How Supply Chain Becomes a Growth Partner in Pharma

In an interview with Pharmaceutical Commerce based on his opening keynote at Logipharma Europe 2026—“Supply Chain & Commercial Alignment,” Clemens Twardy, CVP and global head of Supply Chain and Lifecycle Management for Animal Health at Boehringer Ingelheim, says supply chain can no longer sit at the edge of the business. He explains how closer alignment with commercial teams, greater transparency, and stronger people capabilities help supply chain become a true partner in growth and customer impact.

Twardy breaks that transformation into three practical moves: reorganizing around commercial counterparts, building clear visibility into supply risks and opportunities, and developing teams that can speak the language of the business. He also argues that trust is earned through steady execution and a shared understanding of customers, products, and priorities, not by asking for a seat at the table.

Also discussed are how supply chain strategy changes across the product lifecycle, from launch “hypercare” to routine execution, and how it can support faster market entry and response during outbreak situations. Looking ahead, Twardy points to AI and automation as forces that could accelerate trade-off decisions and reshape how supply chain and commercial teams work together.

PC: What does aligning supply chain with commercial goals look like for pharma companies?

Twardy: Ultimately, our aim is to be highly relevant as a supply chain organization to our commercial colleagues and to our customers. For us, this transformation involved three key areas.

First, we structured our organization to align directly with the commercial team, establishing a dedicated point of contact for each area. Second, we worked continuously to enhance transparency, step by step and day by day, so we could offer a comprehensive view of the supply situation, including opportunities, threats, mitigation strategies, scenarios, and financial impacts. This gradual improvement built trust in our work. Finally, we invested in developing our people. A decisive factor in building a meaningful and trustful relationship with our commercial colleagues is speaking their language, understanding their challenges and the products and customers we serve.

With this approach, you don’t have to ask for a seat at the table; you earn it naturally. I also believe this approach applies across industries; having worked in chemicals, fast-moving consumer goods, and pharmaceuticals, I’ve found that the underlying principles and success factors remain very similar.

How do the supply chain requirements change when a product moves from a high-stakes launch into a more stable, mature phase?

Simply put, the process transitions from hypercare to routine. During the launch preparation and immediately after the launch, a dedicated project team drives the effort. At this stage, the focus is on speed-to-market, building up inventory to address various demand scenarios, managing initial re-supply volumes after launch, and maintaining agility as volumes change. Once this phase concludes, the product moves into what we refer to as regular execution.

How can a well-designed supply chain be used as a proactive tool to gain market share or enter new regions faster?

For this, aligning with commercial goals is essential: an in-depth exchange on growth plans, strategies, and timely execution is the way to ensure that the right level of supply is available for potential significant increases in demand.

We recently experienced this during an outbreak situation. The commercial and supply chain teams collaborated closely, carefully monitoring the rapidly changing needs of countries and expediting production and shipping accordingly. As a result, we successfully helped reduce the impact of the outbreak by collaborating with authorities and farmers.

Once the decision is made to move into a new market or region, what we refer to as geo-expansion, we can support faster entry by accelerating processes such as SKU creation, artwork preparation, and shipping.

What will genuinely change how these two parts of the business intersect?

I believe that rapidly advancing technological capabilities, especially those summarized as AI, will empower us to make decisions much more quickly. Automated evaluation of complex trade-offs and their respective impacts, from top to bottom line, will make a huge difference in the speed of decision-making.