Burgeoning logistic demands causing Qatar's medicine shortage

Qatar: The current shortage of medicine supply in Qatar has been a direct result of the region's inferior logistic capabilities, which continues to stifle manufacturer access and ultimately leaves consumers in the lurch.

Maher Kheder, Business Development Director, Pharma World Holdings, a logistics company in the Middle East, claims that international manufacturers rely too heavily on local distributors who do not have the tools, training, financial backbone or updated software infrastructure to handle ever-increasing logistics requirements.

"A portion of the forecasting responsibility needs to be given to the manufacturers, who often don't fully look into local distributor capabilities. Supply forecasting should be shared, decided and agreed upon by both parties," said Kheder.

"Out-of-date IT infrastructure is another major logistic hindrance. Latest ERP (enterprise resource planning) support systems maintain a combined database including a variety of business functions such as manufacturing, supply chain management, financials and customer relationship management," he added.

This means that multiple parties, from multiple locations, can constantly monitor all aspects of the logistics process, at a glance. Many local distributors do not have the capital to invest in latest technology, and if they do, these systems are often not used to their optimum.

Third-party logistics providers like Pharma World Holdings, although prevalent abroad, are new to the Middle East. Third-party logistics providers work between manufacturers and distributors allowing for more effective and efficient forward and reverse flow and storage of goods, services, and related information between point of origin and the point of consumption to better meet customers' requirements.

The best results are achieved when manufacturers focus on their areas of expertise, including production, development, quality assurance and quality control, and distributors focus on their key areas including collection, sales and marketing.