Material Logistics in Hospitals: A Literature Review

Abstract

Purpose – In order to cope with steadily increasing healthcare costs in industrialized countries, hospital material management has been identified as one key cost containment lever. The purpose of this work is to present the state-of-the-art of research on material logistics management in hospitals.Design/methodology/approach – A systematic approach is undertaken in order to identify the relevant literature from 1998 to 2014. Applicable publications are categorized thematically and methodologically and future research opportunities are worked out. Particular focus is given to articles that apply optimization methods.Findings – In total, 88 publications are identified and discussed in this work. Literature is categorized into four streams, i.e., (1) Supply and procurement, (2) Inventory management, (3) Distribution and scheduling, and (4) Holistic supply chain management. The application of optimization techniques is constantly gaining importance. The number of respective publications has continually grown and has peaked over the last three years. Optimization has been successfully applied in research streams (1), (2), and (3). Category (4) comprises a rather qualitative research field of literature dealing with supply chain management issues and business process redesign tools, transfer of logistics concepts from other industries, and benchmarks, best practices, and cost analyses.Originality/value – Our contribution for practitioners and academics is threefold: First, we provide research guidance through categorizing literature and identifying major research streams. Second, we discuss applied methodologies and third, we identify future research directions.