SASB

Drug supply chain integrity

On a monthly basis, the Supply Chain area maps out the main Expected Loss of the DCs. Another area of focus is the identification of products lost due to short shelf life, which makes it possible to negotiate reimbursement or other actions with our business partners. On this front, we have also implemented improvements to the Records Management system, allowing the inclusion of product shelf life information. In addition, we have created a quality deviation and recall flow, speeding up the removal of these items from stock. In 2023, a process that gained momentum was the transfer between DCs in the state of São Paulo, where the largest volume of our products is concentrated. One of the main objectives is stock balancing, which avoids repurchasing of products. In pharmacies, we have implemented a transfer process between branches, where a pharmacy with an excess of a certain product transfers it to another unit with a sales history. Pricing actions are also carried out, prioritizing items that have not been sold for over ten months. Two other actions that continue to help reduce losses in pharmacies are: addressing excess products not reimbursed by business partners, in which case we evaluate the time that items have been in excess and carry out promotional actions to reduce potential losses; and promotional action (for our in-store customers) of products with a short shelf life, which reduces losses and the incidence of incineration. Finally, we have the DOA Project, which aims to donate products with minor packaging damage or close to their expiration date, but still suitable for use. Such products are intended for partner organizations (learn more on page 76 of the 2023 Annual and Sustainability Report).