UPS Survey: Healthcare Execs in Asia Concerned About Increasing Competition

Singapore, October 12, 2012

China, India Among Top Global Healthcare Expansion Destinations

Amidst the changing healthcare landscape in Asia brought by global economic challenges, increasing competition emerged as the top business concern of healthcare executives in Asia, according to the UPS 2012 "Pain in the (Supply) Chain" healthcare survey.

"More than half of Asia's healthcare decision makers surveyed have said that increasing competition is their top concern," said Lim Bee Koong, director, Healthcare Strategy, Asia Pacific Region. "Companies need to innovate and adapt to a fast-changing market if they want to become market leaders and this is where the supply chain plays an essential role. UPS helps healthcare companies leverage logistics for their evolving needs, and a nimble supply chain gives them a competitive advantage."

 Now in its fifth year running, the UPS 2012 "Pain in the (Supply) Chain" survey, conducted by TNS, reflects the views of senior-level healthcare supply chain decision makers in the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device and supply industries. This is the second year in which Asian decision makers provided a significant voice, with one-third of the respondents coming from China, India and Singapore, reflecting the growing importance of the healthcare industry for UPS.

Top Healthcare Expansion Destinations in Asia

Decision makers in Asia are heavily focused on global expansion in the next three to five years (88%), while other top investment strategies include increasing usage of new distribution channels (77%) and new technologies (71%).

There is a significant jump in planned technology investments in Asia, with 66% of those surveyed planning to invest in web ordering systems and 59% planning to invest in e-pedigree/serialization technologies in the next three to five years.

China was the top expansion destination over the next three to five years for global healthcare executives. This is followed by the United States, Brazil and India.

As part of its healthcare strategy, UPS is looking at China and India, the two most populous countries with growing healthcare needs, as the major healthcare opportunity markets in Asia.

"China and India are the fastest growing healthcare markets in the region and several healthcare companies have their regional headquarters in Singapore, where UPS opened its first dedicated healthcare facility for Asia in 2011," said Lim.

In Asia, other top healthcare supply chain concerns include regulatory compliance and product damage or spoilage – both cited by 72 percent of executives – as well as product security, cited as a concern by 70 percent.

Visit www.pressroom.ups.com/healthcare to get the full findings of the UPS Pain in the Chain survey, including the global results, an executive summary and a special five-year report.

Editor's note:

Survey Methodology

The UPS Pain in the (Supply) Chain survey was a blind, in-depth phone survey conducted by TNS on behalf of UPS of approximately 375 healthcare executives in the U.S., Western Europe, Asia and Latin America. Qualified respondents were senior-level decision-makers responsible for supply chain and logistics in the pharmaceutical, medical device and biotech industries. Surveys were conducted in April and May 2012.