Leveraging advanced technologies in Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM) to mitigate healthcare disruptions: A comprehensive review

The Healthcare sector is undeniably one of the most critical sectors in any given economy and disruptions in this industry have dire consequences that affect patient care, the efficiency of healthcare systems and by far public health. This publication seeks to analyze and discuss the vital role of supply chain risk management in addressing disruptions, becoming resilient and ensuring that healthcare services function effectively. The pandemic (COVID-19) brought to fore just how critical it is to have a robust and agile system for supply chain risk management in healthcare, the sudden and unprecedented surge in demand for essential medical equipment like personal protective equipment (PPE) left millions of people at risk thereby jeopardizing their safety and health. This crisis echoed the urgent need for efficient and effective supply chain risk management strategies to mitigate such risks and ensure the availability of vital medical supplies. This review paper will be sharing different strategies and actionable tips to develop contingency plans, identify, reduce potential disruptions and recommended practices for risk management in the healthcare supply chain. This will highlight key areas such as inventory management and stockpiling, which focuses on maintaining safety stock levels to buffer against sudden disruptions, using advanced analytics to forecast demand and manage inventory levels. It will also examine risk assessment and identification by pinpointing potential attacks, threats, and vulnerabilities within the healthcare supply chain through thorough risk assessments. Additionally, it will cover supplier base diversification, emphasizing the importance of engaging multiple suppliers to reduce dependency on a single source and enhance supply chain resilience by balancing global and local suppliers to mitigate geographic disruption risks. Furthermore, it will explore the integration of technology, leveraging innovative solutions like blockchain for enhanced transparency, security, and traceability of supply chain transactions.