Abstract
Unplanned events such as epidemic outbreaks, natural disasters, or major scandals are usually accompanied by supply chain disruption and highly volatile demand. Besides, authors have recently outlined the need for new applications of artificial intelligence to provide decision support in times of crisis. In particular, natural language processing allows for deriving an understanding from unstructured data in human languages, such as online news content, which can provide valuable information during disruptive events. This article contributes to this research strand as it aims to leverage textual data from news through sentiment analysis and predict demand volatility of pharmaceutical products in times of crisis. As a result, (1) a deep-learning-based sentiment analysis model was developed to extract and structure information from medicines-related news; (2) a framework allowing for combining extracted information from unstructured data with structured data of medicines demand was defined; and (3) an approach combining efficient artificial intelligence techniques with existing forecasting models was proposed to enhance demand forecasting in times of disruption. Additionally, the framework was applied to two examples of disruptive events in France: a pharmaceutical scandal and the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings outlined that using sentiment analysis allowed for enhancing demand forecasting accuracy.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
