Operations, Logistics and Supply Chain Management in Healthcare

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Understanding Operations, Logistics and Supply Chain
Management
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Critical review of relevant Operation, Logistics and Supply Chain Management theories.......4
Analytic discussion with relevant and similar example(s) and applying appropriate solutions
of Operations Management........................................................................................................7
Conclusion................................................................................................................................10
Recommendation......................................................................................................................10
Reference list............................................................................................................................11
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Introduction
The growing competition in the overall global economy has not spared any industry form its
pangs. The same has been felt in the Hospital industry where the major cost component is
believed to be from the logistic departments. The sector is fighting the menace of the high
supply chain cost to reduce the same to enhance the overall functioning of the organisation.
The Barts Health NHS Trust is a public sector organisation formed on 1st April 2012. The
hospital is one of the largest trust hospitals under the NHS and operates six hospitals in the
country (Haswell, 2019). The Hospital faces a huge financial pressure due to the eloping
transportation cost. The hospital industry needs to move very specialise and Hi-tech
equipments of medial samples which require specialised transportation. This contributes to a
very huge part of the overall operational cost for the hospital. The study with the help of
effective theories and critical analysis focuses to enhance and overcome the issue and
improve the timely delivery and reduces the overall cost of supply chain of the hospital Barts
Health NHS Trust.
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Critical review of relevant Operation, Logistics and Supply Chain Management theories
Total quality management theory is used in customer-focused organisations like Barts Health
NHS Trust. This theory takes into consideration all the employees of the organisation and
measures their overall continuous improvement. This approach to management of supply
chain is long term. According to this theory, all the units of the organisation, which includes
all the departments of the company and all employees, are involved in the management
process of the supply chain in order to improve it.
As of now, in the current customers market with global competition, the companies find it
difficult to respond to customer demands through traditionally implemented methods.
Therefore, a new management method known as supply chain management has evolved. In
supply chain management, the organisation becomes heavily dependent on the suppliers of
the company. In order to satisfy customers, the organisations have been improving the quality
of their products and reducing their operation costs by managing their suppliers. Purchasing
better quality raw materials from the suppliers have allowed organisations like the chosen
hospital to improve the quality of their products like medicines and their services. This in turn
has satisfied customers and increased the sales of the company and their revenues. This
management theory have also provided the organisations with better control over their supply
chain and the quality of their supplies in order to overcome the competition that is present in
the market of hospitality (Aquilani et al., 2017). This approach not only emphasises the
quality of the supplies, but also places focus on how, to manage them, which implements
various methods.
This management theory is based around many principles, which the company must adhere to
some of these principles are explained in detail below.
 Customer focus: the customers ultimately determine the quality of the products and
services. The customers avail the services of the organisation and then make
necessary judgments about the quality of services and products received. Customer
focus is the core principle of total quality management because the direction in which
the quality of the product or service is to be focused on depends on the needs and
preferences of the customers. The quality of products is improved in way that
customers accept the product and be satisfied with it. Customer satisfaction is the key
objective over here. To achieve this, the firm must acquire higher quality supplies
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from the suppliers and make relevant use of them to make higher quality goods and
services (Psomas and Jaca, 2016). This can also be done if the communications with
the suppliers are maintained and good relations are present between the company and
their suppliers. Maintaining good supplier relations will allow the company to receive
better supplies as the suppliers will have a better brand image of the company. The
quality and quantity of the supplies can be specified to the suppliers if the company
effectively communicates the requirements to them in time.
 Leadership: The efficiency of the management of the quality of the product also
heavily depends on the leader of the organisation. The leader decides on many factors
and aspects of the supply chain. The leaders develop the strategies and the objectives
of the firm regarding their supply chain. The leadership will motivate and inspire the
employees that are involved in the supply chain management. Barts Health NHS Trust
will act as the leader of the leader to efficiently utilize the supply chain and set the
demands and expectations required from the supply chain, establish clear and efficient
communication between the suppliers and the organisation, and inspire the employees
to better at their work regarding the management of supply chain (Obeidat et al.,
2016).
 Involvement of people: Total quality management is based around involving the skills
and capabilities of the people of the organisation and the people who are involved in
the supply chain management. This is done in order to make the people work together
to achieve the aims and objectives of the company, and the suppliers. The managers
make sure that the environment in which the employees and the suppliers are working
together to carefully analyse the supply chain and to ensure that the process of the
supply of goods and services is flowing smoothly.
 Process Management: Since the competition faced by Barts Health NHS Trust is
increasing every day, it has become necessary for the company to pay close attention
to the structure and the process of the supply chain. The supply chain revolves around
supplying the goods and services required by the company in a way that reduces the
operating costs of the company and help in reducing the time taken to deliver the
supplies (Cooper, 2017). The supply chain managers and the suppliers manage this
process collaboratively.
Other than implementing the total quality management theory on supply chain management,
Kaizen theory can also be used to manage the logistics and the supply chain. This system
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includes the entirety of the supply chain and not just the key elements and factors of it. This
model is significant to Brats Health NHS Trust because it will allow the company to create
their internal system of pull-flow and take into consideration both the downstream and the
upstream of the supply chain process.
Figure 1: Kaizen Theory Basic Illustration
(Source: Christopher et al., 2018)
When the medical supplies will be delivered to the hospital, it will be done in faster
frequency in order to ensure fast flow of supplies. The process is systematic and works in a
loop, from the transportation of the goods and the collection of the same. The frequency and
the amount of supplies are based on the metrics that is received from calculating the demand
of the consumers and the patients. Along with the current demand, forecasts of prospected
future demands are also calculated so that supplies can be received in advance. This is done
in order to ensure that the company does not run out of supplies. This will be vital for Barts
Health NHS Trust since it is in the hospitality sector, where running out of medicinal supplies
will have serious consequences to the patients and the company (Berger et al., 2018).
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The main objective of Kaizen is to reduce the operation costs of the supply chain, increase
the productivity of the employees and the suppliers, and improves the quality of suppliers to
provide higher quality goods and services to the customers for their satisfaction.
Analytic discussion with relevant and similar example(s) and applying appropriate
solutions of Operations Management
The Brats Health NHS Trust like any other organisation has its focus on delivering excellent
medical service to the patients at the most effective cost as possible. The effective supply
chain management can help the hospital to reduce its cost on the unnecessary areas such as
excess transport cost and provide a relief in cost for the care users and enhance the overall
efficiency. The process could help make the medical expenses cheaper and delivery the
service to a wider section of people with the available resource. The effective supply chain
management can not only reduce the cost for the hospital but also enhance the timely delivery
of sample results and specialised equipments, which could, enhance the overall performance
of the entire hospital, assist the medical professionals, and care givers to enhance their quality
of work delivery (Volland et al., 2017). The modern technological advancement in the field
of supply chain management backed by Artificial Intelligence and IOT has revolutionised the
overall industry. The technological advancements have helped in enhancing the deliverable
time and safety of the cargo and reduced the cost of the same considerably (Calatayud et al.,
2019). This help the hospital to enhances the o overall concern of the effective Operation
Management.
The role of the operation department compromises of maintaining the smooth functioning of
the overall activity of the care setting. The same entails the management to take measure by
creating strategies to improve the efficiency of every functional department under the scope
of the organisational structure of the hospital. The same could be achieved by the effective
implementation of the Total Quality Management as discussed in the study above (Vituri and
Évora, 2015). The TQM could help the hospital to monitor every aspect of the functioning of
the hospital and focus to identify the areas where the hospital seems to be in need for
improvement. This could help the hospital to develop specific strategies to incorporate and
enhance the overall efficiency in the areas where it needs improvement. The care settings
purchase their medical supply form the different wholesalers in the economy and the same
could be overcome by incorporating the strategy of collective ordering. For example, the
Brats Health NHS Trust operates six different care settings in the United Kingdom. The care
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setting could incorporate the scale of purchase strategy and purchase its medical supplies for
all the six care settings directly from the manufacturer, which could help the care setting save
a considerable on the overall bills of the medical supply (Zepeda et al., 2016). The care
setting with the help of the efficient inventory management system could identify the
effective requirement for the supplies.
The Operations Department with the help of the Inventory Management System could derive
the exact requirement of medical stock by analysis the exact stock in hand, stock in transit
and stock in operation. The data generated from the same could reflect upon the exact
requirement and help the care setting by saving financial resources and wastage by over
stocking and stock piling (Garg, 2018). The care setting by enhancing the efficiency of the
operational management with the use of advanced technologies backed tools and systems
could help in enhancing the organisational efficiency but also help the caregivers and medical
professionals to enhance their service quality. The effective Customer Relationship
Management can also be a very effective tool to enhance the overall efficiency of the care
setting. The Customer Relationship Management helps the operations department to identify
the issues of the care receivers and their families. This can help them acquire responses and
feelings of the same in a more descriptive manner and focus to evaluate the same to identify
the areas that need improvement. This has been proven a very effective tool in the hospital
industry to enhance the overall experience of the care receivers and the families (Vaish et al.,
2016). This not only helps the care setting receive a positive referral for the care receiver in
the economy but a happy satisfied care receivers is also shown response for quicker recovery
as compared to sadden and depressed care receivers.
The efficiency of the operation department could be evident from the features such as the
availability of sufficient resources for the caregivers at any point of time. The latest
machineries and equipment for medical examination be available at the care setting to
facilitate smooth functioning. The features reflect the efficiency of the Operation
Management of the care setting. The requirements of the necessary modern technologies and
specialised equipment are not just a requirement but also a necessity in the sector of care
giving. This helps the caregiver and the medical practitioner to identify the concerns of the
care receiver and analyse the issues creating difficulty of the caregiver. The advance
technological equipments such as the wireless brain sensors, precision medicine, health
wearable’s, 3D printing of artificial organs and many more are very beneficial in the care
setting (Hofmann et al., 2016). These help in not only delivery excellent service but also are
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very crucial is health monitor and can be a revolutionary measure in a life and death situation.
The advancement has helped the care setting enhance the overall functioning of the
organisation and enhance the probability of a full recovery for a care receiver considerable
over the past decade.
The Operation management in any care setting is the backbone of the overall organisational
structure and helps to enhance the Holistic growth for the care receiver and the care setting.
The Brats Health NHS Trust being a social origination functions with the objective of
enhancing the overall health quotient of the society and provide inaccessible medical service
to the common citizens at the most affordable cost (Slack and Brandon-Jones, 2018). There
by entailing the organisation to maintain a very efficient Operation management, deliver on
the vision of the organisation, and enhance the social wellbeing of the entire society.
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Conclusion
The study has helped understand the importance of the efficient supply chain management for
a care setting. The studies with the help of several theories like that of the Total Quality
Management and Kaizen theory help enhance the overall functioning of the Brats Health
NHS Trust. The study addresses the need for and efficient Operation Management in the care
setting to help monitor and maintain a smooth functioning of the care setting. The effective
planning, strategic plans, and advanced tools can enhance the efficiency of the process of care
giving and enhance the health quotient of the society.
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Recommendation
The study helped to understand the overall functioning of the Brats Health NHS Trust. The
care setting through efficient operation management and supply chain management can
enhance the overall functioning of the organisation. The same has led to help provide a few
recommendations to enhance the efficiency further for the care setting. The same are given
below.
 The Brats Health NHS Trust could incorporate measures to enhance the optimum
utilisation of the available resources in the judicial manner. The care setting should to
control its wastage, which can result into huge saving on a collective level.
 The Brats Health NHS Trust could incorporate an integrated management accounting
system to monitor the overall functioning of its entire care setting units, share the
resources among themselves, and enhance the productivity for the organisation.
 The Brats Health NHS Trust could incorporate to incorporate new technological
equipments at each care-setting unit. The initial cost may be high but the cascading
effect could be very rewarding in the end.
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Reference list
Aquilani, B., Silvestri, C., Ruggieri, A. and Gatti, C., 2017. A systematic literature review on
total quality management critical success factors and the identification of new avenues of
research. The TQM Journal, 29(1), pp.184-213.
Berger, S.L.T., Yokoyama, T.T. and Rodriguez, C.M.T., 2018. An overview of Lean Supply
Chain Management: concepts, principles and impacts. Journal of Lean Systems, 3(2), pp.90-
103.
Calatayud, A., Mangan, J. and Christopher, M., 2019. The self-thinking supply chain. Supply
Chain Management: An International Journal, 24(1), pp.22-38.
Christopher, M., Mena, C. and van Hoek, R., 2018. Leading procurement strategy: driving
value through the supply chain. Kogan Page Publishers.
Cooper, R., 2017. Supply chain development for the lean enterprise: interorganizational cost
management. Routledge.
Garg, S., 2018. Efficient Inventory Management of Hospital Supply Chains Using a Sim-
Heuristic Approach.
Haswell, S. 2019. Home - Barts Health NHS Trust . [online] Bartshealth.nhs.uk. Available at:
https://www.bartshealth.nhs.uk/ [Accessed 16 Jul. 2019].
Hofmann, M., Burke, J., Pearlman, J., Fiedler, G., Hess, A., Schull, J., Hudson, S.E. and
Mankoff, J., 2016, October. Clinical and maker perspectives on the design of assistive
technology with rapid prototyping technologies. In Proceedings of the 18th International
ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (pp. 251-256). ACM.
Obeidat, B.Y., Hashem, L., Alansari, I., Tarhini, A. and Al-Salti, Z., 2016. The effect of
knowledge management uses on total quality management practices: a theoretical
perspective. Journal of Management and strategy, 7(4), pp.18-29.
Psomas, E.L. and Jaca, C., 2016. The impact of total quality management on service
company performance: evidence from Spain. International Journal of Quality & Reliability
Management, 33(3), pp.380-398.
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