There are four thrust areas within this effort:

• Develop and coordinate an IT platform: for visibility of demand and supply of required goods and services to tackle the COVID-19 crisis. Development of platform is in progress and collaboration discussions are on with partners TCS and CII, first rollout expected soon.
• Establish Regional Inventory Centers: for visibility of demand and supply of required goods and services to tackle the COVID-19 crisis. Development of platform is in progress and collaboration discussions are on with partners TCS and CII, first rollout expected soon.
• Pre-emptive identification of supply chain issues in new launches of CSIR products (Devices, PPE, kits, drugs, vaccines etc) and services (testing, training) for COVID-19 management
• Establish best practices and synergies from other efforts (Rural Employment Generation, Food Security for marginalized sections, Epidemiological forecasting and Regulatory Standards Development)
• Presently, CSIR Supply Chain Vertical Team is working with PAN CSIR lab/unit scientists, TCS, CII, and other third parties to set up information management and forecasting databases at a national level to capture demand and supply scenarios for key items that are required to address the COVID-19 emergency. The primary aim is to build a public platform that will not only help users source primary items (those that can be used for surveillance/testing/vaccines/treatment/devices / personal protective equipment e.g. human temperature checking devices, kits, remdesivir, ventilators, masks, sanitizer) but also their first-level components, so that:
  • Anticipated shortages can be addressed;
  • Black marketing, hoarding, and over-forecasting is dis-incentivized; and
  • Over-production can be avoided.
• The key task is to prepare a bill of materials for each key item category and to provide a document or link to the specifications. There may be more than one specification for a product category (e.g. home, mobile, and hospital ventilators). After that, an Item master- a standard form capturing all details of the primary use item - has to be prepared in line with TCS, CII requirements, which will be spelled out on national level healthcare information and demand forecasting platform.

Regional Inventory Support: CSIR has launched the "Regional Inventory Support" initiative for seamless management of the supply chain of essential items to tackle COVID 19 pandemic in areas around several CSIR labs, leveraging the available space and resources. This initiative will also take care of visibility of demand and supply of required goods and services. As of now CSIR has identified 11 of its national laboratories across India to act as regional inventories for buffer stocks of critical items like PPE and reagents for local hospitals and for testing centres. These regional inventory points will also stock and showcase CSIR-developed products (like oxygen concentrators, hands-free washing units and nasopharyngeal swabs) relevant to tacking the COVID-19 pandemic as such products are launched and go into bulk production. Click here to see locations on Google Map.

List of CSIR Laboratories to cover the Supply Chain Management