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The objective of this study is to explore the structural attributes of the pharmaceutical industry before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic by examining the relationship between inventory and firm performance and developing a taxonomy of pharmaceutical firms based on the earns-turns matrix.

This study examines the inventory–firm performance linkage, considering both total inventory and its discrete inventory components in pharmaceutical firms. In addition, this research develops a new taxonomy of pharmaceutical firms based on the earns-turns matrix. A large panel dataset of firms in the US pharmaceutical industry was collected for the period 2000–2019.

The results reveal that strategic groups identified based on this taxonomy show different levels of profitability and inventory turns in the earns-turns matrix. Most pharmaceutical firms moved from the low-right to the top-left section in the earns-turns matrix, indicating that these firms have generally pursued profitability rather than effective inventory management.

This study explores the structural attributes of the pharmaceutical industry using the earns-turns matrix. This two-dimensional analysis may not, however, capture the full complexity of inventory–firm performance dynamics.

The mapping of strategic groups on the earns-turns matrix provides a useful tool for visual representations of the dynamics of strategic groups in terms of financial performance and inventory management performance. Practitioners can use the earns-turns matrix to benchmark their firm's position against their competitors.

This study broadens the scope of operations management research by introducing the earns-turns matrix as an empirical validation tool for operational and strategic management theories. This study emphasizes the effectiveness of the earns-turns matrix in analyzing strategic groups of pharmaceutical firms.

Ineffective management inventory of medical products such as blood and vaccines can create severe repercussions for hospitals, clinics or medical enterprises, such as surgery delays and postponements. Inventory sharing is a form of horizontal collaboration that can provide solutions to key actors of the healthcare supply chain (HSC), yet no prior study reviewed this topic.

This study conducts a systematic literature review of thirty-nine inventory-sharing studies in the context of HSCs published from 2012 until early 2022. The descriptive and thematic analyses include chronological distribution, geographical location, comparison between developed/developing regions, stakeholder and incident analysis.

Thematic analysis classified inventory sharing among five product supply chains (blood, medical supplies, medicines, vaccines and generic medical products). Benefits include shortage reduction, cost minimisation, and wastage mitigation. Barriers include (1) IT infrastructure, (2) social systems, (3) cost and (4) supply chain operations. Perishable inventory policies include Fresher-First (FF), Last-Expire-First-Out (LEFO), First-In-First-Out (FIFO) and First-Expire-First-Out (FEFO). The analysis also showed differences between developed and developing countries. The study identifies several future research opportunities that include (1) product utilisation rate, (2) cost reductions, (3) shortage mitigation and (4) waste reduction.

No prior study has systematically reviewed inventory sharing in HSCs to reveal benefits, barriers, patterns and gaps in the current literature. It makes five propositions and develops a research model to guide future research. The study concludes with theoretical and managerial implications.

The primary objective of this article is to examine current procurement, inventory control and management practices in modern healthcare, with a particular focus on the procurement and management of surgical supplies in a prominent public, highly specialized healthcare sector.

This study was conducted in three phases. In Phase 1, the study team interacted with various hospital management stakeholders, including the surgical hospital store, examined the current procurement process and identified challenges. Phase 2 focused on selecting items for a detailed study and collected the qualitative and quantitative details of the store department of the healthcare sector chosen. A detailed study analyzed revenue, output/demand, inventory levels, etc. In Phase 3, a decision-making framework is proposed, and inventory control systems are redesigned and demonstrated for the selected items.

It was observed that the demand for many surgical items had increased significantly over the years due to an increase in disposable/disposable items, while inventories fluctuated widely. Maximum inventory levels varied between 50 and 75%. Storage and availability were important issues for the hospital. It is assumed the hospital adopts the proposed inventory control system. In this case, the benefits can be a saving of 62% of the maximum inventory, 20% of the average stock in the system and optimal use of storage space, improving the performance and productivity of the hospital.

This study can help the healthcare sector administration to develop better systems for the procurement and delivery of common surgical items and efficient resource allocation. It can help provide adequate training to store staff. This study can help improve management/procurement policies, ordering and delivery systems, better service levels, and inventory control of items in the hospital business context. This study can serve as a pilot study to further investigate the overall hospital operations.

This study can help the healthcare sector administration develop better systems for procuring and delivering common surgical items and efficient resource allocation. It can help provide adequate training to store staff. This study can help improve management/procurement policies, ordering and delivery systems, better service levels and inventory control of items in the hospital business context. This study can serve as a pilot study to further investigate the overall hospital operations.

This study is an early attempt to develop a decision framework and inventory control system from the perspective of healthcare inventory management. The gaps identified in real hospital scenarios are investigated, and theoretically based-inventory management strategies are applied and proposed.

This study aims to examine the performance implications of an information governance (IG) framework for managing, controlling access to and securing information, focusing on (1) the performance benefits of an organization's IG orientation and (2) how the configuration of IG orientation and supply chain (SC) strategy type relate to performance outcomes.

This study leverages multiple secondary sources for US hospitals, serving as the context for the study. It also employs cluster analysis to develop an SC strategy taxonomy, namely sophisticated and delivery-focused SC strategies. The proposed research model is tested using a robust regression to mitigate the influence of outliers and produce more accurate estimates.

IG orientation is positively associated with financial performance and patient experience, and IG-oriented hospitals with a sophisticated SC strategy realize more financial benefits and achieve better patient care experiences compared to other configurations. Regardless of SC strategy type, IG-oriented hospitals offer better care experiences than non-IG-oriented hospitals.

This paper offers empirical evidence that a hospital's IG orientation and SC strategy jointly affect financial outcomes and patient experience. For hospitals, an organization-wide framework for governing information streamlines both intra- and inter-organizational information flows and improves care delivery throughout a patient's care experience.

This is one of a few studies that empirically examine the performance implications of governance of information in the domain of supply chain management (SCM). This study also develops an SC strategy taxonomy for the healthcare context and offers a springboard for research in service SC strategy.

Sustainability is of growing significance in the contemporary business landscape as organizations strive to minimize their environmental impact and optimize supply chain (SC) operations. Gaining insights into the influence of Triple A SC practices on sustainable performance can offer valuable perspectives for practitioners and policymakers. This study aims to comprehensively review existing academic literature on Triple A supply chain management (SCM) and sustainability, examining its impact on sustainable performance while identifying key influencing factors.

This review follows the six steps and 14 decisions of conducting a systematic literature review to comprehensively review 57 papers published between 2004 and 2023.

Based on the content analysis of the selected papers, this study summarizes the antecedents, practices and outcomes of Triple A SCM, with a particular focus on its implications for sustainability. This paper builds a conceptual framework from the descriptive and thematic findings to enrich the relevant aspects of Triple A SCM.

This study establishes a connection between Triple A SCM and sustainable performance by examining its impact on economic, social and environmental aspects. This review identifies research gaps and acknowledges the lack of specificity in implementing Triple A SCM across diverse industries, regions and competitive markets with varying external environments. It emphasizes the necessity to customize approaches based on contextual factors and provides valuable recommendations for future research to advance the concept of Triple A SCM.

This study investigated the relationship between last-mile distribution or delivery (LMD) and commodity access through the mediating role of commodity availability and commodity security and the moderating effect of supply chain integration (SCI).

The study adopted the survey research design and employed the questionnaire instrument in collecting primary data from respondents in Eastern Regional Health Institutions in Ghana. The total number of valid responses received was 204. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach was adopted to analyze the relationship between the study variables.

The findings showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between LMD and commodity availability as well as LMD and commodity security. Moreover, while the relationship between commodity availability and commodity access is positive and significant, that between commodity security and commodity access is positive but insignificant. Furthermore, there is a positive and statistically significant relationship between LMD and commodity access. The study discovered that the interaction between LMD and commodity access is insignificant and negatively affected by SCI.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, no previous studies have empirically verified the effect of LMD on commodity access in the presence of mediating factors such as commodity availability and commodity security and SCI as the moderating factors.

To address the challenges encountered in disaster responses, optimize resource utilization, minimize environmental and social impact, and ensure transparency and accountability, it is essential to review humanitarian supply chains and incorporate sustainability considerations. Humanitarian organizations can enhance their ability to deliver timely and effective assistance to those in need by continuously improving supply chain practices. Consequently, this work explores the convergence of two fast-growing domains: sustainability and humanitarian supply chain management (HSCM).

The authors conducted a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed articles to identify the prominent research trends and themes from the two domains' interactions. The extant literature is represented under the theory, context, characteristics, and research method (TCCM) framework. The authors have utilized a stakeholder theory perspective to identify coordination and collaboration among the various stakeholders.

This study's review findings reveal five future research directions formulating this study's central themes: the role of environmental sustainability, coordination, and collaboration in building effective HSCs; the role of humanitarian aid for the responsive HSC; the influence of big data predictive analytics on the HSC performance; development and empirical validation of sustainable HSC performance framework; the role of HSC stakeholders in building effective and efficient HSCs.

There is no existing academic literature review available on sustainable HSCM. This review fills this void by fostering discussion about sustainable humanitarian supply chains where the authors notably propose the TCCM framework in the context of sustainable HSCM, followed by a stakeholder network.

The Indian pharmaceutical industry has contributed significantly to global healthcare by securing superior-quality, inexpensive and reachable medicines worldwide. However, supply chain management (SCM) has been challenging due to constantly shifting requirements for short lifecycles of products, the convergence of industry and changeable realities on the ground. This study aims to identify, assess and prioritize the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities of the pharmaceutical SCM environment in India.

The paper employs a Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat (SWOT) analysis and recognizes strategies to utilize the advantages of the strengths and opportunities, rectify weaknesses and resolve threats.

A variety of strategies that could have a positive effect on the Indian pharmaceutical business are presented. Findings and suggested strategies can significantly advance knowledge, enhance understanding and contribute to the growth of a successful SCM for the Indian pharmaceutical sector.

This paper would act as a roadmap to greater comprehension of the market leaders and market leaders' operating climate. The findings from this study will offer academic scholars and business practitioners deeper insights into the environment of SCM.

The imperative to conserve resources and minimize operational expenses has spurred a notable increase in the adoption of lean manufacturing within the context of the circular economy across diverse industries in recent years. However, a notable gap exists in the research landscape, particularly concerning the implementation of lean practices within the pharmaceutical industry to enhance circular economy performance. Addressing this void, this study endeavors to identify and prioritize the pivotal drivers influencing lean manufacturing within the pharmaceutical sector.

The outcome of this rigorous examination highlights that “Continuous Monitoring Process for Sustainable Lean Implementation,” “Management Involvement for Sustainable Implementation” and “Training and Education” emerge as the most consequential drivers. These factors are deemed crucial for augmenting circular economy performance, underscoring the significance of management engagement, training initiatives and a continuous monitoring process in fostering a closed-loop practice within the pharmaceutical industry.

The findings contribute valuable insights for decision-makers aiming to adopt lean practices within a circular economy framework. Specifically, by streamlining the process of developing a robust action plan tailored to the unique needs of the pharmaceutical sector, our study provides actionable guidance for enhancing overall sustainability in the manufacturing processes.

This study represents one of the initial efforts to systematically identify and assess the drivers to LM implementation within the pharmaceutical industry, contributing to the emerging body of knowledge in this area.

This study investigates the role of supply chain knowledge management in enhancing pharmaceutical supply chain resilience.

This study focusses on the Middle East region, where semi-structured online interviews were conducted with 38 professionals from the pharmaceutical supply chain to collect empirical data.

The study reveals that supply chain knowledge management is a crucial value-adding practice that improves pharmaceutical supply chain resilience. Effective supply chain knowledge management enables organisations to develop agility, change, adaptability, problem-solving, response and innovation capabilities that support supply chain resilience. However, challenges related to supply chain management practices, people, processes and technology hinder the effective promotion of supply chain knowledge.

This study reminds managers that knowledge management is critical for building resilience in supply chains.

The study highlights the importance of a resilient pharmaceutical supply chain for organisations and society. The study advocates that effective supply chain knowledge management can help ensure a sustained supply of high-quality pharmaceutical products and services during crises.

The study offers novel insights by examining pharmaceutical supply chain resilience from a knowledge management perspective and highlighting the potential of knowledge capabilities to enable supply chains to recover from crises and adapt to the new normal. This study also highlights the key strategic considerations for managing knowledge effectively throughout the supply chain.