Quality for a new era of global health
In the evolving landscape of global health, quality is no longer a static requirement – it’s a living system that drives progress.
As the Partnership for Supply Chain Management (PFSCM) marks World Quality Week 2025, we reflect on this year’s theme – “Quality: Think Differently.”
It’s a timely reminder that quality assurance must evolve in tandem with the increasing complexity of global supply chains.
Beyond compliance
Quality in global health supply chains cannot be defined solely by audits or certifications. It’s also about foresight – the ability to predict risk, maintain data integrity, and ensure products reach patients safely and ethically.
At PFSCM, we see quality as a connected process that unites our teams, suppliers, and partners through shared data and shared purpose.
This integrated approach accelerates decision-making, strengthens accountability, and builds trust among funders and governments who rely on transparency to achieve impact.
A culture of collaboration
Quality is everyone’s responsibility. At PFSCM, we believe that assurance doesn’t sit within one team — it lives across the organization. Every staff member plays a role in upholding our standards, whether by reporting an incident, maintaining accurate data, or ensuring compliance in their daily work.
Our Quality Management System (QMS), certified to ISO 9001:2015 for more than a decade, is the foundation on which this culture is built. It ensures that quality is not just managed, but lived — integrated into every function, project, and partnership. Through regular training, audits, and refresher programs, we ensure that every PFSCM team member understands our quality policy, knows how to apply it, and is equipped to take ownership of it.
This inclusivity extends to our incident management system, where any staff member can raise a concern, flag a risk, or suggest an improvement. It’s an open and transparent process that encourages participation and continuous learning, turning every issue into an opportunity to improve.
Additionally, all employees receive Wholesale Distribution Authorization (WDA) and Good Distribution Practice (GDP) training to ensure full awareness of regulatory responsibilities — because understanding compliance is the first step toward maintaining it.
Embedding this shared sense of responsibility, PFSCM has created a truly collaborative quality culture — one that empowers individuals, strengthens accountability, and drives continuous improvement across all operations. Working together with suppliers, clients, and international partners, we help raise the bar for quality across regions.
Why thinking differently matters
A connected approach to quality assurance: from manual assurance to digital foresight
PFSCM’s Quality Assurance & Regulatory (QA&R) team recognizes that product quality cannot solely be ensured through legacy systems and conventional methodologies alone. As medical technologies and supply chain demands become more complex, QA&R teams must not only update their skill sets but also modernize the tools that drive assurance.
Through digital platforms – including Supplier Relationship Management (SRM), Product Information Management (PIM), Quality Management Systems (QMS), and AI-enabled analytics – PFSCM has streamlined supplier and product prequalification, reduced manual effort, and improved data integrity.
What once required over a week of manual paperwork can now be completed in just four days, accelerating access to lifesaving health products. This approach strengthens compliance with global standards such as EU GDP, ISO 9001:2015, while deepening collaboration and transparency across the supply chain ecosystem.
Digitization also fosters continual improvement and organizational learning: centralized training, digital documentation, and continuous feedback loops help every PFSCM team member contribute to quality excellence.
By connecting technology, people, and processes, PFSCM turns assurance from a reactive process into a proactive system of foresight, agility, and trust.
Sustainability and assurance go hand in hand
Our quality systems are aligned with ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 20400:2017, embedding sustainability and ethics into procurement and logistics.
This alignment ensures that assurance contributes not only to product safety but also to responsible sourcing, reduced emissions, and social impact.
Thinking differently for lasting impact
The future of quality lies in connection — between systems, between people, and between principles and practice.
When quality becomes foresight, organizations gain the agility to adapt, the transparency to build trust, and the confidence to sustain results.
World Quality Week 2025 reminds us that quality is the foundation of resilience. When embedded across systems, people, and partnerships, it creates the stability needed to respond, recover, and rebuild – no matter how the world changes.
