A systematic review of strategies for enhancing pharmaceutical supply chain resilience in the U.S

Abstract

This review aims to explore strategies for enhancing pharmaceutical supply chain resilience in the United States by addressing vulnerabilities exposed by recent global events, including the COVID-19 pandemic. The study identifies and analyzes eight key strategies: supplier diversification, increased inventory and safety stock, adoption of advanced technologies, improved forecasting and demand planning, vertical integration, reshoring and nearshoring, contingency planning and risk management, and collaboration and information sharing. Drawing on these strategies in the context of the United States, the review examines the advantages and potential challenges associated with them. The implementation of strategies such as supplier diversification and the adoption of advanced technologies shows positive effects, but these approaches require significant resources and face policy restrictions. This paper also analyzes the policy and industry implications of these strategies, emphasizing the need for collaboration between the government and industry. Various policy implications include the need to encourage supplier diversification, support for strategic stocking, and funding for technology implementation. For the industry, there is a need for operational adjustments such as redesigning supply chain networks with emphasis on enhancing risk management practices. Although implementing these strategies presents certain complexities, they hold great promise for improving the overall resilience of the US pharmaceutical supply systems and should be further explored in the future. Keywords: Supply Chain, Risk Management, Industry Disruption, Inventory Management, Blockchain Technology