Breaking Down Silos: How ISS Nexus Unites Clinical Operations and Supply Chain Teams for Smarter, Faster Trials

In clinical trials, collaboration is everything. Yet, too often, clinical operations and supply chain teams work in silos—separately managing patient enrollment, inventory, and regulatory demands. This disconnect leads to inefficiencies, delays, and increased costs that can derail even the best-planned studies.

At ISS, we recognize that true efficiency comes from cross-functional collaboration. That’s why ISS Nexus isn’t just a tool for managing supply or tracking patient enrollment—it’s a comprehensive platform designed to bridge the gap between clinical operations and supply chain teams, ensuring everyone has the insights they need to keep trials on track.

Connecting Clinical and Supply Chain Teams: A Smarter Approach

Clinical operations teams focus on patient recruitment, site management, and ensuring compliance with trial protocols. On the other hand, supply chain professionals handle inventory, shipping, and logistics to make sure the right supplies reach the right locations on time. Both are essential, but without real-time coordination, their efforts can be misaligned, leading to supply shortages, missed patient targets, and ultimately, costly delays.

ISS Nexus changes this by creating a single source of truth where both teams can collaborate seamlessly.

Here’s how:

- Real-Time Data Integration: ISS Nexus centralizes data from both clinical operations and supply chain functions, giving teams complete visibility into each other’s priorities. Whether it’s tracking patient enrollment numbers or forecasting future supply needs, both teams work off the same data. This eliminates guesswork and ensures that supply meets demand at every stage of the trial.

- Forecasting Aligned with Clinical Needs: Our advanced forecasting tools don’t just account for supply chain logistics. They also incorporate patient enrollment data and trial timelines, allowing teams to predict exactly when and where supplies will be needed. With features like side-by-side plan comparisons and event-based triggers, ISS Nexus ensures that supply orders align with clinical milestones, preventing stockouts and over-ordering.

- Integrated Regulatory Compliance: Both clinical operations and supply chain teams must adhere to strict regulatory guidelines. ISS Nexus streamlines compliance by integrating QA and regulatory controls into every step of the process. Whether it’s tracking lot genealogy or managing temperature-sensitive shipments, teams are alerted to compliance risks in real-time, allowing for quick course corrections.

Breaking Down Silos Drives Operational Excellence

The benefits of a platform that connects both sides are tangible. For example, supply chain teams can see the enrollment rates and recruitment forecasts that impact supply needs. On the flip side, clinical operations gain insight into supply chain timelines and potential disruptions, giving them the ability to adjust recruitment strategies or trial timelines proactively.

These cross-functional capabilities lead to:

- Faster Trial Execution: By having all stakeholders aligned, bottlenecks are minimized. Site activation can be timed with supply deliveries, ensuring trials progress without unnecessary delays.

- Cost Efficiency: Precise forecasting and demand-sensing prevent costly over-ordering or emergency shipments. Teams can optimize inventory levels, ensuring that materials are neither wasted nor insufficient.

- Improved Patient Care: Ultimately, the patient benefits the most. When trials run smoothly, with both clinical and supply chain teams in sync, treatments reach patients faster and under better conditions. This patient-centric supply chain approach ensures that clinical care is always at the forefront.

Final Thoughts: A New Standard for Collaboration

At ISS, we understand that silos are detrimental to trial success. That’s why ISS Nexus is built to unite clinical and supply chain teams, delivering the real-time insights and forecasting tools both sides need to make informed decisions. By breaking down these silos, you can achieve greater efficiency, reduce costs, and keep trials running on schedule—while keeping the focus where it belongs: on the patient.

Curious how ISS Nexus can transform your organizations collaboration? Request a personalized demo here and take the first step towards smarter, faster trials.