Yes / Purpose: The aim of this research therefore is to explore the causes of drug shortages within the pharmaceutical supply chain and assess the adopted mitigation strategies.
Research Approach: The study is carried out from an inductive perspective where we seek to understand the phenomenon by a detailed review of extant literature followed by a series of semi-structured interviews with first tier consumers within a case study framework. The respondents were chosen using purposive sampling as those best to comment on the phenomenon under scrutiny. Data was analysed using thematic analysis, where a dual focus was adopted; 1) the preliminary focus was on the identification of system themes (where the system was impacted and the responds e.g. complexity, disruptions and product alternatives) and 2) the secondary focus was the impact on the patient as system recipient and product user (where themes such as stress, anxiety, and adverse drug reactions emerged).
Findings and Originality: The analysis show that drug shortages within the pharmaceutical supply chain in the UK occur as a result of stringent regulatory frameworks, faults in the manufacturing processes, lack of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, monopolistic wholesaler markets; lack of information dissemination, offshore trading and price manipulations for profit. The impact on the consumers is reported to be extensive and can endure long after the disruptive event occurs. The findings indicate that existing recovery strategies are however cumbersome, add complexity to the supply chain and in extreme cases facilitate the infiltration of counterfeits. The study is innovative as it explores disruptive events and associated recovery strategies which have not been adequately addressed in supply chain management studies to date.
Research Impact: This research contributes to existing literature by extending discussions on supply chain disruptions within a dynamic supply chain whilst focusing on product service supply chain recovery strategies and mechanisms.
Practical Impact: This study provides Operations/Supply Chain Managers and Pharmaceutical companies and professionals with strategies that can be adopted can adopt in reducing and recovering in a more resilient manner to disruptive events. This thus presents the bedrock for resilient practice and systems design and development, thus reducing system vulnerability and ultimately leading to improved product availability and patient care.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/13585 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Yaroson, Emilia V., Breen, Liz, Matthias, Olga |
| Source Sets | Bradford Scholars |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Conference paper, Accepted manuscript |
| Rights | © 2017 CILT(UK). Reproduced with permission and in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
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