AuthorShrey Joshi, RUSCA Blog Committee With the emergence of the coronavirus, the world had to face an onslaught of societal and economic problems it exposed. The global supply chain for every industry was severely impacted as supply could not meet the raging demand for products, food, and healthcare equipment. With an increase in the death rate/hospitalizations and a crippling economy, we needed to find the "cure," a vaccine, to help prevent the virus from further devastating the world. With the average time frame to develop a vaccine spanning multiple years, the only way we would develop, manufacture, and distribute billions of vaccinations as soon as possible was if all pharmaceutical giants, scientists, and governments around the world worked together. With record efforts, we could meet the worldwide demand and deliver billions of vaccinations, progressing the fight against the pandemic. But how was Big Pharma able to overcome these obstacles to develop, manufacture, and distribute Covid-19 vaccinations in record times? An executive at Pfizer stated they “designed everything based on speed because every day you delay a patient backward could be a death.”(Garland) They essentially had to overhaul their entire supply chain process, which entailed scaling manufacturing capabilities in conjunction with the research and development (R&D) of the vaccine and preparing for unprecedented distribution. With the (R&D) phase initiated promptly, there was a quick turnaround for the vaccination ready to be manufactured with FDA emergency approval from reliable outcomes during clinical testing. The first obstacle was sourcing raw materials from the suppliers for the mRNA nanoparticles as the suppliers were not used to mass manufacturing in such large quantities needed for the vaccinations. Luckily with the aid of supplier partnerships, they were able to deliver millions of liters of the nanoparticles swiftly. In order to keep up with the production of the vaccinations, Pfizer was also able to build a new manufacturing site. To keep the production process as smooth as possible, Pfizer also felt the need to keep the technology required in the production process internal. Although they were open to collaboration from other companies, Pfizer felt that producing their own lipids and even dry ice for vaccine storage would keep the logistics simpler. Additionally, instead of using the federal government's aid in the distribution process, they decided to use a just-in-time system, shipping directly from the plants to vaccination centers. With all of these strategies and efforts that Pfizer implemented over one of the most challenging times historically, Pfizer strengthened its capabilities to meet the overwhelming demand. To date, Pfizer has been able to produce “just under 2 billion doses of its Covid-19 vaccine and has distributed about 1.5 billion doses to vaccination hubs.” (Garland) But not only can this overhaul be used for the pandemic, but this set strategy for companies to mass manufacture therapeutics can be an excellent lesson to combat future epidemics or everyday supply chain therapeutics. The groundbreaking situations that pharmaceutical companies and the government had to go through to develop and distribute these vaccinations highlight the importance of the supply chain. Without supply chain efficiency, we would have never been able to manufacture and distribute billions of vaccinations and millions of more lives would have been lost. With the tools we have developed through this pandemic, supply chains and companies alike hope to be better prepared for a threat of this magnitude in the future. Sources: https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/08/covid-vaccine-supply-chains-evolved-over-time. https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/pfizer-jim-cafone-covid-vaccine-manufacturing-distribution-cscmp/606867/. AuthorShradha Rajgandhi, RUSCA Blog Committee School nutrition appears to be a topic of concern for parents across the country as supply chain issues arise and schools face significant staff and food shortages. The most basic essentials are lacking in school cafeterias, and about “97% of school nutrition programs are worried about the supply chain issues and what the future of these lunches will be for students” (Strassmann). There is simply not enough food to produce sufficient meals, and it is devastating since many of the students heavily rely on their daily school lunches, and at times they are the only meals students have access to on a given day. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many factories to shut down due to a lack of warehouse workers, truck drivers quitting their jobs, delays in shipments, and shortages in supply which have inflated the costs of food. Given that food is becoming scarce, schools are being put in a situation where cafeteria workers and supervisors need to make trips to local grocery stores for weekly food supplies. Cafeteria workers and directors are no longer concerned with nutrition at this point and merely want to ensure there is enough food on kids’ plates. According to the New York Times, school directors in Missouri are “making regular trips to the local Sam’s Club and Restaurant Depot stores, where they clear out the frozen pizzas, tater tots, and hot dogs” (Ngo). These food options are not healthiest, and they certainly do not follow any nutritional guidelines either. These supply chain obstacles are jeopardizing the health of children and stripping them of a basic need: food. The main priority for these schools should be the kids themselves; however, the school nutrition employees and supervisors seem to be giving up very quickly. In a Minnesota school district, a school director known as Stacy Koppen complains that “her district started the school year short about 100 school nutrition employees- a sizable chunk of its school lunch workforce. They are still trying to hire more than four dozen workers” (Terrell). Although there is no way of telling when these unexpected disruptions will go away, the major labor shortage in the distribution centers and schools contributes to the lack of ways to deliver the goods to meet the nationwide demand for food and supplies. In regards to how schools plan to find a solution, it is clear that there is no direct way to fix these issues overnight. The costs and funding needed to facilitate school lunch services will become overbearing over time, and the lack of workers is the root of the problem. In response to increased costs, “the US Department of Agriculture announced it is giving out $1.5 billion to help school systems struggling to serve meals” (Strassmann). Various school districts are also finding it challenging to serve hot food, so they are improvising with their meals by offering pre-packaged meals to students. In addition to this, students who have the financial capability of bringing lunch from home are strongly encouraged to do so. Overall, this is a stressful time for all schools, parents, educators, and students, but schools must adapt to the situation in a prompt and professional manner. Sources: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/school-lunch-supply-chain-issues-struggle-to-feed-students/ https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/27/us/politics/schools-labor-supply-shortages.html https://thecounter.org/staff-shortages-supply-chain-issues-schools-lunch-nutrition/ AuthorTrupti Valsangikar, RUSCA Blog Committee On September 15, 2021, PepsiCo announced its plans to reduce the use of virgin plastic in packaging by 50% across its food and drink products by the year 2030. This new commitment comes two years after PepsiCo’s aim to reduce virgin plastic packaging by 35% as part of the new Pep+ plan. The significant use of plastic in the food and beverage industry is a barrier that companies face in their sustainability efforts. While some corporations are able to employ recyclable materials like cardboard or glass for packaging, larger businesses like PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, and Unilever are guilty of using single-use plastics with Pepsi using around 2.3 million metric tonnes of plastic each year (Cavale). The use of virgin plastics especially in PepsiCo’s manufacturing operations is an environmental hurdle as well. Virgin plastic is essentially new material created from oil instead of recycled materials. Using recycled plastic is an option for food and beverage companies, but as one writer points out, virgin plastic is “so cheap to make that it undermines the economics of the recycling market” (Parker). Despite the potential economic loss, PepsiCo is vowing to cut the use of virgin plastic and is switching to using 50% of recycled plastic in its packaging in the coming years. These sweeping environmentally conscious changes are a part of PepsiCo’s new initiative called Pep+. Pep+ is a new sustainability strategy that is being implemented in order to keep up with the customer demand shift towards protecting the environment. As Doering points out, “Nearly two-thirds of consumers consider it important that the products they buy are in recyclable packaging” (Doering). Eliminating virgin plastics is only one part of the new strategy which also includes decreasing the need for single-use plastic bottles. PepsiCo also plans on incorporating sustainable practices into the SodaStream company, which was purchased by PepsiCo in 2018. SodaStream allows customers to make soda or sparkling water at home and encourages customers to hold their drinks in reusable containers. The acquisition of SodaStream by PepsiCo will hopefully lead to increasing popularity in new markets, leading to more people using refillable bottles, and reducing the amount of plastic bottle waste. While some organizations have been finding faults in PepsiCo’s new idea, claiming that the reduced plastic goal should be among all of its products, the push for sustainability is a growing trend among companies across industries. While there are some critiques, the promise of decreased use of virgin plastics is a step in the right direction for creating environmentally conscious products. Hopefully, PepsiCo is able to follow through with its plans and can lead to more change in the food and beverage industry. Sources: https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/pepsico-slash-plastic-use-sustainability-push-2021-09-15/ https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/pepsico-to-cut-use-of-virgin-plastic/606798/ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/plastic-pollution-huge-problem-not-too-late-to-fix-it. |
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