Inventory sharing in healthcare supply chains: systematic literature review and future research agenda
The International Journal of Logistics Management
ISSN: 0957-4093
Article publication date: 18 July 2023
Issue publication date: 28 June 2024
Abstract
Purpose
Ineffective management inventory of medical products such as blood and vaccines can create severe repercussions for hospitals, clinics or medical enterprises, such as surgery delays and postponements. Inventory sharing is a form of horizontal collaboration that can provide solutions to key actors of the healthcare supply chain (HSC), yet no prior study reviewed this topic.
Design/methodology/approach
This study conducts a systematic literature review of thirty-nine inventory-sharing studies in the context of HSCs published from 2012 until early 2022. The descriptive and thematic analyses include chronological distribution, geographical location, comparison between developed/developing regions, stakeholder and incident analysis.
Findings
Thematic analysis classified inventory sharing among five product supply chains (blood, medical supplies, medicines, vaccines and generic medical products). Benefits include shortage reduction, cost minimisation, and wastage mitigation. Barriers include (1) IT infrastructure, (2) social systems, (3) cost and (4) supply chain operations. Perishable inventory policies include Fresher-First (FF), Last-Expire-First-Out (LEFO), First-In-First-Out (FIFO) and First-Expire-First-Out (FEFO). The analysis also showed differences between developed and developing countries. The study identifies several future research opportunities that include (1) product utilisation rate, (2) cost reductions, (3) shortage mitigation and (4) waste reduction.
Originality/value
No prior study has systematically reviewed inventory sharing in HSCs to reveal benefits, barriers, patterns and gaps in the current literature. It makes five propositions and develops a research model to guide future research. The study concludes with theoretical and managerial implications.
Keywords
Citation
Atcha, P., Vlachos, I. and Kumar, S. (2024), "Inventory sharing in healthcare supply chains: systematic literature review and future research agenda", The International Journal of Logistics Management, Vol. 35 No. 4, pp. 1107-1141. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLM-12-2022-0497
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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