Using mobile technology to improve medicine supply chain in Africa

Filed in archive Research on April 17, 2009

Zaragoza Logistics Center, a research institute dedicated to logistics and supply chain management in Spain, recently published the overview of an ongoing research about the use of mobile devices to improve medicine SCM in Africa.

One of the many challenges in delivering medicines and health supplies in sub-Saharan Africa is the lack of timely information about quantities of product flowing through the supply chain. The lack of information limits product availability, impedes the introduction of new products and innovation in delivery channels, and stymies efforts to understand trends in disease patterns, product preferences, and treatment-seeking behavior.

The research done by ZLC studied a number of case studies; one of them which I found more interesting is related to a pilot by UNICEF.

Last year, UNICEF piloted the use of basic mobile phones by existing field monitor personnel, to report product flows and status, and to send urgent stock-out alerts back to the capital. Each time a distribution center was visited, the field monitor sent a one-line SMS (short message service) text message that included the current stock balance, the quantity of PlumpyNut received, the quantity distributed, and the number of new beneficiaries during the current two-week reporting period.

The pilot identified a number of shortcomings. Only half of the distribution centers had cell phone coverage, a limitation that caused reporting delays of about one day. In some cases, the distribution centers were inaccessible. Data errors and overly complex data entry requirements also caused problems.

In addition to such shortcomings like infrastructure, the research team also identified elements such as training as important when operating in Africa. Hopefully, more research of these types create new windows of opportunity both for African people and also for companies which want to help people in a more efficient manner.