At the Global Health Supply Chain Summit (GHSCS) in Lagos, Nigeria, Ethiopia Pharmaceutical Supply Service (EPSS) was recognised internationally for having pioneered the nation’s pharmaceutical supply chain.
From 2019 to 2023, the award-winning project concentrated on six supply chain core operations of Ethiopian Pharmaceuticals Supply Service (EPSS) (warehouse, distribution, human resources, procurement, general services, and finance) and five regional hubs (Bahir Dar, Jimma, Dire Dawa Addis Ababa, and Arba Minch).
The journey’s objectives were to establish a culture of sustainable and ongoing improvement and to achieve groundbreaking results on Ethiopian Pharmaceuticals Supply Service’s (EPSS) delivery, cost, and quality criteria. The KAIZEN philosophy, which emphasises continuous improvement through teamwork in daily work management, focused breakthrough innovations on significant supply chain process bottlenecks, and methodical leadership engagement for sustainable change management, has been adopted for this reason.
As per the organisation, the most noteworthy accomplishments include the rise in inventory accuracy from 90% to 99.8%, distribution expenses from 0.9% to 0.5%, and proof of delivery from 89% to 99%. In addition to creating safer and more productive work environments, EPSS has freed up precious space totalling more than 744 square meters by utilising all of its amenities. With the use of supermarket principles, these activities reduced monthly worker travel distances within warehouses from 77 km to 17 km, improving productivity and saving time.
Digital transformation has also been at the heart of the EPSS journey. In this way, it revolutionised decision-making processes by providing real-time insights into supply chain performance through the use of state-of-the-art digital dashboards and data visualisation tools.By enhancing operational insight, these solutions enabled the business to maintain a steady supply of essential goods and respond quickly to emerging problems. Digital tools that the system improves include sophisticated dashboards and data visualisation tools that provide real-time insights into supply chain performance and enable proactive solutions to emerging challenges.
Using state-of-the-art near-expiry visualisation systems, which make it simpler to see when products in warehouses are about to expire, is one example. In addition to freeing up storage space that could have been utilised if these products had expired, this assisted in lowering waste rates from 1.8% to less than 0.25%. The pharmaceutical supply chain includes the acquisition of raw materials, manufacturing, distribution, and patient delivery of pharmaceuticals.
The pharmaceutical supply chain network requires careful coordination and adherence to regulatory guidelines at every stage to ensure that patients receive safe and effective medications. The pharmaceutical supply chain involves risks and challenges for both suppliers and consumers. However, since it involves many key components and stakeholders to successfully deliver life-saving drugs to patients, managing pharmaceutical supply chains presents a number of challenges in a health-conscious society.
“We are honoured to receive these awards, which affirm our commitment to using Kaizen to improve health supply chain,” stated Dr. Abdulkadir Gelgelo, the director general of EPSS. Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Supply Service in addition to saving time, he said that implementing Kaizen is essential for managing the pharmaceutical supply chain. He stated, “We break some barriers but we need more collaboration and efforts to do more jobs.” We are starting it. “Termination of contracts, poor warehouse management, legal affairs, pandemics, and loose coordination are among the factors that challenge to not go well in pharmaceutical supply chain,” he said.
Frehiwot Abebe, State Minister of the Ministry of Health, emphasised that although EPSS’s Kaizen-driven approach serves as a template for other countries, much more needs to be done to raise the standard and accessibility of pharmaceuticals. Ensuring universal access to safe, effective, high-quality, and reasonably priced drugs and vaccines is a primary goal of the United Nations’ third Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). For many products, supply channels are essential to reaching this objective.
However, data shows that in many low- and middle-income countries, including Ethiopia, the system faces several challenges.
“The government’s primary goals are to treat patients and prevent diseases, and improving the pharmaceutical supply chain is essential for all of us to accomplish the aforementioned goals.” She added.