Clinical Trial Kitting - Three common problems with finding the right supplier

Navigating the complex landscape of clinical trial kitting requires precision and reliability. Common hurdles like quality inconsistencies, delivery delays and inflexible kitting options can impede progress. This blog will tackle these challenges head-on, show how to embed actionable solutions and turn these obstacles into opportunities for success to elevate your trial operations. 

Identifying and overcoming supplier issues

In clinical trials, identifying what your supplier issues are and promptly applying solutions will help you choose the supplier that can best serve your study requirements. Key challenges include inconsistent quality; delivery delays; and a lack of kitting flexibility. Simultaneously understanding and solving these issues can significantly enhance your trial outcomes.

Here are three common problems with finding the best kitting supplier for your study:

1. Inconsistent kitting quality

Inconsistent kitting quality can severely compromise trial success, leading to mishandled supply kits and errors in data collection. This causes frustration with Site Managers and Clinical Trial Nurses, and ultimately creates a poor experience for study participants which can contribute to the high cost of patient drop-outs and subsequent replacement.

By asking identified suppliers about their quality benchmarking processes and checking how receptive they are to routine compliance audits should help you separate the reliable from the not-so-reliable suppliers. Also ask - what is their approach for when supply deviations occur? Do they have corrective actions policies?

Once kitting supply is in motion with a supplier and inconsistencies occur with regularity, correcting this can be very challenging and a lack of confidence in supplier can grow. By being clear on your kitting requirements and getting supplier involved early or at protocol stage gives them an opportunity to plan effectively to ensure your kitting supply chain remains consistent and hassle free.

2. Late supply

Kitting delivery delays cause significant headaches. If supplies are not reaching clinical sites and equipping nurses for decentralized studies with what they need, the integrity of the trial can be diminished. If, for example, a participant's appointments are often rescheduled because the correct kits are not ready for their visits, the patient is inconvenienced, which not only risks patient drop out, but degrades patient centricity. threatening the trial's integrity.

When vetting suppliers, be rigorous with your questions. If they can not satisfy you with their responses at this stage, there will likely be ramifications later. Make sure you check they are set up to supply to the global locations you require and challenge them with specifics. What are their Importer of Record (IoR) capabilities for example? What experience do they have with cold-chain shipments into Southern Africa? If they can not convince you of their expertise, better to understand their limitations early rather than deep into a study.

3. Lack of flexibility with kitting

An agile approach to kitting is a key attribute for suppliers to offer. Kitting requirements throughout a study can and likely will change, and a lack of flexibility with supply quantities and item amendments with kitting supplies can cause headaches later.

Before beginning, find out about a suppliers credentials by asking them searching questions. Ask them to demonstrate scenarios where they have had to be flexible and tailor efficiently towards custom trial specifications.

Support for your clinical trial kitting

Woodley Trial Solutions have the expertise you need to support your study with clinical trial kitting services. Our team is ready to help you overcome these challenges and enhance the success of your study. Get in touch with us to discuss how we can offer tailored support and solutions to meet your specific needs.