Description

Rebuilding Procurement on Shared Intelligence

In this insightful episode of Chain Reaction, Michael Ostroumov speaks with Carwyn Jones, founder of Ekarnia, a pioneering platform focused on transforming the commercial supply chain relationships in the pharmaceutical industry. With decades of experience at Eli Lilly, GSK, OpenHealth, and as head of the UK’s Pharmaceutical Marketing Society, Carwyn shares a comprehensive look at the inefficiencies, data challenges, and trust deficits in pharma's collaboration with service providers.

Carwyn explains how Ekarnia is addressing the long-standing pain points in sourcing, evaluating, and managing agency partnerships. From the murky waters of data lakes to the complexities of subjective supplier selection, this episode explores the need for transparency, standardization, and technological innovation. The conversation covers the future of AI in supplier intelligence, the critical role of UX in platform adoption, and why both sides of the pharma ecosystem must benefit equally for sustainable digital transformation.

Guest Bio

Carwyn Jones is the founder of Ekarnia, a platform dedicated to enhancing collaboration between pharmaceutical companies and their commercial service providers. With a rich background including leadership roles at Eli Lilly, GSK, OpenHealth, and Doctors.net, Carwyn has built deep expertise at the intersection of pharma operations and supplier ecosystems. He currently also chairs the Pharmaceutical Marketing Society UK, advocating for higher standards and better agency-client relationships across the industry.

Takeaways

• Pharma supplier selection is largely informal and often relies on personal networks.
• There’s a lack of centralized, reliable data on agency performance and capabilities.
• Many procurement processes in pharma rely on outdated or scattered documentation.
• "Corporate memory" is often stored in individuals’ heads, creating risk and inefficiency.
• Quarterly business reviews are frequently ignored or underutilized.
• There's no single "source of truth" platform for finding or evaluating service providers.
• Ekarnia provides a standardized, transparent review and endorsement model.
• Both pharma companies and agencies must benefit for platforms to achieve adoption.
• Standardization vs. customization remains a key tension in platform scalability.
• AI helps with data classification, but manual domain expertise remains crucial.
• Passwordless login and intuitive UX are critical for secure, scalable platform usage.
• Ekarnia is exploring API interoperability and RFP/RFI automation as next steps.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Carwyn Jones and Ekarnia

01:38 Pharma’s biggest supplier challenges

04:24 Clarifying the definition of “agency”

06:26 Relationship with physical supply chains

07:05 Data overload and lack of usable insight

09:11 Real-world examples of inefficiency

11:01 Subjectivity in supplier selection

13:13 Supplier performance monitoring pitfalls

15:28 The trust dilemma in pharma supply chains

17:21 Building value for both pharma and agencies

19:24 Platform standardization vs. client customization

23:30 AI’s role and challenges in data management

29:56 Emerging tech trends in pharma procurement

32:32 UX as a key differentiator

33:40 Closing thoughts and future potential

LinkedIn

Carwyn Jones

Michael Ostroumov