Anda hosted its 10th annual Supply Chain Symposium, a two-day event leading into NACDS Annual. Anda’s annual event featured 450 different meetings between retailers and vendors, and fostered networking opportunities with key stakeholders from corporations representing retail pharmacy, hospital and long-term care, together with manufacturers representing generic and brand pharmaceuticals, as well as OTC products.
“This event represents an opportunity to leverage the knowledge and experiences from industry professionals from core components within the pharmaceutical supply chain,” said Anthony Mihelich, Anda’s VP purchasing. Structured opportunities for knowledge sharing were provided to attendees during a presentation by IMS Health’s Doug Long, who gave attendees a breakdown of what is happening across the industry. In addition to Long, ECRM sponsored Anda’s Business Exchange, facilitating those meetings between retailers and vendors.
“During this event, our customers and vendors are able to address both challenges and opportunities to improve the supply chain so we ensure the best patient care and product access,” Mihelich said. “It is clear that after 25 years, Anda has established themselves within the pharmaceutical industry as a trusted, reliable partner to both their customers and vendors alike.”
This year, the event also gave attendees a chance to meet one of the NFL’s all-time greats and a Grammy-nominated musician. Thursday night, Anda executives introduced its celebrity guests, including NFL Hall of Famer Jim Kelly and Grammy-nominated musician Brian McKnight. Kelly holds the all-time NFL record for most yards gained per completion in a single game (44), led the league with 33 touchdown passes in 1991 and made the Pro Bowl five times. McKnight has earned 16 Grammy nominations, though he has yet to win. The first single off of his last CD, “Everything,” reached the Top 20 on the national Adult Contemporary charts in September 2016.
On Friday, attendees enjoyed a little fun on the golf course, ending the event during a luncheon with guest speaker and International Tennis Hall of Famer Jimmy Connors.