Study looks at role of IT in counterfeit protection
Business consultancy firm Frost & Sullivan has reently completed a study about the role of IT in the pharmaceutical industry, that pays particular attention to the issue of drug counterfeiting.
Business consultancy firm Frost & Sullivan has reently completed a study about the role of IT in the pharmaceutical industry, that pays particular attention to the issue of drug counterfeiting.
The increasing need to prevent sales of counterfeit medicines and avoid stock outs of drugs has created a compelling need for effective IT solutions to rationalise pharmaceutical distribution channels across Europe, the study argues.
With comprehensive support from IT across distribution channels, the European pharmaceutical industry will experience robust growth.
In particular, enterprise resource planning (ERP) and supply chain management (SCM) solutions are projected to penetrate untapped markets and build complete links between the distributors. ERP and SCM solutions will enable the operations of various participants in the pharmaceutical distribution channel to be streamlined, thereby ensuring the prompt and safe delivery of medicines.
Frost & Sullivan reports that among Solutions Sup-porting Pharmaceutical Distribution Channel in Europe, ERP and SCM solutions will together earn revenues of $1,188m in 2006 and is estimated to reach $1,835m in 2013, as the market potential for these applications is high in the European pharmaceutical sector.
'With these IT solutions, manufacturers and other participants in the distribution channel can track the flow of drugs from pharmacy shelves and replenish accordingly to avoid stock outs,' said research analyst Rahul Philip Mampallil.
'Moreover, companies can monitor the movement of stocks and detect the illegal intrusion of batches into the distribution channel.'
Close partnerships between manufacturing companies and IT solution vendors would enable the latter to suitably assess the company's business processes and identify the functional areas that require ERP or SCM solutions, Frost & Sullivan says.