Pharmaceutical supply chain– new obstacles and challenges

Abstract

This thesis aims to investigate and analyze the challenges and obstacles faced in the pharmaceutical supply chain from the perspective of suppliers, wholesalers, pharmacies, and patients. By examining these issues, the study aims to contribute to a better understanding of the complexities associated with the pharmaceutical industry and provide insights into potential strategies for overcoming these challenges and developing more robust and resilient supply chain strategies. As part of the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) protocol, this scoping review gathered research manuscripts that described challenges and obstacles related to pharmaceutical supply chain management. To conduct this study, a systematic and structured literature review was carried out using several online databases, including PubMed and Google Scholar. A review of more than 200 online articles was conducted after assessing for relevance in a four-step process of comparing the title, abstract, and full text against stipulated criteria for inclusion and exclusion to identify the most significant obstacles and challenges facing the pharmaceutical supply chain currently. In addition, the search was limited to the English language and within the last 10 years. A comprehensive study of 55 articles has carefully examined the recent challenges in the pharmaceutical supply chain (PSC). The findings highlight various areas that require attention to optimize the PSC's efficiency and effectiveness. The first significant challenge identified is inventory management, which constitutes 34.54% of the overall articles. Ensuring accurate demand prediction and forecasting is the second-most pressing challenge, accounting for 25.45% of the articles. Waste management and environmental issues are also critical concerns, which account for the same percentage of 25.45% of the identified articles. Another key area of focus is the lack of coordination and communication issues, which represent 20.00% of selected articles. Lack of risk management is present in 16.36% of the studied articles. Lastly, complexity issues are also prevalent, making up 14.54% of the identified articles. These findings shed light on the crucial areas that demand immediate attention and effective strategies to overcome the obstacles and challenges faced in the pharmaceutical supply chain.