Valerie Bandy on Reducing Drug Shortages Through Smarter Inventory Management

Access Part 1 of this interview on how manufacturers can build resilient supply chains, navigate drug shortages, and better support health systems.

Valerie Bandy, vice president of Pharmacy, Tecsys, sat down with PharmTech to discuss how health systems can move beyond reactive, siloed approaches to drug management and adopt more strategic, data-driven supply chain practices.

Bandy notes a growing national trend: pharmacy leaders are increasingly borrowing tactics from traditional supply chain industries. Drawing on best practices from sectors like automotive manufacturing, she argues that pharmacy can benefit enormously from this shift, provided the unique regulatory demands of the field are fully embedded in any new processes.

A central theme for Bandy is the danger of panic-driven ordering and hoarding during drug shortages. Rather than scrambling for alternatives or stockpiling out of fear, Bandy advocates for identifying critical drugs in advance, maintaining global visibility across all storage locations, and collaborating with nearby hospital partners "so it's not that it's more or less inventory,” she explains. “It's having the right inventory in the right place at the right time."

Bandy also addresses the financial pressures created by tariffs and offshore drug manufacturing, particularly for high-cost specialty medications. Excess inventory tied up on shelves not only strains capital but increases the risk for expirations and creates inequities in drug availability across sites.

"We have to move to a much more segmented and intelligence-driven approach so that we're not just doing it how we've always done it," she says. Her suggested approach is one that considers the clinical criticality of each medication, the reliability of its supplier, shelf life, and turnover rates.

Bandy emphasizes that achieving this level of strategic sophistication requires robust software and end-to-end visibility tools to truly protect patients and strengthen health system operations.