Conclusion

This lifecycle approach to knowledge excellence in the biopharmaceutical industry began by setting out the reasons why knowledge management (KM) is good for business. Chapter 1 affirmed that there is a renewed effort within the industry to lower the cost of goods and reduce inventory levels by enhancing the efficiency, agility, and velocity across the complex and fragmented supply chain. Faced with the challenges of increased mergers and acquisitions, outsourcing activities, localization of manufacturing in the emerging markets, and rapidly changing requirements in product demand the authors assert that it is now imperative for the industry to transform. A key element of this transformation is the recognition that critical knowledge about product performance and patient risk is created at each node in the supply chain right across the lifecycle of the product, starting as early as predevelopment. This largely untapped resource of organizational knowledge, and more importantly each organization’s ability to flow that knowledge to where and when it is needed, presents an enormous opportunity for each business to unlock.