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This paper aims to evaluate the implementation of innovative programmes within the downstream domain of the pharmaceutical supply chain (PSC), with the aim of informing improved service provision.

A mixed-method approach was used to assess to what extent innovation could be adopted by hospital and community pharmacies to improve the delivery process of pharmaceutical products. Unstructured interviews and 130 questionnaires were collected and analysed to identify factors that facilitate or prevent innovation within PSC processes.

The analysis led to the creation of the innovative pharmaceutical supply chain framework (IPSCF) that provides guidance to health-care organisations about how supply chain management problems could be addressed by implementing innovative approaches. The results also indicated that the implementation of Lean and Reverse Logistics (RL) practices, supported by integrated information technology systems, can help health-care organisations to enhance their delivery in terms of quality (products and service quality), visibility (knowledge and information sharing), speed (response to customers and suppliers needs) and cost (minimisation of cost and waste).

The study’s recommendations have potential implications for supply chain theory and practice, particularly for pharmacies in terms of innovation adoption. The IPSCF provides guidance to pharmacies and health-care organisations to develop more efficient and effective supply chain strategies.

This research contributes to the academic literature as it adds novel theoretical insights to highly complex delivery process innovation.

This study aims to explore the downstream pharmaceutical supply chain (PSC) and provides insight to the delivery process of medicines and associated operational inefficiencies.

An exploratory, qualitative approach was adopted to examine PSC inefficiency within two European contexts, namely, the UK and Greece. Data was gathered through interviews and a thematic analysis conducted to analyse the data and identify challenges faced by both supply chains(SCs).

The medicines delivery system needs to be enhanced in terms of quality, visibility, speed and cost to perform effectively. The findings demonstrated that although the healthcare SCs in the two European contexts have different operational structures, the results are in concordance with each other. Financial, communication, waste and complexity issues were the major concerns.

To the knowledge this is the first study to examine aspects of the medicines SC via a cross-case analysis in the UK and Greece and extends the body of knowledge. A broader sample of responses is warranted to further validate these findings.

The study outputs can inform pharmacies’ strategic to instigate targeted improvement interventions. The implications of which may be extrapolated further to other European healthcare organisations.

This research contributes to the academic literature by adding further theoretical insights to SC strategy development, especially those that have been characterised as highly complex. The study identifies four key areas of intervention needed within this SC (in both countries) to promote higher level efficiencies and effectiveness.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the application of quality function deployment (QFD) in a Housing Association (HA) located in the UK. Facing the problem of improving a company’s performance, practitioners and academics have fashioned and applied a variety of models, theories and techniques.

The research questions were developed from a review of the quality and process improvement literature and tested using evidence from field-based, action research within a UK HA company. The case study provides insight to the benefits and challenges arising from the application of QFD.

The results provided insight to the benefits and challenges arising from the application of a specific tool, QFD. The primary findings were: QFD can be successfully adapted, applied and utilised within the challenging environment of social housing and other sectors, such as professional services; the model can be modified to use most processes/sub-processes; it must include both external and internal requirements and, to be useful, use more detailed process parameters appropriately.

The conclusions drawn add to ongoing commentaries on aspects of quality improvement, especially the application of QFD within the service sector. The authors develop questions for future research regarding improvement projects.

The conclusion proposes that the implementation of QFD should have a positive impact upon a company; if approached in the right manner. It provides a useful mechanism for developing evidence-based strategy of operational change, control and improvement. The research proposes questions for future research into aspects of operational quality and efficiency.

This paper aims to explore the development and application of place crowd safety management tools for areas of public assembly and major events, from a practitioner perspective.

The crowd safety risk assessment model is known as design, information, management-ingress, circulation, egress (DIM-ICE) (Still, 2009) is implemented to optimise crowd safety and potentially throughput. Three contrasting case studies represent examples of some of the world’s largest and most challenging crowd safety projects.

The paper provides some insight into how the DIM-ICE model can be used to aid strategic planning at major events, assess potential crowd risks and to avoid potential crowd safety issues.

It provides further clarity to what effective place management practice is. Evidence-based on the case studies demonstrates that the application of the DIM-ICE model is useful for recognising potential place crowd safety issues and identifying areas for require improvement.

Crowd science is an emerging field of research, which is primarily motivated by place crowd safety issues in congested places; the application and reporting of an evidence-based model (i.e. DIM-ICE model) add to this. The paper addresses a research gap related to the implementation of analytic tools in characterising place crowd dynamics.

This study is an empirical investigation of the relationship between the use of 41 multiple performance measures (MPMs), including financial performance measures (FPM), non-financial performance measures (NFPMs) and organisational performance (OP) in Libya.

The results are based on cross-sectional questionnaire survey data from 132 Libyan companies (response rate 61%), which were obtained just before the so-called Arab Spring.

MPMs are used by both manufacturing and non-manufacturing companies. Libyan business organisations are more likely to use FPMs than NFPMs. However, these companies still rely more heavily on FPMs. The relationships between the use of NFPMs and OP and the use of MPMs and OP are positive and highly significant. The relationship between the use of FPMs and OP is positive but not significant.

The high power distance associated with the conservative, Libyan, Arab context will reinforce the tendency to use FPMs more than NFPMs. This may provide a performance advantage to those organisations which do adopt NFPMs.

Although there may be institutional barriers to the use of NFPMs in Libya, and other emerging markets, these are not insuperable and there is a payoff to their use.

No previous studies of emerging markets, such as the Middle East or North Africa, have looked at the relationship between OP and the adoption of such a large array of MPMs.

Healthcare organisations face significant productivity pressures and are undergoing major service transformation. The purpose of this paper is to disseminate findings from a Lean healthcare project using a National Health Service Single Point of Access environment as the case study. It demonstrates the relevance and extent that Lean can be applied to this type of healthcare service setting.

Action research was applied and Lean tools used to establish current state processes, identify wastes and develop service improvement opportunities based upon defined customer values.

The quality of referral information was found to be the root cause of a number of process wastes and causes of failure for the service. Recognising the relationship and the nature of interaction with the service’s customer/supplier lead to more effective and sustainable service improvement opportunities and the co-creation of value. It was also recognised that not all the Lean principles could be applied to this type of healthcare setting.

The study is useful to organisations using Lean to undertake service improvement activities. The paper outlines how extending the value stream beyond the organisation to include suppliers can lead to improved co-production and generation of service value.

The study contributes to service productivity research by demonstrating the relevance and limitations of Lean application in a new healthcare service setting. The case study demonstrates the practical challenges of implementing Lean in reciprocal service design models and adds validity to existing contextual models.