Ability Matters' Supply Chain Challenges & Opportunities - Essay Sample

Primary Research Question

What are the challenges and opportunities faced by the Ability Matters organization's senior management within the business' medical devices supply chain?

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Secondary Research Questions

• What are the issues facing 'Ability Matters' within the organization's medical devices supply chain and their impact on public healthcare 'end-customer'?
• What are the principle opportunities that 'Ability Matters' can potentially explore to safeguard its improvements within the procurement and the supply chain processes?
• What are the goals and intentions of 'Ability Matters' supply chain department in contrast to the different needs and objectives of the public healthcare services?

Critical Analysis of Literature

The selected articles for the review of literature include Mokheseng, Horn and Klopper (2016) as well as the piece of research led by Al-Qatawneh, Abdallah and Zalloum (2019). The two parts of research provide vital information concerning the supply chain issues, log with the opportunities available for organizations to advance healthcare logistics, particularly the six sigma approach, respectively. This section of the paper will offer a comprehensive analysis of the literature review associated with challenges and opportunities facing the medical devices supply chain industry.

Most fundamentally, it is vital to appreciate the critical problems experienced with the distribution of medical devices to answer the research question: What are issues facing 'Ability Matters' within the organization's medical devices supply chain and their impact on public healthcare 'end-customer'? Concerning this approach, Mokheseng et al. (2017 p. 94) aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of supplying ARVs between the pharmaceutical depots or warehouses, the clinics as well as hospitals based on problems facing the supply chain sector while distributing the medicines at the Manapo hospital. The researchers further aimed at determining and presenting recommendations for effective supply chain distribution methods to ensure optimization of the supply of drugs within the health care sector (Mokheseng et al., 2017 p. 94).

To address the above research objectives, Mokheseng et al. (2017 p. 97) utilized a descriptive and contextually quantitative research method. As such it is imperative to note that Mokheseng et al. (2017) adopted a positivist approach that quantitatively utilized a non-probability sampling technique, self-administered structured questionnaires, and statistical methods to collect data, measure the research variables and to analyze the collected data respectively. The empirical findings of the research led by Mokheseng et al. (2017) were substantial enough to determine three primary reasons for the episodic distribution of ARVs to patients. Firstly, the authors found that clinics and hospitals failed to order stocks following the official policy involving FOQ (Fixed Order Quantity) with 70 % of the respondents noting that clinics only made orders based on the order dates and not quantities. Another primary finding included the determination that organizations lacked structured and reliable transportation services from the pharmaceutical depots to a health care facility (Mokheseng et al., 2017 p. 99). Finally, the authors determined that poor inventory management practices along with ineffective overall communication where only 25 % of the respondents indicated the standard practice of double-checking order before distributing ARVs to the clinics (Mokheseng et al., 2017 p. 100). Even though the quantitative method offered statistically significant results for determining the issues facing organizational supply chain systems, it did not address the extent of the impact of the problems highlighted on the end-users, including the patients.

The other research methodology reviewed includes Al-Qatawneh et al. (2019) that principally utilizes the interpretive approach to address the second secondary question highlighted above. Al-Qatawneh et al. (2019, p.1) proposed how the Six Sigma model can potentially advance healthcare logistics as well as the introduction of an original strategy for healthcare business organization to identify the important projects that can offer optimum benefits to a health care logistics firm. The study projected that a Six Sigma scheme which had its focus on healthcare planning would have an objective of reducing the total planning cost while it maintained a high-yield level.

The researchers illustrated that when deciding on the Six Sigma scheme, a correlation of cost, criticality and performance had to be done in by exploring Importance Index (II) (Al-Qatawneh et al., 2019, p.3). Exceptional cases where cost minimization was not the sole factor taken into consideration in choosing the project as other factors such as criticality and performance would be considered as well. The research gave an outline on the application of the Six Sigma in relation to healthcare planning. Additionally, it provided a case study that demonstrated the implementation of the outline at a Jordanian infirmary (Al-Qatawneh et al., 2019, pp.4-7).

The procedure involved defining the parameters put in place to evaluate the criticality level of the produce in the supply sequence. This move was grounded on the voice of the customer (VOC). The occurrence of another case study which involved nurses, doctors and warehouse keepers as the internal customers illustrated how the improvements made concerning the new consideration of cost, criticality and performance of items made the Six Sigma project very useful in terms of healthcare planning as well as how selection of the Six Sigma scheme could be carried out so that the issues on healthcare planning were dealt with. The research offered statistically significantly results that can potentially pave way for scientific research to utilize the Six Sigma scheme to improve healthcare logistics.

Intended Methodology

To address the research questions outlined above, this paper will adopt and implement a Six Sigma Methodology (SSM) to analyze the issues and opportunities facing the supply chain of Ability Matters. The methodology will incorporate the use of the following techniques: survey questionnaires; a fishbone diagram; Value stream mapping; CTQ (Critical to quality) parameters, and Lean thinking tools for the removal of non-value adding activities. As such this methodology is in conformity with a qualitative research technique that safeguards the conformability, dependability, transferability as well as the credibility criteria of a scientific research aimed at determining a business model that evaluates the goals and intentions of the supply chain in the privately funded organization with contrast to a different needs and objectives of the public healthcare services.

References

Ability Matters. 2015, July 9., About us. Retrieved February 18, 2020, from https://www.abilitymatters.co.uk/about-us/Al-Qatawneh, L., Abdallah, A.A. and Zalloum, S.S., 2019. Six Sigma application in healthcare logistics: a framework and a case study. Journal of healthcare engineering, 2019. doi: 10.1155/2019/9691568

Mokheseng, M., Horn, G.S. and Klopper, A.G., 2017. Supply chain solutions to improve the distribution of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) to clinics in rural areas: A case study of the QwaQwa district. health sa gesondheid, 22(1), pp.93-104. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.hsag.2016.11.001