Major Factors Affecting Supply Chain Integration in Healthcare Industry for Better Response to Pandemic Covid-19

Abstract

Hospital supply chains were severely affected by the widespread transmission of COVID-19 over the past years. Hospitals are under pressure due to a lack of various healthcare supplies in recent years and hence the situation is appropriate for measuring supply chain processes, important to the healthcare system. This study proposes to test the applicability of associative and relational alliance strategies for healthcare supply chains. Production planning, operational planning, and demand forecasting have been identified as three key factors in the healthcare supply chain and their effects on the relationship between hospitals and suppliers have been examined in this study. Hospital-supplier associations play an important role in enabling these three factors, to exercise positive impact on the healthcare industry's performance. The study found strong correlation between the three factors and better operational performance.