This blog will be providing a glimpse of our exclusive interview with Vickram Srivastava. Head of Planning - Global Supply Chain at Sun Pharma one of India's largest generic pharmaceutical companies.. Click here to access the interview in full.

This insightful interview offers a deeper comprehension of the complexities and challenges in managing a global pharma supply chain amidst an unprecedented crisis, as well as valuable insights on building a more resilient value chain for the future.

PharmaIQ: What is your background in the pharmaceutical industry and what does your current role involve?

Vickram Srivastava: I have been associated with supply chain function for almost two decades now and working in the pharmaceutical industry for the past decade. In my current role, I lead the planning function in the global supply chain at Sun Pharma, one of the largest generic pharmaceutical companies in India. I am really proud to work in the pharma industry and I strongly believe in our mission to improve patient lives by providing accessible, affordable, high-quality generic medicines. U

sing a variety of planning tools and methodologies, my key responsibility is to determine what we need to manufacture and how to move those products around the globe in the most efficient way. I think of the planning department as being like the cockpit of a supersonic jet, where we have access to the dashboards and all the information, and it is our job to keep everything moving in the right direction and making the right stops along the way. My team works closely with procurement, business development, logistics, IT, and quality to ensure that everyone has access to the right information and that business continuity is always maintained.

Pharma IQ: What weaknesses do you think the pandemic highlighted in global pharma supply chains?

VS: There were lots! Industry professionals previously relied on traditional methods such as statistical forecasts for demand sensing. However, these mechanisms, employed before the pandemic, did not effectively account for forecast errors or provide upstream demand sensing indicators. Incorporating smart algorithms capable of minimising forecast errors and identifying demand more accurately would help to improve clarity and resilience in the value chain.

Logistics was a huge challenge during the pandemic, as we realised just how fragile our distribution networks were in terms of moving goods across the globe. India is known as the pharmacy to the world, manufacturing almost two-thirds of vaccines and 30% to 40% of the generic drugs consumed globally. However, air and sea freight capacity were suddenly and drastically reduced during the pandemic, so how do you get those products from India to where they need to go across the world?

There were also significant procurement challenges, as much of the industry was dependent on China for sourcing and of course, as China shut down first, and for the longest, it became incredibly difficult to source supplies.

PharmaIQ: Can you explain more about what you mean by business continuity programmes?

VS: Business continuity plans and scenario planning are essential now. The lesson learned from the pandemic was that it isn’t enough to have option A or even options A & B. You need to have options A, B, C, and D, with the pros and cons of each option fully documented and details on under which circumstances, you will turn to which option. In addition, you need to consider the impact on compliance and validation if you make changes to your vendors, manufacturing facilities, logistics, or distribution channels, so that if necessary, you can act quickly without impacting safety, or security, but still maintain maximum efficiency.

To access the full interview and access Vickram's insights of the following questions:

• The entire industry was grappling with the lack of sea and air freight capacity. In what ways was it possible to tackle that challenge?
• What other changes did you see in the industry during the pandemic, as a reaction to the challenges faced?
• What was your most positive experience of industry collaboration during the pandemic?
• Have you seen any change in the way that metrics are being utilised to support the changes that we’ve discussed and to track improvements?

Download the full interview here