Question

Discuss the challenges of implementing Supply Chain Management (SCM) in a healthcare organization and how they can overcome these challenges? If you can, provide an example of where you have seen this happen.

Answer 1

1> The challenges of implementing SCM in a healthcare organization.

Ans. - Here I am describing 3 main challenges to implement SCM in a healthcare organization.

The challenges are -

I> Increase the market area to different countries - To reduce the cost across the supply chain, many healthcare organization are trying to increase their service areas in different places where workers salary rate is low, the tax is low, raw materials/instrument cost is low etc.

But the challenge is to get right suppliers for medicines, instruments in different geographical location. Organizations have to contact with area authorities, political parties to get good logistic service to bring right medicines from other places.

Another challenge is to control total supply chain management system. As an organization extends their services to a different place then there will be the different type of workers, different culture, environment etc. So the system will be bigger. Then the main managers can't control/supervise all things properly.

II> Shortage of medicines - When any healthcare organization is trying to increase their service areas to different places then the shortages of medicines/drugs will occur. As the required medicines may not easily available in different places. Then they have to search good suppliers from other countries/places.

This is a challenge for a healthcare organization.

III> Quality of services - If an organization increase their service area to different places then they require many new workers. They have to train them to give proper services as per their reputation. But they can't assure that the new workers will do the work with proper care. The new workers can't handle the medicine/instrument suppliers properly to keep supply chain system.

These are the main challenges of implementing SCM in a healthcare organization.

2> how they can overcome these challenges?

Ans. - To overcome these all challenges a healthcare organization has to integrate data management system.

There are different data management tools available. These data management system/CRM will help to keep all data like number of workers, number of suppliers, supplied medicines/instruments, number of patients, doctors availability etc.

Everyone will login into the system and can see the available medicines, doctors, number of serious patients etc and they will work as per the required work is shown in the system.

This will help a healthcare organization to overcome all challenges easily.