SCMS Guide: "Quality Assurance Requirements for Food by Prescription." (2012)

This guide outlines how new suppliers are required to complete a Request for Information which includes product specification (composition, packaging), competitive price, supply capacity, lead time, and registrations in destination countries, QA/QC systems, etc.

SCMS World Aids Day Letter (2011)

Overview of SCMS's efforts during the past year with a look at the rapid scale up of HIV/AIDS testing and treatment to provide access to life-saving medicines.

SCMS World AIDS Day Letter ( 2010)

Overview of SCMS's efforts during the past year with a look at its efforts to help transform the HIV/AIDS supply chain for medicines and other commodities which provides life-saving medicines to treatment sites countrywide.

SCMS's Report: "Three Years of Saving Lives." (April 2009)

Overview of SCMS achievements during the past three years. As of December 31, 2008, SCMS had delivered $247 million in HIV/AIDS commodities, including $153.2 million of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs, $39.8 million of HIV test kits and $42.8 million of laboratory supplies.

SCMS Presentation: "Forecasting ARV Demand 2008-2010 and Improving paediatric and second line ARV options." (2008)

Presentation outlining coordinated procurement planning process for ARV's which provides a framework for coordination and supports the development of roles and activities at country level

SCMS In Brief: "In Botswana:Transforming supply chains, transforming lives." (April 2012)

Learn how SCMS’s collaborative efforts have been transforming Botswana's national supply chain, not just for HIV/ AIDS but for all health related commodities.

SCMS In Brief: "In Zimbabwe: integrating supply chain management into pre-service training of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and nurses." (December 2011)

Learn how SCMS's training of pre-service trainers has helped provide graduating biomedical students with supply chain skills and reduce long term in-service training costs.

SCMS In Brief: "In Zambia: Building sustainable capacity through pre-service supply chain training." (November 2011)

Learn how SCMS’s intervention on training pre-service trainers has helped provide graduating biomedical students with supply chain skills and reduce long term in-service training costs.

SCMS In Brief: "In Nigeria, a PEPFAR-wide strategy for procurement." (November 2011)

Learn how SCMS supported developing a multipronged approach to coordinating procurement. A key component of the strategy is the purchase, shipping and distribution of high-volume commodities warehoused in a local distribution center.

SCMS In Brief: "In Namibia: Incorporating community." (November 2011)

By designing a sustainable community home-based care (CHBC) supply logistics system, SCMS helped transform the CHBC supply chain’s parallel structure into an efficient and integrated national pharmaceutical supply chain system.

SCMS In Brief: "Product quality is a priority for SCMS." (November 2010)

Since the beginning of SCMS, our quality assurance program has been constantly innovating to ensure the commodities that we procure for people living with HIV/AIDS are of the highest quality standards.

SCMS In Brief: "From Emergency Relief to Sustained Response." (August 2010)

Learn how PEPFAR and SCMS are moving rapidly from emergency relief to sustainable support for HIV/AIDS treatment programs.

SCMS In Brief: "Focusing on the Big Picture." (July 2010)

Learn how with technical support from SCMS and other partners, ministries of health and other key agencies have changed the way they procure, store and distribute medicines and other health supplies.

SCMS In Brief: "Expanding Treatment by Saving Costs." (April 2010)

Learn how SCMS is establishing integrated supply chains that link multiple procurement functions and coordinate across stakeholders to lower costs for commodities, shipping, warehousing and distribution.

SCMS In Brief: "Taking it to the road and sea." (January 2010)

Learn how SCMS has worked with clients to develop forecasts that help SCMS and our clients to plan for switching appropriate shipments from air freight to sea and/or road and avoid periods of peak shipping prices.

SCMS In Brief: "In Nigeria, building local capacity from day one." (August 2009)

Learn how SCMS helped to harmonize Nigeria's system with the existing national HIV/AIDS commodity logistics system.

SCMS In Brief: "In Namibia, Improvements to warehousing support scale-up of HIV/AIDS programs." (April 2009)

Learn how SCMS conducted an assessment of storage infrastructure, handling and distribution and developed recommendations aimed at optimizing space utilization and warehousing infrastructure.

SCMS In Brief: "Leveraging supply chain best practices for food by prescription program." (April 2009)

Learn how SCMS is expanding its services to procure, store and distribute specialized food products, namely ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) and fortified blended flours (FBF).

SCMS: "Avoiding the bitter pill - quality assurance prevents harm." (April 2009)

Learn how SCMS’s risk-based routine-drug-inspection sampling and testing program has prevented counterfeit products from entering PEPFAR supported supply chains.

SCMS In Brief: "In Botswana, strengthening drug registration to improve access to HIV/AIDS treatment." (April 2009)

Learn how SCMS worked with Botswana to address the registration backlog for better access to a wider range of ARVs.

SCMS In Brief: "Côte d’Ivoire’s new community reporting system puts data on the fast track." (April 2009)

Learn how SCMS, in collaboration with donors and partners, implemented a pilot program to test PDA effectiveness in collecting and disseminating data.

SCMS In Brief: "Donor coordination in Mozambique. (June 2007)

Learn how unprecedented level of funding coordination between the Mozambican government and key donors helps save lives.

SCMS In Brief: "Coordinating donor funds to scale up HIV/AIDS treatment in Rwanda." (June 2007)

Learn how assuming ownership of donor coordination has been key for Rwanda in reaching milestones in the country’s HIV/AIDS response.

SCMS In Brief: "Guyana, Strengthening systems to save lives." (March 2007)

Learn how strengthening systems in Guyana helps ensure an uninterrupted supply of quality medicines for people living with HIV/AIDS.

SCMS FAQ: Procuring commodities through SCMS

Learn how to work with SCMS on procuring products needed for a comprehensive HIV/AIDS care and treatment program.

SCMS FAQ: specialized food products

Learn about FBP (food by prescription) programs are providing food and nutrition interventions as part of clinical HIV care and treatment. The objective of FBP is to improve health, nutrition, antiretroviral treatment (ART) adherence and survival outcomes.

SCMS FAQ: Counterfeits

Learn about the issues of counterfeit pharmaceuticals and their implications for HIV/AIDS programs. Find out how SCMS is combating counterfeits by obtaining drugs directly from the manufacturer, using a regional distribution centers (RDC) system serving PEPFAR countries, and conducting selective sampling and physical examination of the drugs.

SCMS FAQ: Regional Distribution Centers

Learn how Regional distribution centers (RDCs) that operate in Ghana, Kenya and South Africa are being used to store and distribute the most frequently requested essential medicines and other health products.

SCMS FAQ: Vendor and Supplier

Learn how SCMS selects suppliers and the kinds of products SCMS procures.

SCMS FAQ - English

PFSCM Pharmaceutical Wholesaler Site Inspection Checklist

This checklist is used to evaluate both international and local wholesalers when assessing quality systems.

SCMS Technical Brief: "Implementing a system to ensure quality products in the supply chain." (January 2011)

Learn how SCMS emphasizes product quality in everything we do, from the commodities we procure to our internal processes and the management systems we use.

SCMS Technical Brief: "RDC and Inventory Management - "Leveraging regional distribution centers (RDCs) to manage inventories of essential items for HIV/AIDS programs and to provide frequent, regular resupply." (September 2010)

Learn how SCMS ensures rapid response to program needs and protects local supply chain infrastructure from overload, thus enabling scale-up.

SCMS Technical Brief: "Forecasting and Supply Planning - Accurately forecasting the need for life-saving medicines and supplies." (September 2010)

Learn how SCMS develops harmonized national forecasts of needed products and shares this information with our donors and other stakeholders. The result is a systematic, coordinated response that helps ensure the effective use of resources.

SCMS Technical Brief: "Freight Forwarding - Leveraging industry best practices for supply chain efficiencies." (March 2010)

Learn how SCMS leverages the best practices of leading international and in-country transportation providers, along with a web-based tracking tool for in-transit visibility, to ensure efficient freight forwarding and improved supply chain performance.

SCMS Technical Brief: "Order Fulfillment - Reducing the need for emergency procurements." (March 2010)

Learn how SCMS offers our clients a systematic, well planned, transparent approach to order fulfillment that reduces the need for expensive emergency procurements.

SCMS Technical Brief: "Procurement - Pooling procurement to reduce costs and ensure quality." (February 2010)

Learn how SCMS provides a consolidated procurement mechanism. The results are lower prices, increased coordination between suppliers and recipients, and improved product quality.

SCMS Technical Brief: "Technical Assistance - Ensuring supply chain sustainability while transforming supply chain performance." (May 2007)

Learn how SCMS leverages the experience of 16 international organizations to provide high-quality TA and facilitate local ownership.

Ethiopia Commodity Security Brochure

"Meeting the Challenge of Universal Access: Commodity Security through Systems and Coordination."

Ethiopia Distribution Brochure

"Saving Lives and Costs in Redesigning Ethiopia’s ART Supply Chain System."

Ethiopia HACTS Brochure

"HIV/AIDS Commodities Information Tracking System in Ethiopia: An Innovative Approach for Better Informed, More Rapid Decision-Making."

Ethiopia Laboratory Logistics Brochure

"Ethiopian National Laboratory Logistics System: Overcoming Despair through a Systematic Response."

Ethiopia Monitoring and Evaluation Brochure

"How a rapidly expanding public health chain in Ethiopia transitioned from an activity focused to a results-based management."

Ethiopia Quantification Brochure

From need to products and systems: Role of Quantification in the Rapid Scale-up of a Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Response

SCMS Report: "Self-instructional Training for New Medicine Dispensers in Vietnam." (November 24, 2009)

This report describes how SCMS planned, implemented and evaluated an underutilized, cost-effective and successful training methodology for dispensers antiretroviral medicines in Vietnam.

Tanzania Field Office Newsletter (April 2010)

In this issue: Effective commodity management and strengthening enterprise resource planning for the medical stores department.

Tanzania Field Office Newsletter (October 2010)

In this issue: Rich Owens Jr. visitsTanzania, After ARVs SCMS is now onto laboratories, PFSCM receives excellence awards, Quality Assurance: Innovative program launches in Tanzania.