The pharmaceutical industry is evolving rapidly, and automation is at the forefront of this transformation. From streamlining operations to ensuring compliance, automation is reshaping the sector. Let’s explore how it’s optimizing processes and driving digital change in pharma.
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The current state of the pharmaceutical industry in Vietnam
The pharmaceutical industry is accelerating digital transformation.
Pharmaceutical management is a key sector in healthcare, with Vietnam being the second-largest market in Southeast Asia, valued at $5.2 billion and growing nearly 12% annually. The Drug Administration of Vietnam has launched a digital transformation plan for 2020–2025, with a vision for 2030. It has digitized data for 15,230 approved drugs and established a national database, connecting pharmacies across all 63 provinces and managing over 1.1 billion sales invoices and 500 million transaction records.
With strong digital transformation, the pharmaceutical industry has become more “user-friendly” for businesses and the public, saving time and effort for all parties, increasing transparency in regulatory procedures, and reducing costs.
The need for strict management and high accuracy
The pharmaceutical industry requires strict management within its distribution system, demanding high accuracy, as the domestic supply chain is moving towards modernization, professionalism, and efficiency. It is crucial to ensure precise management of drug quality and raw materials at every stage, from production, export, and import to storage, circulation, distribution, and ultimately, drug usage (Gov)
Manual operations remain a challenge for many pharmaceutical companies
The dominance of foreign enterprises in the pharmaceutical sector highlights the need for Vietnamese companies to improve operational efficiency in manufacturing and distribution to stay competitive (Kirin Capital). Despite advances in digital transformation, many companies still rely on manual processes, such as using spreadsheets to record assets or manually entering check-in/check-out details (Ezo).
Human error is widely recognized as a significant cause of manufacturing failures, with estimates suggesting up to 80% of errors stem from incorrect formulations, mislabeling, and production mistakes.These errors stem from task complexity, high process volume, and human decision-making in repetitive tasks.
Use cases of automation in the pharmaceutical industry
The pharmaceutical industry is increasingly turning to automation to streamline operations, reduce manual processes, and enhance efficiency. Below are key use cases where automation is transforming the sector:
- Inventory management: Automation tools track stock levels, monitor expiry dates, and automatically reorder medicines when inventory runs low.
- Regulatory compliance: Automates the generation and submission of reports, ensuring accuracy and timeliness.
- Supply chain optimization: Automation improves coordination between suppliers, distributors, and retailers. Real-time data processing allows for more efficient demand forecasting and order processing.
- Order processing: Automates order entry, verification, and invoicing, reducing the risk of mistakes and improving order fulfillment speed.
- Data entry and reporting: Intelligent automation systems automate the extraction, validation, and entry of data from clinical trials, patient records, and other documentation. Ensures faster and more accurate reporting for regulatory bodies and internal teams.
- Quality control: Automation can assist in testing and validating pharmaceutical products by monitoring production lines and ensuring consistent product quality.
- Customer service: AI-powered chatbots and automated helpdesks handle routine customer inquiries, freeing up staff to focus on more complex issues.
Expert advice on automation in the pharmaceutical industry
The need for specialized automation frameworks
The pharmaceutical industry operates under stringent regulations that demand specialized approaches to digital transformation. Adapting technology to meet these requirements, particularly in ensuring data security and compliance with industry-specific standards, is critical. As a result, A generic digital framework may not address the complexities of pharmaceutical regulations. Matics recommends that businesses tailor their plans to meet the unique demands of this sector
Preparation is the key to success in digital transformation
Mr. Le Vi Hien, Chairman and CEO of GONSA Pharmaceutical, emphasizes that preparation is key to successful digital transformation. This includes clear communication of strategy to employees, securing resources and finances, partnering with experienced technology providers, setting clear goals and timelines, assigning the right people to tasks, implementing a reward system, standardizing data, and ensuring effective internal communication.
In this journey, GONSA placed its trust in and chose FPT IS as one of its strategic partners to implement the unique technological solutions required by the pharmaceutical industry. As a product made by FPT, akaBot has been a key player in GONSA’s impressive digital transformation journey. With experience serving over 4,000 global clients across various industries, akaBot’s process automation solution has proven to be a powerful assistant, automating end-to-end tasks such as data entry, information reconciliation, invoice storage, and order fulfillment—making it a perfect solution for the pharmaceutical sector
Ensuring all departments are aligned like a highway
Mr. Le Vi Hien also shared that in the past, GONSA had implemented IT systems several times, but they lacked synchronization. As a result, despite automation, departments still operated in isolation, without connecting with each other, leading to illogical outcomes. Therefore, GONSA was determined to create a new path, similar to a highway, integrating five technology systems simultaneously. These systems are now interconnected, supporting each other, and forming a unified platform that flows seamlessly from top to bottom.
The clarity in using such a closed-loop system has enabled GONSA to achieve its first successful steps in the digital transformation journey. This highlights the importance of integrating technology across departments to achieve overall success.
Conclusion
In short, automation is a key driver in optimizing operations and enabling digital transformation in the pharmaceutical sector. By streamlining processes, improving data accuracy, and ensuring compliance, it enhances efficiency and supports industry growth. As Vietnam’s pharmaceutical sector evolves, embracing automation will be crucial for overcoming challenges and achieving long-term success.
Contact with us now to be lead in this automation journey!
akaBot (FPT) is the operation optimization solution for enterprises based on the RPA (Robotic Process Automation) platform combined with Artificial Intelligence, Process Mining, OCR, Intelligent Document Processing, Machine Learning, Conversational AI, etc. Serving clients in 21+ countries, across 08 domains such as Banking & Finances, Retail, IT Services, Manufacturing, and Logistics…, akaBot is featured in “Voice of the Customer” for Robotics Process Automation” by Gartner Peer Insights, G2, and ranked as Top 6 Global RPA Platform by Software Reviews. akaBot also won the prestigious Stevie Award, The Asian Banker Award 2021, Everest Group’s RPA Products PEAK Matrix® 2023, etc.
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