Establishing a Centralized Logistical Triage Platform to facilitate Supply Chain Optimization for Critical Resources during COVID-19 in a Developing Country

Abstract

Problem: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant resource deficiencies, especially with regards to basic facilities required for the safety of Healthcare Professionals (HCPs) such as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Resource deficiency can be attributed both to inadequate production and to misdirected distribution due to deficits in the global supply chain, particularly in a time-sensitive situation like this. Low-Middle Income Countries (LMICs) face the added burden of economic constraints and underdeveloped health-care infrastructure. Lack of a centralized approach, ineffective rapid communication (especially amongst private and public entities), stockpiling and inefficient resource allocation further exacerbate this underlying issue.Approach: Project Alloy has worked on building a platform for “Logistical Triage” to strengthen the coordination of resource networks in crisis situations. We aim to facilitate supply chain optimization by tackling inequitable resource distribution through a centralized management approach. Through our portal, healthcare organizations in need of personal protective equipment, ventilators, and other key resources would be connected to non-governmental organizations, government agencies and manufacturers to enable time-sensitive and need-based optimization of resource allocation and distribution. Outcomes: We hope to facilitate near-real time tracking of resource consumption, to guide the efforts of rapidly emerging “pop-up” suppliers and manufacturers. This would ultimately feed into three key outcomes: a) to ensure immediate continuity of supplies to HCPs in the frontline against COVID-19; b) to track and preempt the trajectory of resource deficiencies and demands in order to mitigate the impact of the rapidly rising incidence of COVID-19 cases; and c) to establish a centralized network for healthcare specific e-commerce infrastructure in low-middle income countries to facilitate future crisis management. Future Steps: We plan to expand iteratively, to include e-commerce technology to build our supplier dashboard and to develop a crisis specific e-commerce marketplace for healthcare resources.