Vulnerability in the medical supply chain - time for a shake up

James Wells, UK international freight manager, Aramex, touches on some of the issues within the supply chain during the pandemic, and offers his thoughts on how they can be solved. 

COVID-19 is a once in a lifetime, unexpected global phenomenon that has put hundreds of industries at risk. The problem was that there was no contingency plan that really fit the bill. 

Whilst many industries were impacted, one that was placed under the greatest pressure was medical, in particular global shortages of PPE and medical equipment was experienced. 

Fragility in the supply chain model has long been widely acknowledged, the just in time model works by operating within an ultra slim margin of error. While this is beneficial with its own strengths for the end user, such as reduced storage fees, and increased flexibility in inventory management. It cannot be overlooked when the flaws are exposed in the case of extreme adversity such as a global pandemic. 

In the case of medical devices, supply chain failure is not an option! It's not just a case of not having goods in stock, in some cases it can have life threatening. 

A global knock-on

Patients in hospital are at their weakest, most of the time they virtually rely on the healthcare centre to survive. Vital medical products like dialysis machines and medical devices were at a global shortage putting lives at risk. Reserve stock of life saving devices dwindled to worrying levels; leading to a global knock-on effect as millions scrambled to source the needed medical devices.

The NHS has been hit hardest by the lack of back-up protocols for sourcing medical devices. Some medical devices were in high demand, with UK stocks of ventilators being reportedly 18,000 short of what was needed by Coronavirus sufferers, caused by both unprecedented demand and a supply chain breakdown. Global logistics must be sharpened to prevent this ever happening again.

The restart

As the pandemic took hold in the UK, and worldwide, non-essential, and elective procedures were cancelled indefinitely, over 23,500 in the UK between October and December. This makes up to 65,000 that need to be rescheduled post pandemic not including they already extensive waiting lists. The NHS cannot afford to experience device or equipment shortages in this period, or else they risk being overwhelmed rescheduling procedures and incurring the costs associated with this. Trying to complete procedures without the medical devices procured would also leave no course of action other than delaying the operation further, for the thousands on the waiting lists for replacement joints and pacemakers, this delay is life altering. The waiting time alone for replacement hip/knee is over a year. This means they have been waiting 24 months at least for this procedure, lack of medical devices due to supply chain failure would be devastating.

Tech advancements

To avoid this catastrophic event from occurring, healthcare managers must look to innovative with tech enhancements to create a more resilient supply chain. Digital inventory management is area that industries like retail have been making use of to better equip themselves to cope with lack of products. Radio Frequency ID can be used to track products through warehouses and healthcare facilities in a way that is uncompromisingly accurate. Similar to a barcode, although with a barcode the tag can only be tracked using the line of sight with a scanner, RFID tags can be tracked at all times. Giving managers a more complete view of their stock and allowing them to adapt when levels are lower. Visibility is key and digitalisation grants complete transparency. Another way to combat the effects of loss of supply chain stability is by improving the order cycle, advanced planning and strategic stock ordering would mitigate the effects of a supply chain breakdown and reduce the impacts on the patient.

Tips to mitigate a vulnerable supply chain

Lack of medical devices in a healthcare environment is incredibly damaging, not only to day-to-day procedures, but the relationship with the public and the effect on people’s lives. To avoid these damaging effects, look to:

• Understand interdependencies and unintended consequences of the loss of medical devices. Device availability has an immediate impact on appointments, without these vital devices and equipment, the procedure simply can't go head, and if pre-booked it leads to wasted time and money. 
• Forecast short term demand. This helps managers understand exactly which devices are needed and how many and aids them in planning the amount to order from suppliers. 
• Protecting against bottlenecks. This can be anything from existing bottlenecks, like the lack of ICU beds, to predicting upcoming bottlenecks which could come from patient data insight.

Further from the immediate reaction to cope with the increased demand once elective and non-essential procedures are back underway, there must be a rigid plan established for this case to avoid this happening again. Managing healthcare operations is walking a tightrope, one wrong move or one late counterbalance and it puts the entire operation into freefall. Logistics and healthcare providers alike need to be prepared and work in cohesion to deliver consistent medical supplies.