Understanding the pharma supply chain

Research and development marks the starting point of supply chain management in the pharmaceutical industry, where new medicines are discovered, tested, and prepared for entry into the wider supply chain. This stage involves identifying potential drug compounds, conducting laboratory research, and progressing promising candidates into pre-clinical and clinical trials.

Before a medicine can move into manufacturing and distribution, it must undergo rigorous regulatory review and approval to demonstrate its safety, quality, and effectiveness. Only once these requirements are met can the product progress through the next stages of the pharmaceutical supply chain.

Sourcing and procurement are critical in the early stage of supply chain management in the pharmaceutical industry, involving the identification, qualification, and purchasing of raw materials from approved suppliers. These materials must meet strict quality and regulatory standards to ensure they are suitable for use in pharmaceutical manufacturing and do not compromise product safety or compliance.

Manufacturing is the stage of supply chain management in the pharmaceutical industry where raw materials are transformed into finished pharmaceutical products. This process takes place in highly controlled production environments and follows strict good manufacturing practice (GMP) requirements to ensure consistency, safety and product quality.

Inventory management within supply chain management in the pharmaceutical industry focuses on maintaining the correct levels of stock at each stage of the supply chain. This ensures medicines are available to meet patient demand while avoiding excess stock, waste, product expiry, and unnecessary storage costs.

Inventory management within supply chain management in the pharmaceutical industry focuses on maintaining the correct levels of stock at each stage of the supply chain. This ensures medicines are available to meet patient demand while avoiding excess stock, waste, product expiry, and unnecessary storage costs.

At every step of supply chain management in the pharmaceutical industry, quality assurance and control are fundamental to ensuring that medicines remain safe, effective and fully compliant with regulatory standards. Before, during, and after manufacturing, raw materials and finished products undergo rigorous checks to confirm identity, purity, stability, and consistency.

These processes are supported by strict regulatory frameworks and documented procedures that govern how products are produced, tested, handled and released for distribution. To understand more about how compliance is embedded across global operations, see our compliance page.

Proper packaging and labeling are critical components of supply chain management in the pharmaceutical industry. During this stage, finished pharmaceutical products are carefully packaged to protect them from damage, contamination, and environmental factors during transport and storage. Labeling then provides essential information — such as dosage instructions, expiry dates, storage conditions, and regulatory compliance data — ensuring that healthcare professionals and patients can use the medicine safely and correctly.

Warehousing and storage form a vital part of supply chain management in the pharmaceutical industry, creating a secure environment where finished products can be held before distribution. Depending on the nature of the medicine — for example, temperature-sensitive drugs or biologics — storage often requires specialized, temperature-controlled facilities to preserve product stability and quality. For details on how temperature-controlled logistics are applied, see our temperature control solutions page.

Cold chain logistics is a specialized part of supply chain management in the pharmaceutical industry that focuses on the controlled handling and transportation of temperature-sensitive medications. From refrigerated storage to validated packaging and monitored transport, every step is designed to maintain required temperature ranges and prevent product degradation.

This continuous temperature control is essential for preserving the safety, quality, and effectiveness of sensitive products such as vaccines, biologics, and certain injectable medicines. Learn more about how temperature-sensitive shipments are managed through our pharmaceutical cold chain solutions.

Distribution is the stage of supply chain management in the pharmaceutical industry that involves transporting medicines from warehouses to the next point in the supply network, such as pharmacies, hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities. At this point in the process, there is a strong focus on the timely, secure, and traceable delivery of products to ensure patient access is not disrupted.

This stage requires carefully coordinated logistics, validated transport processes, and robust security measures to protect product integrity during transit. Learn more about how these services are delivered through our pharmaceutical storage and distribution solutions.

Dispensing is the final stage of supply chain management in the pharmaceutical industry, where medicines are supplied directly to patients through pharmacies, hospitals, clinics, and other authorized channels. At this point, healthcare professionals play a central role by providing guidance on dosage, storage, and safe use to support effective treatment and patient safety.