EXPLORING STRUCTURAL AND SYSTEMIC IMPROVEMENTS TO PROMOTE EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT PHARMACEUTICAL SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT FOR HIV/AIDS SERVICE DELIVERY IN NIGERIA

ABSTRACT Ibegbunam, Innocent Ndubuisi: Exploring structural and systemic improvements to promote effective and efficient pharmaceutical supply chain management for HIV/AIDS service delivery in Nigeria (Under the direction of Pam Silberman) The uninterrupted availability of health products is essential for the provision of HIV/AIDS services. A 2015 assessment of public health supply chain systems in Nigeria supporting HIV/AIDS services revealed that some vital HIV/AIDS products were unavailable in about 9%–16% of health facilities visited. This implied >10% of the health facilities visited did not have all the life-saving HIV/AIDS commodities needed to provide needed clinical services. Health commodity unavailability interrupts health service delivery, negatively affects the quality of services and adversely affects patient adherence to treatment. This suggests a need for changes in the HIV/AIDS supply chain management (SCM) system. The aim of this study was to explore structural and systemic improvements needed to promote effective and efficient public-sector pharmaceutical SCM system for HIV/AIDS service delivery in Nigeria through (I) identification of current gaps in the pharmaceutical SCM system (II) identification of potential solutions to address the gaps (III) exploring effective solutions in Nigeria and other places, and (IV) identification of policy improvements for the pharmaceutical SCM system. The study was conducted using sequential mixed-method design of surveys and key informant interviews. The results identified poor logistics data management and use, poor information dissemination for decision-making, limited leadership and funding, poor performance management and limited human resources capacity to support SCM services which disrupts HIV/AIDS service delivery. Some of the solutions to address these gaps include: use of electronic systems for logistics data management to enhance decision-making, more widespread dissemination of information on changes in clinical guidelines and the SCM system, improvements in government leadership and funding, establishment of an accountability structure, improved performance management of private sector contracted to support the supply chain system, and improved human resource management. In addition, the study identified the need to set policies on minimum remaining shelf-life requirements for donated health products, minimum levels of government funding to support the supply chain system, and an implementation plan for the national supply chain policy.Doctor of Public Healt

Supply chain management in a public hospital in Gauteng

A Thesis submitted to the faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of Witwatersrand, School of Governance in 50% fulfilment for the Master of Management in the field of Monitoring and Evaluation 9 May 2016The purpose of the study was to analyse the Supply Chain Management (SCM) approaches used in the Public Hospital Outpatients Pharmacy and compare the findings with successful supply chain practices from other industry sectors. The study of academic literature locates the unavailability of drugs in the public hospital pharmacies to the domino effect of the lack of governance and accountability in the public hospital. The data for the study was gathered from public and private hospitals in Gauteng, and large FMCG manufacturers and retailers. The study finds that the public sector adoption of SCM in the absence of a coherent technology and human resource support environment results in a lack of accountability and coherence across systems. The research study corroborated the view of academics and the interviewees that the unavailability of drugs in the public hospital is a multidimensional problem that has its roots in the lack of governance throughout the drug supply chain. It is a complex manifestation of policy, processes, practices, structure, people, communication and donor funding that contribute to the problem. Resolving the drug availability issues will require the ‘whole supply chain re-engineering’ with the added focus on developing the operational capability and capacity of the actors within the supply chain continuum.MT201

Supply chain management practices in the petroleum industry of Zimbabwe.

Doctoral degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Supply chain management is one of the contemporary management philosophies recommended to companies that seek to improve competitiveness. Supply chain management focuses on cost efficiency, customer satisfaction and systems thinking. This study analyses supply chain management practices in the Zimbabwe petroleum industry. Supply chain management is a nascent concept in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwean petroleum companies are uncompetitive because they have not embraced the supply chain management philosophy or the philosophy is not properly implemented among other reasons. The study analyses the Zimbabwe petroleum industry players based on how they manage supply chain managent activities such as procurement, inventory, logistics, information technology and customer service. It also analyses the industry‟s environment, supply chain strategies, industry structure and challenges. The study uses the robust convergent parallel mixed methods research design to simultaneously and independently collect data aimed to achieve a wider and detailed indepth understanding of factors leading to the Zimbabwe petroleum industry‟s uncompetitiveness. In-depth interviews were hel with six executives from Ministry of Energy and Power Development, Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority and National Oil Iinfrastructure Company of Zimbabwe. Quantitative data was collected through objective questionnaires from fifty seven managers with supply chain management responsibilities in petroleum companies. A regression analysis on supply chain performance establishes that developing effective supply chain management strategies and staff motivation, training and development are the two determinants of supply chain management performance.The results further reveal existence of supply chain management challenges owing to an unfavourable business environment, lack of clear supply chain strategy, lack of foreign currency, weak industry structure, high cost of product, the country‟s poor policy framework, and lack of communication and cooperation among supply chain members. The study recommends that authorities craft and market a supply chain strategy that takes advantage of the country‟s potential to become a regional hub for fuel distribution to countries like Botswana, Zambia and DRC. Government must fix environmental factors that keep investors at bay and threaten de-industrialisation. Industry captains must de-bottle their planning processes; encourage teamwork and strategic alliances among supply chain members. However, the small sample size, data based on one petroleum company and its distributorship and difficulty in generalising results of the study, are some of the study‟s limitations

Blockchain-Coordinated Frameworks for Scalable and Secure Supply Chain Networks

Supply chains have progressed through time from being limited to a few regional traders to becoming complicated business networks. As a result, supply chain management systems now rely significantly on the digital revolution for the privacy and security of data. Due to key qualities of blockchain, such as transparency, immutability and decentralization, it has recently gained a lot of interest as a way to solve security, privacy and scalability problems in supply chains. However conventional blockchains are not appropriate for supply chain ecosystems because they are computationally costly, have a limited potential to scale and fail to provide trust. Consequently, due to limitations with a lack of trust and coordination, supply chains tend to fail to foster trust among the network’s participants. Assuring data privacy in a supply chain ecosystem is another challenge. If information is being shared with a large number of participants without establishing data privacy, access control risks arise in the network. Protecting data privacy is a concern when sending corporate data, including locations, manufacturing supplies and demand information. The third challenge in supply chain management is scalability, which continues to be a significant barrier to adoption. As the amount of transactions in a supply chain tends to increase along with the number of nodes in a network. So scalability is essential for blockchain adoption in supply chain networks. This thesis seeks to address the challenges of privacy, scalability and trust by providing frameworks for how to effectively combine blockchains with supply chains. This thesis makes four novel contributions. It first develops a blockchain-based framework with Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC) model to assure data privacy by adopting a distributed framework to enable fine grained, dynamic access control management for supply chain management. To solve the data privacy challenge, AccessChain is developed. This proposed AccessChain model has two types of ledgers in the system: local and global. Local ledgers are used to store business contracts between stakeholders and the ABAC model management, whereas the global ledger is used to record transaction data. AccessChain can enable decentralized, fine-grained and dynamic access control management in SCM when combined with the ABAC model and blockchain technology (BCT). The framework enables a systematic approach that advantages the supply chain, and the experiments yield convincing results. Furthermore, the results of performance monitoring shows that AccessChain’s response time with four local ledgers is acceptable, and therefore it provides significantly greater scalability. Next, a framework for reducing the bullwhip effect (BWE) in SCM is proposed. The framework also focuses on combining data visibility with trust. BWE is first observed in SC and then a blockchain architecture design is used to minimize it. Full sharing of demand data has been shown to help improve the robustness of overall performance in a multiechelon SC environment, especially for BWE mitigation and cumulative cost reduction. It is observed that when it comes to providing access to data, information sharing using a blockchain has some obvious benefits in a supply chain. Furthermore, when data sharing is distributed, parties in the supply chain will have fair access to other parties’ data, even though they are farther downstream. Sharing customer demand is important in a supply chain to enhance decision-making, reduce costs and promote the final end product. This work also explores the ability of BCT as a solution in a distributed ledger approach to create a trust-enhanced environment where trust is established so that stakeholders can share their information effectively. To provide visibility and coordination along with a blockchain consensus process, a new consensus algorithm, namely Reputation-based proof-of cooperation (RPoC), is proposed for blockchain-based SCM, which does not involve validators to solve any mathematical puzzle before storing a new block. The RPoC algorithm is an efficient and scalable consensus algorithm that selects the consensus node dynamically and permits a large number of nodes to participate in the consensus process. The algorithm decreases the workload on individual nodes while increasing consensus performance by allocating the transaction verification process to specific nodes. Through extensive theoretical analyses and experimentation, the suitability of the proposed algorithm is well grounded in terms of scalability and efficiency. The thesis concludes with a blockchain-enabled framework that addresses the issue of preserving privacy and security for an open-bid auction system. This work implements a bid management system in a private BC environment to provide a secure bidding scheme. The novelty of this framework derives from an enhanced approach for integrating BC structures by replacing the original chain structure with a tree structure. Throughout the online world, user privacy is a primary concern, because the electronic environment enables the collection of personal data. Hence a suitable cryptographic protocol for an open-bid auction atop BC is proposed. Here the primary aim is to achieve security and privacy with greater efficiency, which largely depends on the effectiveness of the encryption algorithms used by BC. Essentially this work considers Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) and a dynamic cryptographic accumulator encryption algorithm to enhance security between auctioneer and bidder. The proposed e-bidding scheme and the findings from this study should foster the further growth of BC strategies

Improving seed potato quality in Ethiopia: a value chain perspective

In Ethiopia, use of low-quality seed potatoes by the majority of potato growers is associated with underdevelopment of the seed potato value chains. Three seed potato systems are present in Ethiopia: the informal seed system, the alternative seed system and the formal seed system. This chapter analyses the performance of seed potato value chains with respect to their ability to supply quality seed tubers to seed potato systems, by using the chain performance drivers enabling environment, technology, market structure, chain coordination, farm management, and inputs. Information obtained from literature review, secondary data and key informants’ interviews were used for the analysis. In the informal seed system, seed potato value chains suffered from a poor enabling environment such as a low quality technical support and lack of a seed quality control system; use of sub-optimal storage and transportation technologies, sub-optimal farm management practices; and little use of inputs. In the alternative seed system, main constraints were the lack of a seed potato quality control system, poor farm management practices, little use of inputs by seed potato growers, and a distorted seed potato market that resulted from involvement of institutional buyers. Chains in the formal seed potato system were characterised by little involvement of the private and public sectors in the production and supply of seed potatoes. Based on the analysis, improvement options for the three seed systems were identified

Revitalizing Zambia’s Agricultural Marketing Information Centre (Amic)

1. Public sector agricultural market information systems (MIS) can provide useful information to farmers, uninformed traders, and policy makers. While private information networks offer a valuable service to select clients, only a well-functioning public MIS can redress information asymmetries among marketing actors that can inhibit competition. 2. The second core mission of a public MIS should be to organize and manage data in such a way that government decision-makers and civil society organizations can accurately diagnose and even anticipate emerging market problems and respond to them in a timely manner. 3. Zambia’s AMIC suffers from a range of weaknesses all along the supply chain for price information. Data collection and transmission is irregular and unreliable, data management is unstructured and lacks strategic oversight, and dissemination is entirely supply-driven. 4. The primary reasons for AMIC’s weak performance are competing priorities and a misguided incentive structure for staff at the national, provincial, and most importantly at the district level, where the viability of the collection process depends on reciprocity between price collectors and traders. 5. The draft Agricultural Marketing Act, which will be sent to Parliament in the 2012 budget cycle, provides an opportunity to re-establish AMIC’s mission and importance.agricultural market information systems, Zambia, Agricultural and Food Policy, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

A review of factors influencing collaborative relationships

[EN] Collaboration is a term commonly used to refer to a type of inter-organizational relationship. However, in real business assessments, many collaborative relationships fail due to the lack of understanding of the factors influencing collaboration sustainability. For this reason, enterprises, prior to engage to a collaborative relationship, need to understand further which the main factors influencing collaboration relationships are, how they are structured and how they interact so that decision makers that desire to engage in a collaborative relationship/network focus not only on improving performance indicators but also on the factors that influence the results of those performance indicators. The purpose of this paper is to present a critical literature review of factors influencing collaborative relationships in order to perform a comparative study of the works for identifying main strengths and gaps for future research.Verdecho Sáez, MJ.; Alfaro Saiz, JJ.; Rodríguez Rodríguez, R. (2011). A review of factors influencing collaborative relationships. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology. 362:535-542. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-23330-2_58S535542362Camarinha-Matos, L.M., Afsarmanesh, H., Galeano, N., Molina, A.: Collaborative networked organizations - Concepts and practice in manufacturing enterprises. Computers & Industrial Engineering 57, 46–60 (2009)Simatupang, T.M., Wright, A.C., Sridharan, R.: Applying the theory of constraints to supply chain collaboration. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal 9(1), 57–70 (2004)Sabath, R.E., Fontanella, J.: The Unfulfilled Promise of Supply Chain Collaboration. Supply Chain Management Review (July/August 2002)Kampstra, R.P., Ashayeri, J., Gattorna, J.L.: Realities of supply chain collaboration. The International Journal of Logistics Management 17(3), 312–330 (2006)Supply Chain Management Review (SCMR) and Computer Sciences Corporation, CSC (2004);The second annual global survey of supply chain progress, www.csc.com/Busi, M., Bititci, U.S.: Collaborative performance management: present gaps and future research. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management 55(1), 7–25 (2006)Lockamy, A., McCormack, K.: The development of a supply chain management process maturity model using the concepts of business process orientation. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal 9(4), 272–278 (2004)Lejeune, M.A., Yakova, N.: On characterizing the 4 C’s in supply chain management. 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The Pennsylvania State University, State College (1995)Bowersox, D.J., Closs, D.J., Stank, T.P.: How to Master cross-enterprise Collaboration. Supply Chain Management Review (July/August 2003)Barratt, M.: Understanding the meaning of collaboration in the supply chain. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal 9(1), 30–42 (2004)Min, S., Roath, A.S., Daugherty, P.J., Genchev, S.E., Chen, H., Arndt, A.D.: Supply chain collaboration: what’s happening? The International Journal of Logistics Management 16(2), 237–256 (2005)Simatupang, T.M., Sridharan, R.: An integrative framework for supply chain collaboration. The International Journal of Logistics Management 16(2), 257–274 (2005)Burgess, K., Singh, P.: A proposed integrated framework for analysing supply chains. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal 11(4), 337–344 (2006)Gruat La Forme, F., Botta Genoulaz, V., Campagne, J.: A Framework to analyse Collaborative Performance. 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Evaluation of Internet of Things (IoT) and its impacts on Global Supply Chains

The research study aims to examine and evaluate the impacts of Internet of Things (IoT) on Global Supply Chain environments. The Internet of Things (IoT) phenomenon, being a part of a digital revolution, is currently considered as a quite profitable factor for the industries and the markets worldwide. Adopting and incorporating the latest technologies, increases competitiveness and develops new ways of communication. The IoT pervades and revolutionizes supply chain sector, influencing its management and way of structure. It is proposed that its impact on Supply Chain Management (SCM) is strong and instrumental, promising profits and innovations. The IoT systems are used more by many companies worldwide, which enjoy their benefits: delivery service improvement, financial profits, cost reducing, wastage minimization, equipment monitoring, preventing and retailers and consumer’s alleviation. Although, the researchers are at the preliminary stages of the research study, this paper aims to adopt an in-depth secondary data collection method through conducting a critical literature review within the field. Through investigative understanding, the researchers aim to adopt a detailed case study approach through service based supply chain providers using a mixed research method. The outcomes and findings will further be analyzed to examine the proposed knowledge framework developed within the research. Even though there is a positive approach for the IoT expansibility dominating the public view, there are still some problems and key challenges that should be taken into consideration. The IoT complicated nature brings to light privacy, security and cost issues that should be faced and solved. However, considering its immature face, time will bring opportunities for problem solving and further development

Integration of e-business strategy for multi-lifecycle production systems

Internet use has grown exponentially on the last few years becoming a global communication and business resource. Internet-based business, or e-Business will truly affect every sector of the economy in ways that today we can only imagine. The manufacturing sector will be at the forefront of this change. This doctoral dissertation provides a scientific framework and a set of novel decision support tools for evaluating, modeling, and optimizing the overall performance of e-Business integrated multi-lifecycle production systems. The characteristics of this framework include environmental lifecycle study, environmental performance metrics, hyper-network model of integrated e-supply chain networks, fuzzy multi-objective optimization method, discrete-event simulation approach, and scalable enterprise environmental management system design. The dissertation research reveals that integration of e-Business strategy into production systems can alter current industry practices along a pathway towards sustainability, enhancing resource productivity, improving cost efficiencies and reducing lifecycle environmental impacts. The following research challenges and scholarly accomplishments have been addressed in this dissertation: Identification and analysis of environmental impacts of e-Business. A pioneering environmental lifecycle study on the impact of e-Business is conducted, and fuzzy decision theory is further applied to evaluate e-Business scenarios in order to overcome data uncertainty and information gaps; Understanding, evaluation, and development of environmental performance metrics. Major environmental performance metrics are compared and evaluated. A universal target-based performance metric, developed jointly with a team of industry and university researchers, is evaluated, implemented, and utilized in the methodology framework; Generic framework of integrated e-supply chain network. The framework is based on the most recent research on large complex supply chain network model, but extended to integrate demanufacturers, recyclers, and resellers as supply chain partners. Moreover, The e-Business information network is modeled as a overlaid hypernetwork layer for the supply chain; Fuzzy multi-objective optimization theory and discrete-event simulation methods. The solution methods deal with overall system parameter trade-offs, partner selections, and sustainable decision-making; Architecture design for scalable enterprise environmental management system. This novel system is designed and deployed using knowledge-based ontology theory, and XML techniques within an agent-based structure. The implementation model and system prototype are also provided. The new methodology and framework have the potential of being widely used in system analysis, design and implementation of e-Business enabled engineering systems

An Information Management Conceptual Approach for the Strategies Alignment Collaborative Process

[EN] This paper proposes an information management approach to deal with the strategies alignment collaborative process. Much attention has been given to the information management in collaborative networks (CNs), resulting in a wide variety of information management approaches and frameworks. The treatment, estimation, and collection of data are key issues that still need to be addressed, due to the complexity associated with the information exchange and the need to build trust relationships within the CN. In order to address this literature gap, this paper presents an approach to manage information in the specific collaborative process of strategies alignment. The approach is composed of a methodology, that enables to identify the roles participating in the application of the collaborative process, select the collaborative application context, determine the level of collaboration to be applied, and estimate and gather the data required to feed the strategies alignment process. The proposed information management approach bridges the conceptual model of strategies alignment process, with its application in real-world CNs.This work has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 872548 "Fostering DIHs for Embedding Interoperability in Cyber-Physical Systems of European SMEs" (DIH4CPS) (http://dih4cps.eu/).Andres, B.; Poler, R. (2020). An Information Management Conceptual Approach for the Strategies Alignment Collaborative Process. Sustainability. 12(10):1-22. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12103959S1221210Camarinha-Matos, L. M., & Afsarmanesh, H. (2005). Collaborative networks: a new scientific discipline. Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, 16(4-5), 439-452. doi:10.1007/s10845-005-1656-3Cheikhrouhou, N., Pouly, M., & Madinabeitia, G. (2013). Trust categories and their impacts on information exchange processes in vertical collaborative networked organisations. International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing, 26(1-2), 87-100. doi:10.1080/0951192x.2012.681913Andres, B., & Poler, R. (2016). A decision support system for the collaborative selection of strategies in enterprise networks. Decision Support Systems, 91, 113-123. doi:10.1016/j.dss.2016.08.005Blome, C., Paulraj, A., & Schuetz, K. (2014). Supply chain collaboration and sustainability: a profile deviation analysis. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 34(5), 639-663. doi:10.1108/ijopm-11-2012-0515Soosay, C. A., & Hyland, P. (2015). A decade of supply chain collaboration and directions for future research. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 20(6), 613-630. doi:10.1108/scm-06-2015-0217Chen, L., Zhao, X., Tang, O., Price, L., Zhang, S., & Zhu, W. (2017). Supply chain collaboration for sustainability: A literature review and future research agenda. International Journal of Production Economics, 194, 73-87. doi:10.1016/j.ijpe.2017.04.005Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworldFonseca, L. M., Domingues, J. P., & Dima, A. M. (2020). Mapping the Sustainable Development Goals Relationships. Sustainability, 12(8), 3359. doi:10.3390/su12083359Horan, D. (2019). A New Approach to Partnerships for SDG Transformations. Sustainability, 11(18), 4947. doi:10.3390/su11184947Andres, B., & Marcucci, G. (2020). A Strategies Alignment Approach to Manage Disruptive Events in Collaborative Networks. Sustainability, 12(7), 2641. doi:10.3390/su12072641Andres, B., & Blanes, V. J. (2020). A Negotiation Approach to Support the Strategies Alignment Process in Collaborative Networks. Sustainability, 12(7), 2766. doi:10.3390/su12072766Provan, K. G., & Kenis, P. (2007). Modes of Network Governance: Structure, Management, and Effectiveness. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 18(2), 229-252. doi:10.1093/jopart/mum015Pilbeam, C., Alvarez, G., & Wilson, H. (2012). The governance of supply networks: a systematic literature review. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 17(4), 358-376. doi:10.1108/13598541211246512Alemany, M. M. E., Alarcón, F., Lario, F.-C., & Boj, J. J. (2011). An application to support the temporal and spatial distributed decision-making process in supply chain collaborative planning. Computers in Industry, 62(5), 519-540. doi:10.1016/j.compind.2011.02.002Schneeweiss, C. (2003). Distributed decision making in supply chain management. International Journal of Production Economics, 84(1), 71-83. doi:10.1016/s0925-5273(02)00381-xAlemany, M. M. E., Boj, J. J., Mula, J., & Lario, F.-C. (2009). Mathematical programming model for centralised master planning in ceramic tile supply chains. International Journal of Production Research, 48(17), 5053-5074. doi:10.1080/00207540903055701Saiz, J. J. A., Rodriguez, R. R., Bas, A. O., & Verdecho, M. J. (2010). An information architecture for a performance management framework by collaborating SMEs. Computers in Industry, 61(7), 676-685. doi:10.1016/j.compind.2010.03.012Andrés, B., & Poler, R. (2013). Relevant problems in collaborative processes of non-hierarchical manufacturing networks. Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management, 6(3). doi:10.3926/jiem.552Mula, J., Poler, R., & Garcia, J. P. (2006). MRP with flexible constraints: A fuzzy mathematical programming approach. Fuzzy Sets and Systems, 157(1), 74-97. doi:10.1016/j.fss.2005.05.045Campuzano, F., Mula, J., & Peidro, D. (2010). Fuzzy estimations and system dynamics for improving supply chains. Fuzzy Sets and Systems, 161(11), 1530-1542. doi:10.1016/j.fss.2009.12.002Mula, J., Peidro, D., & Poler, R. (2014). Optimization Models for Supply Chain Production Planning Under Fuzziness. Studies in Fuzziness and Soft Computing, 397-422. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-53939-8_17Da Piedade Francisco, R., Azevedo, A., & Almeida, A. (2012). Alignment prediction in collaborative networks. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 23(8), 1038-1056. doi:10.1108/17410381211276862Savastano, M., Amendola, C., Bellini, F., & D’Ascenzo, F. (2019). Contextual Impacts on Industrial Processes Brought by the Digital Transformation of Manufacturing: A Systematic Review. Sustainability, 11(3), 891. doi:10.3390/su1103089