The Challenge/Context

The USAID Global Health Supply Chain – Procurement and Supply Management (GHSC-PSM) program plays a crucial role in addressing significant challenges within the public health supply chain across lower- and middle-income countries. Many of these countries face obstacles such as inadequate infrastructure, limited transportation networks, and poor data visibility, which hinder the efficient delivery of essential health commodities. These issues lead to stockouts, delays, and increased costs, ultimately impacting the availability of life-saving medications and supplies in hard-to-reach communities.

GHSC-PSM is designed to strengthen supply chain systems by working closely with country partners to build sustainable and resilient supply chain systems. The program’s focus on five key health areas – HIV/AIDS, malaria, family planning and reproductive health, maternal and child health, and emerging public health threats such as Zika, Ebola, and Covid-19 —ensures a comprehensive approach to healthcare delivery. Through its three primary objectives—commodity procurement, health systems strengthening, and global collaboration—GHSC-PSM not only distributes critical healthcare commodities but also provides technical assistance and support to develop robust, self-sustaining supply chain systems in the countries it serves. This effort is vital for improving health outcomes and building resilience in the face of future public health challenges.

The Opportunity/Solution

Connexi has supported Chemonics with procurement and delivery of more than $5 billion worth of products to more than 91 countries on the GHSC-PSM project. Our team has been instrumental in establishing long-term agreements with over 104 vendors and identified the need for efficient and cost-effective procurement and delivery of essential public health commodities, including 63 vendors specifically for HIV products and 17 for ARVs. Our dedicated team meticulously indexes and automates commodity catalogues, managing approximately 2,238 generic products with 7,233 trade items. As a procurement agent, we also manage the source-to-pay platform which, as a data management platform, has several advantages, including enterprise-wide data quality assurance, and integrations with logistics management modules and financial management information systems, providing comprehensive logistics and cost visibility.

Results

Our strategic approach in signing long-term agreements and optimizing procurement processes has led to substantial savings for the U.S. government, totaling $386 million on core HIV commodities throughout the project. Specifically, $286 million in savings were realized on adult ARVs, including over $15 million in the first half of FY 2023. Our focus on timely delivery has resulted in an on-time delivery (OTD) performance exceeding 87% and an on-time-in-full (OTIF) performance of over 83% annually since 2018. These achievements underscore our capability to deliver critical health commodities efficiently and cost-effectively.