TRENDS
Disruptions in Supply Chain Supply chain experts discuss the challenges, complications – and opportunities – that the pandemic has created for medical distribution By Pete Mercer
Over the last year and a half, the medical distribution supply chain has seen numerous challenges and complica-
tions, resulting in massive disruptions throughout the supply chain. Billy Harris, CEO of Sri Trang USA, Inc., and Mark Seitz, President and CEO of NDC, Inc., recently spoke in a joint session at Share Moving Media’s Healthcare Supply Chain and Distribution Summit, sharing their insights on the current state of the medical distribution supply chain and how the industry can move forward.
Sri Trang USA (STU) is headquartered in Tampa, Florida with distribution centers throughout the United States. STU serves the general purpose and exam disposal glove markets, including healthcare, dental, veterinary and food service, and others. Sri Trang USA is wholly owned by Sri Trang Gloves Thailand (STGT). As one of the world’s leading glove production companies, and the manufacturer of Ventyv brands, STGT has five state-ofthe-art production facilities with its first factory established in January 1989. Currently the largest glove producer in Thailand, Sri Trang has 12 glove manufacturing facilities on five campuses producing 35-billion disposable gloves and exports to 160+ countries. Ventyv is a full line of disposable hand protection products, including Polymed, one of the longest-standing global brands in the hand protection category. NDC is a leading global provider of both upstream and downstream healthcare supply chain products and support. By offering unique solutions and services, NDC helps their healthcare distributor partners compete in an increasingly complex marketplace. They partner with over 46
January 2022
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700 manufacturers to bring operational efficiency through customized supply chain solutions.
Current state of the medical distribution supply chain While it’s certainly no surprise that the global supply chain was facing
to approximately $30,000 at the height of the pandemic. Additionally, there is a significant infrastructure compromise with serious labor constrictions and exploding demand. Many organizations do not have the resources to support the new demand levels.
Diversifying sourcing and manufacturing capabilities could greatly benefit the supply chain by not relying on the same suppliers for everything you need, which can relieve pressures on suppliers. a lot of challenges, Seitz and Harris went into detail on the global challenges that emerged with the pandemic. Harris said, “This pandemic has been different from the bird flu, swine flu, Y2K, SARS and anything else that can create any kind of disruption in the supply chain. This was a world issue.” Seitz explained that during the pandemic it became harder and more expensive to secure a shipping container. Prior to COVID, the average cost for a shipping container was $3,000; however, that cost increased
For Sri Trang, glove production skyrocketed. “We experienced a similar situation back in 1988, which was when the FDA issued universal precautions and said, ‘If you come in contact with bodily fluids, you must glove, gown, and mask,’” Harris explained. “That was all related to the AIDS virus. Between then and current day, there have been 20 other events that have occurred. In 1980, we would estimate the US market was about 15 billion gloves – disposable and exam – that were probably used. In today’s market, we’re looking at about 70 billion.”
