Abstract
The onset of global disasters such as the Covid-19 pandemic cannot be foreseen. However, pharmaceutical companies may reduce the impact of disruptions by beefing up their pharmaceutical supply chains (PSCs) and making contingency plans. Therefore, it is essential for effective emergency planning and strategic actions to have a deep and thorough understanding of the effects of Covid-19 on PSCs. Disruptions to the pharmaceutical supply chain were one of the many ways in which the global community was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, the PSC is not anticipated to return to its “normal” condition, and the effect on the pharmaceutical industry is predicted to last forever. Against a problem of a variety of pharmaceutical raw ingredients, suitable medicine, and personal protective equipment having all been substantially disrupted in their availability and supply, this study sought to investigate the nature of these Covid-19 pandemic disruptions, focusing on implications and the strategic response undertaken by South Africa’s PSC industry. It furthermore aimed to develop a strategic framework for minimising the disruption of the South African pharmaceutical industry’s supply chains owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. To achieve the study, aim and objectives, a qualitative approach and social interpretivist paradigm, relying on the collection and analysis of qualitative data, was employed. This study analyses the matrices, dimensions, and phenomena of PSCs in relation to the disruptions, effects, and reactions brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. Data were analysed qualitatively using thematic analysis. Twenty-five PSC professionals in South African pharmaceutical industry’s supply chains were interviewed, and seven significant themes emerged: (1) PSC professionals stated that the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted supply-chain networks for their organisation’s high-performance supply chains; (2) PSC professionals believed that demand planning and management was disrupted throughout the supply chain; (3) PSC professionals’ Covid-19 pandemic disruption assumptions were that supply-chain coordination was lacking and resulted in a significant loss of supply chain surplus; (4) PSC professionals in the PSCs reported that Covid-19 pandemic changed inventory management to improve inventory visibility; (5) according to PSC professionals, by integrating the supply chain drivers with the social and environmental pillars, the pharmaceutical supply chain may be made more sustainable; (6) it was confirmed that the PSC’s restriction and support policies for logistics management were successful when PSC professionals indicated that the Covid-19 pandemic caused heterogeneity in various phases; and (7) PSC professionals suggested mitigation plans such as research and development, local production, marketing strategies, and adequate vaccinations. Decision-
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makers and PSC professionals may benefit from the study's recommendations for handling future crises. For the benefit of the future, South African pharmaceutical value chain and incremental enhancements, a framework for the PSC integrating Covid-19 is proposed. It delves into the nature of PSC and the Covid-19 pandemic and draws business ties between the factors that matter. Specifically, the study demonstrated that the Covid-19 pandemic has caused extraordinary disruptions to the structure and operation of most PSCs. Moreover, the study found that major disruptions in production, processing, transportation, logistics, and consumer demand are just some of the ways in which Covid-19 has impacted PSCs. The investigation also revealed that after Covid-19, PSCs would often be shorter as a result of a shift toward a greater emphasis on off-site work. The unique contribution of this research is the analytical determination, interpretation, and presentation of the essential elements and their complexity. Furthermore, the study's contribution to the body of knowledge is the framework it established for a holistic view, which may be used by a diversity of fields to minimise the impact of the present Covid-19 pandemic and any future disasters. PSC professionals, researchers, and decision-makers may all benefit from using the framework. According to the author's knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the implications of the Covid-19 pandemic on South Africa's pharmaceutical supply-chain sector and to provide a strategy framework for reducing the likelihood of supply chain disruptions as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Furthermore, research gaps and future research directions are also highlighted.
Keywords: pharmaceutical supply chain; Covid-19 pandemic; supply chain resilience; supply chain disruptions; supply chain management; supply chain network; demand and supply