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Structure to follow:

1.
2.
3.
4.

5.

Title:
Author:
Year:
Context:
why was it written?
written in response to ________?
issues it covers?
Main Arguments?
supporting statements?
evidence?
conclusive data? (guys we need this to make our research seemingly legit by
quoting figures and numbers)
5. Conclusion -->future research issues the article points at

Title: Managing Healthcare Supply Chain: Trends, Issues, and Solutions from a
logistics perspectives
Author: Charu Chandra, Swantantra K. Kachhal
Year: 2008
Context:

Issues covered: describes trends, issues and some solutions for logistics
management for Health Care Supply Chain with concepts drawn from
Industrial Engineering and Operations Research disciplines.
Written in response to: demonstrate how use of simulation, optimisation and
information sharing techniques can optimise purchasing and inventory policies

Main Arguments:
-

Need for efficient supply chain in the healthcare industry:


Cost and Risk
Significant factor of healthcare costs
Healthcare supply chain inefficiencies can contribute up to 48% of total annual
costs
Need to successfully integrate every stage of the supply chain
Reason to successfully integrate every stage of the supply chain and how
5 stages to integrate: demand management, order management, supplier
management, logistics management, inventory management
Supply Chain
Management Area

How

Potential Benefits

Percent of Procurement
Cost

Demand
Management

2% - 4%

Forecast demand
and implement a
plan to facilitate

Minimised
duplication,
demand-driven

Order
Management

fulfilment of
supplies on a daily
basis
Standardisation of
supplies to deliver
them as a single
unit of inventory
Development of
clinical guidelines
to define supply
requirements for
key patient
groupings

ordering

Establishing
Consolidated
standard order
purchasing
management
processes
- RFID
Supplier
- Reducing the
Supplier
Management
number of
consolidation
suppliers that
Discounts from group
provide product to
purchase
the healthcare
system
- Group purchase
Logistics
- Integrated logistics Capacity utilisation
Management
management that
exploits efficiencies
offered by
consolidation of
shipments,
utilisation of
service centres
and transportation
networks
Inventory
Reduce storage
Automated point-ofManagement
space, minimise SKU
service distribution
(stock keeping units),
maximise inventory
turnover rates
*figures all taken from PriceWaterHouse Coopers

2.5% - 4%

0.5-2%

0.5-2%

0.5-1.5%

Conclusion

Healthcare industry can achieve efficiency in their operations through


adoption of technologies, standards and practices, and proven models and

methodologies developed in the Industrial Engineering and Operations


Research Areas, which have been successfully applied in many diverse
industries for managing supply chain logistics.

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