Title: Supply chain management in health sector in Thailand: a case study

Authors: Duangpun Kritchanchai, Rawee Suwandechochai

Addresses: Department of Industrial Engineering, Mahidol University, Salaya Campus, Nakornpratom 73170, Thailand. ' Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, 272 Rama VI Rd, Bangkok 10400, Thailand

Abstract: Logistics and supply chain management play an important role in Thailand industry. We believed that logistics and supply chain management could be a means to improve competitive performance in service sector. This paper diagnoses the hospital|s internal supply chain and logistics system in Thailand by business process analysis. This paper also investigates the inventory policy. Our results show the unconnected link at the case study|s internal supply chain in the medicine inventory system between medicine storeroom in each ward, central warehouse and the hospital purchasing department. |MSale| is used to represent average monthly demand; however, it does not reflect the end customer. This leads to inaccurate reorder point and order quantity at the central warehouse. The paper illustrates the business process analysis by using Integration Definition (IDEF0). The re-engineering business process will be proposed. Finally a new inventory system and software development for connecting this internal supply chain is presented.

Keywords: logistics; SCM; supply chain management; inventory management; information systems; health sector; hospitals; service industries; Thailand; competitive performance; business process analysis; medicine; warehouses; storerooms; purchasing; MSale values; supply and demand; reordering; order quantities; IDEF0; integration definition for function modelling; re-engineering; software development; economics.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSEM.2010.030920

International Journal of Services, Economics and Management, 2010 Vol.2 No.2, pp.211 - 224

Published online: 12 Jan 2010 *

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