CARGOCONNECT-JANUARY2025 - Flipbook - Page 73
PHARMA SUPPLY CHAIN : FEATURE SPECIAL
digital tools, allows for proactive market adjustments.
To ensure resilience, Reliance Retail diversifies its
sourcing strategy by balancing local and global suppliers, mitigating risks from geopolitical tensions and
natural disruptions.
The principle of reliability stems from robust foundations and technological integration, with end-to-end
visibility powered by AI, IoT, and Blockchain—allowing
seamless demand forecasting and ensuring Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) compliance. Bhatia also
emphasises sustainability, including reducing carbon
footprints, promoting circular economy practices,
and fostering collaborations across the value chain to
achieve shared decarbonisation goals.
Similarly, Bhuvan Asthana, Vice President of
Strategy, JWL Cold Store advocates for a comprehensive
supply chain strategy to address modern challenges.
“Resilience, e昀케ciency, and ethical practices lie at the
heart of our approach. Sustainability, digitalisation,
automation, Blockchain, and continuous improvement
are key elements ensuring our supply chain’s adaptability and transparency,” he explains. Cross-functional
collaboration, supplier engagement, and stringent
monitoring mechanisms further ensure readiness to
navigate complexities, Asthana highlights while shining
the light on automation and Blockchain as pivotal for
achieving transparency and traceability in cold chain
logistics, thus aligning operational excellence with
ethical standards.
VIJAY VASHISHT
Vice President, Safexpress
We are focussing on building a resilient and flexible supply chain that can
adapt to sudden changes in demand,
disruptions, and emerging trends. This
holistic strategy integrates sustainability, technology, workforce development,
and risk management while maintaining customer focus and cost
efficiency. We prioritise upskilling programmes to equip individuals
with expertise in logistics operations, warehouse management, and
emerging technologies. Lean practices, like just-in-time inventory,
have become essential to our operations, helping minimise waste and
operational costs while fostering a future-ready, agile supply chain.
TEJAS MEHTA
Assistant Vice President and Head of
Logistics and MSS, Reliance Life Sciences
Adapting to Emerging Trends
and Driving Resilience
Asthana elaborates on how current trends shape supply
chain strategies. “Geopolitical tensions are pushing
us to diversify sourcing and reduce reliance on single
regions, while technological advancements like AI,
Blockchain, and automation improve e昀케ciency and
visibility,” he notes. Sustainability pressures drive
eco-friendly sourcing and carbon reduction strategies,
while consumer demand for faster, personalised, and
sustainable products spurs investments in omnichannel
ful昀椀lment and last-mile delivery. As Asthana points
out, “Data security is becoming a top priority as we
integrate more digital tools. These trends will require us
to adapt and innovate to stay resilient and competitive.”
The pandemic reshaped procurement
strategies across industries. In our
case, it reinforced the importance of
agility. While we have risen to meet the
challenging operational requirements
posed by the pandemic, sudden surges in demand for long-lead items
remain a formidable challenge. Additionally, the stricter regulatory
environment and the extended timelines required for implementing
change controls have added more layers of complexity to our operations.
Through cohesive team efforts, strong inter-departmental coordination,
and the valuable guidance of senior leadership, we have significantly
improved our ability to adapt and thrive under such difficult circumstances.
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