Digitalization impact on supply chain velocity: Strategies and Performance impacts in pharmaceutical firms

Digital Supply Chain (DSC) technologies are becoming more popular. Nevertheless, there is an existing gap in the research regarding their direct influence on the supply chain velocity (SCV). This is particularly among the developing economies. It is not clear to us how particular DSC enablers (e.g., IoT, Blockchain) have an impact on SCV. This is an issue especially in industries such as the pharmaceutical industry which experiences infrastructure constraints, lack of raw materials and economic instability. This gap narrows down to the fact that there is no explicit knowledge and empirical data on how different digital technologies and practices support or slow down the pace and efficiency of activities in the supply chain. This paper will seek to address this gap. It explores the cause and effect relationships between DSC technologies and SCV in the pharmaceutical industry of Pakistan. The primary methodology used in this investigation is the Neutrosophic DEMATEL. The approach creates causal links between DSC technologies and SCV elements in the process of its analysis. The study contributes to the existing body of knowledge in that it investigates the issues that manufacturing companies operating in the developing economies encounter. These companies tend to be under-technological and incapable of proper infrastructure. It offers a close look at the problems of the supply chain operations. It also provides viable digital implementation approaches to the businesses to reduce the time cycle of order fulfilment to minimise lead times and accelerate the speed of the supply chain. The implications of the findings are significant to supply chain management practitioners and researchers who are concerned with the emerging markets and pharmaceutical operations. The study determines the critical aspects that influence DSC and SCV relations to inform the improved application of digital technologies in supply chain processes that lead to improved performance and competitiveness. In this particular research, the authors examine a pharmaceutical industry in Pakistan, which is a developing economy and as such has suffered chronic problems of low digital infrastructure, lack of raw materials, and inflation that is over 30% high. These limitations cause a tremendous hindrance to the velocity of the supply chain. Although the topic of digital supply chains has been studied in the global framework, many have not focused on the contextual dynamics of pharmaceutical companies of the emerging economies, which presents the unique gap of the present research.