Almost half of biotech, pharma and device companies believe that the sophistication of modern counterfeiters is growing faster than the countermeasures used to fight them, according to the 2013 “Pain in the (Supply) Chain” survey from UPS.
The survey canvassed the opinions of over 440 companies around the world building up a picture of the biggest business threats and future strategies. Regulatory compliance was the biggest headache for supply chains with product security coming second. This is the first year that security had been labeled a bigger problem than costs – despite 50% of companies saying they were still feeling the impact of the global downturn.
The key compliance concerns were that the “legislative outlook is murky, unstable or changing” and the complexities of new markets. 27% of companies expected to expand their business in China despite regulatory hurdles, pushing the USA into second place (with 21%).
Apart from growing sophistication of counterfeiters, the main concerns over product security were poor supply chain visibility and shortcomings in law enforcement. However, it was not all doom and gloom…
The survey asked for the strategies that companies had successfully used to address product security. Those of you who would expect technological advances to be number one are in for a disappointment – most successes were in terms of shipment insurance.
Investment in technologies such as bar coding and serialization came second. A mere one third of companies cited successful strategies in terms of law enforcement response.
There were two themes common to the top supply chain concerns (regulatory compliance, product protection and managing costs) – building expertise and employing the most effective technologies.
The importance of partnerships with trusted suppliers is growing and this is something we’ve noticed too – with increasing interest in our online Good Distribution Practice training.
The “strength in numbers” and “knowledge is power” strategies are understandable given the perceived lack of a robust enforcement of existing laws. Although there are certainly positive messages in the report, I’m left with an uneasy feeling that the industry is circling the wagons to try to delay an unstoppable bandit army.
Maybe I’m just being melodramatic?
I’d love to know what you think.
