Application of principles of supply chain management to the pharmaceutical good transportation practices

Abstract

Purpose Pharmaceuticals supply chain management (SCM) requires special expertise to transport the medicinal products because of weird features of their demand, supply and sensitivity towards quality. The purpose of this study is to establish the linkage of pharmaceutical quality system requirements with the SCM principles. The study enables the collaborative approach of technical, transport, logistics and supply chain teams within the pharmaceutical industry. Design/methodology/approach The methodology followed for this study is literature review and survey. The study is supplemented with data obtained through the structured questionnaire. Findings Through this study, an exclusive perspective for pharmaceutical good transportation practice (GTP) has been propagated in alignment with seven principles of SCM by Anderson. This study offers guidance to pharmaceutical industry for transportation of products by conceptualizing basic supply chain features such as segmentation, customization of requirement, market signals, differentiation, technology orientation and channel spanning performance. Research limitations/implications Here is limited information available about the transportation failures in the pharmaceutical industry. Application of supply chain principles to pharmaceutical transportation is sometimes affected by technical knowledge bias of the researcher. Practical implications The study has successfully expounded the practical aspects of pharmaceutical GTP for supply chain professionals. Social implications The study facilitates the patients and pharmaceutical consumers to get quality products in a timely manner across the globe. Originality/value The application of SCM principles to the pharmaceutical GTP is the result of novel research and has not been studied earlier.