Blog · Procurement and supply chain · Pharmaceuticals
Supply chain analytics in the pharmaceutical industry compares batch inventory, expiration exposure, and delivery performance by product and site. Follow a worked inventory reconciliation that keeps restricted stock and overlapping risk categories visible.
Supply chain analytics in the pharmaceutical industry compares batch inventory, expiration exposure, and delivery performance by product and site. Retain the batch and stock status when rolling up values, because a product total cannot show which packages are approaching expiration or held from use. Reconcile the inventory first, then investigate service exceptions using separate delivery records.
The central question is operational: which product and site has inventory that may not support its expected requirements? Answering it needs more than total stock value. A later-expiring batch and an earlier-expiring batch are different planning exposures even when they carry the same product code and unit cost.
The FDA explains drug expiration dates as the period during which a product is known to remain stable under its labeled storage conditions. Keep the applicable expiration and status from approved source records. An analytics assumption about future demand does not change either field.
Use the general supply chain analytics framework for the broader measures. The pharmaceutical review adds a specific requirement: do not discard batch and expiration detail before the product and site totals have been explained.
Take an inventory snapshot at an agreed cutoff. Retain the source row identifier, site, product, batch, expiration date, package unit, stock status, quantity, and recorded unit cost. If one batch occupies several locations or statuses, those remain separate rows until their quantities are reconciled.
Use a second export for delivery performance, with order line, product, receiving site, agreed due date, actual receipt date, and delivery status. An inventory row and a delivery row describe different things. Combining them without a defined relationship can repeat the stock balance for every delivery.
Package units also need a clear definition. A case and an individual selling package are different quantities. Convert using approved item master information before comparing stock across sites, and preserve the original unit so reviewers can rebuild the conversion.
A fictional US pharmaceutical distributor reviews inventory on October 23, 2026. All quantities below are individual selling packages, and costs are recorded USD per package. Held packages are included in physical stock but excluded from the unrestricted quantity.
For this review, near-expiry means an expiration date after the snapshot and on or before November 22, 2026, a 30-day window. Already expired stock would be a separate category; none appears in this example.
| Site and product | Batch | Expiration | Packages | Held packages | Unit cost (USD) | Inventory value (USD) | Near-expiry value (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East, A | A1 | November 10, 2026 | 300 | 0 | 12 | 3,600 | 3,600 |
| East, A | A2 | February 28, 2027 | 500 | 100 | 12 | 6,000 | 0 |
| West, B | B1 | November 20, 2026 | 200 | 50 | 20 | 4,000 | 4,000 |
| West, B | B2 | March 31, 2027 | 600 | 0 | 20 | 12,000 | 0 |
| Total | 1,600 | 150 | 25,600 | 7,600 |
Inventory value = Packages × Recorded unit cost
Near-expiry value share = Value inside the defined expiration window / Total inventory value
Inventory value is 300 × 12 + 500 × 12 + 200 × 20 + 600 × 20 = $25,600. Near-expiry value is 300 × 12 + 200 × 20 = $7,600. Its share is 7,600 / 25,600 = 29.7%, rounded to one decimal place.
This is the value inside the window, not a forecast loss. Estimating potential unused stock also requires expected demand before each batch expires and the quantity available to satisfy that demand. That forward-looking assessment belongs with predictive supply chain analytics.
The held value is 100 × 12 + 50 × 20 = $2,200. Unrestricted packages are 1,600 − 150 = 1,450, while unrestricted recorded value is 25,600 − 2,200 = $23,400. Tie physical stock to the snapshot first, then show the status bridge.
| Site and product | Total packages | Held packages | Unrestricted packages | Recorded inventory value (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East, A | 800 | 100 | 700 | 9,600 |
| West, B | 800 | 50 | 750 | 16,000 |
| Total | 1,600 | 150 | 1,450 | 25,600 |
The checks are 800 = 300 + 500 at East and 800 = 200 + 600 at West. Values are $9,600 and $16,000, which sum to the snapshot's $25,600. Package totals support reconciliation, but products A and B are not interchangeable availability.
Near-expiry and held stock overlap: B1 includes 50 held packages worth 50 × 20 = $1,000. If you want the value that is either held or near expiry, use 7,600 + 2,200 − 1,000 = $8,800. Adding both headline categories without removing their overlap would count the held portion of B1 twice.
Only authorized status changes should alter the unrestricted balance. For example, releasing the 100 held A2 packages would increase unrestricted packages from 1,450 to 1,550 and unrestricted value by $1,200. Total physical value and near-expiry value would stay unchanged.
For deliveries due October 1 through October 23, the distributor's separate register shows the following. A delivery is on time only if the complete agreed delivery arrives by its agreed date; this is the operator's stated reporting definition.
| Site and product | Deliveries due | On time | Misses | On-time delivery |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East, A | 12 | 9 | 3 | 75.0% |
| West, B | 8 | 7 | 1 | 87.5% |
| Total | 20 | 16 | 4 | 80.0% |
The total rate is (9 + 7) / (12 + 8) = 80.0%. East's lower service needs investigation despite its unrestricted stock balance. Check affected order lines, timing, and stock status before concluding that inventory was available when the delivery was due.
Operations owns batch and site exceptions, procurement owns supplier follow-up, and finance owns value reconciliation. Broader concentration and continuity questions belong in supply chain risk analytics.
The FDA's DSCSA overview describes package-level identification and tracing of certain prescription drugs. This operational inventory comparison serves a different purpose; its reconciled totals do not establish completion of product-tracing obligations.
Bring a sample of your own batch inventory and delivery exports to Covirage, which maps the columns and uses its tools to compute and check product and site comparisons. The external AI model explains the results with every figure traced to its rows. Create a free Covirage account, which takes about a minute, then set up your business and bring your file.
See self-service analytics for the supporting approach to reviewing your business exports.
Different batches of the same product can have different expiration dates and stock restrictions. A product total hides those differences. Keep batch identifiers through the inventory comparison, then summarize upward only after quantities, values, expiration dates, and status have been checked.
Near-expiry inventory is stock inside a defined future expiration window. Expired inventory has already passed its applicable expiration date. The first is an exposure category; the second is a current status. Neither alone establishes the accounting adjustment recorded by finance.
Review recorded inventory value, unrestricted quantity, near-expiry value, restricted stock, and delivery misses by product and site. Keep the measure definitions and periods visible. The combination helps explain why apparently adequate inventory may coexist with service exceptions or expiration exposure.