Evaluating outsourcing risks in the pharmaceutical supply chain: Case of a multi-criteria combined fuzzy AHP-PROMETHEE approach

Abstract: Pharmaceutical companies are undergoing major changes to cope with the new challenges of the modern economy. Indeed, the pharmaceutical industry faces relentless change and fluctuating demand which creates immense challenges in anticipating best sellers and predicting volume. The shortening of patent life periods, generic competition and public health policies, among other factors, have changed the operating context of the pharmaceutical industry. To focus on their core competencies, more organizations are investigating the feasibility of outsourcing logistics to improve the performance of their supply chain. In order to cope with various risks and uncertainty in the pharmaceutical supply chain, this study aims to propose an innovative approach for risk assessment in order to measure the level of risks related to outsourcing logistics. The paper highlights the risks faced in this context and also identifies the critical points in each section of the supply. Fuzzy AHP and PROMETHEE are combined to evaluate risks and assign them to predefined categories. The quality and efficiency of the proposed method are confirmed through an application to the supply chain of pharmaceuticals.

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