UPS Survey

Time to Act on Untapped Opportunites in Healthcare Industry

MIAMI, FL--(Marketwired - Sep 23, 2014) - UPS (NYSE: UPS) -- An environment of increasing risks, complex regulations and continuing cost pressures is impeding healthcare executives from moving quickly to seize untapped industry opportunities, according to the 7^th annual UPS "Pain in the (Supply) Chain" survey. Globally, healthcare executives are planning for strategic partnerships and technology investment to mitigate risks and capitalize on growth opportunities.

The most significant factors contributing to uncertainty in the healthcare supply chain are more stringent regulations and increased product protection challenges. For the third consecutive year, regulatory compliance is the top supply chain pain point, cited by 60 percent of respondents. Further, 78 percent cite regulatory compliance and increasing regulations as a top trend driving business and supply chain changes. Product protection also is increasingly challenging in a highly global marketplace, with 46 percent citing product security as a top challenge and 40 percent citing product damage and spoilage as a top concern.

Economic factors are also at play, with 49 percent of those surveyed still feeling an impact from the economic downturn six years later. The highest percentage of respondents to express this are located in the U.S., where 60 percent of healthcare logistics decision makers cite economic concerns. In this global economic environment, cost management remains top-of-mind, with 44 percent citing it as a top supply chain concern.

Despite operating in a risk-inherent environment, only 26 percent of healthcare executives cite contingency planning as a top supply chain concern. Meanwhile, 34 percent of those surveyed in Asia and 22 percent in Latin America say that more than one-quarter of their companies' supply chains were impacted by unplanned events in the past three to five years. Specific challenges to addressing business continuity include events being too unlikely or infrequent (61 percent), back-up infrastructure being too expensive to deploy (46 percent) and little to no prioritization being given to this area (42 percent) versus other more urgent matters.