Simulation of the Impact of Key Variables on Smart Supply Chains Efficiency in Iran’s Healthcare Industry

Abstract

Background: The smartification of supply chains, which enables organizations to stay informed about crises in a timely manner and make appropriate decisions in response to the resulting pressures, has consistently been a crucial factor in the realm of organizational transformation. The healthcare industry in Iran faces more challenges and crises than other industries, especially due to its vital role in public health prevention and care.
 Objectives: According to the reasons described, this research aims to simulate and improve the efficiency of the healthcare supply chain when confronted with crises.
 Methods: In this study, the efficiency of the healthcare supply chain was simulated using the system dynamics approach and Vensim DSS.
 Results: The results indicated that healthcare supply chain efficiency in Iran is unsatisfactory and may confront challenges during crises. Therefore, this study places particular emphasis on examining scenarios for improving the current situation, which stems from the consensus of experts and stakeholders in this field. In the presented scenarios, a 2% improvement in the utilization of advanced intelligent technologies and a 5% improvement in intelligent inventory management were observed. Notably, the combined effect of these two scenarios led to an overall enhancement in the average efficiency of the healthcare smart supply chain. These improvements can increase the average efficiency levels within the pharmaceutical manufacturing segment up to 1.3%, 5.8%, and 7.7% in each of the aforementioned scenarios.
 Conclusions: It can be asserted that although the advancement of smart technologies and intelligent inventory management individually contribute to enhancing the efficiency of the healthcare supply chain in Iran, combining these changes can provide the groundwork for further increasing efficiency up to 7.7%.