Supply chain and pharmacy leaders who engage in cross-functional collaboration with their supply chain counterparts, embrace automation and data-driven solutions, and leverage AI to solve real-world problems are shaping the future of pharmacy supply chain.
These were the key takeaways from the Tecsys Pharmacy Supply Chain Leadership Summit, which took place March 13-14, 2025, in Philadelphia. The event, sponsored by Deloitte, Zebra Technologies, Terso Solutions and QuicksortRx, brought together healthcare pharmacy and supply chain leaders from across the U.S. for robust discussions on actionable pharmacy supply chain management strategies to drive efficiency, cost savings and better patient care.
This recap highlights key takeaways and next steps that pharmacy leaders at any stage of their supply chain optimization journey can apply in their healthcare organizations.
Strengthening pharmacy and supply chain collaboration
The Pharmacy Supply Chain Leadership Summit presented a unique opportunity for medical/surgical supply chain and pharmacy leaders to convene in one space and hear multidisciplinary duos share lessons learned and best practices for impactful collaboration.
The message was clear — cross-functional alignment is key to cost control, patient safety and operational efficiency. Peer-to-peer conversations explored successful strategies and technologies in the medical/surgical supply chain that pharmacy leaders can apply to their own modernization efforts.
In telling their stories of challenges and opportunities encountered in their journeys, the importance of collaboration with hospital information technology (IT) leaders became evident. Both pharmacy and supply chain leaders agreed that IT involvement at the beginning of any technology project is essential to success.
Innovation in pharmacy supply chain management
During individual presentations and panel discussions, pharmacy leaders spoke to how automation and AI serve as enabling technologies to transform inventory management, reducing waste and improving procurement efficiency.
Discussions focused on the need for pharmacy to shift from reactive supply chain management to predictive, data-driven strategies. AI use cases in pharmacy highlighted the need for curated and organized data that supports the transformation from information to knowledge.
While the medical/surgical supply chain in most healthcare organizations is well ahead of pharmacy in embracing cloud-based technology solutions for digital data capture and sharing, those in attendance pointed to collaboration among supply chain and pharmacy leaders as helping to bridge this innovation gap.
Navigating regulatory pressures and compliance strategies
The Pharmacy Supply Chain Leadership Summit featured a presentation that delved deep into regulatory changes and pricing complexities. When asked about their biggest concerns around rolling out a consolidated pharmacy service center (CPSC), summit attendees named risks to their 340B Drug Discount Programs as a top fear.
Discussions turned to technologies that can help CPSCs stay ahead of challenges and remain compliant when distributing to different types of 340B entities. This highlighted the need for an end-to-end solution that centralizes pharmacy operations with integrated workflows for regulated processes.
Securing executive buy-in
Securing C-suite buy-in for pharmacy technology investments was cited as a common challenge. Dialogue turned to root causes of this resistance, including the perception among healthcare executives that pharmacy is a revenue generator. The financial implications of wasted, expired and diverted items are often masked by lack of inventory visibility, reinforcing the status quo.
Presenters shared real-world examples of how their organizations are successfully making the case for technology modernization — from establishing pharmacy C-suite roles where leaders can elevate their strategic insights to leveraging supply chain data to demonstrate the potential for savings and enhanced patient safety.
Addressing financial pressures and unlocking cost-saving opportunities
While pharmacy costs and waste have historically flown under the radar of some health system and hospital leaders, rising drug costs coupled with declining procedural revenue in recent years have driven many healthcare organizations to reassess their pharmacies’ performance.
Pharmacy and supply chain leaders cited examples of how standardization, automation and inventory visibility can drive cost savings. One presenter shared how the discovery of $41M in missing drug inventory prompted his hospital’s investment in an automated pharmacy supply chain management solution, which provides real-time visibility to 100% of its high-dollar drug product inventory.
"I love to attend events like this to network with my colleagues and learn from them. Pharmacy is a very small world and we are all struggling with a lot of the same challenges. Hearing my colleagues present the challenges they're facing and how they solve them, helped me learn how to solve the same or similar challenges in my organization."
Jennifer Bair, Chief Pharmacy Officer
Prisma Health
Looking ahead: What’s next for pharmacy leaders?
As pharmacy leaders return to their healthcare organizations, the insights gained from the Pharmacy Supply Chain Leadership Summit provide a roadmap for tackling pressing issues and capitalizing on strategies and technologies proven effective in the medical/surgical supply chain.
While pharmacy leaders admittedly have their own unique challenges and operational nuances, such as the complexities of 340B Program pricing, the summit revealed how they share many commonalities with their supply chain counterparts.
By fostering a culture of technology innovation and stakeholder alignment, organizations can transform their pharmacy supply chains into a strategic advantage, driving better financial outcomes and enhancing patient care in an ever-changing healthcare landscape.