Enhancing pharmaceutical supply chain resilience: A multi-objective study with disruption management

Abstract

In this study, we tackle the problem of pharmaceutical supply chain optimization using a multi-objective model that simultaneously considers cost minimization, environmental impact minimization, and maximizing of service level equity (minimum ratio). This represents the three alms of sustainability which are key in manufacturing. Furthermore, we developed a disruption model capable of effectively managing disruptions within the supply chain and compared the capabilities with the baseline model.

The result shows how the supply chain network behaves under different objectives. Minimizing costs led to maximizing capacity utilization, while environmental objectives result in reduced production levels to meet coverage requirements, and maximizing the minimum ratio expands more facilities. Using an epsilon constraint, the trade-off shows that the environmental budget limits the flexibility between the other total cost achievable and the minimum ratio. Comparing the baseline model and the disruption model underscores the importance of proactive disruption management in maintaining service levels and managing costs effectively. Ultimately, our study offers practical insights for optimizing pharmaceutical supply chains, balancing economic efficiency with social responsibility to navigate disruptions and challenges successfully.