Developing a resilient healthcare supply chain to prevent disruption in the wake of emergency health crisis

Abstract

Purpose The study aims to identify and analyse the drivers of resilient healthcare supply chain (HCSC) preparedness in emergency health outbreaks to prevent disruption in healthcare services delivery in the context of India. Design/methodology/approach The present study has opted for the grey clustering method to identify and analyse the drivers of resilient HCSC preparedness during health outbreaks into high moderate and low important grey classes based on Grey-Delphi analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and Shannon's information entropy (IE) theory. Findings The drivers of the resilient HCSC are scrutinised using the Grey-Delphi technique. By implementing AHP and Shannon's IE theory and depending upon structure process and outcome measures of HCSC eleven drivers of a resilient HCSC preparedness are clustered as highly important three drivers into moderately important and two drivers into a low important group. Originality/value The analysis and insights developed in the present study would help to plan and execute a viable resilient emergency HCSC preparedness during the emergence of any health outbreak along with the stakeholders' coordination. The results of the study offer information rationality constructiveness and universality that enable the wider application of AHP-IE/Grey clustering analysis to HCSC resilience in the wake of pandemics.