Challenges Faced by The Healthcare Logistics Service

 

Healthcarehas become one of the leading and largest sectors both in terms of revenue and employment in India. With the healthcare market in India expected to reach US$ 372 billion by 2022, healthcare logistics is a long way from being able to handle the increased demand for proper storage, transportation, traceability, and much more. Any pharma logistics company needs to implement traceable, secure, and compliant supply chains with end-to-end visibility.

 

Now, logistics accounts for a sizeable portion of healthcare operations budget. But a few challenges faced by healthcare logistics service are:

 

·         Lack of modern technology to forecast demand and supply

 

The healthcare industry is still dependent on traditional statistical methods and outdated technology to forecast demand using relevant data and customer insights, which leads to inefficient supply chain management. Incorporating the use of smart technologies and tools in planning the optimal supply chain is the need of the hour. This would ensure sufficient resources in hand to meet urgent or last-minute demands.

 

·         Changing regulatory frameworks

 

The quality compliance, regulatory policies, and export formalities are different across markets and are headed by different authorities, leading to a lack of standardization globally. For dealing with such challenges, there should be specific governing bodies that not only keep a stringent check on quality, but also maintain complete clarity and transparency across manufacturing, packaging practices, and transportation.

 

·         Need for improved supply chain infrastructure

 

The healthcare sector in India has to handle challenges like poor road conditions, ill-equipped seaports and railways, and not fully utilized air transport. Particularly in pharma, the lack of a robust cold chain network has widened the gap in the healthcare supply chain. The current infrastructure makes product visibility and tracking difficult, and companies are not able to get the complete details and assurance on whether the products are stored or transported in required conditions or not.     

 

·         Lack of transparency and visibility

 

The supply chain in healthcare is complex and time-sensitive, as it involves proper measures to be maintained along the entire supply chain process. Any deviation from the measures would cause a threat to the life of patients. But, with multiple stakeholders involved in the supply chain, the visibility and traceability of the cargo becomes difficult to maintain, leading to the loss of cargo or the cargo no longer remains usable. With the help of the latest technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, and IoT, maintaining communication and transparency is possible along  the entire supply chain. It will also prevent the distribution of counterfeit pharmaceuticals in the market.

India’s pharmaceutical industry is the third-largest in the world in terms of volume and value chain. Safexpress, a leading tech-based logistics service provider, with its multimodal network across India, specializes in express distribution services of medicines and healthcare equipmentthat are time and weather-sensitive. Safexpress is driven by tech-enabled operations that channelize tracking of all shipments to maintain transparency of movement of the cargo across the supply chain. They also provide logistics to deliver samples to medical representatives across India as per the medical representative’s time and convenience.

In Conclusion

The healthcare supply chain is complex and involves various stakeholders in the entire process. A well-run healthcare logistics service would ensure proper communication,so that all supply chain partners and goods reach their point of use in working order and on time. With the healthcare supply chain as one of the biggest areas for savings opportunities, logistics service in this field would require the use of modern technology to enhance the supply network.

 

Source: https://www.reddit.com/user/safexpress1/comments/mukv8f/challenges_faced_by_the_healthcare_logistics/

A look at the growth of logistics companies in Mumbai

Logistics refers to the process of coordinating and moving resources like people, materials, inventory, and equipment from one location to the final destination. Logistics involves things like transportation, inventory, packaging, supplies and warehousing. India's logistics sector is highly defragmented and the government is aiming to reduce the logistics cost from the present 14 percent of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) to less than 10 per cent by 2022. 

With the ecommerce industry growing exponentially during the pandemic and thanks to advancements in digital technologies, there has been a massive transformation in how a logistics company in India is conducting its business. And this is getting reflected in the workings of those companies that are situated in Mumbai, a city bustling with many businesses and industries.  

Few challenges faced by logistics companies in India

      · Fluctuating transportation costs due to fuel prices and maintenance.

· Providing timely and best delivery.

· Enhancing customer experiences.

· Manpower management.

· Transparency and visibility in supply chain activities.

· Government and state rules and regulations.

· Lack of proper digitalization of processes.

The logistics market in India is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 10.5% between 2019 and 2025. Government reforms and investment are also playing an important role in the growth of this sector. Safexpress, a leading supply chain and logistics company provides logistic services in various industries like e-commerce, health care, automotive, FMCG and many more. A few of the services offered by the company are Easy2Move Express Distribution, 3PL, inventory management, consulting and so on. With their operations spanning PAN India, Safexpress is well-equipped to provide logistics services to its customers.  

Key initiatives provided by the Indian Government

· Drafting of a national logistics policy to aid in streamlining rules and addressing supply-side constraints, which will lead to lower logistics costs.

· Generation of a single-window e-logistics market.

· Promoting multi-modal infrastructure.

· Promoting cold chain facilities and adoption of reefer (refrigerator) trucks in strategic locations.

Key initiatives provided by the Maharashtra Government

With logistics sector being accorded industry status by the Maharashtra government, it has benefited immensely under the state logistics policies. These policies will help logistics companies in Mumbai to avail a variety of services, process and facilities to accelerate their growth.

With two major ports, a major airport and good road infrastructure, the logistics companies in Mumbai can never fall short of businesses.  In addition to this infrastructure, you can find major warehousing clusters located in and around Mumbai.

The Maharashtra government has invested around over Rs 150 crore in the supply chain and logistics sectors in Pune and Thane regions to promote multi-modal connectivity, technology driven accreditation, and a standardization process, to support the supply chain ecosystem within the state.  

In conclusion

The logistics and supply chain sector in India play a significant role in business continuity and also propelling the nation to become a global investment destination. While the central government is working on a ''National Logistics Policy'' to promote seamless movement of goods and commodities across the nation, state governments are also investing generously in the logistics sector.  

Digitalization of the various processes involved in the logistics industry will improve the efficiency and performance in operations. Warehouse automation will also aid in achieving operational efficiencies to offset supply-chain cost pressures in the industry.

A combination of government reforms, increased investment in infrastructure, last-mile connectivity, growing ecommerce sector, and emerging new technologies is likely to see major and new logistics companies investing in the logistics industry. The future of logistics companies in Mumbai as well as the rest of India is sure to experience exponential growth in the coming years.

 

GST to Help Hassle-Free Movement of Goods: Safexpress

The goods and services tax (GST) would help in hassle-free movement of goods and also increase profit margins of companies in the logistics sector, Safexpress today said.

The logistics services and cargo services provider said the new tax regime scheduled to roll out from July 1 will also boost the supply chain and logistics sector in India which is estimated to be over USD 120 billion.

"Though it is too early to predict the way in which GST will benefit, but this is for sure that the new tax structure will benefit all of us in the long-run," Safexpress Managing Director Rubal Jain told .

 "In the near future, I envisage benefits getting passed on to every stakeholder in the entire supply chain. The best part is that GST will bring about single tax regime, which will end multiple taxes that we were paying at various levels. Now there will be one tax and hassle-free movement of goods in the country," he said.

"Inter-state transportation of goods will become more efficient, which will lead to our country's logistics cost coming down significantly," he said.

"In anticipation of GST, logistics players in the country are already on the verge of transforming themselves from traditional setups to firms which are ahead on the technology curve. This is expected to reduce the costs incurred by customer and meet their service demands," he added.

Safexpress delivers more than 80 million packages a year, traversing over 6,00,000 km per day. The firm has warehousing space of over 12 million square feet, across its 31 logistics parks located at key industrial hubs. Over 2,500 employees work for the logistics sector leader.