UTi Pharma is a 21st century response to challenging southern African healthcare needs. More people need affordable medicine, in more places, more often. Wellness is a right, and this is as true for those who live in townships and distant rural settlements as those who live in suburbia. The solution to meeting the needs of these multiple markets, from manufacturer to dispenser to patient, is in UTi Pharma, which fuses the global reach and heritage of its parent company UTi Worldwide Inc, the innovation of pharma distributor IHD and national footprint of fleet operator Kite Logistics.
UTi Pharma’s vision is to create global supply chains that extend Good Distribution Practice and Good Manufacturing Practice from production through the distribution channel to pharmacies and patients … all under the virtual control and management of our manufacturers (clients). We live in a world where geography and time have become one, where manufacturers need transparency to control the quality of their product from production to retail, where dispensers (customers) depend on product being available when needed, and where patients get the “real thing” – original source medicine, guaranteed. Already, there are UTi Pharma operations in Europe laying the foundations of a global pharmaceutical distribution network that recognises the market’s demands and will change the way pharma distribution takes place.
Global reach and heritage …
IHD was acquired in 2004 by UTi Worldwide Inc, a global leader in integrated supply chain solutions headquartered in the United States. UTi Worldwide’s heritage and global footprint (19,000 people, 500 offices, 320 cities, 260 logistics centres in 64 countries, and 180 independent agent-owned offices) gives UTi Pharma the ability to move seamlessly from market to market and the advantage of accessing UTi Worldwide’s full suite of services. They include warehousing, order fulfillment, distribution, contract logistics and quality control; air and ocean freight forwarding and customs brokerage; transportation management and optimisation service and truck brokerage and supply chain management services.
UTiPharma’s evolvement is a logical extension of UTi Worldwide’s CLIENTasONE strategy, which followed two previous strategic phases. First Leap built a worldwide network of freight forwarding and customs brokerage capabilities, and it was followed by Next Leap, which created global supply chain capabilities that clients wanted. CLIENTasONE is the logical successor to both First Leap and Next Leap, and is adding value to each client by providing world-class services in a standalone basis and solutions in an integrated end to end process.
Local innovation…
While UTi Pharma’s evolvement is a logical development of UTi Worldwide’s strategy, its origins are to be found in the radical innovation of its predecessors, IHD and Kite Logistics, and the courage of four leading healthcare companies who in 1993 wanted a distribution channel that ensured quality and transparency not only for themselves but also for , dispensers and patients. And UTi Pharma’s direct distribution model gives them just that.
It ensures product integrity … pharmaceutical products are highly sensitive and need specialised cold storage and handling conditions to guarantee treatment efficacy and patient safety. UTi Pharma doesn’t own any product, but is responsible for ensuring effective manufacturer control of the distribution process and above all brand integrity.
Direct distribution helps reduce grey market trading. The trade in stolen, counterfeit or expired pharmaceutical products is always a threat to patient safety, and UTi Pharma’s validated systems provide a full audit trail to prevent grey market trading.
It also gives the manufacturer direct access to the end dispenser. They, along with the prescriber of the medicine, are the only stakeholders in the distribution chain who interact directly with the patient.
Direct distribution also means manufacturers can leverage economies of scale … and reduce costs of finished goods, warehousing and distribution, which ultimately leads to cost benefits for patients.