Engineering the Antifragile Supply Chain

A Sneak Peek into Our AnyLogic 2025 Presentation

The pharmaceutical industry is in a constant state of flux. Global disruptions, shifting demand, and a complex regulatory landscape mean that traditional supply chain management is no longer enough. To thrive, companies need to move beyond resilience and embrace antifragility – the ability to not just withstand shocks, but to emerge stronger from them.

At Decision Lab, we’re proud to be at the forefront of this paradigm shift. We’re excited to announce that our very own Modelling and Optimisation Consultant, Disa Ray, will be co-presenting at the AnyLogic Conference 2025 alongside Gareth Alford, New Technology Innovation Director at AstraZeneca.

Their presentation, ‘Engineering the Antifragile Supply Chain: How AstraZeneca and Decision Lab Built a Strategic Digital Twin for Multi-Region Capacity Planning‘, will delve into our groundbreaking collaboration with AstraZeneca to revolutionise their capital allocation and capacity planning.

The Challenge: From Reactive to Proactive

AstraZeneca, a global pharmaceutical leader, faced a common challenge: making high-stakes investment decisions based on slow, fragmented, and error-prone spreadsheet-based planning. This reactive approach made it difficult to anticipate future demand, optimise their network, and navigate the intricate web of industry compliance, including adherence to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and regulations set by bodies like the MHRA.

The Solution: A Strategic Digital Twin

In partnership with AstraZeneca, we developed a Strategic Digital Twin of their supply chain. This innovative solution integrates three powerful, interconnected simulation models—Portfolio, Demand, and Capacity—into a unified, web-based platform. The digital twin allows senior leadership to simulate a decade of operations under thousands of scenarios. This robust modelling can provide the evidence needed to support a successful Marketing Authorisation (MA) and enhance overall Commercial Effectiveness, supporting high-stakes investment decisions with evidence-based strategy.

What You’ll Learn

Attendees of the presentation will gain valuable insights into:

• How to move from reactive, single-point forecasting to proactive, range-based planning.
• The power of a unified, web-based platform for strategic decision-making that improves market access.
• How to de-risk CAPEX, optimise your network, and turn uncertainty into a competitive advantage.
• The practical aspects of implementing Pharma 4.0 technologies while maintaining strict regulatory compliance.

Meet the Speakers

• Disa Ray is a Consultant at Decision Lab with a background in Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence. She has extensive experience in full-stack software development, user interface design, DevOps, and machine learning.
• Gareth Alford is the New Technology Innovation Director at AstraZeneca, where he focuses on intensifying API development through to manufacturing. With over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical sector, Gareth has been instrumental in creating modular systems that are fit for both manufacturing and R&D.

We invite you to join us at the AnyLogic Conference 2025, 9 September 2025, to learn more about this transformative project. This session will take place at 4 PM BST (UTC+1).

In the meantime, you can read our case study on the project here.