Page 19 - Logistics News - December 2021
P. 19

S UP P LY  CH AIN











            He says that public health logisticians have a   He offered advice and guidance on designing a new,
          critical but often undervalued role in providing   analytically based, automated replenishment planning
          life-saving health services. “Especially in developing   process.
          countries, supply chain management is often not
          recognised as a profession that requires specialised   The roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine in South
          training. IAPHL’s vision is a world where strong and   Africa was the topic of an IAPHL webinar presented
          well-run supply chains reach all people with life-  by Professor Norman Faull, Emeritus Professor of
          saving health products.”                      Operations Management at the Graduate School of
                                                        Business, UCT and Founder/Chairman of the Lean
            Since its launch in December 2020, the IAPHL’s   Institute Africa. The Lean Institute Africa has been
          South African Chapter has hosted numerous free   instrumental in observing and advising several
          networking and professional development events   vaccination sites since the beginning of the pilot phase
          geared towards connecting, empowering and upskilling   of the vaccine roll-out. Faull discussed the challenges,
          professionals working in the country’s public health   solutions and successes that have been experienced first-
          supply chains.                                hand.

            Lessons from Ethiopia were shared in an        Annette Naude, DSV’s General Manager for
          informative IAPHL webinar presented by Capital   Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare (Air & Sea), South
          Berhanu, Inventory Management and Distribution   Africa looked at innovations for health care supply
          Officer at the Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Supply   chains for the future in a webinar that she presented for
          Agency. The agency has been working to optimise   IAPHL’s South African Chapter. She shared strategies
          the supply chain needed to ensure equitable,   developed by cold chain supply network leader DSV to
          affordable access to anti-cancer medicines for   navigate the COVID-19 crisis, not only in South Africa,
          all Ethiopians. Berhanu shared his learnings and   but also in Africa, including multi-model strategies
          insights on challenges that include high expiry    and strategic partnerships. Creative ways had to be
          and wastage, frequent stockouts, data visibility   found to ensure that amid the turmoil of the pandemic,
          issues, product delivery delays, intermittent    emergency and life-saving cold chain pharmaceuticals
          reports, facility complaints and inadequate   and other health care commodities could still get to
          communication.                                where they were needed, when they were needed, she
                                                        stated.
            Life-threatening medicine stockouts were in
          the spotlight in a case study presented by David   In addition to ensuring that everyone working
          Crewe-Brown, General Manager at Vitalliance,   in South Africa’s public health supply chains has
          experts in pharmaceutical and humanitarian supply   access to the requisite resources, training and skills,
          chains. Crewe-Brown noted that appropriate levels   one of the top priorities of the South African IAPHL
          of medicine availability are necessary to meet   Chapter is encouraging more young people and
          patient needs, but the challenge is that the current   graduates to pursue careers in public health care
          processes require the already overburdened health   supply chains. To this end, an IAPHL and SAPICS
          care practitioners to manage the medicine storeroom,   membership package is being offered at no cost to
          count the stock levels, calculate the replenishment   50 young supply chain professionals. Applicants must
          orders and issue stock to the consulting rooms when   be working in or wish to work in the management
          required. Many of these process steps fail, resulting   of public health supply chains and humanitarian   L O GI S T I CS NEWS
          in stock shortages. The solution is to automate the   logistics and must be aged 25 or younger. For more
          replenishment planning of medicines in the South   information or to apply, email Elaine Stewart at
          African public health supply chain, he told attendees.   SAPICS, elaine@sapics.org.za. •


          www .l o g ist i csn e w s .c o .z a                            NO V E MB E R/D E C E MB E R 2021  17
   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24