Improving supply chain management in pharmaceutical industry - Lean or Agile?
Hämäläinen, Hanna (2019)
Hämäläinen, Hanna
2019
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2019051610234
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2019051610234
Tiivistelmä
The thesis was not commissioned by any individual company but was executed as an independent study on accessible published information on various sources such as interviews, online articles and other studies on the topic. The purpose of this thesis was to examine current challenges in supply chain management that the pharmaceutical industry is facing and research on how lean and agile methods can improve these issues. The aim was to evaluate the results they can bring for the pharmaceutical industry and which one works better.
The research method used for the study is a critical literature review. The method was challenging but it was the most fitting way to implement the research. As the research material was gathered from several different sources it was important that the used research method considered their variety.
Six different sources were chosen as case studies with 3 focusing on lean and 3 on agile. The analysis was carried out according to the results of these studies and their comparison.
The outcome of the analysis was that there is no clear answer for is lean or agile better for pharmaceutical supply chains. Both ways can bring notable improvements but at different points or situations. Adequacy of lean/agile depends on the nature of the issues for an individual company. The author came to a conclusion that combining the benefits of lean and agile could bring the best results. Therefore, hybrid strategies could be the remedy that the pharmaceutical industry needs.
The research method used for the study is a critical literature review. The method was challenging but it was the most fitting way to implement the research. As the research material was gathered from several different sources it was important that the used research method considered their variety.
Six different sources were chosen as case studies with 3 focusing on lean and 3 on agile. The analysis was carried out according to the results of these studies and their comparison.
The outcome of the analysis was that there is no clear answer for is lean or agile better for pharmaceutical supply chains. Both ways can bring notable improvements but at different points or situations. Adequacy of lean/agile depends on the nature of the issues for an individual company. The author came to a conclusion that combining the benefits of lean and agile could bring the best results. Therefore, hybrid strategies could be the remedy that the pharmaceutical industry needs.