Quality Assurance
A robust quality assurance (QA) system ensures the efficacy and safety of HIV/AIDS medicines and supplies for care and treatment. A functioning QA system also improves supply chain processes and effectiveness. The Supply Chain Management System (SCMS) emphasizes product quality in everything we do, from the commodities we procure to our internal processes and the management systems we use.

Technical Assistance
As HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment programs expand, technical assistance (TA) can be helpful to provide the skills, knowledge sharing and human resources to prepare for a rapid increase in program demand. The Supply Chain Management System (SCMS) leverages the experience of 16 international organizations to provide high-quality TA and facilitate local ownership.

Forecasting and Supply Planning
Accurate quantification for HIV/AIDS care and treatment programs—forecasting the quantities needed and planning procurement for appropriate pharmaceuticals and supplies—is essential to ensuring that patients receive a continuous supply of medi-cines. SCMS develops harmonized national forecasts of needed products and shares this information with our donors and other stakeholders. The result is a sys-tematic, coordinated response that helps ensure the effective use of resources.

Order Fulfillment
Procuring life-saving medicines and other supplies for HIV/AIDS requires careful planning and a long lead time to ensure an adequate supply of commodities. Lack of planning can lead to emergency situations that escalate costs and risks. The Supply Chain Management System (SCMS) offers our clients a systematic, well planned, transparent approach to order fulfillment that reduces the need for expensive emergency procurements. We work closely with clients and vendors to ensure that programs get the appropriate pharmaceuticals and supplies—how, when, and where they need them—at the best value.

Procurement
Using an aggregated purchasing model to reduce costs and ensure quality Without a well-planned procurement process, HIV/AIDS programs in developing countries risk stockouts, costly emergency purchases and overpurchasing. To leverage economies of scale in procurement, the Supply Chain Management System (SCMS) provides a consolidated procurement mechanism. The results are lower prices, increased coordination between suppliers and recipients, and improved product quality.

Freight Forwarding
Leveraging industry best practices for supply chain efficiencies Managing a supply chain that serves multiple developing countries presents considerable challenges, from operating in a resource-limited infrastructure to overcoming high-risk conditions—particularly when the products being moved are high-value pharmaceuticals or products requiring refrigeration. The Supply Chain Management System (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.

Regional Distribution Centers and Inventory Management
In the past, HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment programs in Africa relied on infrequent shipments of large quantities of antiretrovirals, HIV test kits and other essential supplies—often enough to cover more than six months of consumption. By pre-positioning strategic inventory of those items regionally, and by making small, frequent shipments to client countries, SCMS ensures rapid response to program needs and protects local supply chain infrastructure from overload, thus enabling scale-up.