Designing a resilience model for pharmaceutical supply chain during crises: a grounded theory approach

Abstract

Background During disasters or crises, the traditional models of supply chain encounter failure and skewedness under the inevitable and unknown pressures. The procurement and transformation of required equipment to the involved areas is considered as one of the main triggers of decreasing damages and losses during crisis. In this regard, a breakdown in pharmaceutical supply chain can lead to intensive, undesired consequences. Methods This was a qualitative study applying a grounded theory approach. The study was conducted with attending of 32 informant participants who were qualified in supply chain during natural disasters and crisis. In order to collect the data, deep semi-structured interviews were applied along with investigating the documents, observation, field notes and theoretical memos. For data analysis, a continuous comparison was used according to Corbin and Strauss method. Results Results of the study were categorized in 8 main categories as the main themes. “Wasting” appeared as the main factor of the resilience of pharmaceutical and consumable medical equipment supply chain. Wasting included two subthemes of loss of resources and wasting time. Conclusion In order to make resilience in pharmaceutical and consumable medical equipment during disasters, it is necessary to reinforce the various dimensions of the resilience model to increase the rate of supply chain responsiveness. This study particularly contributes to broadening and deepening our understanding of how to mitigate the risk of undesirable outcomes of pharmaceutical supply chain during the disasters or crises.

A hybrid framework to model resilience in the generic medicine supply chain of MSMEs

“…, 2017; Bastani et al. , 2021a, b) Wastage of resources and lack of planning could be deal by designing contingency planning.…”

“…Resilience is an effective strategy for healthcare management, especially for the pharmaceutical sector, which helps to respond quickly during disasters and turbulence like pandemics (Bastani et al. , 2021a, b). The role of resilience in the PSC is emphasized as it provides an opportunity to recover and return to the initial condition, even in a more optimal situation.…”

“…Bastani et al. (2021a, b) identified nine main 26 subthemes strategies in PSC like revisions of healthcare management and policies, more supervisions, privatizations and strategic purchasing to improve resilience level in the PSC. The pilot study suggests a correlation between the performance of a firm and increased resilience.…”

“…, 2017; Siva Kumar and Anbanandam, 2020; Bastani et al. , 2021a, b). The definition of a resilient supply chain lacks cost-effectiveness at the operational level.…”