PCI Pharma Services, a company providing outsourcing solutions to pharma and biopharma companies, has introduced PCI Bridge, a digital platform designed to offer increased visibility into an operation’s clinical and commercial supply chain. According to the company, the technology enables users to quickly generate data and gain insights that can inform decision making.
Outsourcing-Pharma spoke to Salim Haffar, CEO of PCI Pharma Services, who told us that PCI Bridge was created through conversation and collaboration with clients.
“In speaking to our clients, we knew that real-time supply chain visibility was important to them. We wanted to build a very customer-centric platform that would share information that is immediate, relevant and personalized to clients’ projects and their relationship with PCI,” Haffar told us.
After coming up with the concept for PCI Bridge, Haffar explained, the company pinpointed four key clients to contribute to the process, working to select organization that represented the range of customers they serve.
“Through ongoing conversations and workshops we hosted, we were able to get feedback on how we could enhance their experience working with PCI and what type of activities they would like to see digitized,” he told us. “We also asked what type of information was critical to have on a real-time basis.”
As development progressed, PCI reviewed the platform with clients and garnered feedback on the features and capabilities, Haffar said.
“The result, we believe, is a platform that is one-of-a-kind, created with our clients at the center,” he told OSP.
Wendy Xia, senior director and head of supply chain at PCI client Agios Pharmaceuticals, said she believes the collaborative effort in PCI Bridge’s creation will lead to a product with the potential to “greatly increase productivity and efficiency.”
“Seeking input from multiple customers to understand how we hope to use the platform and previewing iterations with us is invaluable in terms of structuring the tool so it can actually be helpful to our work,” she commented.
According to Haffar, the platform makes information accessible to clients in real time, including inventory, production, distribution and shipping data, presenting the data in organized, customizable formats. A document repository enables users to store electronic documents in one place, with signatures able to be secured on the platform.
“Having a fully functioning supply chain, whose foundation is built on digitally-enabled capabilities and technologies, means we can be more adept at moving resources, assets and inventory – quickly and effectively,” said Wayne Hull, chief digital and technology officer, PCI Pharma Services. “We are embracing new technologies at PCI because they improve client experiences, give greater visibility into the supply chain, and provide data insights to optimize efficiencies and mitigate risks.”
Haffar said PCI Bridge enables life-sciences companies to make decisions more quickly and efficiency, with more thorough information at the ready.
“Clients will be able to use PCI Bridge to make informed decisions with access to real-time supply chain insights, speed validations with organized and customizable dashboards, store and access electronic paperwork in one place, secure signatures on the platform, protect sensitive project information and data in a cyber secured platform, collaborate more effectively with enhanced digital tools and create customized reports for greater efficiency,” he said.
Kevin Gregorczyk, director of development operations at PCI client eFFECTOR Therapeutics, also offered input on the platform’s creation.
“The benefits I see of using pci | bridge is that is that it eliminates the need for clients to constantly reach out to the project teams for updates,” Gregorczyk offered. “Now, we will have that information at our fingertips and can instead focus on the bigger picture with PCI, such as what’s coming next.”
