A discussion about the need for innovation in both product development and its supporting supply chain, with Joe Bitterman, vice president of supply chain planning with Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, and Philip Vervloesem, chief commercial officer with OMP.

The need for innovation in supply chain planning is “everywhere,” Bitterman says. With J&J Innovative Medicine performing above market growth for 14 consecutive years, “it’s crucial that we keep in front of innovation and continue to deliver products to patients.”

Bitterman notes the evolution of the company’s products over the years from relatively simple to enormously complex — from small molecule drugs in the forms of tablets and pills, to large-molecule versions delivered through infusions or injections, all the way to cell and gene therapies involving the removal and replacement of a patient’s blood or plasma. Then there are even newer therapies, for which the time from manufacturing to delivery is measured in hours. All that makes planning capability today “extremely complex,” he says.

A second aspect of innovation is on the planning side, with companies striving to achieve comprehensive demand sensing, more advanced material requirements planning (MRP), and integration with both suppliers and customers.

Vervloesem notes the need for planning across the supply chain “ecosystem,” going well beyond the walls of the manufacturer to include suppliers, with the goal of exploring alternative scenarios and enabling rapid adjustment to market changes.

Advanced planning transformation (APT) “is the journey we’re on at J&J Innovative Medicine,” Bitterman says. The company strives to stay in front of innovation through three key elements: automate, anticipate and accelerate. Together they make it possible to eliminate repetitive manual tasks in the planning cycle, anticipate what’s coming up, and make crucial decisions earlier in the planning process.

Automation aside, humans will remain in the loop for the foreseeable future, in Bitterman’s view. “Our planners are excited about having digital tools that enable them to do their job better,” he says.