Initiatives for stable supply

This page covers our approach and initiatives for stable supply.

SHIONOGI Group engages in corporate management having firmly recognizing the importance of the products that the company supplies being directly linked to the health and lives of patients and our responsibilities as a pharmaceutical company. Reliably delivering the necessary drugs to patients, we work closely not only with group companies in Japan and overseas but also with our suppliers to ensure quality and safety while making every effort to ensure a stable supply of high-quality pharmaceutical products so that customers know they can rely on SHIONOGI Group medicines.

In order to ensure that the supply of products is not interrupted under any circumstances, SHIONOGI Group regularly assesses risks related to procurement from suppliers such as raw material manufacturers and manufacturing contractors, and takes measures such as promoting improvements, adding alternative suppliers, and establishing redundant procurement for high-risk suppliers. We have also set strict targets for product delivery indicators to strengthen our supply system so that we can deliver SHIONOGI products and services to patients and healthcare professionals in a stable manner.

Specifically、we actively promote multi-source procurement, inventory optimization, and export route diversification to ensure stable product supply and minimize stockout risks. Particularly for priority and controlled items, we are advancing diversification of APIs and formulation procurement sources while setting minimum inventory levels to respond to sudden demand fluctuation risks, strengthening supply chain resilience. For major products, we are adding second manufacturing sites to diversify supply risks. Also、we can quickly supply even in the event of an unforeseen situation, such as a pandemic or an earthquake, and we have stipulated the response procedures. We are also enhancing global supply system stability through export route diversification that remains unaffected by natural disasters or civil unrest, and strengthening procurement strategies linked to refined supply-demand forecasting. As a mechanism supporting these initiatives, SHIONOGI systematically operates supplier management cycles. Through supplier rank assessments and regular reviews, we conduct technology transfer and site selection, progressively building supply systems from mass production to commercial production. Through this series of processes, we strengthen sustainable supply chains while ensuring quality and reliability. 

Moreover, we support the Principles set out in PSCI[*1] (whose code of conduct we require business partners to comply with) and, by complying with Japanese subcontracting law and other relevant regulations, we ensure that procurement activity is founded on honesty, fairness, equity, and transparency. At the same time, we work for sustained increase in corporate value so as to win still greater trust from our stakeholders. 

We will continue building supply chains that can flexibly respond to changes in the external environment.

At SHIONOGI, we are activity driving DX (Digital Transformation) and working to strengthen  manufacturing and quality control systems to achieve high-quality and stable product supply. As one example, a Group company, Shionogi Pharma Co., Ltd., is promoting the introduction of an AI-powered production management system. This system provides a framework for rapid and flexible production planning, including manufacturing, testing, and personnel, and is currently undergoing operational verification. As a result, this system is helping to improve efficiency and accuracy in production planning operations that were previously considered difficult to digitalize. 

Through these DX initiatives, the SHIONOGI Group aims to improve the accuracy and speed of medium- to long-term simulations, visualize the personnel and production capacity needed to achieve production plans, and strategically implement human resource development and capital investment to establish a high-quality and stable product supply system.

The SHIONOGI Group is working to implement the innovative technology of continuous manufacturing, aiming to improve the efficiency and flexibility of pharmaceutical production. While conventional batch manufacturing requires significant time and cost for scale-up, continuous manufacturing can shorten development periods, reduce API usage, and flexibly respond to demand changes. This enhances efficiency and flexibility throughout the manufacturing process and also achieves stable quality control from the development stage through commercial production. 

At a group company of Shionogi Pharma Co., Ltd., we position this technology for continuous manufacturing of pharmaceuticals as a pillar of our technology development strategy, and promote continuity and automation of manufacturing processes for APIs, intermediates, and formulations. Despite limited precedents in Japan, we have established a highly reliable manufacturing process through innovative equipment design, process optimization, and the use of advanced analytical technologies, and have obtained approval for manufacturing using continuous production methods. 

We will continue to pursue technological innovation while contributing to the development of systems that enable the stable and rapid delivery of pharmaceuticals, aiming to build sustainable manufacturing systems.