LogistikPlan Industry Sector: Pharmaceuticals
Making the Round Fit the Square
New pharmaceutical products and treatment methods are no longer assessed solely by medical success, but also by affordability—from the perspective of health insurers and health-care service providers as well as patients.
However, cost is not the only decisive factor. The production and distribution of pharmaceuticals are subject to the highest quality requirements and regulations. At all stages of manufacturing and for all material types—from raw material sourcing to pharmaceutical packaging—specific guidelines and certifications must be complied with.
► Making the round fit the square:
Challenges for pharmaceutical manufacturers
- For the new design of pharmaceutical production in accordance with GMP principles—as well as for pharmaceutical logistics operations—long-term, cost-efficient solutions are required, not least due to the severely limited scope for later optimization.
- Supply chains for pharmaceuticals are becoming increasingly complex due to the growth of direct online distribution. Ensuring continuous product availability in regional and global logistics networks requires providers to more closely integrate inventory levels and supply processes with health-care customers.
- In the coming years, pharmaceutical logistics providers must elevate their supply chain to the GMP quality level of production and manufacturing and reflect their duty of care across the entire supply chain. A consistent sourcing and distribution strategy is essential—for pharmaceutical manufacturers as well as pharmacists, laboratory logistics providers, and hospital logisticians.
- End-to-end GDP-compliant mapping of temperature, humidity, or unauthorized access cannot be achieved with IT concepts alone.
- While the share of air freight, transport distances, and the number of involved logistics actors continue to increase, GDP know-how among smaller, non-specialized freight forwarders is often insufficient—e.g. regarding modern container, storage, and vehicle systems that document compliance with all technical GDP parameters and enable online monitoring.
► Industry focus: pharmaceutical production,
laboratory services, and pharmaceutical logistics
LogistikPlan’s long-standing methodological expertise and project experience in the process industry are equally relevant for pharmaceutical manufacturers. Here, too, the highest requirements apply to cleanliness and hygiene, temperature control, quality inspection and batch management, transparency, and documentation. Our know-how does not lie in the pharmaceutical process itself, but in its logistics-oriented design, in particular for
- Pharmaceutical manufacturers and pharmaceutical suppliers (e.g. solid dosage forms, liquids, in-vitro diagnostics, pharmaceutical packaging)
- Manufacturers of health nutrition (e.g. dietary products, functional food) in medium and large series
- Manufacturers of biotechnology, health, and hygiene products
- Pharmaceutical wholesalers and online pharmacies
- Laboratories for life science research, diagnostics, and medical services
- Logistics service providers for pharmaceuticals and other health-care products
► LogistikPlan service focus areas:
- Site strategy and capacity planning for the expansion of production and logistics capacities
- Modular layout planning for logistics-friendly positioning of machines, systems, and workstations
- Layout planning for GMP-compliant production facilities (e.g. cleanrooms with airlocks and gray–white zoning or conversion to isolator technology)
- Cleanroom planning for research and laboratory facilities (in cooperation with TGA specialists)
- Setup / expansion / reorganization of production and packaging lines
- Planning, optimization, and automation of intralogistics systems, e.g. conveyor systems, tugger train systems, or automated guided vehicles (AGVs) for cleanroom conditions
- Planning of production and shipping warehouses (API warehouses, WGK warehouses, narcotics warehouses, packaging warehouses)
- Optimization of material flow, labeling, and quality processes; consulting on cost reduction and setup optimization
- Business process optimization and IT concept development for warehouse management, transport management, and facility management
In the LogistikPlan competence field Pharmaceuticals, we are happy to support you with our industry and methodological expertise—simply request our service profile free of charge:
