Supply chain security orientation in the pharmaceutical industry

Abstract

Supply chain security orientation is an abstract phenomenon, which, up to now, has received little research attention. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to explore the supply chain security orientation of firms participating in the South African pharmaceutical supply chain with the aim of identifying specific risks and of understanding supply chain security perceptions, the drivers of supply chain security orientation, and the moderators of supply chain security orientation. Ten participants employed within pharmaceutical organisations participated in this descriptive, qualitative study. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews. The findings indicate hijacking, syndicates and general theft as the main risks in the South African pharmaceutical supply chain. Securityrelated partnerships and business process backups are the most neglected aspects of supply chain security orientation within the pharmaceutical supply chain. Regarding the supply chain security orientation, insurance should be considered as a way to recover from security breaches and not just a way to recover financial losses. The main drivers of supply chain security orientation were identified as corporate governance, compliance with rules and regulations, the benefits of introducing risk management processes, and the occurrence of risk events.