Tackling COVID-19 supply chain disruptions

M. Holland, an international distributor of thermoplastic resin, explains how it continues to work through the entire supply chain from development to commercialisation throughout COVID-19 disruptions.

There were many factors that led to healthcare’s supply disruptions during COVID-19, such as not having enough workers to transport products, export bans put in place by countries, panic buying, etc.

While this is constantly improving, supply disruptions are still a concern since the pandemic, and it’s hard to predict when things will fully return to normal.

M. Holland believes that in 2023, the healthcare industry will start being more proactive again after spending three years in a reactive mode. The company also predicts more businesses will work with distributors who can carry inventory positions and still provide access to resin-makers’ technology.

The company focuses on distribution “specialities” within certain markets, one being healthcare.

Pharmaceutical packaging demand

In 2021, the pharma packaging market was valued at over $102.6 billion. The company felt it was necessary to get into the healthcare packaging market, as the US is one of the largest pharma packaging markets in the world.

With 2020 being the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, can we assume the pharma packaging industry is even bigger now post-pandemic, or was the market huge in the US as they had to rely on their own products, when exporting from other countries became more difficult?

According to GMI Insights, the pharma packaging industry will reach $40 billion in 2028 in North America. Considering the market was below $30 billion in 2021, we can assume the rapid market growth in the region is not due to the pandemic.

COVID-19 supply disruptions

With the recent increased demand in packaging, M. Holland believes that the medical sector has had severe supply disruptions trying to keep up and the company are more than happy to help with issues.

Adrian Hogg, strategic account manager with M Holland’s Healthcare group, said: “We are seeing a lot of business moving back to the US, and I think that’s primarily driven by what happened over the last two and a half years given the supply disruptions along with logistics and congestion issues at the ports.”

How can distribution companies help?

Companies partner with M. Holland to have a specialist in the marketplace who can navigate the development process.

“In the past, companies would typically try to take on the burden of material selection” Hogg said. “Whereas now, with distribution, we understand the development process. We have the expertise to help our customers throughout development, including identifying the right material for their application requirements.”

The company distributes for 25–30 different suppliers. The specialists aim to select globally sourced medical grade resins for their customers, all while retaining formulation control, a strict change management process, reducing supply chain risks and providing full regulatory and compliance documentation that is required for medical devices and medical packaging.

Hogg concluded: “All of these are vital to the healthcare industry and as a distributor, we have the expertise and capabilities to guide our customers down that path through the development cycle.”