By Linda Rouse O’Neill, Senior Vice President for Supply Chain Policy, Health Industry Distributors Association
To plan for the future, you need a destination in mind with a vision of how to get there. Only then can you shape a road map that gets you to your destination. In that spirit, the Health Industry Distributors Association (HIDA) recently published the Supply Chain Resiliency Road Map – Leading Future Preparedness & Response Initiatives. HIDA consulted with supply chain leaders in the medical supply chain to share learnings from past public health events and provide a foundation for future public health responses.
The Road Map focuses on five pillars to support a resilient supply chain:
- Diversified Sourcing and Domestic Production Strategy: A strategic blend of domestic, near-shored, and global production is critical to a resilient supply chain that can surge to meet the demand of future emergencies. The goal is to establish capacity for quick ramp-up of domestic production for critical products. The government has a role through long-term, multi-year purchase commitments to support capacity.
- Buffer of Critical Products: A buffer of critical products such as personal protective equipment (PPE), testing supplies, and infection prevention products is needed for future emergencies to meet initial demand during a crisis. The proposed buffer would be housed in private-sector distribution centers, which allows the supply chain to adapt and increase production. The government’s support is crucial for the successful implementation of this buffer system. Ideally, the federal government should fund distributors to carry up to a 90-120 days of supply in critical items.
- Future Stockpile Strategies: It is important to rethink the role and size of government stockpiles. Dynamic stockpiles must be actively managed at every level of government – federal, state, and local – to meet long-term needs during public health emergencies. A new mindset envisions a stockpile as a continuously rotating and replenished store of resources, backed by sustained and reliable funding.
- Expedited Transportation of Medical Products: The medical supply chain relies on predictable transport to communicate product availability to providers, allowing them to deliver appropriate clinical patient care. Delays have negative consequences for patients and public health. HIDA strongly supports bipartisan Fast Pass legislation (HR 6140) to ensure critical medical supplies are expedited during emergencies. The bill directs the Secretary of Transportation to initiate a study to examine efforts to expedite the movement of critical cargo across all modes of transportation.
- Public-Private Partnerships: When it comes to healthcare preparedness, neither the private sector nor the public sector can do it alone. Distribution companies and government agencies should meet regularly during steady state to maintain relationships, ensure lessons are implemented, and collaborate on supply chain solutions. Tools like HIDA’s Traffic Protocol Playbook were created to coordinate production and distribution decisions during emergencies. It emphasizes the need to maintain relationships, communication, and transparency between sectors in order to ensure an effective crisis response.
Overall, these strategies enhance preparedness, resilience, and response capabilities. They will ensure the availability of critical medical products during public health emergencies. A resilient supply chain has to be bolstered by collaborative strategies and policies. This Road Map charts a course for long-term, sustainable solutions that are consistently funded to ensure future readiness.