Testing and Vaccine rollout: Getting it right!
Large companies and government entities have done an outstanding job building the infrastructure and raw materials supply chain to combat COVID, but they are still learning how to effectively plan days and weeks ahead at a granular level and make highly informed decisions.
Blog by George Heiler, [email protected], (602) 620 3429
Anaplan Solution Architect and Head of Delivery, Anavate Partners
Introduction
Since the first detection of the COVID virus, each nation’s response has proven that there is no single path, not one correct way and that volatility is a constant. It would also seem that uncertainty will be with us for some time, continuing to create disruption to our personal and business lives as well as affecting our economies and the world at large due to the inbuilt interdependencies. Now more than ever we see how connected we actually are and that we cannot afford to be negligent of that fact.
The challenges presented have forced us all to rethink processes and adapt, as gaps have been unearthed, and processes refined and incrementally improved. However, even with adaptation we are still in recovery mode, and looking for strategies to return to stability and even thrive with the goal. or returning to some level of normality.
In the context of the COVID responses, testing has already challenged the states in different ways and with multiple vaccines now available, we will need to take those lessons learned into consideration. Efficient and safe distribution as well as reporting beyond consumption is essential to help us improve Health outcomes and reduce disruptions for business and our personal lives on a daily basis.
A path to recovery.
Safe to say that that the only constant is change and the learnings from recent happenings is that organisations need to try and be ahead if we want to remain successful. Being ahead means pro-actively planning and being positioned in the driver seat of thinking ahead and providing agility in responding to changes. A well-planned vaccine rollout is an absolute requirement in order to map the most efficient and effective path to recovery. The ability to comprehensively plan for and adapt to the challenges of the rollout of the vaccine is crucial for our existence, and leaves no room for error.
The complexity of the logistics related to the vaccines coupled with population location, healthcare resources and facilities available also highlight the interdependencies of getting the right treatment to the correct population type (based on vaccine efficacies) at the right time. An example is the interdependence and fragility of the process which can quite easily fall apart if the orchestration of refrigeration type or capacity is overlooked and spoilage occurs. Equally disastrous if PPE or syringes, healthcare or facilities staff are not available in the numbers, locations or at the time required in line with patient scheduling..
The knock-on effects of a disconnected, mistimed or incorrectly calculated plan could not only have financial considerations but also the potential for life-or-death implications.
The solution. Anavate and Anaplan.
The Anavate solution (powered by Anaplan) delivers a comprehensive single end to end planning platform which takes into account population and geographical distribution, demographic profiling (to help determine center location and vaccine type distribution), facilities availability and capacity (including refrigeration type, capacity, beds available), workforce type (including availability, qualifications and location), equipment and consumable availability (incl PPE) as well as modeling against multiple health benchmarks (Local, State, Federal, Global and beyond). An optimised plan can be developed to present the most efficient outcome(s) or recommendations.
Anaplan together with Anavate, have used the proven solution developed for the COVID testing and extended it with new vaccine-specific features. We have investigated what is required to plan for adequate vaccination sites, storage, distribution, accredited and support personnel, equipment in such a fast-paced environment and how we can support an effective targeted vaccine rollout and reduce spoilage.
In one flexible solution organisation’s (Health and medical authorities and their suppliers) business users are quickly and easily able to plan (model and run what–if scenarios) and manage their demand and capacity planning, workforce and financial planning and health benchmarks.
Furthermore, as new information comes to hand (from the field or from other systems), health planners can seamlessly integrate that data and quickly pivot or if required refine or add to their model features, functions, or calculations to ensure they keep ahead in their planning.
“… a bidirectional flow of data enables planners to keep ahead of constant change and the field to adapt.”
The above diagram demonstrates a simplified overview currently used by one of the states in North America.
Democratising planning to defeat uncertainty.
Timely availability of testing and vaccine distribution and dispensation are required for economies to recover and populations to regain normalcy in their lives.
By enabling the field to record and easily report back in real time, a bidirectional flow of data enables planners to keep ahead of constant change, filling operational gaps, with the field able to quickly adapt as required.
The Anaplan Anavate solution enables enhanced reporting and forecasting controls with the levers in place to empower workforce capacity and distribution planning with end-to-end supply chain and asset capacity visibility.
With over a year in planning solutions for organizations globally, the Anavate-Anaplan solution delivers a comprehensive solution in a dynamic environment with the goal of saving lives and livelihoods, quickly and efficiently.
Feel free to reach out at [email protected] to schedule a demo, or shoot me an email or give me a call just to talk about Anaplan and this exciting, transformational ecosystem.