Supply Chain Analyses Reveal the Real Cost and Time to Transport Critical Global Health Products
Transportation time and cost analysis during COVID-19 shaped how a major procurer chose vendors and diversified their supply network.
In the turmoil of the pandemic, transportation capacity became a constraint, delaying shipments of pharmaceuticals, biomedical devices, test kits, personal protection equipment, and other critical items to respond to COVID-19. At the same time, transportation cost skyrocketed.
Our client advised a procurer of pharmaceutical products in an evaluation of their transportation network. We conducted an analysis of transportation time and cost. The analysis revealed the substantial variability in transportation time before, during and after COVID-19, how cost in different transportation modes varied, and how various transportation routes were impacted in different ways. We were also able to disentangle the effects of production time, booking time, and actual shipping time.
The results shaped how the procurer strategically chose future vendors and diversifies their supply network to reduce future impact of transportation disruptions.