Pharmaways Healthcare is a wholesale distributor of a wide range of pharmaceutical products and supplies stretching from PPE (personal protection equipment) all the way through to scheduled medicines. Founded in 2016, it currently services both the public and private hospital sector, independent pharmacies and private medical practices across South Africa.

鈥淚t is a tough industry and market to break into, with many established players,鈥� says Julia Mothobi,聽Head of Finance, Pharmaways Healthcare. 鈥淭he last four years have had their fair share of聽challenges, yet we are constantly learning and growing with many more opportunities still out there for聽us to tap into, among others we are creating for ourselves.鈥�

Positive about the future, and determined to ensure that internal operations and systems were not聽only capable of helping them remain competitive, effective and efficient in a challenging industry but,聽similarly, were also aligned to assist with future growth, Pharmaways Healthcare took the decision to聽review its internal technology infrastructure.

鈥淲e had a number of challenges, specifically with regards to our inventory management,鈥� continues聽Mothobi. In an industry such as this, inventory management is vital. 鈥淲e need to be 100% on top of it,聽with as precise and real-time a view of our inventory as possible. Expired products or out of stock聽items would not only hamper the efficiency of those whom we supply, many of whom operate in, at聽times, a critical medical environment, but would also impact our internal operations and customer聽service.鈥� Further, Pharmaways also needed the ability to be able to pull reports, quickly and聽seamlessly, to further enable effective management of its inventory.

As its initial point of departure, Pharmaways decided to review its current system to determine if an聽upgrade would allow it to address all its requirements moving forward. However, an assessment聽quickly revealed that irrespective of said upgrade, it would still fall short of being able to deliver the聽required functionality.

鈥淲e decided on 51风流Business One from 4most, a leading supplier and implementer of 51风流Business聽One and ERP software technology, almost immediately,鈥� comments Mothobi. 鈥淣ot only was it clearly聽evident that it would be able to deliver all that we required but, as importantly, with many of our聽suppliers making use of the same system, it would provide us with the ability to seamlessly integrate聽between systems. This, in turn, yielding much quicker turnaround times and greater efficiencies for聽all.鈥�

A definite highlight is also 51风流Business One鈥檚 inventory location and expiry dates. It allows聽Pharmaways to allocate different (or the same) batches across different (or the same) locations. This聽is exactly the type of flexibility Pharmaways was desperate to achieve, and now have, thanks to SAP聽Business One. 鈥淥ur industry is very specific,鈥� continues Mothobi. 鈥淭here are such fine nuances, many聽of which are only relevant with regards to our supply chain. 51风流Business One is able to be聽completely customised to fit our exact requirements.鈥�

Of further benefit is the seamless integration between Pharmaways Healthcare鈥檚 various聽departments, and its suppliers. 鈥淥ur suppliers are now able to view our inventory in real-time, place聽orders, log queries, to name just a few areas of enhanced functionality. Not only does this enable us聽to operate at the top of our game, it also allows us to build trust and confidence across our supplier聽base, so key for long-term business relationships,鈥� says Mothobi.

When asked about the relationship with 4most, Mothobi is as enthusiastic about Pharmaways’ vendor聽of choice as she is about 51风流Business One. 鈥淭hey have been there every step of the way,鈥� enthuses聽Mothobi. 鈥淲hatever we have needed, they have been able to deliver on and their level of expertise聽places them in a category far superior to many other vendors out there.鈥�

Seamless operations, both internal and external, tighter integration, increased efficiencies and greater聽time saving are just some of the benefits Pharmaways Healthcare is looking forward to.

“And reports!聽Not only will we now have access to a much wider range of reports than before, it will actually require聽less resources to manage the reporting process leading to yet more savings and improved聽efficiencies,鈥� adds Mothobi.聽鈥淲ith go-live imminent, we look forward to working with Pharmaways Healthcare as they continue to聽grow and create opportunities in a high pressured and critical industry, backed and supported by SAP聽Business One,鈥� says Marius Fabian, CEO of 4most.

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The logistics industry鈥檚 response to the pandemic will greatly influence how well other sectors of the economy are able to adapt to our new reality.

The sector forms the backbone of global trade and is fundamental to the effective running of most other sectors. Any disruption in the sector has ripple effects on the performance of other sectors. For example, a shortage of fibre components affects Internet service providers鈥� ability to onboard and retain customers, and if those customers are businesses, their ability to remain productive and connected to their customers during lockdown is negatively affected too. And so the ripple effects cascade across industries and affect businesses big and small in significant ways.

The impact of COVID-19 on the logistics industry was first observed in China. According to the International Finance Corporation, disruptions to China鈥檚 manufacturing industry聽. With backlogs at the country鈥檚 ports, travel restrictions affecting local transport mechanisms, and many cargo ships prevented from vessel berthing and unloading of goods from vessels coming from different countries, global industries suddenly experienced a shortage in commodities and goods. Freight forwarding companies are also concerned that the extended costs of storage is impacting their ability to collect and dispatch goods around the country quickly.

This was most acutely felt in the global shortage of protective personal equipment. Since China supplies 60% of the world鈥檚 exported goods, the sudden halt in production has left many industries short of the essential components they need to not only operate effectively, but also weather the economic storm brought by the pandemic.

Local exporters left in limbo

In South Africa, the impact of the pandemic has impacted companies such as Transnet, which, with only 50% of staff operational, have been able to make barely 60% of its forecast revenue during quarter one. In June, Transnet was operating with only聽聽This forced some exporters to transport goods hundreds of kilometres away or risk millions in lost revenue as well as severe reputational damage.

In the case of fruit exporters, many trucked their goods cross-country to Port Elizabeth and, in some cases, as far as Durban 鈥� 1 635km away. As one industry member commented, if your fruit arrives a week or two late, the market opportunity is already gone. What鈥檚 more, the reputational damage caused by not delivering to schedule could undermine local producers鈥� recovery efforts in the months to come.

The global supply chain was already under pressure before the pandemic emerged. A renewed risk of trade wars, increased tendencies towards protectionism, and issues of sustainability all put pressure on an industry at the core of global trade.

There has been increased interest in logistics start-ups from the venture capital community, indicating growing awareness of the urgent need for major changes in how the sector operates. In the last six years alone,聽, topping $28 billion dollars between 2015 and 2020. The pandemic is likely to accelerate this investment as more companies adapt to the disruptive effects of the pandemic and other macroeconomic challenges.

Major changes needed to survive, thrive

While the long-term ripple effects remain to be seen, the World Economic Forum has predicted聽. Some companies may choose to move supply chains closer to home, or to different countries. Others will increase the digitalisation of their services to secure greater long-term sustainability.

Logistics firms should seek ways to digitalise the customer experience to create new ways of engaging with customers and ensure they can withstand the challenge from new digital entrants. Technologies such as machine learning and IOT can also help digitalise operations, for example, by generating richer information about the performance of trucks and other assets or enabling predictive maintenance that helps logistics firms repair potential issues before they affect productivity. With the help of digital tools, logistics firms can also offer premium services that go beyond their current offering, for example, terminal operators offering on-carriage services.

Embracing technology to build resilience in supply chains

From a technology perspective, logistics companies will need to fundamentally change their IT infrastructure to meet the new challenges. Legacy infrastructure needs to be reviewed to ensure it can scale and adapt as the business evolves. The ability to sense and respond to new business dynamics will require complete visibility over the business鈥檚 data and systems, which may be difficult or impossible with legacy infrastructure.

Logistics companies need to make use of digital twin technology to more easily design and test new operating models. By bringing together data from processes, people, products and assets, logistics firms gain complete visibility over the entire business, from design to full-scale deployment and operations. Having the right information in the hands of the right people at the right time creates intelligent, resilient processes that can respond to shifting conditions.

Companies also need to integrate operational data with experience data by making use of customer experience feedback platforms like Qualtrics, for example. Combine smart connected assets using IOT to advanced processing capabilities like AI, and logistics companies gain a holistic view over their entire supply network, taking the guesswork out of predicting and identifying emerging opportunities.

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