Supply chain disruptions in the pharma industry can cause a potential loss of 25% of EBITDA over ten years, notes a McKinsey report. EBITDA is a key indicator of a company’s overall financial performance, and losing it can be costly and avoidable. How? By using data analytics for MRO supply chain optimization. 

Predictive modeling can help pharmacos predict product demand, optimize inventory, and reduce waste and costs. It can help them control and monitor product quality throughout the supply chain. Therefore, data analytics can offer significant value for MRO (maintenance, repair, and operations), supply chain optimization, and patient care.
In this blog, however, we’ll focus on how predictive modeling, or data analytics in general, could help pharmacos with MRO supply chain optimization and eventually minimize costs.

Keeping the MRO supply chain disruption-free

Another McKinsey report shows that a pharma company can achieve 15–30% operating efficiencies over five years by scaling the impact of advanced analytics. While this research focuses on the impact of predictive modeling on new medical therapies, here’s how it can also improve supply chain forecasting:

• Pharmacos can use data they generate and collect throughout their MRO supply chain to further optimize it by leveraging data analytics and digitizing their platforms. This could improve visibility, efficiency, and agility. 

• You can streamline and secure the journey of medicines and equipment using data analytics, blockchain, and Internet of Things (IoT) sensors. So if a shipment is delayed, you can detect the problem and take corrective measures before the product reaches the end consumer. 

• By anticipating and mitigating the impact of external factors, pharma companies can reduce the risk of disruptions and improve their resilience. For instance, using scenario analysis, you can evaluate the potential outcomes and impacts of different events on your MRO procurement processes. 

While data analytics can help pharmacos by improving their supply chain’s visibility, agility, and resilience, what about mitigating the impact on MRO spending? This is where spend analytics come into the picture. 

Minimizing Cost Using Spend Analytics

Spend analytics involves collecting, cleansing, classifying, and analyzing cost spending to reduce procurement costs, improve budgeting, and monitor compliance. It can help pharmacos in MRO procurement processes and supply chain optimization by: 

• Identifying opportunities for savings by reducing waste or negotiating better prices or terms
• Improving accountability by tracking and measuring MRO spending across business units
• Enhancing supplier management by evaluating performance and benchmarking quality
• Supporting strategic decision-making using data-driven insights to evaluate return on investment and optimize cost-value trade-offs. 

Conclusion

In the face of rising regulatory pressures, customer expectations, and costs, analytics is no longer just the source of competitive advantage for the pharma industry. However, success depends on building the right framework and capabilities. 
One of the ways to do that is to leverage Moglix’s capabilities, just like this COVID-19 vaccine manufacturer did. Moglix enabled 16 of its plants for just-in-time delivery of MRO goods and replaced

the non-strategic vendor codes with a single point of contact. Click here to learn more about Moglix can make your MRO procurement efficient and financially sound.