Structure Of Supply Chain Of Pharmaceutical Products

Supply chain node body

Thereare multiple nodes involved in a series of processes from production to finaluse by consumers. Including: pharmaceutical industry regulatory authorities,drug raw and auxiliary materials suppliers, drug manufacturers, drug biddingintermediary organizations, drug wholesale enterprises, drug distributors,hospitals, drug retailers, partners , end customers.

The role positioning of the operatingsubject of each node

1. Drug manufacturers

Drugmanufacturers are at the source of the defined supply chain of pharmaceuticalproducts, and their downstream customers are drug wholesale enterprises anddrug retail enterprises at all levels. Its main functions in the supply chainare as follows: first, it is to develop and produce qualified drugs needed byconsumers and put them into the drug market for consumers to choose. The secondis to provide real-time product information and inventory information todownstream customers to optimize the supply chain cost and improve the qualityof the supply chain.

2. Drug wholesale enterprises

Drugwholesale enterprise is the intermediate link of supply chain of pharmaceuticalproducts, which is not only the gathering place of drugs, but also thedispersion place of drugs. Its main role in the supply chain is: one isresponsible for the supply of drugs. Distribution and allocation functions toprovide drugs needed by patients to hospitals and drug retailers; Second, itplays the role of providing key logistics, transportation, inventory managementand information services for the supply chain of pharmaceutical products, whichis the key link to ensure the smooth flow of logistics and information in thedrug supply chain and improve the operation efficiency of the whole supplychain.

3. Hospital

Hospitalis a very important and special node as well as a core enterprise in drugsupply chain. It is many upstream of pharmaceutical wholesale enterprises,downstream is terminal customers, mainly to provide medical service in thesupply chain. Hospitals are the main circulation channels and trading places ofdrugs in China. Its main functions in the supply chain are as follows: first,it understands, discovers and creates the demand of end customers in medicalpractice, summarizes it, and feeds the demand information to upstream supplierson behalf of end customers in time; The second is to enable the terminalcustomers to conveniently, smoothly and quickly obtain the drugs needed fortreatment; Third, through accurate diagnosis of the patient's condition,appropriate medicine, effective treatment to ensure that consumers enjoy safeand effective drug consumption, so as to realize the value of drugs.

4. Drug retail enterprises

Drugretail enterprises are another channel besides hospitals after drugs enter theconsumption link, and they are also important business subjects in the drugservice system. Their upstream is drug wholesale enterprises or drugmanufacturers, and their downstream is terminal customers. Its main role in thesupply chain is similar to that of a hospital, except that it mainly providesOTC products and services for patients, while the sales of prescription drugscan only provide external dispensing services based on doctors' prescriptions.

5. Drug regulatory department

Althoughthe drug regulatory department is not a node operating subject in the supplychain of pharmaceutical products itself, the state has covered all links of thewhole drug supply chain in order to ensure the quality of drugs, so the drug regulatorydepartment should be an integral part of supply chain of pharmaceuticalproducts. Its main functions in the supply chain are as follows: first, throughGMP, GSP certification and other means to restrict the access qualification ofeach node business entity in the drug supply chain, curb counterfeit andinferior drugs and illegal business activities, standardize the drugcirculation market order from the source, and create a good market environmentfor the supply chain of pharmaceutical products. The second is to clearlydefine and supervise the internal and inter-business processes of each nodeoperating entity in the drug supply chain, as well as the paths, processes andways of drugs passing through the drug supply chain, so as to ensure the qualityand safety of drugs from production to final use. The third is to use efficientinformation means to conduct online supervision of drug circulation process,comprehensively, timely and accurately obtain various statistical data relatedto drug trading activities, and provide basis for legal supervision.

The mutual relation of each node operating subject

Drugsupply chain has the same rule as general supply chain, which realizes valueincrement through the control and management of information flow, logistics andcapital flow. Information flow, logistics flow and capital flow in thepharmaceutical supply chain can be one-way or two-way. Therefore, the drugsupply chain is interdependent and inseparable. The products produced by drugmanufacturers provide material guarantee to meet the needs of consumers, andalso provide material basis for the circulation and exchange of drugs. Drugwholesale enterprises are the bridge connecting drug production enterprises anddrug sales terminals. Pharmaceutical care and drug consumption provided byhospitals and drug retailers are the key to realize the value increment ofdrugs. The supervision of drug regulatory department provides legal andinstitutional guarantee for standardizing the behavior of each node in the drugsupply chain and controlling the quality and safety of drug circulation.