Summer Saga 2020 : Understanding Highly Fragmented Pharma Supply Chain Through My Internship At Ascent (AHWSPL)

Understanding the chaos: Link between laboratory and the marketplace

Aiming to understand the pharmaceutical sector, I came across numerous upheavals the industry is facing. India is the largest provider of generic drugs globally. The level of competition is obvious by knowing the fact that there are 2,500 salts sold under 60,000 brand names at varying price. Each well-known top pharmaceutical company has 4,000-6,000 company stockiest on an average and with the help of distributors they cater to over 8 lakh pharmacies or chemists, on an average. The manufacturers lose sight of their products when they get past stockiest or distributors. Average inventory is around 231 days in the supply chain and a minimum product hand change is 4. This is the space that Ascent is determined to innovate. Offering solution to the Brands having increased visibility across the supply chain.

The concepts learnt in the previous semester came handy in analyzing numerous reports covering various aspects of supply chain in the Pharma sector. I began preparing for the internship by studying history of government policies right from pharmaceutical policy to NPPP to draft National Logistics Policy.

Leading with Example

Given the pandemic, there was a disruption in the supply chain across the sectors. Ascent is one of those rare companies that focused on adapting quickly and committed to delivering in any given scenario. Amidst the disruption, they were able to deliver urgent requirements to even remotely located pharmacies (300 kms away). They ensured to motivate their team on a daily basis, that led to over 90% attendance. A few employees even rented apartments near their respective warehouses to protect their families during the lockdown.

Impact on Interns

The company did not delay our joining date and from day 1 we were made aware of the difficulties faced during those challenging times when we joined the team virtually. Ascent with its idea to provide e-passes, insurance, digital order management, e-payments, tie-ups with lenders for their partners made them a preferred choice for pharmacies to place their orders online. Inherently, it being a B2B company, they focused on creating a hassle-free experience both for top pharmaceutical companies and pharmacies.

The interns were not restricted by any particular project rather were given an opportunity to contribute as much as possible. It gave me a great learning exposure into branding and digital marketing even during the virtual internship. We also conducted market research for popular OTC brands and came up with recommendations. Gaining consumer insights is equally important for a B2B marketplace as well. On a personal level, I became quite a part of the family and started contributing until late hours when required. As rightly quoted “It’s all about finding the calm in the chaos”, even after completing the internship, the interns from various colleges are still in touch with each other and with the team at Ascent. I feel that positive work environment led to better productivity and reliability.