Lundbeck

How have digital technologies transformed the supply chain for the Pharmaceutical industry?

When it comes to implementing digital technology, we are still in the transformation phase. Companies today are benefiting from digitization in several ways, including more transparency and the capacity to use data through advanced analytics to tackle various problems. Transparency positively impacted our customers, production, and the supply chain as a whole. While the number of benefits we are getting with digital transformation, we also see a higher level of interdependencies.

Because there are so many interconnected systems that add to the complexity between IT and OT, it becomes difficult to maintain security compliance. For that, organizations need to mature, as it may take a longer time. As a result, we are hiring new employees from universities who are more qualified to deal with these systems and the production supply chain. However, most of the existing organizations face difficulties in reaching this degree of complexity when it comes to an understanding of the IT and OT domain.

Could you tell me some of the benefits of these digital technologies in your day-to-day activities?

Transparency is one of the advantages we receive from the supply chain standpoint. It gives us more stability, allowing us to plan and execute ideas more quickly. One example is automatic ordering. Today, we can have a plan that goes across the supply chain more stably, allowing the system to just shoot out the orders. That's how we can move away from manual ordering to relationship management with our suppliers, which is more value-adding. 

From a production perspective, we've had the most tangible improvements in pulling data from multiple sources, such as our quality system, manufacturing system, or weather station. By using advanced analytics, we've been able to improve production processes. The best example is our high-volume products used in the drying process (uses outside air) to produce tablets. Therefore, the fundamental procedure for drying drugs also varies when the climatic conditions vary. We've been able to pinpoint its cause by combining data from several sources. It helps us to predict the outcome of the drawing based on the circumstance. We provide that to the operator so they know how long the drawing should take before they begin the process. By doing this, we can cut the number of batches that run the risk of being thrown out and 94% lower the chance of scrap.

How has automation helped you in the production of pharmaceutical products?

Our production area has always included automation. Technology is maturing and becoming more relevant over time with improved cost or capability. For example, we invested in a 3D printer, which allows us to experiment with our equipment at very low cost, print changes to our packaging machine, and then observe how performance improves. Even 3D printed materials can utilize it.

After testing, if it needs higher quality to be sustainable in the future, we can order it from the supplier. However, automation enables us to work more quickly and efficiently, as opposed to the past when we had to call the outhouse every time. Then comes our Internet of Things (IoT) or robotic sensor, which is affordable and quickly collects data from all sources. 

What would be the best advice you could impart to an aspiring professional in your field?

In the pharmaceutical sector, it's important to have the correct combination of professionals knowledgeable about supply chain management and the appropriate IT technologies, including data engineers and data scientists. It is, therefore, a good idea for us to start demonstrating setups with a team of individuals who can work agilely and with cases that can benefit us.