Pharmaceutical and food companies are losing millions of dollars a year in inventory spoilage due to failures in the cold chain, according to a report from supply chain tracking solutions firm Cloudleaf, released this week.
Cloudleaf surveyed 210 U.S. supply chain professionals in pharmaceutical and food and beverage industries for its first State of Supply Chain Visibility report and found that 92% say they can’t trust the data they have on products traveling through their supply chains. What’s more, survey respondents said they are losing millions of dollars a year in inventory from product spoilage due to the lack of supply chain visibility. Pharmaceutical companies surveyed said they lose between $95 million and $138 million a year while food and beverage companies say they lose, on average, between $71 million and $179 million per year.
Other survey findings include:
Almost all respondents (99%) in the pharmaceutical industry claimed to be using some sort of manual processes to achieve supply chain visibility.
Product damage or spoilage (30%), temperature excursions (25%), unexpected delays (24%), lost or misplaced inventory (21%), and compliance issues (20%) are the top five supply challenges plaguing the industry.
87% of respondents in the pharmaceutical industry said they do not have 100% visibility into the condition of products in their supply chain during the last mile of delivery.
The problem is taking on a higher profile as the cold chain strives to meet growing demand during the pandemic and as Covid-19 vaccine distribution rolls out across the country.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has made abundantly clear how crucial end-to-end supply chain visibility truly is. The findings of this report illustrate a crippling reality for high-value supply chains and cold chains today,” Mahesh Veerina, president and CEO of Cloudleaf, said in a statement announcing the research. “A vast majority of companies recognize that the traditional methods of monitoring product as it travels through the supply chain simply do not offer the visibility necessary to ensure quality and compliance.”
Respondents in both industries say they rely on spreadsheets, pen and paper, and alarm clock technology—essentially, timing how long a product has been outside the cold chain as a way to determine its viability—to monitor products through the cold chain. Such methods don’t provide access to real-time data that can help companies take preventive action to maintain product quality, according to the research.
“The implications of these findings are significant for their operational and financial impacts as well as the final customer outcomes,” said Cloudleaf’s David Parker. “Food & beverage as well as pharmaceuticals rely heavily on cold chains that are meant to keep products at specific temperatures to maintain their safety, quality, efficacy, and regulatory compliance. Modern digital technologies are rapidly automating visibility and [can] deliver predictive remediation actions using [artificial intelligence and machine learning] to avoid the millions of dollars companies are losing and deliver better experience to their customers.”
Cloudleaf partnered with Sapio Research on the project, surveying more than 200 supply chain professionals between October 19 and November 6, 2020.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Aptean said the move will add new capabilities to its warehouse management and supply chain management offerings for manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers, and 3PLs. Aptean currently provides enterprise resource planning (ERP), transportation management systems (TMS), and product lifecycle management (PLM) platforms.
Founded in 1980 and headquartered in Durham, U.K., Indigo Software provides software designed for mid-market organizations, giving users real-time visibility and management from the initial receipt of stock all the way through to final dispatch of the finished product. That enables organizations to optimize an array of warehouse operations including receiving, storage, picking, packing, and shipping, the firm says.
Specific sectors served by Indigo Software include the food and beverage, fashion and apparel, fast moving consumer goods, automotive, manufacturing, 3PL, chemicals, and wholesale / distribution verticals.
Schneider says its FreightPower platform now offers owner-operators significantly more access to Schneider’s range of freight options. That can help drivers to generate revenue and strengthen their business through: increased access to freight, high drop and hook rates of over 95% of loads, and a trip planning feature that calculates road miles.
“Collaborating with owner-operators is an important component in the success of our business and the reliable service we can provide customers, which is why the network has grown tremendously in the last 25 years,” Schneider Senior Vice President and General Manager of Truckload and Mexico John Bozec said in a release. "We want to invest in tools that support owner-operators in running and growing their businesses. With Schneider FreightPower, they gain access to better load management, increasing their productivity and revenue potential.”
Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, but Mode Global said it will now assume Jillamy's comprehensive logistics and freight management solutions, while Jillamy's warehousing, packaging and fulfillment services remain unchanged. Under the agreement, Mode Global will gain more than 200 employees and add facilities in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Florida, Texas, Illinois, South Carolina, Maryland, and Ontario to its existing national footprint.
Chalfont, Pennsylvania-based Jillamy calls itself a 3PL provider with expertise in international freight, intermodal, less than truckload (LTL), consolidation, over the road truckload, partials, expedited, and air freight.
"We are excited to welcome the Jillamy freight team into the Mode Global family," Lance Malesh, Mode’s president and CEO, said in a release. "This acquisition represents a significant step forward in our growth strategy and aligns perfectly with Mode's strategic vision to expand our footprint, ensuring we remain at the forefront of the logistics industry. Joining forces with Jillamy enhances our service portfolio and provides our clients with more comprehensive and efficient logistics solutions."
In addition to its flagship Clorox bleach product, Oakland, California-based Clorox manages a diverse catalog of brands including Hidden Valley Ranch, Glad, Pine-Sol, Burt’s Bees, Kingsford, Scoop Away, Fresh Step, 409, Brita, Liquid Plumr, and Tilex.
British carbon emissions reduction platform provider M2030 is designed to help suppliers measure, manage and reduce carbon emissions. The new partnership aims to advance decarbonization throughout Clorox's value chain through the collection of emissions data, jointly identified and defined actions for reduction and continuous upskilling.
The program, which will record key figures on energy, will be gradually rolled out to several suppliers of the company's strategic raw materials and packaging, which collectively represents more than half of Clorox's scope 3 emissions.
M2030 enables suppliers to regularly track and share their progress with other customers using the M2030 platform. Suppliers will also be able to export relevant compatible data for submission to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a global disclosure system to manage environmental data.
"As part of Clorox's efforts to foster a cleaner world, we have a responsibility to ensure our suppliers are equipped with the capabilities necessary for forging their own sustainability journeys," said Niki King, Chief Sustainability Officer at The Clorox Company. "Climate action is a complex endeavor that requires companies to engage all parts of their supply chain in order to meaningfully reduce their environmental impact."
According to New Orleans-based LongueVue, the “strategic rebranding” brings together the complementary capabilities of these three companies to form a vertically integrated flexible packaging leader with expertise in blown film production, flexographic printing, adhesive laminations, and converting.
“This unified platform enables us to provide our customers with greater flexibility and innovation across all aspects of packaging," Joe Piccione, CEO of Innotex, said in a release. "As we continue to evolve and adapt to the changing needs of the industry, we look forward to delivering exceptional solutions and service."