Today for any business to grow there is a constant need for streamlined business processes, centralized management, fast decision making along analytical skills. Without these essential requirements, there is no way a business in any sector or industry can survive in the dynamic market. This is because of the rapid pace of technological advancements that are taking place all over various industries. The pharmaceutical industry is one such industry that has seen a massive transformation in a few years.
Today pharmaceutical industry is facing more than ever stringent regulations related to products. The competition in the pharmaceutical industry has become intense that is making it difficult for various pharmaceutical manufacturers to survive and make a place for them. This industry now has to conform to the highest quality of standards as the customers are well-informed which demands quality products at economic prices. Further, the entry of global players has also led to an increase in tension among the players in the market. Thus, pharmaceutical consulting services are required to establish a streamlined business process along with operational efficiency to earn their customer trust and loyalty along with cutting costs. This all can be made possible by the integration of ERP solutions with their system.
Pharmaceutical ERP will enable controlling and connecting different areas of business such as planning, inventory, marketing, business intelligence, sales, manufacturing, etc. Thus it is a unified solution for all the business processes thereby leading to more efficiency and coordination. This will eventually help the business in the better management and control of various resources and costs. ERP solution will bring much-needed transparency and visibility into the pharmaceutical operations. However one must remember that only implementing ERP solutions into their work would never be enough for the pharmaceutical manufacturers. Proper investment is required for the skills upgrading of the employees besides consulting ERP experts so that everything takes place smoothly.
The importance of ERP in the pharmaceutical industry is rising at a significant pace. This is going to be the future of the pharmaceutical industry. Various reasons are explaining why more and more pharmaceutical businesses are investing in ERP solutions. Some of these essential reasons are mentioned below:
- Manufacturing Formulation: The manufacturing of drugs is one of the most complex processes of the pharmaceutical industry. This is because of the basic reason that the medication is very essential for one’s health. There is no room for any error in this regard as it could be life-threatening. Thus the chemical component and composition of any drug need to be protected through copyrights. Lots of planning goes into the manufacturing of drugs such as defining production procedure, stages, etc. The more planning it involves the more chances of manual error are there however with the use of ERP solution everything can be automated and thus everything is properly streamlined.
- Product Costing: The cost of a drug consists of various factors such as cost of raw material, procurement cost, vendor cost, supply chain cost, etc. All these costs are the work of different department that works in a silo and any change in one of these is to be communicated to another department that used to take a lot of time but with the implementation of ERP solution, there is now the centralized base of data and interconnected network among all the department so that no time is wasted in case there is any change. This helps in the efficiency of product costing where any change can now be easily accommodated.
- Regulatory Compliance: Pharmaceutical industry is surrounded by various regulations that they have to adhere to without any conditions. These regulations if not followed can destroy the company name and brand. These regulations are required as these confirm safety and various healthcare protocols thus keeping track of these regulations helps in the growth and development of pharmaceutical manufacturers but keeping track of all these changing regulations is not an easy task. Moreover, these regulations also differ from region to region thus adding more to the work of the pharmaceutical industry. Thus there is a need for an effective solution that can help in maintaining all the compliance and this can be achieved by the use of an ERP solution. ERP with its centralized and automated solution can help the pharmaceutical industry with all the changed rules and regulations.
- Inventory Management: Another reason for investing in ERP solutions for the pharmaceutical industry is efficient inventory management with the feature of real-time tracking. ERP allows the pharmaceutical manufacturers to avoid the situation of stock-out by ensuring smooth flow of the supply chain. The pharmaceutical industry highly relies on the availability of raw materials and compounds so that there is a balance between demand and supply. This has now become more of an important issue in times of Covid-19 as now governments across the globe are looking for manufacturers that can meet the demand for drugs and vaccines effectively. ERP solution will help in doing so by avoiding all the glitches. Besides this, the ERP solution also provides the feature of high traceability which makes product recall easier.
- Security: Research and development is the strong base of any pharmaceutical manufacturers. They spend a very good amount of money and various other resources. Finding the right composition is something that takes a lot of work and time. It is the result of various developments and testing that makes everything possible. The formula is required to be protected so that no other manufacturer could steal it. Any neglect in this area can prove to be fatal for the manufacturers. The best way of securing is through the implementation of an ERP solution that follows stringent protocol.
- Document Management: Keeping records of all the processes is essential for the pharmaceutical industry for audits as well as future analysis. Manually storing all this information and related documents is impossible. ERP is the ultimate solution for this issue as this software integrates and interconnects all the processes information from different departments into one centralized database.
Hence these are the reasons explaining the importance of ERP for pharmaceutical manufacturer. ERP solutions indeed need of an hour for pharmaceutical manufacturers as it makes it competitive in the ever-changing industry.
