2023 marks a landmark year of potential innovation for the pharmaceutical industry. Pharmaceutical companies must pivot to remain future-focused, whether its the necessity of cold chain logistics to the strict regulations pharma must adapt quickly to the changes before them. While it may seem that the pharmaceutical industry has its own unique challenges, other sectors must similarly adhere to the requirements of international regulations, the complexity of manufacturing, and a global network of suppliers that is seemingly always changing in response to international events.

Indeed, there is much to be gained through sharing knowledge and experience. In this article, we discuss how pharma can look to innovative solutions being adopted in other industries to discover where technologies and strategies can help industry progression, bringing pharma up to speed in dealing with the demands of today.

What Can Life Sciences Learn from Cross-Industry Innovators?

FMCG Industry Lessons

Recent developments in the FMCG industry from innovators and technology evangelists provide the pharma industry with fresh inspiration when tackling the issues of product launches and sustainability.

Successfully launching new medications in an already saturated market can be difficult. However, if we look to FMCG who regularly launch new goods through logistics channels, Pharma can draw fresh inspiration when tackling the issues of product launches and sustainability.

One of the problems that Pharma product launches face is the high average cost of launch per product, which has nearly doubled in the past 10 years. One of the ways that FMCG has cut costs is through sustainability efforts – using recycled goods and packaging to manufacture and transport products. Additionally, manufacturers reuse packaging throughout the supply chain to ensure that products arrive safely without having to spend more money on additional packaging costs. Reusable packaging has also been proven to reduce space in warehouses and create cost-saving labor efficiencies, according to the Reusable Packaging Association.

Packaging waste is a real concern for consumers who are becoming more conscious of climate change and the inability of plastic to decompose in our environment properly, with over 64.6% of global mismanaged plastic waste in APAC countries, according to Statista

Plastic-free and compostable packaging solutions are on the rise in this industry, with more FMCG companies stating that sustainability is more important than customer experience in 2023. Eliminating packaging waste while still keeping goods temperature-safe, compliant with regulations, and intact is a surging priority for FMCG logistics.

Global FMCG companies are relying on their international partners to continue sustainability missions. FMCG giant Coca-Cola uses several bottling companies to address the issue in the Asian region. One such partner, ThaiNamthip, recently committed to enforcing sustainability in conjunction with the Thai Beverage Industry Association, with all 46 members committing to sustainable packaging development, products, and research.

FMCG companies are also rapidly digitalizing their supply chains, ensuring that clear communication and ease of transport occurs. This digital supply chain places an emphasis on customer experience and expands supply output directly based on customer demand, current inventory, and orders received. These changes also contribute to a reduction in output costs, according to Global Trade Mag.

RFID technology and cloud-based registries have significantly modernised FMCG by allowing the labelling of products with unique identification codes, which can be read by scanners, giving real-time tracking and management of inventory, supply chain, and logistics. This technology has helped manufacturers, retailers, and consumers to track and trace products throughout the entire supply chain, from production to consumption, thereby increasing transparency and efficiency.

Automotive Industry Lessons

The automotive industry has recognized how crucial it is to have a resilient supply chain and, up until recently, was singularly focused, relying heavily on the output of just one country, carrier, or port to deliver products.

Take automotive and logistics experts who stated that in 2023, adding complexity to supply chains is a chief concern. “Enabling supply chain resiliency on the logistics side and reducing transportation freight costs are really key. Being resilient by getting more control of the transportation and logistics operations is top of mind”.

This sentiment is present in many industries as they recognize how vulnerable it can be to rely too heavily on China or one particular supplier. You only have to look at major corporations such as Apple, Google, and Samsung are who have diversified their supply base and reduced their exposure and reliance on one particular source.

The pharmaceutical industry can learn from this supply chain diversification strategy. Case in point - Foxconn, a Taiwanese manufacturing company which once made iPhones, is now accepting contracts to start manufacturing brand new electric vehicles as of March 2023, a great example of diversification across industries.

With the changing outlook of the automotive industry’s logistics, there is an expectation of continued compliance with regulations that Pharma logistics leaders can learn from. Each automobile part and its manufacturing and transport must be compliant and thus provides risk from an enforcement perspective. The fact that the automotive industry is looking for opportunities to diversify supply chains means that they have weighed this risk, and still chosen to diversify. Tactics such as using compliance platforms and digitizing data for maximum transparency are increasingly being used in this sector. In fact, experts say that digitizing supply chains is no longer optional.

Finally, with diversity in the logistics process comes complexity. One of the ways in which the automotive industry has been able to embrace complexity is through detailed tracking of components. These technologies help to alleviate strain on the manufacturing process, and learning from these processes could help Pharma with crucial supply chain transparency. These processes are something that the automotive industry is currently upgrading, with plenty of potential for growth and innovation in 2023 and beyond.

Moving Forward

Pharma can make significant improvements to the current industry logistics standards by turning to other industries for examples of innovations throughout the supply chain, logistics, and operations. There is much to learn from the automotive industry’s prioritization of diversity and the fast-moving consumer goods’ emphasis on sustainable packaging, such as the security that can be found in avoiding reliance on one country’s output and the positive public sentiment and environmental benefits from changing logistics practices.

Excitement is brewing over the prospect of new partnerships in Asia and increased acceptance of diverse supply chains over 3PL models. Additionally, being at the forefront of sustainability drives is not only great for PR,, it can help the overal condition of the planet and address the concerns of investors, consumers and the indusrty at large by helping the APAC region avoid contributing to Asia’s problematic plastic consumption with changes going forward, and with global markets looking to Asia to continue to innovate, Asian pharma stakeholders can look to other industries to follow in their footsteps in the areas of supply chain diversity and eco-consciousness.

Are you interested in learning more on the topic of how pharmaceutical companies can learn from their counterparts in the Asian region?

Click here for more information on the upcoming LogiPharma Asia 2023 event. You can learn from expert leaders in the pharmaceutical industry at Asia’s most senior life sciences supply chain summit.