Optimisation of Healthcare Supply Chain Models to Enable Decision Making During a Pandemic

The world is slowly recovering from the worst pandemic after the 1918–1920 influenza pandemic. The Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly infectious virus that spread across the entire world in just under three months. All economic activities and healthcare supply chains were disrupted, resulting in poor decision making and inadequate knowledge to fight the pandemic. The healthcare supply chain models and systems failed to handle the impact and shock caused by the pandemic. Healthcare institutions were overwhelmed by a high number of sick and dying patients, governments struggled to source adequate personal protective equipment, clothing and medical drugs that were required to contain the deadly virus. This study was conducted to investigate the possibility of optimising the healthcare supply chain models to support management decision making during a pandemic. The study applied a systematic literature review and a case study to simulate an optimised supply chain model and determine its capability to enable decision making during a pandemic.