Purpose

During pre-vaccine era, pharmaceutical supplies [self-care essentials (SCEs)] have been proved to be a major deflector, protector and safety guard against novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Hence, the objective of the study is to provide a comprehensive socio-technological decision-making framework based on multiple criteria for selecting the suppliers of pharmaceuticals, such as SCEs, by multi-brand enterprises (distributors) in the pandemic environment.

Design/methodology/approach

A hybrid methodology of Bayesian best worst method (BWM) and multi-attributive border approximation area comparison (MABAC) method has been applied for carrying out the study. Bayesian BWM has been applied for computing the importance of criteria identified for the selection of SCEs' suppliers during pandemic environment and MABAC method evaluated the suppliers of the SCEs.

Findings

In the study, the authors have identified eight criteria such as disinfection and sanitization of vehicles, social conscience of suppliers, brand (Technological recognition) of SCEs and logistics and distribution network, among others, which are critical to the selection of a supplier for the supply of SCEs. The application of the proposed hybrid model revealed that lead time and quality of SCEs are of utmost concern for pharmacies in a pandemic environment. Among the ten suppliers, results showed that Suppliers 2, 4 and 5 have been ranked first for supplying hand wash, hand sanitizer and face mask, respectively.

Practical implications

The proposed model has helped the multi-brand distributors of pharmaceuticals in selecting suppliers during the ongoing crisis of COVID-19. In addition to that, in future the outcomes of the study would be helpful for multi-brand distributors as well as pharmacies and hospitals in selecting the best suppliers. Policy makers will be able to make and revise the policies immediately with the help of the proposed decision-making framework.

Originality/value

The paper makes a novel contribution towards theory with the criteria identified for selecting best suppliers during the pandemic COVID-19. Additionally, the proposed hybrid model helps multi-brand distributors of pharmaceuticals in making decisions that lead to a huge social and economic success in pandemic time.

中文翻译：

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在大流行环境中选择药品供应商的社会技术框架

目的

在前疫苗时代，药品供应 [自我保健必需品 (SCEs)] 已被证明是预防新型冠状病毒病 (COVID-19) 的主要导流器、保护器和安全卫士。因此，本研究的目的是提供一个基于多种标准的综合社会技术决策框架，供多品牌企业（分销商）在大流行环境中选择药品供应商，例如 SCE。

设计/方法/途径

贝叶斯最佳最差方法 (BWM) 和多属性边界近似面积比较 (MABAC) 方法的混合方法已应用于开展研究。贝叶斯 BWM 已被用于计算在大流行环境中为选择 SCE 的供应商而确定的标准的重要性，MABAC 方法评估了 SCE 的供应商。

发现

在这项研究中，作者确定了八项标准，例如车辆的消毒和消毒、供应商的社会良知、SCE 的品牌（技术认可度）以及物流和分销网络等，这些标准对于选择供应商至关重要SCE 的供应。所提出的混合模型的应用表明，SCE 的交货时间和质量是大流行环境中药房最关心的问题。结果显示，在10家供应商中，供应商2、4和5分别在洗手液、洗手液和口罩供应方面排名第一。

实际影响

拟议的模型帮助药品的多品牌分销商在持续的 COVID-19 危机期间选择供应商。除此之外，未来该研究的结果将有助于多品牌分销商以及药店和医院选择最佳供应商。政策制定者将能够在拟议的决策框架的帮助下立即制定和修改政策。

原创性/价值

该论文通过确定在大流行 COVID-19 期间选择最佳供应商的标准，对理论做出了新颖的贡献。此外，拟议的混合模型可帮助多品牌药品分销商做出决策，从而在大流行时期取得巨大的社会和经济成功。