PFSCM 20 years of improving access to lifesaving health products
PFSCM was established to rapidly scale up the world’s largest public health supply chain project to fight HIV.
In the first year of managing SCMS, PFSCM, and partners made rapid progress in establishing warehouses, offices, and delivering complex laboratory products.
SCMS’s switch from branded to generic ARVs saved the program $149 million in procurement costs.
PFSCM was selected as PSA for the Global Fund’s Voluntary Pooled Procurement (VPP) and as a service provider to the Global Drug Facility.
Five years into the SCMS program, it had achieved several milestones and was recognized for its innovation and efficiency.
SCMS contributed to saving lives through a variety of voluntary prevention, counseling, testing, treatment and care programs. By 2011, more than 3.9 million people received lifesaving treatment.
While SCMS has matured and diversified in its service offering, PFSCM’s other projects also started gaining momentum. Between 2007 and 2012, PFSCM procured more than $1.7 billion worth of health products and delivered more than 15,000 shipments across all clients and projects.
PFSCM’s contract with the Global Fund is extended, and the VPP became the Pooled Procurement Mechanism (PPM).
PFSCM’s Quality Management System, which was established in 2005, matured, earning ISO 9001:2008 status in 2014. In this year PFSCM also joined the Janssen New Horizon’s Collaborative for pediatric HIV care.
Read more+
PFSCM exceeds $4.5 billion in lifesaving health products delivered in more than 32,000 shipments to 79 countries.
By 2016, PFSCM’s partnership with the Global Fund had deepened, and our client base had expanded to include PrEP and malaria programs.
PFSCM’s QMS advances to ISO 9001:2015, and we oversee several complex projects, including the procurement, quality control, and reverse logistics of Indoor Residual Spraying used to prevent malaria.
On a mission to help end HIV and AIDS
PFSCM grew out of one of the most challenging moments in global health, the height of the HIV crisis. Countries needed not just products, but systems they could depend on, and they needed them rapidly and on a large scale. Over the years, PFSCM has helped strengthen these systems by reducing costs, improving availability, minimizing waste, and establishing reliable mechanisms that enhance health outcomes.
Did you know? The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Supply Chain Management System, also known as SCMS, was managed by PFSCM for 10 years.
Rapid progress in infrastructure and delivery
Just one year into the SCMS project, PFSCM and partners:
- Established the first regional distribution center (RDC) in Ghana,
- opened the first SCMS country offices in Guyana and Haiti, and
- delivered $1 million worth of laboratory products.
Rapid progress in infrastructure and delivery
Just one year into the SCMS project, PFSCM and partners:
- Established the first regional distribution center (RDC) in Ghana,
- opened the first SCMS country offices in Guyana and Haiti, and
- delivered $1 million worth of laboratory products.
Start of a long productive partnership
In 2009, PFSCM was competitively selected as the Procurement Services Agent (PSA) for the Global Fund’s Voluntary Pooled Procurement (VPP), as it was then known. We have since supported the Global Fund with end-to-end supply chain services, including quality assurance, strategic sourcing, procurement, logistics, and project management. Our work covers pooled procurement, transport and distribution, warehousing, customs and waivers, financial and supplier management, customer support, and full shipment visibility through an integrated tracking system.
Five years of SCMS innovation and efficiency
In its first five years, SCSM achieved remarkable progress and set the stage for further growth.
- SCMS wins Supply Chain Innovation Award and Best Value Supply Chain Provider Award at the European Supply Chain and Logistics Summit.
- SCMS surpasses 50% of commodities (by weight) shipped by ocean, realizing significant savings over air.
- SCMS delivers the project’s first voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) kits to Zambia.
- SCMS achieves more than 90% generic ARV procurements.
Six years of saving lives through strong supply chains
In its first six years, SCMS transformed public health supply chains across more than 20 countries, ensuring a safe, reliable and affordable flow of lifesaving HIV/AIDS products. It delivered more than 10,000 shipments to 50 countries with virtually no stockouts at central level, provided more than 71% of all PEPFAR-funded ARVs, and saved over $1.1 billion through generic procurement and smart freight choices SCMS strengthened national systems by modernizing warehouses, expanding distribution networks, training thousands of health workers, and introducing tools such as regional distribution centers and Warehouse-in-a-Box™ to rapidly scale capacity It supported governments through crises—from political unrest to natural disasters—maintaining uninterrupted treatment for millions of patients Together, these achievements laid the foundation for stronger, more sustainable supply chains capable of supporting long-term HIV/AIDS treatment and broader health programs.
Read the SCMS six-year report+
Diversification in client portfolios and service offerings to holistically strengthen supply chains
SCMS was about than just pooled procurement, providing comprehensive solutions, regional distribution centers for faster delivery, waste management solutions to help deal with the medical waste produced by health facilities, and physical and technical support to strengthen local storage and transport infrastructure.
Did you know?
- SCMS developed a comprehensive healthcare waste management system in Swaziland, safely handling the disposal of more than 30 tons of the country’s medical waste over a two-year period.
- SCMS’s first innovative Clinic-in-a-Box became operational in Nigeria in 2012, and several countries subsequently adopted similar solutions. These clinics can be quickly deployed, much like Warehouse-in-a-Box solutions, to increase capacity and create greater access to treatment for patients
Read about storage solution in Malawi+
Contract extension with Global Fund, and continued growth for SCMS
In 2013, PFSCM achieved several milestones with a contract extension with its newest client, the Global Fund, and SCMS exceeded $1.5 billion in health products delivered, and made it two millionth VMMC kit delivery.
Learn more about the Global Fund’s procurement tools here+
Contract extension with Global Fund, and continued growth for SCMS
In 2013, PFSCM achieved several milestones with a contract extension with its newest client, the Global Fund, and SCMS exceeded $1.5 billion in health products delivered, and made it two millionth VMMC kit delivery.
Learn more about the Global Fund’s procurement tools here+
10 years of working towards of mission of making health products more accessible
During a decade of service to SCMS, we focused on saving lives by aggressively scaling up treatment access, promoting country ownership, and investing in sustainable country health systems. We have made extraordinary progress toward transforming supply chains in dozens of countries by applying innovative supply chain solutions and industry best practices. The work, impact, and success of SCMS lived forth for another 10 years.
Read about everything PFSCM and SCMS achieved+
Did you know? In 2015, PFSCM expanded its services beyond just procurement and delivery. We became a full-fledged 4PL services provider and diversified our network of logistics service providers to drive healthy market competition, reduce risk, and have the option to assign shipments to the best service and value shippers who have the right experience to deliver in the challenging environment in which we operate.
PFSCM partnership with Global Fund deepens and more clients secured
PFSCM’s collaboration with the Global Fund continues to yield results. PFSCM helped to establish a transit warehouse in Uganda, relieving pressure on the local supply chain. The transit warehouse helped avoid about $1.5 million in detention and demurrage charges. The Global Fund also launched an online procurement platform, wambo.org, to scale PPM, improve transparency, and reduce prices.
Furthermore, PFSCM began supporting the Malaria Consortium with full-service procurement and delivery of specialized laboratory equipment, medical supplies, antimalarials, malaria rapid diagnostic tests, essential medicines, and other non-medical products, including computers, spare parts, life jackets, vehicles, ambulances, and motorbikes.
Meanwhile, PFSCM also received a grant for Gilead’s Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe program to procure PrEP for HIV prevention in young women.
Advancing to new ISO standard and diversity of projects increases
In 2017, strengthened its quality and operational excellence by earning ISO 9001:2015 certification, while also generating measurable value through cost savings, including an 8% reduction in Indoor Residual Spraying commodities. PFSCM also supported advanced public health interventions—from providing end-to-end procurement, quality control, and logistics for a multi-country PrEP clinical trial in West Africa, to managing the full supply, installation, and commissioning of solar power systems for 85 health facilities in Malawi. Additionally, PFSCM executed one of its most challenging undertakings: the safe procurement, distribution, collection, and international disposal of DDT for Mozambique’s national malaria control campaign, overcoming hazardous materials risks, security issues, and remote operating environments.
