Introduction
One of the most crucial decisions which any enterprise is supposed to make is a choice of a supply chain. Due to the peculiarity of the activity, a healthcare organization requires a supplier of medical treatment products. Hence, it is necessary to select such a contractor, to work out an operational project for its management, to evaluate the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of the plan and to consider alternatives.
Operational plan description
The objective is to increase the organization’s revenue by 15% within two months. The strategic tasks for its completion are to contact the vendor, arrange a meeting with its representatives, discuss conditions of cooperation, and sign an agreement for $50,000 with logistics included (Narayana, Rupesh, & Vrat, 2014). The team members involved are supposed to be the Board of Trustees, CEO, CFO, COO, Project Manager, and Legal Department. Besides, it is necessary to include a legal counsel with fees up to $8,000. The estimated budget is, therefore, $8,000, whereas the total project cost is $58,000.
Supply chain
GlaxoSmithKline has been chosen because it is the second largest pharmaceutical company in the world. Apart from pharmaceutics, the company supplies products for body and oral care and is engaged in research. The company sells a wide range of medicines for therapeutic directions, such as respiratory diseases, oncology, HIV/AIDS, mental disorders, and preventative medicines for infectious diseases. The company produces more than three million doses of vaccines to anticipate more than 15 diseases in 176 countries in the world. Up to now, the company has registered more than 30 types of vaccines for all age groups. At the moment GlaxoSmithKline has been working on preventive vaccines against HIV, pneumococcal infection, zoster, tuberculosis, dengue fever, avian flu, hepatitis E, EBV, malaria, genital herpes, and curative vaccines for prostate cancer, breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer and melanoma (Muslimah & Simatupang, 2014). Therefore, the company is in alignment with the organization’s objectives.
Feasibility and cost-effectiveness
The plan is feasible since it meets the organization’s demand for a supply of qualitative medicines and healthcare products from a worldwide known supplier of a decent reputation whose pricing policy appears to be competitive in the segment. Besides, the feasibility of the plan is expected to be proven by its consistency with the market requirements. As for cost-effectiveness of the project, it is necessary to evaluate the relation between expenses on the provision and potential receipts from their selling in the organization (Narayana et al., 2014). From this viewpoint, the plan looks cost-effective, since it presupposes an increase in the company’s revenues by at least 15%. Therefore, the proposed cost is worth the return on investment.
Alternative solutions
Due to the specificity of its activity, a healthcare organization tends to require a pharmaceutical supplier which provides medicines to be vended in the facility. Should the project in question be rejected by the board of trustees, it is necessary to search for another producer with more favorable conditions and more competitive pricing policy. It is also possible to purchase medicines of different suppliers from wholesalers. However, the feasibility and cost-effectiveness are likely to be doubtful in the case, as it might entrain extra expenses.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is necessary to underline that the chosen supplier for the healthcare organization is the second largest pharmaceutical company in the world, which is in alignment with the organization’s objectives. The plan is feasible and cost-effective due to its consistency with the organization’s demands, whereas the return on investment of potential surplus of 15% is worth the proposed cost. In case the project is rejected, it might be reasonable to search for a more competitive vendor.
References
Muslimah, M. D., Simatupang, T. M. (2014). Supply chain collaboration for ensuring retail product availability at GlaxoSmithKline. Web.
Narayana, S, A., Rupesh, K. P., & Vrat P. (2014). Managerial research on the pharmaceutical supply chain – A critical review and some insights for future directions. Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, 20(1), 18-40.