Supply Chain Management Best Practices, 3rd Edition

CHAPTER 113PLs: When You'd Rather Not Do It Yourself

Flashpoints

• Before you consider outsourcing part of your supply chain, you need to figure out what your core competency is.
• Using a 3PL will give you the opportunity to focus more on your customers' needs.
• A 3PL should be held accountable for its ability to meet your expectations.
• Monitor every aspect of your 3PL's operation so that you have full visibility throughout the supply chain.

Nearly 20% of all generic drugs come from India, and as one of that country's largest pharmaceutical companies, Lupin knew well the importance of serving not only its domestic market but the whole world—and especially the lucrative US market. Lupin's challenge was a significant one—ensuring that its products were available, replenished quickly, and reliably delivered on time to pharmacies. That required distribution and warehousing capabilities that would ensure all products met the various regulatory standards set by the US Food and Drug Administration and other agencies. Lupin is headquartered in Mumbai, and its US subsidiary is based in Baltimore, Maryland. And yet, for American retailers, pharmacies, distributors, and consumers, the center of Lupin's supply chain universe is actually Louisville, Kentucky. Thousands of pallets of generic drugs are shipped every year to Louisville, where the products are warehoused in temperature-controlled facilities, and ultimately shipped to customers.

Kentucky is well known for any number of things—bourbon, ...