DHL said supply chains must be able to keep up with the rapid transformation of the healthcare industry as it necessitates more advanced solutions. 

In a white paper, "Delivering Next-Level Healthcare", DHL noted six major trends that are reshaping the life sciences and healthcare landscape: patient-centric healthcare, advanced therapies, digital technologies, new industry ecosystems, sustainable solutions, and resilience.

"Revolutionary therapies reflect the accelerating pace of medical progress and set the stage for a transformative shift in life sciences and healthcare delivery with patient-centric models, digital technologies, and environmentally conscious practices. This, therefore, drives the emergence of new business ecosystems," says Claudia Roa, president of the Life Sciences and Healthcare Sector at DHL Customer Solutions & Innovation.

"The future holds a paradigm shift as next-level healthcare necessitates the creation of next-level healthcare supply chains," she added.

DHL noted that the increasing individualization in life sciences and healthcare also demands new sustainability concepts.

For instance, the way people seek, choose, and access treatment has changed, with 90% of Generation Z consumers now engaging in online research for healthcare costs and options before visiting a physician.

Additionally, DHL noted that the development of clinical trials had seen a shift, where 89% of sponsors use technology to enable a decentralized model in at least one of their clinical trials.

It said that in this case, the reduced "people movement" would be replaced by an increased shipment of pharmaceutical goods to an even more diversified destination landscape.

Demographic and industry trends are also driving change in the consumer healthcare segment, according to the white paper.

It noted that pressure on public health spending, an ageing population, and increasing consumer focus on health and wellness are all contributing to a 12% growth forecast by 2025.

Additionally, there are new service models and product subscription models emerging, increasing e-commerce sales volume and new product categories. This drives additional supply chain and logistics requirements.

Another major trend is the growth of new therapeutic approaches, including biopharmaceutical products and gene-based medicine.

DHL said the market for such therapies is forecasted to grow from around US US$5 billion in 2012 to almost US $37 billion by 2027.

Investments in cold chain logistics

Additionally, it said that biopharmaceutical products are delicate and expensive and need to be handled carefully at every stage in the supply chain.

"The pharmaceutical industry, therefore, invests over US$17 billion per year in cold chain logistics. This has led to a diverse range of cold chain logistics services, encompassing shipments requiring temperatures as low as -196 degrees Celsius for ultracold frozen products," DHL said.

"Naturally, this growing demand for complex and often more individualized shipment solutions makes sustainability another prominent trend, one that also resonates across other industries," it added.

The white paper revealed that while 75% of pharmaceutical companies successfully reduced their Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2021, Scope 3 emissions account for a significant 83% of the industry's climate impact.

Surprisingly, with this, the pharmaceutical sector exhibits a higher carbon intensity compared to the global automotive industry.

DHL said the identified trends are reshaping healthcare delivery across various sectors of life sciences and healthcare industries, including medical devices, consumer healthcare, pharmaceuticals, clinical trials, and governmental and non-governmental organizations.

"These transformations place new and sometimes varying demands on healthcare supply chains, either by introducing complexity to existing processes or by necessitating the adoption of entirely new supply chain models," it added.

DHL further noted that this includes ranging from improved visibility and distribution control over-segmentation of supply chains and distribution channels to rigorous protection of the shipments and end-to-end real-time condition monitoring — to ensure product integrity.

Meanwhile, as a result of vaccine shortages during the Covid-19 pandemic, DHL said countries are considering a complete overhaul of logistics processes. This includes exploring the possibility of increasing in-country production of critical healthcare products, stockpiling supplies, and switching to more transports of raw materials and active pharmaceutical ingredients.

DHL's white paper shares eight key aspects for companies to consider in futureproofing their supply chain: cold chain capabilities, white glove services, direct-to-X delivery models, supply chain digitalization, supply chain orchestration, sustainable supply chain solutions, inventory optimization, and regulatory compliance.

"Companies must, for example, prioritize the scalability, versatility, and agility of their cold chain networks to effectively cater to changing demands," the logistics company said.

It added that patients now expect the same level of choice and convenience in healthcare as they experience in procuring other products and services, such as online ordering or direct home delivery, which calls for logistics capabilities that deliver high service levels and possess the flexibility to adapt to the unique requirements of users.

"An extreme challenge in this context is the autologous cell therapies, where treatments are derived from an individual's blood, which requires a tightly controlled two-way supply chain for each patient."

DHL said ensuring personalized treatments reach the right patient every time creates rigorous chain-of-identity and chain-of-custody requirements, and because these treatments are still relatively rare in clinical settings, the final-mile service needs to be seamless, intuitive and designed around the needs of the patient and their physician.

"To achieve success in reshaping their supply chain, companies must first establish a clear vision of their emerging priorities," the DHL white paper added.