Assessing the impact of lean and agile supply chain strategies on effective covid-19-mass vaccinations

Abstract

A properly designed vaccine supply chain that uses suitable supply chain strategies can facilitate an effective mass vaccination that minimises COVID-19 infections and deaths. This study assesses the impact of two supply chain strategies which are Lean supply chain strategy and Agile supply chain strategy on effective mass vaccination using a two-stage approach. In the initial stage, we developed an optimal vaccine distribution network under both Lean and Agile supply chain strategies separately, for a selected scenario in Colombo, Sri Lanka. In the second stage, we have developed a Susceptible-Exposed-Infected-Recovered (SEIR) model for COVID-19 which reflects the impact on infections and deaths when using the two different supply chain strategies. Results of this study reflect that a higher percentage of lead time saving can be achieved when using the Agile supply chain strategy. Moreover, when using Agile strategy, a considerable reduction of infections and deaths can be expected for the considered scenario despite a cost accumulation of approximately 32%.