| Abstrakt: |
The challenge of this chapter is to find evidence of whether supply chain management could be applied as a management technique in the healthcare sector-one of the largest and fastest growing sectors in the world. Primarily secondary sources were analyzed to define the scope of research, the models of reference, and examples from other industries to test their usefulness for the sector in question. This had to be interpreted in the light of a changing environment, initiated by two key drivers: globalization and the advancement of information and communication technologies, embedded in different and changing governance systems. Globalization has turned purchasing into global sourcing, and one major opportunity to get a competitive edge appears to be the Internet. The supply chain was identified as a means to equate supply and demand. Innumerable flows between suppliers and customers, upstream and downstream, have to be considered to strike the balance. It became obvious that the following article could not cover all these various streams and strands and therefore we had to limit their focus on the manufacturer of pharmaceutical and medical-surgical products and devices on the one hand and first-tier customers in particular hospitals, on the other. In this chapter, however, these borders are removed from time to time to allow for an indication of wider perspectives. The value chain was selected as a starting point, as it permitted the integration of the support activities in the analysis, going beyond a consideration of the primary activities of a supply chain only. This was felt necessary, because state-of-the art thinking looks at the whole, and not even at one enterprise alone but at networks of business organizations that are linked by supplier-customer relationships. To this extent, it could be demonstrated that outsourcing, as one example, might be advantageous at the level of primary activities and also as it relates to support activities, disclosing opportunities of sharing infrastructure, for example. The first part of the chapter pinpoints that a new way of thinking is crucial. This new way has probably been dominant in the health sector in theory, but not implemented to the same extent-similar to traditional industries, with an orientation towards outcomes rather than focusing on input factors. This approach is underlined by samples taken from industry. These samples highlight the criteria and elements of efficient and effective supply and value chains-critical success factors that are tested later on in a healthcare environment. Achieved results prove that such models have existed in healthcare or will be introduced on the basis of developments that are already recognized. In fact, all key terms identified in the examples can be linked to the value chain of organizations in the healthcare sector. These visions and ideas are detailed as "lessons learned." Of particular interest are those cases that seem to stretch the present borders in the relationship between suppliers and customers. It has become evident that the old formula of "make or buy" is hardly of any relevance today. Transformational outsourcing is catching on as it rearranges traditional links. The organization itself also changes its core business and orientates itself much more according to its core competencies. Here and there, this chapter also hints at similarities to progressions in the public sector. These advancements, however, cannot be fully considered for obvious reasons: focus and space. At the end of the chapter, we indicate how the processes are triggered. Similarities with any other sector are obvious, as ICT changes the rule of the game everywhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
