competitive, volatile marketplace.
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FAQ
Procurement in the pharma industry facilitates the supply of pharmaceutical goods to the right place at the right time. It is vital for smooth operations in the industry and can be reinforced with automation technologies.
Solutions for the automation of procurement can be any software solution that offers the capability to streamline and optimise procurement processes like purchase requisitions, sourcing, invoice management, payments, and contract management
Procurement functions that can be automated in the pharma industry include patient recording systems, prescription recording systems, pharmacy management systems, and more.
