Responding to Capacity Needs in the Life Sciences and Pharmaceuticals Industry
With its latest warehouse expansion in Garner, North Carolina, MD Logistics is meeting the needs of life science and pharmaceutical companies seeking to secure warehousing space.
The Challenge
In recent years, as the life sciences and pharmaceuticals industry has grown, it has also experienced a shortage of compliant, cGMP warehouse storage space, which was exacerbated by the pandemic.
Early out of stocks due to increased demand and subsequent long lead times on replenishment orders, created a need to keep more safety stock on hand to be better positioned to respond to changing supply chain demands.
The industry was also burdened when challenges within the global supply chain arose, due to the reliance on internationally sourced components and manufactured products. Frequent delays and shipping challenges created a desire in many companies to reshore manufacturing operations within their supply chain.
While this practice will certainly help cut down on delays, holding products in bulk comes with its own set of challenges. One being finding the available warehousing space to store these components, the second being sourcing a logistics provider with the appropriate storage environments available.
The Solution
For some in the industry, the answer to the challenge of finding available space is to expand their operations and open new warehouses. Meanwhile, others prefer to dedicate their space to manufacturing and outsource warehousing to a 3PL.
Working with a seasoned supply chain partner, who has experience in the industry, as well as growth and expansion initiatives, is key. These are some elements to consider:
- Location. In making the decision to expand, understanding where the greatest need is, geographically, is of the utmost importance.
- Experience. There are challenges that arise when expanding operations and opening new warehouses. Working with a team of professionals who has a proven track record with opening facilities and expanding into new regions is critical to the success of an outsourced partnership.
- Support. A robust project team with subject matter experts from both sides (client and 3PL) is required to guide the project to successful completion. Upfront agreement on project scope, timelines, quality, and IT requirements, as well as a regular meeting cadence are all critical pieces to the success of an onboarding project.
Our team at MD Logistics has witnessed the struggle for those in the life sciences and pharmaceuticals industry to find available warehousing space for their products and components. We have heard from clients and contacts within the industry how severe this need is.
This need, coupled with our experience in scaling operations, has led to the expansion of our sixth warehouse in Garner, North Carolina. Garner is located within the Research Triangle Park, the nation’s largest and leading science park, with more than 600 companies within the life sciences and pharmaceuticals industry calling this region home.
The addition of this warehouse will not only allow our team to respond to the needs of our existing clients, but also to needs within the greater industry, as well.
To learn more:
[email protected]
317-838-8900
www.mdlogistics.com