Operations, Logistics, and Supply Chain Management in Healthcare

This essay examines operations, logistics, and supply chain management (SCM) within the context of the healthcare sector, specifically referencing London Bridge Hospital. The introduction establishes the importance of logistics and SCM in business, defining key terms and highlighting the role of these functions in healthcare, particularly for managing medical products and amenities. The essay reviews relevant theories, including the Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) model, and discusses their application within the hospital, focusing on employee productivity, patient experience, and resource management. It then provides an analytical discussion with examples, addressing operation management, quality management, and business relationships in supply chains. The analysis covers both strategic and reactive approaches to business relationships, emphasizing the need for effective communication and the use of new measures to solve operational issues. The essay concludes with recommendations based on the analysis, aiming to improve operational efficiency and patient care in the healthcare setting.

UNDERSTANDING
OPERATIONS,
LOGISTICS AND
SUPPLY CHAIN
MANAGEMENT

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................3
1. Give a review of relevant operation, logistics, & supply chain management theories ...............3
2. Analytical discussion with relevant examples & applying appropriate solutions of operation
management.....................................................................................................................................5
3. Recommendations- .....................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION....................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES.....................................................................................................................................9
Books & Journal:.............................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Logistics and supply chain managements are important part of business. In organisation,
they are the core functions of firm through they carry out their activities in proper manner. Logistics
is defined as movement of credentials form one way to another. Whereas supply chain management
refers to managing flow of good as well as services from processing to final delivery of product.
Further operation means handling as well as managing the working of management in business.
London Bridge Hospital, headquartered in UK is the one of the famous hospital in country. This
report includes overview of concept, discussion with examples & applying appropriate solutions of
operation management and recommendations. In health care sector, supply chain management and
logistics are required for medical products and amenities.
1. Give a review of relevant operation, logistics, & supply chain management theories
Logistics, operations and supply chain management are major functions of every
organisation. The supply chain depends upon logistics for transportation of final products. SCM has
been drastically changing over the time period as in traditional one resources were used only at time
of requirement and now they are required at every phase for the expansion of business. Also, to
measure them effectively KPI’ which is known as key performance indicators which measures the
progress of SCM at market place. In this concept, SCOR is the major approach which is used by
entities for improvement in the process by using various steps models, identification of best
practices etc. SCOR is also known as supply chain operation reference model which helps firm to
maintain the effectiveness of SCM & its processes. This model has been updated and which
includes more new drivers as well as methods for SCM. Logistics and operations assist in handling
all the output & input of products of management. SCCM is divided into three major groups such as
producers, purchasers and providers. In relation with London Bridge Hospital, they have ample
number of any facilities such as room with air conditioned, quality of services so that patients in
hospital feel comfortable (Christopher, 2016). The hospital uses logistics and operation strategy in
management to manage the employee & labour productivity in appropriate manner. Moreover they
use operation management methods to improve shortening cycle times, overall experience of
patients etc. In relevance with health care industry they use operation management to make ensure
that all patients are being well treated and handled in effective manner. London Bridge faces many
problems from acquiring of resources to improvement of system. Thus, supply chain management
and SCOR has been used in the report so that all are examined & analysed appropriately. It is duty
of manager to make ensures all these approaches are applied effectively (Wang, 2016).
Logistic management is mobility of material or service from its origin to consumers, there
are various steps involve in this, it starts from raw material or services to supplier and from supplier

to manufacturer then it goes from transportation vehicle to retailer finally to the end consumer this
whole process is known as logistic and companies or healthcare centers manage their logistic
process in effective manner. Whereas supply chain management is the management of products &
services from its origin to end customers logistic management is part of supply chain management.
The main aim of supply chain management is to manage supply of material and services and reduce
cost. LM is an essential element of supply chain management which includes effective process to
coordinate with transportation of goods and services. Healthcare sector maintain strategies for
proper and successful supply chain management this involve stock management & site transport.
Further, this field manage and implement different tools & methods for logistic and supply chain
management and regularly improve those approaches. This help in reducing cost and risk also
improve quality of process and save time. Health care sectors processes are very complex and there
is high demand in market of healthcare equipment or tools and these sectors focus on their
management and find effective solution to manage supply of healthcare equipment (Swanson,
2017).
With this, hospitals focus on their staff and concentrate on their main motive & improve
condition of patient care. In HS, logistic and supply chain management tasks is different from old
physical flow, this include patient care throughout the care chain. Management of patient in
hospitals involves various medical and health related steps which need to be control in sequence to
avoid or reduce issues and misuse of healthcare resources. Logistic management in healthcare
sector involve management of hospital equipment, laboratory tools, blood bank services and many
more and all these elements of healthcare sector play an essential role in patients as well as
professionals’ life so healthcare centres required to manage the supply of their services and products
in effective manner. This assist in reducing the cost of equipment and services also save time and
reduce chance of uncertainty. If such fields create or maintain effective strategies for logistics and
supply chain management than this is really beneficial for them this also help in controlling
financial administrative and healthcare elements of medical sector. Effective SCM also improve
flow of information and communication in healthcare practices. There is also a regular flow of
communication medium between the suppliers and hospitals staff members this bring efficiency in
their work. Sometimes it is challenging for them to manage successful logistic and supply chain
management because of ineffective flow of information and improper communication, so if they
want effective supply chain, they need and require to bring effective communication. Healthcare
sectors manage SCM practices like supply chain integration, lean management, design of
distribution network and performance of members etc. They need to focus on their supply chain
management in proper manner in sequence to avoid risk and save time (Brown, 2017).

After a depth overview of above paragraph it is seen that both three above explained topics
are different from each other. So, to adopt these in management and business it is required to hire
the expertise or consultancies who give right decisions to manage them in business. Understanding
logistics, operations, & SCM is essential so that business is able to carry out their activities in
appropriate manner. Also, it is responsibility of manager to be aware about these and have proper
knowledge so that correct decisions are made in management. Through these, other problems &
issues related to business are also identified in proper manner. Logistics in healthcare need to be
secured and kept safe more because health medicines can be misused by anyone. So, proper security
as well as detailed information about everything needs to be ensured by head of the unit or superior
authority. This helps in keeping the standard of healthcare premises high and makes employee
responsible towards patient more so that complaints or any problems is not found in near future.
Moreover, healthcare is developing and bringing new innovation to the management and medicine
field. This is beneficial for business and public because with new measures, innovative approaches,
cure for harmful diseases can be identified and introduced effectively (Coombes, 2019).
2. Analytical discussion with relevant examples & applying appropriate solutions of operation
management
Operation management in health care sector is important as it monitors and organise all the
activities of business. It is defined as administrative functions which are carried out such as
coordination of input and output for handling distribution of product as well as services. In context
to chosen hospital, they focus on operation management so that goals & objectives are achieved in
proper manner. Management of London Bridge are well aware that maintaining efficiency of
operation is necessary for overall growth & development of business. Thus, strategies and tactics
are used by them with right decision making in management. Hospital has both external and internal
customers and accordingly OM is carried out. In this, customers, premises and other labour are
involved in the process. It is necessary for hospital to manage good relationship with patients so that
goodwill of management increases at wider scale. Main goal of operation management is to
maintain the quality of services and amenities so that patients are able to receive what they expect.
Further, they also managed necessary funds required for operations & functions of hospitals as well
as its services (Stafford, 2019).
In this managing quality is being discussed in relevance chosen firm. In hospitals managing
quality is important because with proper quality management positive environment is established all
around surroundings & also it helps patient to deliver them with quality of services. It is crucial for
every organisation to focus on their level of services. Many new approaches, ideas and standards
are used to measure the effectiveness of quality in healthcare. To maintain it, London Bridge is

highly focused towards their hospital and services so that everyone in enterprise work with ethics as
well as morale. Main problem with operation management is that with large number of patients and
employees there is ineffective communication and sometimes due to which files of patients get
misused or lost. This problem of OM affects the whole infrastructure of London Bridge hospital.
HR manager of company need to make be informed and so that’s solution for problem is made
appropriately.
In reference to above context, supply chain management is also being used by for managing
quality ion hospitals by proper considering the movement of medicines & other process. Thus, both
SCM & logistics are being used with proper approaches so that quality is maintained properly.
(Lucidi, 2016).
Another topic which is being taken is managing of business relationships in supply chains.
This is crucial because with strong relationship with supply chains identifying and acquiring of
necessary resources become easy. Also, when focusing on relationships they need to be growth,
developed and goal oriented. Because these help staff & managers to take decision effectively. So, it
is advisable that business relationship is that to manage in supply chain so that further process is
carried out properly. In SCM, mostly there are two types of approaches through which business
relations are maintained such as reactive & strategic approach.
Strategic- In this, relationship is maintained with supplier and organisation before any
enforcement of agreement. This is the most effective and used methods which is used by most the
firm so that competitive advantage is gain by business. In relation with London Bridge, they use this
approach so that with merge alliance hospital is able to expand their activities (Guha, 2018).
Reactive- This method is used when enterprise want to uncertain sit8ation or problem
occurs during the process and with suppliers. This approach is time consuming & this can be used
by businesses in their other related or core activities. Thus, both approaches are useful according to
the situation and business need. In relation with chosen hospital, they use strategic approach to
consistently maintain & manage business relationship with their connected suppliers.
After a brief analysis of above matter, it is stated that operation management is wider as well
as broader concept & requires proper knowledge related to the filed. In this concept, it is important
to go through at depth so that conflicts and errors do not arise in near future. Moreover, managing
quality & maintain business relations with supply chain management is not easy task. Thus, a brief
overview of to handle the topics has been discussed briefly. Other than this, these are time
consuming, so proper analysis and research is to be done for positive outcome. Main issue with OM
is that communication between the processes if not proper and which results in disrupting of
environment & relations. Then, it has also been included that new measures need to be used so that

problem for solution is found properly.
3. Recommendations-
After analysing the above matter, there are some issues in operation management and other
concepts such as supply chain management which need to be addressed properly. Thus there are few
recommendations need to be considered in proper manner and are mentioned below-
 The first recommendation is that London Bridge Hospital need to be more advanced and
should change their policies and procedures of management for smooth running of
business.
 Further, it is also recommended that to HR manager of hospital should be aware about all
the information related to logistics & supply chain management. This is because human
resource department are responsible for managing all the things in business.
 Another one is that when OM is regulated, rules and regulation are to be clearly defined so
that no misconception is there amongst the people.
 Then, to services and other related useful things which are used by patients are to be neat
and cleans so that complaint is not made by anyone (Gardner, 2018).
 It is also recommended that to maintain the rules & regulations, first proper
communication is to be carried out in team and amongst the employees so that work is
done within specified period of time.
 Also, develop relationships with suppliers for business it is crucial for business to use
suitable approach so that goals and objectives of both the parties are achieved. Hence, it is
essential to establish relationship with supply chain management.
 Next is that employee and staff should keep the standard of quality management high so
that patients in hospitals feel comfortable and fresh (Fern, 2018).
So, the after examining the above recommendations it has been determined that managing
all the elements together is difficult and proper planning as well as ,measures are to be adopted.
This assists healthcare to successfully run the functions of healthcare in management. With
combined team effort, handling of OM & SCM can be done properly by management.

CONCLUSION
After a brief analysis of above report it is concluded that logistics, operations management
and SCM drives the business to run and achieve objectives. In the present report, discussion have
been made about the topic and chosen hospital. Further, issues related to operation management of
hospital are also considered & same with solution. Then, business relationship with supply chain
management & managing quality in business is undertaken. Hence, it is essential to be aware about
all the business operations as well as function for effective results.

REFERENCES
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of Paramedic Practice,9(12), pp.512-514.
Coombes, 2019. From the Christchurch mosque shootings to London Bridge: translating lessons for
general healthcare.Bmj,364, p.l1366.
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best practice.
Lucidi, 2016. A simulation-based multiobjective optimization approach for health care service
management.IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering,13(4), pp.1480-
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Mathur, 2018. Healthcare supply chain management: literature review and some issues.Journal of
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Kwon, 2016. Healthcare supply chain management; strategic areas for quality and financial

improvement.Technological Forecasting and Social Change,113, pp.422-428.