• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Supply Chains in Crisis
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Webinar Library
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Leveraging the Private Sector to Get Life-Saving Drugs to Africa

Leveraging the Private Sector to Get Life-Saving Drugs to Africa

June 26, 2013
SupplyChainBrain

The Supply Chain Management Systems Project was created about eight years ago by the U.S. Agency for International Development (U.S. AID) in response to President George W. Bush's initiative to fight the global pandemic of HIV/AIDS, particularly in Africa where drug treatments were not widely available.

A budget of $7bn for the effort was based on the cost of drug treatments at the time, but those costs have since come down. Lower costs, coupled with a highly efficient and effective supply chain, have enabled SCMSP to far exceed expectations, according to De Souza, warehousing and distribution principal advisor for the project.

"Initially, the target was to get half a million people on treatment with our $7bn budget," he says. "In fact, we have put more than 4 million people on treatment and have spent just over $1.2bn."

De Souza says this achievement would not have been possible without a supply chain that has transformed the way life-saving drugs are delivered to Africa. Historically, he explains, drugs were procured by donors and/or governments on an annualized basis. "Procuring organizations would forecast their need for the coming year and place a 12-month order, so all these high-value and temperature-sensitive goods would arrive in developing countries that didn't have adequate storage facilities or the expertise to store them," he says. "As a result a lot of product spoiled or expired before it could be used - or went missing due to pilferage and theft."

The designers working on SCMSP knew this model had to change. Rather than forward positioning a year's worth of commodities in each country, they proposed that demand be aggregated by region and product held in regional distribution centers, with regular deliveries to medical facilities.

SCMSP today holds stock at three facilities in Africa, each serving multiple countries with monthly or bi-monthly deliveries. "This way we avoid out-of-stock situations and expired stock situations," De Souza says. "Also we are able to pretty rapidly adapt to changes in demand, which is really important if the World Health Organization adopts a change in recommended drug therapy." Before, if a country had 12 months of stock and the prescribed drug regimen changed, existing stock would become practically worthless, he explains. "Under the current model, stock is limited to three or four months' worth so it is easier to accommodate a change in regimen and keep patients on the most optimal treatment option."

De Souza notes that the program's stock turns per annum are high for the industry, expired product is very low and theft of stock within the system is "virtually zero, which attests to a very well contained and controlled system."

De Souza credits SCMSP's private sector logistics partners with helping it achieve this success. He particularly points to UPS, which is the program's major international freight forwarding partner, and Imperial Health Sciences, an African supply chain company that manages the program's three distribution centers.

"UPS has brought expertise in demand planning to the table and has made it possible to transition most freight from air to ocean, resulting in significant savings," he says. "Over the life of the project, the regional hub strategy and the shift from air to ocean has saved the U.S. government more than $100m, just in freight expenses."

Leveraging the private sector to help fulfill public health needs in this way "is fairly ground breaking since historically such projects have seen little private sector involvement," says De Souza. "We are very proud of those accomplishments and so is U.S. AID."

To view video in its entirety, click here


Keywords: supply chain, supply chain management, supply management, international trade, supply chain management scm, inventory management, inventory control, global logistics, transportation management, third party logistics, 3pl, logistics management, warehouse management, logistics & supply chain, logistics services, supply chain solutions, supply chain planning, transportation management systems, warehouse management systems, supply chain risk management

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Air Cargo Express/Small Shipments Global Logistics Logistics Outsourcing LTL/Truckload Services Ocean Transportation Transportation & Distribution Forecasting & Demand Planning Inventory Planning/ Optimization Transportation Management Global Supply Chain Management All Warehouse Services Pharmaceutical/Biotech
KEYWORDS 3PL AIDS Air Cargo All Warehouse Services Clinton De Souza Express/Small Shipments Forecasting & Demand Planning George W. Bush Global Logistics Global Supply Chain Management Humanitarian Logistics international trade inventory control Inventory Management Inventory Planning/ Optimization logistics & supply chain logistics management Logistics Outsourcing logistics services LTL/Truckload Services Middle East/Africa Ocean Transportation Pharmaceutical/Biotech supply chain Supply Chain Management supply chain management SCM Supply Chain Planning Supply Chain Risk Management supply chain solutions supply management The Supply Chain Management Systems Project Third Party Logistics Transportation & Distribution Transportation Management transportation management systems U.S. Agency for International Development (U.S. AID) Warehouse Management Warehouse Management Systems
  • Related Articles

    Leveraging the Private Sector to Get Life-Saving Drugs to Africa

    Africa Import-Export Shipment Reliability Predicted to Deteriorate, Study Finds

    Yusen Logistics Offers Temp-Controlled Consolidation to Africa

  • Related Directories

    Kuebix

SupplyChainBrain

Slowdown in Warehouse Construction Could Extend Shortfall of Space, Experts Say

More from this author

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter!

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • DOCUMENTS BEARING THE INSIGNIA OF US CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION LIE ON A TABLE

    New CBP Regs Call for Greater Diligence by Brokers in Reporting Security Breaches

    Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
  • A WORKER IN A WAREHOUSE, SUPERIMPOSED WITH GRAPHICS SHOWING SUPPLY NETWORK

    Enabling Intelligent Visibility With Supply Chain Analytics

    Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
  • A HAND TURNS A LARGE, LIGHTED DIAL WITH THE WORD RISK ON IT iStock-NicoElNino-1364371014.jpg

    Measuring KPIs and KRIs for Comprehensive Supplier Performance Management

    Technology
  • GSCMS-Promo.png

    Watch: Introducing the Global Supply Chain Marketing Summit

    Education & Professional Development
  • DEEPLY CRACKED EARTH UNDER A BLUE CLOUDY SKY

    Why Maritime Supply Chains Must Adapt to Sustainability Regulations

    Ocean Transportation

Digital Edition

Scb nov 2022 sm

2022 Supply Chain Innovator of the Year

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • New Revenue for Cloud-Based TMS that Embeds Orderful’s Modern EDI Platform

  • Convenience Store Client Maximizes Profit and Improves Customer Service

  • A Digitally Native Footwear Brand Finds Rapid Fulfillment

  • Expanding Apparel Brand Scales Seamlessly with E-Commerce Technology

  • How a Global LSP Scaled its Security Program and Won More Business

Visit Our Sponsors

Orderful Yang Ming Alithya
Barcoding Blue Yonder BNSF Logistics
CoEnterprise Data Capture Deposco
E2open GAINSystems Generix
Geodis GEP GreyOrange
Here Honeywell Intelligrated IFM
Infor Inmar Keelvar
Kinaxis Korber Lean Solutions Group 2H
Liberty SBF Locus Robotics Logility
LogistiVIEW Lucas Systems MCA Connect
MPO Nvidia Old Dominion
OpenText ORTEC Overhaul
Parsyl PMMI QIMA
Redwood Logistics Ryder E-commerce by Whiplash Saddle Creek Logistics
Schneider Dedicated Setlog Holding AG Ship4WD
Shipwell Tecsys TGW Systems
Thomson Reuters Tive Trailer Bridge
Vecna Robotics Verity
Verusen
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright ©2023 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing