Purpose – This paper links supply chain risk management to medicine supply chains to explore the role ofpolicymakers in employing supply chain risk management strategies (SCRMS) to reduce generic medicineshortages.Design/methodology/approach – Using secondary data supplemented with primary data, the authors mapand compare seven countries’ SCRMS for handling shortage risks in their paracetamol supply chains beforeand during the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.Findings – Consistent with recent research, the study finds that policymakers had implemented few SCRMSspecifically for responding to disruptions caused by COVID-19. However, shortages were largely avoided sincemultiple strategies for coping with business-as-usual disruptions had been implemented prior to the pandemic.The authors did find that SCRMS implemented during COVID-19 were not always aligned with thoseimplemented pre-pandemic. The authors also found that policymakers played both direct and indirect roles.Research limitations/implications – Combining longitudinal secondary data with interviews sheds lighton how, regardless of the level of preparedness during normal times, SCRMS can be leveraged to avertshortages in abnormal times. However, the problem is highly complex, which warrants further research.Practical implications – Supply chain professionals and policymakers in the healthcare sector can use thefindings when developing preparedness and response plans.Social implications – The insights developed can help policymakers improve the availability of high-volumegeneric medicines in (ab)normal times.Originality/value – The authors contribute to prior SCRM research in two ways. First, the authorsoperationalize SCRMS in the medicine supply chain context in (ab)normal times, thereby opening avenues forfuture research on SCRM in this context. Second, the authors develop insights on the role policymakers playand how they directly implement and indirectly influence the adoption of SCRMS. Based on the study findings,the authors develop a framework that captures the diverse roles of policymakers in SCRM
