Managerial research on the pharmaceutical supply chain – A critical review and some insights for future directions

Supply chain of innovation and new product development

“…We use this setting in order to find evidence of the existence of the SCoI and of the phenomenon of firms' positioning along it. Indeed, the advent of biotechnology as a new paradigm changed the shape of the classical pharmaceutical industry into a dual market structure (Pisano, 1991;Chiesa and Toletti, 2004;Narayana et al, 2014). Biotech firms are focusing on producing and commercializing different R&D commodities, and thus are positioning themselves along the SCoI.…”

Collaboration modes and advantages in supply chain

“…After broadly reviewing recent literatures, previous researches on dyads are mainly focused on the downstream network, but the upstream issues related with R&D, procurement, production, and supply management are considered separately [21]. To achieve a successful and efficient management of the pharmaceutical supply chain, it cannot simply rely on those separate efforts from some individual participants in the supply chain [5].…”

“…Outsourcing in pharmaceutical supply chain is frequently discussed in the processes of: (1) R&D [20,23,25], which benefits in cost-reduction, opportunity-creation, and sustainable development; (2) Manufacturing [20,21,29], which increases the flexibility while remaining competitiveness on cost and quality; (3) Logistics [9,30,31], which enables resource leverage and further performance improvement. In outsourcing, although the internal activities and decision responsibilities have been fully or partly turned over, the elaborate network of buyer-supplier (outsourcing provider) will be developed [32].…”

Drivers and Patterns of Supply Chain Collaboration in the Pharmaceutical Industry: A Case Study on SMEs in China

“…Pharmaceutical manufacturer as one the main actors in healthcare supply chain [20], is inevitable to come into contact with other players, like government, regulatory institutions, integrated delivery networks, and other channel members [6] [7] [11] more than only the suppliers and direct customers in pharmaceutical supply chain. However, studies in dyads are mostly focused on downstream network in the pharmaceutical manufacturing and distribution sectors, and the upstream issues are considered separately [21]. An efficient pharmaceutical supply chain cannot count on the stand-alone effort of any individual participant [5], but to collaborate with independent players to approach the common goal [4] in the changing market conditions.…”