Healthcare Supply Chains

Author(s):  
Lidia Betcheva ◽  
Feryal Erhun ◽  
Houyuan Jiang

Historically, healthcare supply chains have commonly been associated with the procurement and logistics of healthcare supplies and services. However, recent developments in healthcare render this understanding too narrow. This chapter broadens the definition of supply chains in healthcare ecosystems by using concepts from traditional supply chains and supply chain management. The chapter groups healthcare supply chains into four main categories: health services, pharmaceutical, special health services, and health humanitarian supply chains. Next, the chapter discusses the key strategies, challenges, and risks as well as the existing research for these categories. The chapter concludes with a short discussion on future research.

Author(s):  
Jay R. Brown ◽  
Maxim A. Bushuev ◽  
Andrey A. Kretinin ◽  
Alfred L. Guiffrida

In today's supply chains, green and sustainable business practices have become an integral part of long-term strategy as well as the day-to-day operations, and sourcing and logistics play fundamental roles in ensuring the success of sustainable supply chains. In this chapter, we review recent research on three classes of decision models that are used in the logistics and sourcing functions of sustainable supply chains. Specifically, we examine and summarize recent developments in sustainable decision models for supplier selection, inventory lot-sizing, and last-mile delivery. Our review of the green and sustainable features found in these three models results in a single-source consolidation of models used in sustainable sourcing and logistics. This review may prove useful to researchers who focus on sustainable supply chain management and to practitioners who seek to expand their toolkit of models for the management and control of their supply chain.


Author(s):  
Stephen Kelly ◽  
Vojtech Klézl ◽  
John Israilidis ◽  
Neil Malone ◽  
Stuart Butler

AbstractAs industries mature, they rely more heavily on supply chain management (SCM) to ensure effective operations leading to greater levels of organisational performance. SCM has been widely covered in many industrial areas and, in line with other burgeoning sectors such as Tourism, an industry focus provides the opportunity to look in-depth at the context-based factors that affect SCM. Developments in digital distribution and rapid technological innovations have resulted in an increased focus on Digital Supply Chains (DSCs), which bring about significant changes to how consumers, customers, suppliers, and manufacturers interact, affecting supply chain design and processes. Through a systematic review of the Videogames Industry Supply Chain Management literature, which serves as a pertinent contextual example of a DSC, we look at how supply chains are affected by structural, market and technological change, such as increased platformisation, disintermediation and the proliferation of digital distribution. We distil these findings into a new research agenda, which identifies themes in line with extant DSC research, provides a series of relevant practice recommendations and identifies opportunities for future research.


2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 613-630 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudine Antoinette Soosay ◽  
Paul Hyland

Purpose – This paper aims to conduct a systematic review of the literature on supply chain collaboration published over a 10-year period from 2005 to 2014. It explores the nature and extent of research undertaken to identify key themes emerging in the field and gaps that need to be addressed. Design/methodology/approach – The authors review a sample of 207 articles from 69 journals, after using an iterative cycle of defining appropriate search keywords, searching the literature and conducting the analysis. Findings – Key themes include the meaning of collaboration; considerations for supply chain collaboration theory; emerging areas in collaboration for sustainability, technology-enabled supply chains and humanitarian supply chains; and the need for a more holistic approach, multi-tier perspectives and research into B2C collaborations. Research limitations/implications – The paper provides discussion and scope for future research into the area which would contribute to the field tremendously. Originality/value – There have been very few reviews in the past on supply chain collaboration, and this is one of the first extensive reviews conducted to address how well the body of knowledge on supply chain collaboration corresponds with our contemporary society.


2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 395-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lifang Wu ◽  
Xiaohang Yue ◽  
Alan Jin ◽  
David C. Yen

Purpose – As traditional supply chains are increasingly becoming intelligent with more objects embedded with sensors and better communication, intelligent decision making and automation capabilities, the new smart supply chain presents unprecedented opportunities for achieving cost reduction and enhancing efficiency improvement. The purpose of this paper is to study and explore the currents status and remaining issues of smart supply chain management. Design/methodology/approach – A literature review is conducted to synthesize the earlier work in this area, and to conceptualize and discuss the smart supply chain characteristics. Further, the authors formulate and investigate five key research topics including information management, IT infrastructure, process automation, advanced analytics, and supply chain integration. Findings – Studies in those aforementioned subject fields are reviewed, categorized, and analyzed based on the review questions defined in the study. It is notable that while the topics of converging atoms with digits are increasingly attracting attention from researchers and practitioners alike, there are many more interesting research questions needing to be addressed. Originality/value – The paper provides original and relevant guidance for supply chain management researchers and practitioners on developing smart supply chains.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Bischoff ◽  
Stefan Seuring

PurposeBlockchain technology is provoking significant disruptions, thereby affecting supply chain management. This study endeavoured to advance research regarding blockchain-based supply chain traceability by identifying the opportunities and limitations that accompany the adoption of public blockchains. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to contribute to contemporary supply chain research by an assessment of blockchain technology and its linkages to traceability.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is conceptual. The authors summarised the relevant literature on the concepts of supply chain traceability, conceptualised key elements exclusive to the public blockchain and highlighted opportunities and limitations in implementing traceability using blockchains.FindingsIncompatibilities were identified between general traceability and the public blockchain. However, when embracing the blockchain's privacy model, the blockchains can support information exchange in supply chains where vulnerability towards third parties, the confidentiality of information, or the privacy of participants are concerns. Furthermore, the public blockchain can support areas of supply chains where institutional interest is lacking.Originality/valueThis is one of the first papers in an international supply chain management journal to critically analyse the intersection of specific blockchain characteristics and supply chain traceability requirements. The authors thereby add to the discussion of designs for a disintermediated, peer-to-peer models and guide researchers and practitioners alike in exploring the application of disruptive change from blockchain technologies. By setting focus on the privacy model, the paper identifies the potential application and future research approaches to exploit the elementary strength of the blockchain.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (16) ◽  
pp. 6300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Zavala-Alcívar ◽  
María-José Verdecho ◽  
Juan-José Alfaro-Saiz

The challenges of global economies foster supply chains to have to increase their processes of collaboration and dependence between their nodes, generating an increase in the level of vulnerability to possible impacts and interruptions in their operations that may affect their sustainability. This has developed an emerging area of interest in supply chain management, considering resilience management as a strategic capability of companies, and causing an increase in this area of research. Additionally, supply chains should deal with the three dimensions of sustainability (economic, environmental, and social dimensions) by incorporating the three types of objectives in their strategy. Thus, there is a need to integrate both resilience and sustainability in supply chain management to increase competitiveness. In this paper, a systematic literature review is undertaken to analyze resilience management and its connection to increase supply chain sustainability. In the review, 232 articles published from 2000 to February 2020 in peer-reviewed journals in the Scopus and ScienceDirect databases are analyzed, classified, and synthesized. With the results, this paper develops a conceptual framework that integrates the fundamental elements for analyzing, measuring, and managing resilience to increase sustainability in the supply chain. Finally, conclusions, limitations, and future research lines are exposed.


Author(s):  
Eoin Plant ◽  
Yusen Xu ◽  
Gareth R.T. White

Green supply chain management and reverse logistics has emerged as a key area of research interest. Recent environmental regulations have also stimulated interest in this field. However, information sharing is a prerequisite to efficient and effective logistics utilisation. Manufacturing organisations in China were argued to be 10-20 years behind their Western counterparts in relation to information sharing in their supply chains (). This barrier needs to be addressed if China is going to maintain and grow its manufacturing position in the world, attempt to address green supply chain issues and their negative externalities. A systematic literature review was undertaken and green supply chain management theoretical framework adopted. The paper explores the perceptions of senior management toward green logistics and information sharing in Chinese electronic manufacturers. Previous research has concentrated on the focal companies (brand owners). This research concentrated on SME organisations further up the supply chain. Semi-structured interviews of eighteen senior managers of electronic manufactures in Jiangsu province China were conducted in 2012. Thematic analysis is applied and the findings contrasted to other research. The paper provides insight to the current status of managers' views on information sharing and green supply chain initiatives. Information platform, skills, investment, and trust emerged as key influences on their willing to engage in information sharing in relation to green supply chains. This research, among others, assists to inform policy for optimal evidence based intervention. Future research directions are also considered.


Author(s):  
Ruth Banomyong ◽  
Puthipong Julagasigorn ◽  
Paitoon Varadejsatitwong ◽  
Pairach Piboonrungroj

Purpose An understanding of the “AS-IS” stage of a relief operation is the basis for further action in humanitarian supply chain management. The purpose of this paper is to develop a toolbox called the Humanitarian Supply Chain Assessment Tool (HumSCAT). This toolbox is comprised of a set of basic tools which can be classified into each phase of disaster relief. Design/methodology/approach The HumSCAT is proposed by paralleling frequently used tools in commercial supply chains with the objectives and characteristics of relief phases. A case study was used to validate the HumSCAT along with six tools provided in the preparation phase. Findings The HumSCAT consists of seven tools in the preparation phase, nine tools in the response phase and ten tools in the recovery phase. The case study illustrates how to use the HumSCAT and the six tools. The latter were found to be useful for improving the relief chain. Research limitations/implications The list of tools is not exclusive. Other tools might be applicable as long as they meet the objectives and characteristics of the phase. A tool should be adjusted accordingly to the contexts. Tools in other phases should be validated in future research. Practical implications The HumSCAT may serve as a reference toolbox for practitioners. Its output can be used for further designing of the “TO-BE” status of humanitarian relief chains. Originality/value The HumSCAT is proposed as a toolbox for academics and practitioners involved in humanitarian supply chains.


1998 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas M. Lambert ◽  
Martha C. Cooper ◽  
Janus D. Pagh

In 1998, the Council of Logistics Management modified its definition of logistics to indicate that logistics is a subset of supply chain management and that the two terms are not synonymous. Now that this difference has been recognized by the premier logistics professional organization, the challenge is to determine how to successfully implement supply chain management. This paper concentrates on operationalizing the supply chain management framework suggested in a 1997 article. Case studies conducted at several companies and involving multiple members of supply chains are used to illustrate the concepts described.


Author(s):  
Shikha Aggarwal ◽  
Manoj Kumar Srivastava ◽  
Sangeeta Shah Bharadwaj

In the era of turbulent environment, handling disruptions and building resilience is of prime importance to businesses. Most literature on building resilience in a supply chain is organization-focused and discusses firm-level abilities to bounce back after a disruption. In this study, the authors explored and defined collaborative resilience in a supply chain. Specifically, a case study approach across five supply chains was followed. Through this research, an empirical definition and understanding of collaborative resilience in supply chains was derived as the finding of the study. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first empirical research to develop a definition of collaborative resilience in supply chain. This study may strike many future research studies for research on the phenomenon of collaborative resilience in supply chains.


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