scholarly journals Pharmaceutical supply chain transformation through application of the Lean principle: A literature review

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 475
Author(s):  
Berty Argiyantari ◽  
Togar M Simatupang ◽  
Mursyid Hasan Basri

Purpose: This study aims to review the previous literature on the topic contained in the title in order to identify gaps in the existing research relating to lean supply chain-related issues within the pharmaceutical industry since limited attention has been devoted to this sector.  Design/methodology/approach: This study presents a systematic literature review that proposes an analysis and classification of the previous literature as falling within one of four categories, namely; the supply chain area, research approach, research objective, and lean supply chain elements.Findings: The results of this study indicate that most attention was focused on manufacturing, while upstream suppliers, downstream activities and the entire supply chain process have received comparatively scant consideration. Similarly, the issues of information technology management, supplier management, customer relations, and logistics management as well as practitioner involvement represent inadequately developed topics. Future research should address these omissions, in addition to the integration of quality compliance and digital innovation as they relate to pharma 4.0.Practical implications: This article serves as a guide to acquiring sufficient knowledge of the pharmaceutical supply chain prior to implementing lean supply chain management. Moreover, it is anticipated that the research it contains will contribute to eradicating the knowledge gap by expanding the existing limited body of literature on the adoption of lean approach in the PSC.Originality/value: This study is one of a limited number of literature analyses potentially helpful in developing a roadmap of lean principle application to the pharmaceutical supply chain

Author(s):  
Thanigavelan Jambulingam ◽  
Ravi Kathuria

Purpose The purpose of this study is to understand the antecedents that influence supply chain coordination in the pharmaceutical supply chain using the transaction cost analysis framework. Design/methodology/approach Data from 156 retail pharmacies on their relationship with the pharmaceutical wholesalers are used to test the hypotheses. Findings The findings of this paper show the importance of antecedents that are based on the transactional cost theory, such as asset specificity and environmental uncertainty. These antecedents impact the supply chain process coordination at different levels – transactional, operational and strategic. Research limitations/implications Future research may investigate additional antecedents using other theoretical lenses. Practical implications Pharmaceutical wholesalers are dependent on pharmaceutical manufacturers for the supply of products and face intense competition that results in lower profit margins. Given that the pharmaceutical industry is strictly regulated, the wholesaler facilitates regulatory compliance of the manufacturers in the distribution process by coordinating with them. But the wholesalers do also face a constant threat from the manufacturers, who could potentially bypass the wholesalers (disintermediation) and go directly to the pharmacies. To counterbalance the dependence, the wholesalers strive to achieve loyalty with the retail pharmacies. Through supply chain coordination, the wholesalers achieve efficiency in procurement for the pharmacies, thus reducing cost and improving their competitive advantage. Social implications Supply chain coordination in the pharmaceutical supply chain improves the safety and security of the pharmaceutical distribution system. Originality/value This paper contributes to the supply chain coordination stream of literature. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to develop the three levels of process coordination in the pharmaceutical supply chain context. This paper shows how process coordination can be achieved between the dyad without vertical integration.


Author(s):  
Anuj Dixit ◽  
Srikanta Routroy ◽  
Sunil Kumar Dubey

Purpose This paper aims to review the healthcare supply chain (HSC) literature along various areas and to find out the gap in it. Design/methodology/approach In total, 143 research papers were reviewed during 1996-2017. A critical review was carried out in various dimensions such as research methodologies/data collection method (empirical, case study and literature review) and inquiry mode of research methodology (qualitative, quantitative and mixed), country-specific, targeted area, research aim and year of publication. Findings Supply chain (SC) operations, performance measurement, inventory management, lean and agile operation, and use of information technology were well studied and analyzed, however, employee and customer training, tracking and visibility of medicines, cold chain management, human resource practices, risk management and waste management are felt to be important areas but not much attention were made in this direction. Research limitations/implications Mainly drug and vaccine SC were considered in current study of HSC while SC along healthcare equipment and machine, hospitality and drug manufacturing related papers were excluded in this study. Practical implications This literature review has recognized and analyzed various issues relevant to HSC and shows the direction for future research to develop an efficient and effective HSC. Originality/value The insight of various aspects of HSC was explored in general for better and deeper understanding of it for designing of an efficient and competent HSC. The outcomes of the study may form a basis to decide direction of future research.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 265-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bhavana Mathur ◽  
Sumit Gupta ◽  
Makhan Lal Meena ◽  
G.S. Dangayach

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the causal linkages among supply chain practices, effectiveness of supply chain performance (SCP) and organizational performance (OP) in Indian healthcare industries.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is helpful in developing a framework for linking a healthcare supply chain practice to its OP, and thus identifies how such a linkage can be connected to the effectiveness of SCP. Such effort also enables the authors to derive a set of recommended supply chain practices for SC performance.FindingsFrom the literature review, this paper finds that, in the context of Indian healthcare industries, efficient SC performance may play a critical role for overall OP improvement, as there is a close interrelationship between supply chain management (SCM) practices and SCP that may have a more significant effect on OP improvement.Research limitations/implicationsThe principle limitation of the paper is that it is performed only in a particular industry and with a questionnaire survey which could be extended in future for other industries also. Another limitation of the paper is that it is focused only on the SCP of medical device and equipment supply chain which is a small portion of the whole healthcare supply chain, and therefore requires further research covering various other domains of healthcare supply chain. Another limitation of the study is that the sample survey has been taken from only one respondent per company at one point of time which may create biasness in the results. Thus, future research should collect data through multiple members from the organization.Practical implicationsThis study contributes to know the effect of SCM practices on healthcare SCP and provides a practical and useful tool to evaluate the extent of effectiveness of SCP and finally their impact on the healthcare OP. Finally, this study provides conceptual and descriptive literature regarding SCM practices that leads to improvement in healthcare performance.Social implicationsThis study adds to the knowledge on healthcare SCM performance by exploring the relationship between supply chain practices, healthcare SCP and healthcare OP and by developing and testing a research framework thus help in improving patient satisfaction.Originality/valueThis study attempts to show how the potential benefits of supply chain practices can no longer be ignored in healthcare supply chain.


2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Surya Prakash ◽  
Gunjan Soni ◽  
Ajay Pal Singh Rathore

Purpose The research on supply chain risk management (SCRM) is visibly on the rise, although its literature still lacks the state of the art that critically analyzes its content. The SCRM literature seems to require studies that utilize risk typology, sources of risk, etc. for reviewing the topic. The purpose of this paper is to bridge the gap by synthesizing the information obtained from 343 articles across 85 journals. This study also presents a critical analysis of the content of SCRM in a structured manner to identify the directions for future research. Design/methodology/approach A systematic literature review (SLR) was devised and adopted, which involved the selection, classification, and evaluation of 343 research articles published over a period of 11 years (2004-2014). The content of extant SCRM literature was critically analyzed and synthesized from the perspective of the risk management process (RMP). Findings The analysis of extant literature shows that there is a marked rise in research in the SCRM area, especially after the year 2005. It was observed that not only risk but also different forms of uncertainties make supply chain (SC) operations difficult to manage. The SCRM actions yielded most benefits when their implementation was at chain or network level and managed strategically. The analysis also reveals that the manufacturing sector is most affected by risks and highly investigated by researchers. Practical implications A complete process for SCRM based on risk stratification, objectives of risk management, and RMP will be a guiding model for firms to manage risks. The research gaps identified and future directions provided here will encourage researchers and managers to devise new methods, tools, and techniques to address the risks in modern SC operations. Originality/value An SLR and risk-based content classification of SCRM literature were performed. To identify, locate, select, and analyze the SCRM literature, a structured and systematic process was adopted with some very rarely used methods such as two levels of search keywords, and strings were formulated to locate the most relevant articles in major academic databases.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Nelson Chan

<p>The following study explores and investigates the current methods New Zealand (NZ) Architectural, Engineering and Construction (AEC) firms use to enable effective BIM coordination in their projects. The purpose was to gain and contribute knowledge of the various methods for successful BIM delivery, as well, as to bridge the gap between academia and industry for a greater understanding of BIM use in an NZ context.  A qualitative research approach was carried out and comprised of semi-structured interviews in which eight industry participants across the design-to-construction supply chain were selected and interviewed. From the results, the different methods identified were: BIM-to-fabrication; change of procurement methods; and incorporating BIM Collaboration Format (BCF) plugin platforms. These methods identified contribute to knowledge for future researchers to undertake; predominantly to provide direction and recommendations to explore each method in an NZ industry context further.  Further discussions of the results identify that although the different methods can contribute to better BIM coordination, the success of a BIM model to be delivered effectively is dependent on two significant factors. The factors are; firstly, to capture the BIM requirements and needs of the client to establish well-defined deliverables in the BEP; and secondly, to ensure that the project team are to understand their role and responsibilities right throughout the project. This was a crucial finding in this thesis as although the methods are effective in enabling greater BIM coordination; ultimately it comes down to BIM understanding and expertise from key project stakeholders; which brings the notion of the issue back to the root of the problem. Other key findings from this thesis indicate a positive future for BIM within the NZ AEC industry, with many of the participant firms recognised to be proactive and open to incorporating BIM into their projects. Though the signs are encouraging, discussions with industry participants still express their concerns on needing to align the understanding of BIM between key project stakeholders. Therefore, an education piece which focuses on the client and their understanding of BIM in an NZ context is suggested for future research. This thesis also presents academia with valuable industry BIM workflow diagrams which the author has either illustrated or been provided by participants.</p>


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arun Thirumalesh Madanaguli ◽  
Puneet Kaur ◽  
Stefano Bresciani ◽  
Amandeep Dhir

Purpose Entrepreneurship in the rural hospitality and tourism sector (RHT) has received wide attention in the past decade. However, a systematic review on this topic is currently lacking. This study aims to track the progress of the RHT and entrepreneurship literature by examining the various thematic research areas, identifying the research gaps and forecasting avenues of future research on the topic. Design/methodology/approach This paper catalogs and synthesizes the body of literature from the year 2000–2020 using a systematic literature review methodology. After discussing a brief history of RHT and entrepreneurship, the current study presents a review of 101 research articles. Findings The review highlights that RHT and entrepreneurship have received relatively limited attention from entrepreneurship journals. The content analysis revealed different gaps and limitations in the understanding of entrepreneurship in RHT, including a predominance of qualitative studies with limited theoretically-grounded and generalizable empirical studies. Furthermore, a high concentration of studies is from European countries. Six main thematic research areas were identified, namely, barriers and enablers, the roles of an entrepreneur, women in RHT, influencers of firm performance, innovation and value creation and methodological commonalities. The review also advances an RHT entrepreneurship ecosystem framework to summarize the findings. Originality/value Six promising research avenues are outlined based on the six themes identified. The suggested research questions draw from allied literature on small and medium businesses, innovation, women entrepreneurship and institutions to encourage the interdisciplinary cross-pollination of ideas. The findings are summarized in a novel research framework.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Faisal Rasool ◽  
Marco Greco ◽  
Michele Grimaldi

Purpose In the previous decade, a substantial amount of research has been undertaken to measure the digitalized supply chain (DSC) performance. This paper aims to present a systematic literature review on DSC performance measurement metrics to apprehend current practices, recognize gaps and advocate future research itineraries. Design/methodology/approach To guarantee a replicable, rigorous and transparent research process, the authors used a systematic literature review methodology to synthesize the research. A combination of 25 keywords was used to obtain 248 scientific studies in the first step. The balance scorecard (BSC) model was used to categorize 299 gathered performance metrics into 4 BSC perspectives. Findings The review highlighted the need for qualitative performance measuring metrics for DSC. During the review, only one study was identified that primarily focused on developing performance metrics for DSC. Additionally, the review identified that metrics related to internal and financial perspectives received the most attention while the “growth and learning” perspective received the least attention. The review also identified that external partners, such as distributors and suppliers, were virtually ignored in previous literature. Originality/value Although numerous literature reviews have been conducted in the past on the performance measuring metrics for supply chain management, no literature review aiming to synthesize the measuring metrics for DSC has yet been undertaken.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hemant Sharma ◽  
Nagendra Sohani ◽  
Ashish Yadav

PurposeIn the recent scenario, there has been an increasing trend toward lean practices and implementation in production systems for the improvement of an organization’s performance as its basic nature is to eliminate the wastes. The increasing interest of customers in customized products and the fulfillment of customers’ demand with good productivity and efficiency within time are the challenges for the manufacturing organization; that is why adopting lean manufacturing concept is very crucial in the current scenario.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, the authors considered three different methodologies for fulfilling the objective of our research. The analytical hierarchy process, best–worst method and fuzzy step-wise weight assessment ratio analysis are the three methods employed for weighting all the enablers and finding the priority among them and their final rankings.FindingsFurther, the best results among these methodologies could be used to analyze their interrelationships for successful lean supply chain management implementation in an organization. In this paper, 35 key enablers were identified after the rigorous analysis of literature review and the opinion of a group of experts consisting of academicians, practitioners and consultants. Thereafter, the brainstorming sessions were conducted to finalize 28 lean supply chain enablers (LSCEs).Practical implicationsFor lean manufacturing practitioners, the result of this study can be beneficial where the manufacturer is required to increase efficiency and reduce cost and wastage of resources in the lean manufacturing process.Originality/valueThis paper is the first of the research papers that considered deep literature review of identified LSCEs as the initial step, followed by finding the best priority weightage and developing the ranking of various lean enablers of supply chain with the help of various methodologies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vishnu C.R. ◽  
R. Sridharan ◽  
Angappa Gunasekaran ◽  
P.N. Ram Kumar

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the distinction and relationships between the significant strategic capabilities for managing risks in supply chains. This intersectional review exposes a substantial conceptual contradiction between the perspectives reported by various researchers. Further, the current paper classifies the literature into four categories according to the broad objectives investigated by the research papers. Design/methodology/approach Initially, a bibliometric analysis aligned with the concepts of a systematic literature review is conducted followed by a descriptive review focusing on models and methods. The software called BibExcel is utilized to extract and analyze the bibliographic information in a textual form from the research articles associated with strategic capabilities of the logistics sector. The results are exported to the software known as Gephi to visualize keyword co-occurrence analysis as networks. A well-structured descriptive review is also conducted to identify avenues for future research. Findings Despite conventional supply chain capabilities like efficiency and effectiveness, eight significant strategic capabilities of supply chains for managing risks are identified from the literature. These capabilities with positive connotations include flexibility, reliability, resilience, robustness, agility, adaptability, alignment and responsiveness. Considering the vast literature on flexibility/reliability along with its numerous dimensions and scope, the authors found that resilience, robustness, agility, adaptability, alignment and effectiveness are achievable through flexibility/reliability. Accordingly, it is appropriate to state reliability and flexibility as supply chain capabilities to achieve the other six supply chain competencies. Furthermore, the entire literature in this domain can be classified into four genres according to the addressed objectives, namely, concept development/validation, capability assessment, network design and performance evaluation. Research limitations/implications The information revealed from the keyword co-occurrence analysis along with the research implications provided in the penultimate section will assist budding researchers in framing novel and promising research objectives. Supply chain administrators and policymakers can utilize the literature classification and the notable references provided in this review for locating potential methods for assessing supply chain strategic capabilities, designing the supply chain and evaluating the performance of the supply chain. Originality/value An integrated bibliometric and descriptive literature review procedure is utilized in this paper. Furthermore, this critical review is the first work on comprehensively mapping the research relationships among various strategic capabilities required for mitigating supply chain risks.


Author(s):  
Cigdem Gonul Kochan ◽  
David R. Nowicki

PurposeThe study of supply chain resilience (SCRES) continues to gain interest in the academic and practitioner communities. The purpose of this paper is to present a focused review of the SCRES literature by investigating supply chain (SC) capabilities, their relationship to SCRES outcomes and the underpinning theoretical mechanisms of this relationship.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses the systematic literature review approach to examine 383 articles published between 2000 and 2017, ultimately down selecting to the most relevant 228 peer-reviewed studies. Context-interventions-mechanisms-outcomes (CIMO) logic is applied to organize and synthesize these peer-reviewed studies. A typological framework is developed from the CIMO-based classification of the SCRES literature.FindingsThe findings of this study outline the gaps in the SCRES literature and present an agenda for future research.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper presents an exploratory research; therefore, the typological model presented is just one of the possible perspectives.Practical implicationsThe typology of SCRES literature can help practitioners to understand SCRES and to measure and assess the resilience of SCs.Originality/valueThe paper provides clear definitions of SCRES constructs, develops a typological framework to further understand SCRES and identifies SCRES measures and assessment techniques.


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