The Indian pharmaceutical industry is on a massive growth path, with $1.3 trillion in revenue annually.
However, not everyone is aware of how distribution works. In this case, pharmaceutical distributors act as middlemen that ship product from manufacturers to pharmacies and other providers.
In addition to describing challenges faced in pharmaceutical distribution, this article will show you how to easily distribute, track and optimize medications to pharmacies.
Who are the pharmaceutical distributors in India?
Pharmaceutical distributors function as a middleman, transporting products from manufacturers to pharmacies and other providers.
The manufacturers sell their products directly to wholesale pharmaceutical distributors. The medications are then sold to pharmacies by pharmaceutical distributors.
The Food and Medicine Administration of the United States advises all customers to check the licensing of distributors.
Each state has a specific agency responsible for licensing pharmaceutical distributors. This is extremely important for the protection of consumers.
A wholesale medication distributor without a license could be involved in serious offenses such as, unapproved medication distribution. Any websites that include the phrase “not a prescription pharmacy” are likely operating without a license.
Below we share a list of some Indian Pharmaceutical Distributors in India:
Challenges faced by Pharmaceutical Distributors:
- Lack of visibility:
Lack of visibility into the supply chain are be the root of many challenges faced by pharmaceutical distributors. Lack of real-time visibility may result in longer transportation time and damaged goods.
By using a quality GPS device to get reliable data on live location, speed, and driving history. It also allows you to understand what is happening, under what conditions, and the occurrence of any issues.
This type of software makes it easy to track every driver in your fleet and gives you information on how those drivers are performing throughout the day.
- Logistics Coordination:
However, just because you are able to see a problem doesn’t mean it can be easily resolved. Logistics coordination has an essential role in helping distributors get their medications into the pharmacist’s hands in a timely manner.
It becomes a challenge for pharmaceutical distributors to keep track of and satisfy the needs of each buyer when a single medicine or treatment may be distributed to hundreds of hospitals via distributors.
Therefore, pharmaceutical distribution needs to get real-time tracking software that helps you monitor your driver in real time to help you improve operational efficiency and guarantee arrival times. On-time delivery helps to meet your buyer’s expectations every time.
- Lack of integration across processes:
When your inventory management and labeling activities do not communicate with one another and are managed manually, the error rate rises and business productivity falls.
The challenge is to find the right balance to optimize inventory based on the product portfolio and on historic demand and shipment patterns.
But with the right solution, pharmaceutical distributors can manage their inventory systems by retrieving data quickly from the booking management system. Using a booking management tool that automates and streamlines your operations will increase your booking capacity while lowering overhead at your company.
- Digitization:
Digitization of paperwork and standardization across industry platforms, digital signatures for regulatory papers, smart contracts, blockchain, and automation.
The main challenge in pharmaceutical distribution is determining how to deliver updates securely while improving data security. And how to track the conversion and reinvention of supply chain tools and processes for continuous improvement in the digital era.
A software solution that provides an updated delivery status in real time and keeps the buyer up to date via SMS. And also act as proof of delivery via capturing signature and photo proof of ID.
- Rapid medication delivery:
Historically, bringing medicines to the market has been a battle against time. The on-field sales staff visit each pharmacist, take orders from different buyers, and then the admin staff manually insert the delivery tasks to drivers.
They plan their routes by themselves, which is very time consuming and inaccurate. This results in significant productivity and increases the risk of data inaccuracies and noncompliance.
With the perfect route optimization software, you can easily plan and
dispatch optimized routes with multiple bookings. You may enhance your driver’s productivity while minimizing overtime and lowering costs using route optimization.
Pharmaceutical Distribution Overview
- Pharmaceutical distribution companies are facing a once-in-a-lifetime challenge, and they must streamline their processes to maintain distribution efficiency.
- Pharmaceutical distribution difficulties have been a part of this sector for a long time, and companies that are not well-equipped will tend to struggle more than others. This is the right time to shift in order to be equipped with the right technology or solution for a brighter future.
Technology used in pharmaceutical distribution to automate delivery:
Locate2u is a tool for managing pharmaceutical distribution by automating your delivery management. With a single click, you can dispatch bookings to your team and track their live location throughout the day.
Spending hours on planning routes manually is an inefficient practice. Locate2u route optimization software helps you to create your driver’s route in seconds rather than hours!
If you want to save your business time and money, then Locate2’s Delivery Management system can help, you can check the status on any order, whether they are pending, enroute or having arrived at its destination. It’s a simple method to keep your operations functioning smoothly.
Pharmaceutical Distribution Summary:
Throw away the pen and paper and go with Locate2u to automate your pharmaceutical distribution. You can use this software to optimize your routes for the most effective journeys for your drivers, as well as to access real-time tracking and booking management.
Learn more about how Locate2u can enhance your business performance by clicking here.
About the author
Founder and CEO at Zoom2u & Locate2u (ASX:Z2U). Steve has significant software development and entrepreneurial experience. Operating in the delivery space for more than 15-years, he actively contributes to the development of the industry. He has a strong focus on job management and job despatch systems.
