AI can turn pharma distribution from reactive to predictive
India’s pharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities are globally recognised, but the distribution layer that connects medicines to pharmacies and patients remains highly fragmented. The challenge, however, is not necessarily that the sector lacks technology. Instead, many of its stakeholders have adopted digital tools in isolation, leaving critical data trapped within disconnected systems.
Sagar Chauhan, Co-Founder and CPTO, DocPharma, believes this “siloed digitisation” is one of the biggest barriers to building a genuinely connected pharmaceutical distribution network.
“Nearly every node runs some software,” says Chauhan. Manufacturers use platforms such as SAP or Oracle, while more than 60,000 stockists and 800,000 retail chemists use desktop billing tools. But many of these systems were originally designed for local accounting, GST and billing rather than functioning as connected nodes within a wider supply network.
As a result, information remains locked in private databases, while distributors have little incentive to expose data relating to margins, informal credit...
Copyright of this story solely belongs to www.expresscomputer.in. To see the full text click HERE
