Improving the pharmaceutical supply chain

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the role of e‐commerce in hospital pharmacy in the procurement of pharmaceuticals and determine how this has improved the internal pharmaceutical supply chain. Whilst e‐commerce is in its infancy in this area it is still considered to be an important facet of supply chain management. E‐trading within NHS pharmacies is conducted via electronic data interchange (EDI) offering proven benefits and ensuring the efficient and effective transmission of data between remote parties. Design/methodology/approach – The data were collected via a case‐study in an NHS trust pharmacy supported and by questionnaires distributed to NHS and community pharmacies in the north‐west of England. Findings – The findings support the view that there are benefits to be gained from introducing EDI into a purchasing department as the next logical step towards a total e‐commerce solution (internet‐based) and instigating quality improvements. It also proposes that the implementation and use of e‐commerce in hospital pharmacies can be aligned with progress made in small‐ to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), and questions why, if such benefits can be realised, the use of e‐commerce systems are not more widespread. Research limitations/implications – The implications of this research is that it offers a “snap‐shot” of progress made‐to‐date of e‐commerce in NHS Pharmacy, which can provide guidance for mangers and healthcare professionals managing their e‐commerce/quality improvement agenda. The research conducted was restricted to a specific regional area of the NHS and could be applied to a larger national sample group. Future research within this field should also consider the cost of not introducing e‐commerce in pursuing quality improvement. Originality/value – This discussion offers an insight into how a pharmacy approached EDI, and this is further supported by recent research conducted into examining the pharmacy systems in operation in the north‐west of England and accompanying EDI systems and an analysis of EDI uptake and use in a sample of pharmacies in the same region, the latter being supported by anecdotal evidence of pros and cons to using EDI and potential barriers to its introduction.