Perspectives on Various Issues of Interest

First-Aid, Rapid Response Drone in India

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— Anand Nair (@Dr_Nair) December 4, 2019

Africa's first drone 'Air Corridor’ - A partnership initiative by UNICEF and Zipline

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— Anand Nair (@Dr_Nair) December 4, 2019

Smart shopping based on your DNA

Smart shopping.

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— World Economic Forum (@wef) November 16, 2019

Aerial blood sample deliveries in Norway

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— Anand Nair (@Dr_Nair) December 4, 2019

Vaccine supply chain design to improve access for underprivileged communities

An interesting study by Lee et al. (2016) present alternative supply chain designs for Mozambique. Vaccine coverage rates had been well below 100% (e.g., in 2008, only 75% of one-year-old children were fully immunized with the third dose of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine). Working closely with the Ministry of Health, UNICEF, and WHO, the research team used a new combination of computational simulation modeling, information systems, stakeholder engagement, and training to help evaluate the Mozambique supply chain and develop, evaluate, and ultimately introduce a new supply chain design. The new design raised vaccine availability (from 66% to 93% in Gaza; from 76% to 84% in Cabo Delgado) and reduced the logistics cost per dose administered (from $0.53 to $0.32 in Gaza; from $0.38 to $0.24 in Cabo Delgado) as compared to the multi-tiered system under the current expanded program on immunization. The alternative system also produced higher availability at lower costs after new vaccine introductions. Since reviewing scenarios modeling deliveries every two months in the north of Gaza, the provincial directorate has decided to pilot this approach diverging from decades of policies dictating monthly deliveries.

The three supply chain designs considered for Gaza are as follows. Figure (a) presents the original multitiered distribution system (G1), which has three levels below the national depot: province, district, and health center. The provincial store attempts to pick up vaccines from the national level quarterly using a 4 × 4 truck but is able to make additional trips as needed. The provincial level delivers vaccines to the 12 district stores monthly. Approximately 60% of health centers receive monthly deliveries from the district level via pickup truck or motorbike while the remaining health centers retrieve vaccines from the districts each month using public transportation.

Figure (b) presents the current implementation of alternative distribution system (G2) using transport loops in south that utilizes two distribution loops to deliver from the provincial level directly to health centers in the southern region of the province using district personnel for additional supervision. Due to long distances, difficult terrain, and small populations, two additional loops deliver vaccines from the provincial level to the four district stores in the northern region. Vaccines then move to the northern health centers by the same methods as in structure G1

Figure (c) shows potential implementation of alternative distribution system (G3) using transport loops throughout province. It expands the recently implemented alternative system to full coverage of all health centers throughout the province. In addition to the two existing delivery loops in the south, two distribution loops deliver vaccines monthly from the provincial level directly to health centers in the north

 

The authors consider two additional alternative scenarios: (i) A system with full delivery loop coverage, delivery to northern health centers every two months (G4); (ii) A system with full delivery look coverage, delivery to all health centers every two months (G5).

Vaccine availability and logistics cost per dose administered for Gaza scenarios are presented in the figure below. (Note: +RV + HPV + IPV + MSD indicates introductions of rotavirus (RV), human papillomavirus (HPV), inactivated polio (IPV), and a second dose of measles (MSD) vaccines.)

For Cabo Delgado the following supply chain designs were evaluated:

(a) The first design (C1) has three levels below the national depot: province, district, and health center. The provincial store receives vaccine shipments from the national level quarterly by plane but receives additional deliveries as needed. The provincial level delivers vaccines to the 17 district stores monthly. Approximately 60% of health centers receive monthly deliveries from the district level via pickup truck or motorbike while the remaining health centers retrieve vaccines from the districts each month using public transportation.

(b) The second design (C2) includes three loops delivering vaccines monthly from the provincial level directly to 52% of the health centers in the province. The remaining health centers are located in hard-to-reach peripheral areas and must retrieve their vaccines from the health centers located at the headquarters in their respective administrative districts, using motorbikes or public transportation. One district is not included in a loop and instead receives monthly deliveries from the provincial store via 4 × 4 truck

(c) The third design (C3) expands the existing three delivery loops to full coverage of all health centers throughout the province.

These design scenarios are presented in the following figure:

Two additional scenarios were also considered: (i) A system (C4) that alternates between reduced delivery and full delivery loop coverage each month, resulting in monthly deliveries from the provincial level to 52% of health centers. Peripheral health centers receive deliveries from the province every two months. (ii) Alternative system (C5), full delivery loop coverage, every two months throughout the province.

The following figure presents vaccine availability and logistics cost per dose administered for Cabo Delgado scenarios. (Note: +RV + HPV + IPV + MSD indicates introductions of rotavirus (RV), human papillomavirus (HPV), inactivated polio (IPV), and a second dose of measles (MSD) vaccines.)

Implementation

The Gaza provincial directorate plans to pilot this approach diverging from decades of policies dictating monthly deliveries. This pilot is complemented by new remote temperature monitoring technology for the cold chain, also being piloted in that province, to better guarantee the safety of the vaccines. 

Source: Lee, B.Y., Haidari, L.A., Prosser, W., Connor, D.L., Bechtel, R., Dipuve, A., Kassim, H., Khanlawia, B. and Brown, S.T., 2016. Re-designing the Mozambique vaccine supply chain to improve access to vaccines. Vaccine, 34(41), pp.4998-5004. 

 

Since launching in April, the first drone delivery base has made more than 1,300 aerial deliveries, delivered more than 7,000 critical and emergency medicines to patients

Since launching in April, the first drone delivery base has already:
Made more than 1,300 aerial deliveries
Delivered more than 7,000 critical and emergency medicines to patients
And, most importantly, saved lives! pic.twitter.com/fltEHfnKcA

— Gavi (@gavi) October 10, 2019

USAID’s prefabricated, solar-powered, and air-conditioned warehouses to hold lifesaving medicines

On #RoyalVisitMalawi, His Royal Highness The Duke of Sussex visits one of USAID @GHSupplyChain's 117 storage facilities, funded by @PEPFAR @PMIgov and @DFID_UK. These impressive warehouses are prefabricated, solar-powered, and air-conditioned to hold lifesaving medicines. pic.twitter.com/PElR7kdTll

— USAID (@USAID) October 4, 2019

Amphibious vehicle for humanitarian relief

In a sudden-onset emergency, World Food Program uses an amphibious truck that looks like a tank with inflatable wheels. It is called a Sherp — a name that suggests the fortitude of one who scales Mt. Everest loaded with a pack.

After field-testing two Sherps in the Democratic Republic of Congo and three in South Sudan in 2018, WFP included two of the Ukraine-made vehicles in the response to Cyclone Idai in Mozambique. Before the Sherp could proceed, however, crucial navigational information is needed. Sherps can’t climb a vertical wall, so the driver needs to know where the slopes tapered off. It is important to avoid rapids. A drone is used to get a bird’s eye view of the area.

Images from the drone are broadcast onto the phone screen of the pilot driving the vehicle, so he could ‘see’ past the tree tops and the swamp, and is able to navigate the area. 

In 48 hours, 26 metric tons of food were moved into Buzi, one ton at a time, the drone leading the Sherp across the unpredictable river.

Once the operation in Buzi was completed, the amphibious vehicles were moved back to Beira, ready to assist in the next flooded area. With two Sherps warehoused in the Southern Africa region, WFP and the Mozambique National Institute of Disaster Management (INGC) now have more cost-saving options for reaching stranded populations.

Source: The humanitarian monster truck. By Tej Rae

Complex Adaptive Systems Paradigm in Operations and Supply Chain Management Research

In a recently published article we present a conceptual model for a renewed consideration of the complex adaptive systems (CAS) perspective in operations and supply chain management research. In the paper we discuss the following conceptual issues and their relevance in operations and supply chain management research:

1) Constituents of a complex adaptive system

2) Nature of coevolution

3) Embracing Complexity

Building on the theoretical foundation around the above listed issues we describe the following conceptual model:

The paper offers several directions for future research. Operations and supply chain outcomes rely on certain search processes aimed at improving the local performance of the firms in the network. A CAS perspective can unravel the search process and present a deeper understanding of how overall performance improvement can be achieved. It can be particularly useful to study indirect effects within several operations and supply chain problems where there is no obvious relationship between cause and effects. The CAS perspective can help in understanding the process as well as the outcome of pattern formation that are evident in many situations pertaining to operations and supply chain management. As an example, norms in buyer– supplier relationships take shape through a collective pattern that can be examined by considering the CAS perspective. The CAS perspective calls for considering part “ in vivo.”  Investigating how changes in one part affect others and the behavior of the whole can help in assessing the inherent nature of CAS, such as supply networks. In this regard, this CAS perspective can help in further discerning how control and emergence operate in supply networks. 

Structure is typically viewed as a linear contingency variable in extant research. Studies adopting a complex systems perspective have shown that structure can also act as a nonlinear contingency. Similar considerations would help in disentangling the general and local effects within operations and supply chain management. Routines, replication, and inheritance form the cornerstone of several OSCM practices. The CAS perspective can help in better understanding how these aspects contribute toward short-term efficiency and long-term learning outcomes in organizations. Additionally, relaxation of the rationality assumptions can help in discerning the emergent properties of agents in operations and supply chain management contexts.

The paper also provides directions for new methodological approaches such as latent space models and latent class models (e.g., stochastic block models), entropy measures, Reynold's number, attractor geometry, fractal dimensions, and others.

Source: Nair, A. and Reed‐Tsochas, F., 2019. Revisiting the complex adaptive systems paradigm: Leading perspectives for researching operations and supply chain management issues. Journal of Operations Management, 65(2), pp.80-92.

Is the digital divide hampering the malaria response in Africa?

Of the 216m active 💬 social media users in Africa, 202.4 million are 📱mobile social users. But govts often lack financing to tap into 🌍#DigitalTransformation & unlock digital medicine. On #WorldMalariaDay, @BurtonTracey 🔎the digital gap to #EndMalaria.https://t.co/DwscKRaWP4

— UN Development (@UNDP) April 24, 2019