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UPS survey examines healthcare distribution challenges

Survey respondents in the Asia-Pacific region push product security issues ahead of supply chain cost as top ‘Pain in the (Supply) Chain’ concern.

In September 2013, UPS reported that changing regulatory environments, new customer demands around the globe, challenges around product security, and increasingly complex products are driving healthcare executives to make strategic supply chain investments.

That was according to the sixth-annual UPS "Pain in the (Supply) Chain" survey. In this interview, Healthcare Packaging (HCP) talks with Robin Hooker, Director of Global Strategy Healthcare Logistics at UPS, about the genesis of the study and what supply chain issues are most important to survey respondents in different global regions.

HCP: When did the UPS “Pain in the (Supply) Chain” survey begin, and why?

Robin Hooker (RH): This is the sixth year of the survey. We did a five-year recap last year. This year we have taken a deeper dive into some of the top supply chain challenges and strategies. Our main interest in conducting the survey is to better understand healthcare supply chain executives’ views and perspectives right now and to determine where things are going in the future. We are interested in tracking supply chain concerns and strategies for addressing those concerns, and from respondents that feel they have been ineffective in addressing some of those concerns, what are their main headwinds? By tracking the data points over time, we get a feel for the shifts in the industry. It allows us to stay very connected to issues transforming the healthcare supply chain and learn how we can more effectively meet the demands changing this exciting marketplace.

HCP: Is this survey distributed electronically? How does that process work?

RH: The Pain in the (Supply) Chain survey represents a significant investment. It is a blind telephone survey, and the respondents are not necessarily UPS clients. We are seeking to capture the broad market perspective. The survey is conducted by TNS Global on behalf of UPS. They provide the sources for the survey and they only interview respondents based on predetermined criteria. It’s also a global survey and is filtered so that it focuses on medical device, pharmaceutical, and biotech manufacturer logistics decision makers. For the latest survey we had 441 respondents, with 239 in pharmaceutical and biotech, 202 in medical devices. Annually, we try to achieve similar response distribution. For example, last year, we had 377 respondents, 212 were in pharmaceutical and biotech, and 165 were in medical device.

HCP: With this recent survey, what details most stood out to you or surprised you?

RH: Year after year, the top three supply chain concerns have been regulatory compliance, managing supply chain cost, and product security. We have seen a flip-flop this year where product security moved up to the second issue and supply chain cost was pushed down to the number three position. Frankly, that surprised me and I think that surprised a few others, too.

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