medical supply chain – OM in the News

Zipline Drones to Serve 10,000 Locations This Year

Zipline’s amazing delivery drone technology, which launched in Rwanda six years ago, has now made over a half a million deliveries of life-saving supplies in several African nations and Japan.

Currently, Zipline drones deliver to 3,000 hospitals around the world, and the company plans to serve 10,000 locations by the end of the year. Its sights are set on active drone delivery systems for a variety of purposes in the U.S. by the end of 2023.

Video Spotlight:

By Lisa M. Spencer|2023-04-26T07:44:14+00:00April 26, 2023|Tags: healthcare, logistics, medical supply chain, product design, quality, redundancy, reliability, safety, service design, sustainability, technology|

UPS Adds Drone Deliveries of COVID-19 Vaccines

UPS relies on Matternet M2 drones for rapid delivery of time and temperate sensitive COVID vaccines at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

UPS launched its Flight Forward subsidiary in 2019 focusing on healthcare deliveries by drones. Using drones to deliver vaccines not only increases vaccine availability to rural areas but also decreases logistics costs.

Video Spotlight:

Verizon, UPS, and Skyward announce connected drone delivery | CES 2021 (Jan 12, 2021, Verizon)

By Anita Lee-Post, Ph.D.|2021-10-31T07:58:04+00:00October 31, 2021|Tags: delivery, drones, logistics, medical supply chain, transportation, vaccine|

Managing Demand for Hand Sanitizer and Masks

To unclog retail shelves and warehouses of excess hand sanitizer as the pandemic wanes, retailers such as Target, B&R Stores, and Staples are discounting the anti-germ products or offloading them to auction sites.

However, Gojo Industries is expecting the increased awareness of hygiene practices to last. They added three manufacturing facilities in the past year to continue producing Purell hand sanitizer.

Video Spotlight:

A Look Inside Purell’s Factory After COVID Increased Demand (May 20, 2021, NBC News)

By Anita Lee-Post, Ph.D.|2021-10-20T05:47:44+00:00October 19, 2021|Tags: demand forecasts, excess inventory, inventory, medical supply chain, sustainability|

India’s Short-Lived Ban on Exports of Coronavirus Drug

As demand for potential coronavirus drugs surges during this pandemic, several countries have banned the export of these drugs. As many drugs and/or their key ingredients are made in a handful of countries, export bans create tremendous problem and potential shortages.

India announced a partial ban on the export of hydroxychloroquine in late March. Following a threatened retaliation from President Trump, the ban was at least partially lifted.

Several researchers are studying the affect of this drug in combination with the antibiotic […]

By Ross L. Fink, Ph.D.|2020-04-27T10:16:51+00:00April 29, 2020|Tags: export ban, lean, medical supply chain, outsourcing, sole source, supply chain risk|