Avoiding medicine wastes: Introducing a sustainable approach in the pharmaceutical supply chain

• Published in: Journal of cleaner production 2021-10, Vol.320, p.128698, Article 128698
• Main Authors: Tat, Roya, Heydari, Jafar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Collaborative decision-making; Coordination; Engineering Sciences; Environmental Sciences; Medicine waste; Pharmaceutical supply chain; Sustainability
• ISSN: 0959-6526; 1879-1786
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.128698

While unused medicines, by proper planning, can help people who need them but do not have access to them, huge medicine wastes in many pharmaceutical supply chains (PSCs) lead to severe economic losses and environmental/social damages. This paper aims to investigate a novel collaborative model to mitigate the entry of medicine wastes into the environment in a two-echelon PSC with an upstream-member (pharma-supplier) and a downstream-member (pharma-retailer) under the triple-bottom-line of sustainability. In this regard, a donation program is introduced to enhance the social aspect of the channel, and a take-back strategy is also presented to preserve the environmental and economic aspects of the PSC. In the investigated PSC, the pharma-supplier determines medication donation quantity; subsequently, the pharma-retailer by the aim of alleviating the risk of shortages decides on medication order quantity. Regarding the demand uncertainty and medications' fixed shelf-life, the probability of facing huge volume of outdated medicine is high. This study introduces a take-back strategy to reduce the risk of large volumes of medicine waste that includes collecting surplus items to use as part of donation programs or alternatively selling them in the secondary market. A bi-level optimization scheme is developed to coordinate the channel. The numerical results show that using the proposed bi-level optimization collaborative scheme not only can enhance total channel profit but also persuade both members to decide based on integrated sustainable PSC goals. Furthermore, the proposed model provides some practical orientations for pharmaceutical managers to reduce pharmaceutical waste, enhance the health level of the society, as well as maintaining all aspects of PSC sustainability. •A combined medicine donation and reselling program is investigated.•A bi-level optimization model is applied on a pharmaceutical supply chain.•The proposed model mitigates the risk of facing medicine wastes.•Not only the profitability, but the channel's social responsibility is enhanced.•A Pareto-improving outcome is achieved where both supply chain members earn more.