Overview:
Recent catastrophic events have led to mass planning and preparation efforts never before seen. Faced with momentous challenges from multiple fronts, federal, state and local entities are fashioning an infrastructure to deal with the unknown. Responding to simultaneous demands from regulatory and legislative bodies, as well as the citizenry, agencies on many levels are stepping up. In the face of what could potentially be one of the most formidable logistics challenges, the Supply Chain is recognized as key.

Utilizing the CDC's planning and preparedness models, many agencies are employing quick delivery models. Many agencies are also developing response scenarios that do not include federal participation with the realization that there may not be time to wait. To this end, the full range of technologies that has helped propel the supply chain to establish dynamic delivery models is being employed to help with the rapid distribution of critical materials.

Supply Chain Management (SCM), a field encompassing logistics and operations management, has come to the forefront of corporate strategy in the last several years and has had a direct impact on the ability of companies to succeed in a hyper-competitive marketplace. Companies such as Amazon.com, Dell Computers and FedEx bank their competitive advantages on their ability to push and track materials in real time to the thousands of customers that come to them day after day.

Developing a model of near-transparent and connected systems has allowed for a seamless passing of information both up and down stream within the supply chain. Companies have leveraged the strength of their technologies to take what was once a fantasy into a reality, and the economies of scale have now allowed the application of this velocity-driven SCM model to be reapplied to help with the Countermeasure Response Administration (CRA) planning models being undertaken by so many public entities, such as the State of Ohio, Department of Health.

Of primary concern for CRA planning is that any solution that is developed must be a closed-loop concept. With the proliferation of pharmaceuticals involved in event responses and a post-event assessment that will inevitably be called into question, accountability for all activities taking place during the unfolding of the event is required. Such control can now be provided by the powerful tools that are commonly associated with the routine requirements of SCM, as used by such companies as Priority Solutions International (Traverse City, Michigan), a leading contract logistics firm providing product samples distribution for many of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies.

As events unfold and emergency medical and pharmaceutical supplies are dispensed to affected persons, data regarding the distribution is recorded in real time and communicated back up the event supply chain for remote monitoring by key federal, state and local planners. Business Intelligence software alerts event coordinators when critical inventory is running low and requires replenishment, keeping vital event personnel focused on managing the event - not the inventory.