Most pharmaceutical companies rely on outsourced suppliers for bulk drugs and its intermediates, with an assurance of quality. It is important that companies are careful in selecting right bulk drug manufacturing partners and suppliers.

Since active pharmaceutical ingredients are important in modern medication one needs to be absolutely sure before selecting a manufacturer/supplier. Hope the points mentioned above will give you a clear direction about how to proceed with selection.

The following lists key aspects of a good bulk drug supplier:

KYS - Know Your Supplier: As a rule of thumb, knowing the background of the supplier is a prerequisite to get assured quality products. A background search of the supplier will help to know facts about the business practices, financial strengths/weaknesses, market reputation, client base, existing clients, licensing, etc.

Learn about clients: Finding out the clients are will reveal a lot about the supplier’s business. A supplier catering to the leading brands obviously is a reputed one. Most companies nowadays are candid about their client base and often showcase client feedback on their websites. While discussing about future business relations asking for references and checking up with them before signing any contract is important.

Guarantee about products: A supplier must be ready to vouch for the ingredients supplied and take responsibility about product quality. Deciding about the terms and conditions regarding quality assurance and product responsibility is very crucial.

Discuss the financials: While selecting a supplier, financials are an important determining factor for a long term business relation. However, costs shouldn’t remain the only selection criteria. Researching the market and requesting supplier quotes will help find a supplier offering quality at reasonable cost.

Order and supply: While ordering, ensuring a timely supply is also important. The shipping and other fees, such as custom, sales and other taxes and insurance costs, will provide the actual cost of production. While deciding about supplier cost, all these aspects must be taken into consideration.

Quality: Aside from being competitive the supplier must also assure quality of the supply. Finding out about the licensing status and registration details will help in decision making. Also, checking out the manufacturer’s legal reputation in regards to investigations or lawsuits filed and declared verdicts, is essential.