Hyper-Precise Delivery of Life-Saving Radiopharmaceuticals with Decision AI: $11.25M in Savings
Overview
A global pharma company delivering over 1.5M doses of PET Radiopharmaceuticals to ~3000 imaging centers in the US & globally, operates a complex and high-stakes supply chain. With 42 distribution hubs across the U.S. handling about 5,000 shipments per day. The company faces the challenge of ensuring accurate, on-time delivery of medications that directly impact patient care. Any delay or mishandling of these shipments could result in therapeutic failure, patient risk exposure, and increased liability.
The company’s operations require meticulous tracking of not only shipments but also the lead lined transport containers used to deliver these critical medications. The complexity of the supply chain, combined with the need for real-time visibility, predictive insights, and automated compliance, led the global firm to search for a solution that could optimize operations while safeguarding patient health.
The company partnered with Decklar to implement a transformative solution combining real-time visibility with AI-powered decisions, enabling intelligent orchestration of every shipment, asset.
The Challenge
In order to meet the demands of a time-sensitive supply chain, this global pharma giant needed to address several critical operational challenges:
- Lack of Real-Time Visibility:
They lacked visibility into the precise location, condition, and timing of shipment deliveries. Existing systems provided basic tracking, but predicting delivery times and ensuring precise, on-time deliveries was impossible. - Manual Goods Receipt Process:
The manual goods receipt note (GRN) process was slow, error-prone, and inefficient. Compliance logs were inconsistent, and delivery verification could take hours or days, causing bottlenecks and delays in operations. - Lead Lined Transport Container Management:
The firm’s lead lined transport containers were used to transport critical pharmaceuticals and needed to be tracked carefully. However, managing these containers across multiple hubs, and ensuring their return to the originating pharmacy, was inefficient and costly. This led to asset losses, cycle delays, and unnecessary capital expenses were frequent.
What They Tried & Why It Didn't Work
Before Decklar, the firm tried multiple solutions to address these issues, but each fell short of meeting their operational and regulatory needs.
- ERP/TMS/WMS Systems (such as Oracle or SAP):
The firm’s existing systems handled logistics but were built on outdated transit times and lacked real-time updates on shipment status. These systems failed to provide the predictive & real-time insights needed to ensure timely, condition-compliant deliveries and did not offer visibility into the exact location or status of shipments in transit. - Carrier Aggregated Visibility Providers:
These systems offered basic shipment location visibility but did not provide real-time tracking or insights into the condition of the shipments, especially at a lead lined transport container level. This lack of actionable data made it difficult for the firm to respond proactively to delays or disruptions in transit. - Track-and-Trace Solutions:
While these solutions allowed tracking shipments, they were did not provide the required insights to ensure on-time delivery or to optimize their logistics process. - Manual Workarounds & In-House IT Developments:
The company relied on manual tracking methods like phone calls, installing tracking apps on driver’s phones, etc. to manage shipment status. However, these solutions were error-prone and didn’t address tracking of the lead lined containers, causing delays in updates and leading to inconsistencies in tracking. Nor did it offer contextual intelligence for decision making.
Enter Decklar’s Real-Time Decision AI with Visibility
Decklar deployed a comprehensive solution that combined Decision AI with real-time visibility to address all of the global pharma giant’s challenges.
- BLE sensors were attached to each lead lined transport container.
- This allowed the firm to track location, condition, and status of every product.
- Hyper-precise ETA predictions enabled and automated the goods receipt & quality release processes.
- The solution empowered accurate forecasting of when medications would reach the patient with high confidence.
Day 1: Operational Visibility Across Cold Chain
- Operational Transparency: The firm tracks 5,000 shipments per day with complete visibility into the location, condition, and status of every lead lined transport container.
- Efficiency Gains: The firm immediately saw a 30% reduction in manual effort, enabling staff to focus on value-added tasks rather than chasing down shipment statuses.
Day 2: Decision AI at Scale
By Day 2, Decklar’s Decision AI began delivering second-order value through its predictive capabilities:
- Hyper-Precise ETA Driving Proactive Actions: When delays were detected, the system recommended adjustments, such as rerouting or prioritizing certain shipments, to ensure timely delivery.
- Automated GRN Process: Goods receipt was automated, ensuring instant updates to compliance records and eliminating delays in product delivery reconciliations and inventory tracking process.
- Automated Quality Release: The firm was able to anticipate quality issues & initiate corrective action, such as re-shipping a dose or rerouting deliveries to avoid inefficacy of an administered dose.
Why Decision AI with Visibility Was Needed Together
Visibility provided location and, at times, condition updates for shipments, but they lacked the critical context to make informed operational decisions. The firm could track where shipments were, but without real-time visibility contextual to when they would actually arrive or whether the conditions of the medications were optimal, they couldn’t ensure timely, compliant deliveries.
Without real-time shipment status and detailed insights into the condition and location of the shipments, Decision AI would have lacked the necessary data to make accurate predictions and recommendations. AI needs live data to adjust predictions dynamically — helping identify delays, product quality anomalies, and ensure compliance with medical and regulatory standards.
Together, Decision AI + Visibility solution allowed the firm to track every shipment in real-time and take the right actions, whether optimizing delivery routes, ensuring timely compliance, or making proactive adjustments to avoid delays or disruptions. This integrated approach enhanced delivery performance, ensured regulatory compliance, and optimized the supply chain efficiency.
ROI Summary
Direct Benefits:
- Goods Receipt Automation: Reduced manual labor by 30%, saving $7.5M/year in labor costs.
- Quality Release Automation: Automated the quality release process, saving $3.75M/year by cutting down processing time, compliance issue, and wastages.
Indirect Benefits:
- Enhanced Patient Safety & Compliance: Reduced therapeutic failure risks by ensuring on-time, optimal delivery conditions, saving $4M/year in liability and medical costs.
- Reduced Liability: Avoided liability risks and compliance penalties from delayed or mishandled shipments, saving $2.5M/year in potential fines and legal fees.
- Regulatory Compliance: Automated proof of delivery and quality release logs, reducing audit failures and compliance penalties, saving $1.5M/year in avoided penalties and internal audit costs.
Total Annual ROI:
$7.5M (Goods Receipt) + $3.75M (Quality Release) = $11.25M + Millions in Indirect Savings on Exposures & Compliance
Looking Ahead
Given the success of Decklar’s solution in the U.S., the global pharma giant is considering expanding the platform into European markets and exploring its potential for mobile clinics in remote regions. The ability to ensure timely delivery and patient safety in these regions is crucial for continuing their global operations.
Summary
By implementing Decklar’s Decision AI with Real-Time Visibility, this global pharma giant achieved a significant transformation in their operations. The firm was able to reduce therapeutic failure, patient risk exposure, and liability, while improving operational inefficiencies. The combination of Decision AI + Visibility allowed them to track every shipment, predict delivery times, and automate compliance, which resulted in a highly efficient and predictable & safe supply chain — one that is ready to scale to new markets and support life-saving treatments around the world.
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