Perceived Awareness, Knowledge, and Adoption of Supply Chain Principles among Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Professionals: Self-Reported Impacts on Key Performance Indicators, Southeast, Nigeria

Abstract

The sound production and distribution of essential medicines, from producers to distributors, retailers, and ultimately to end-users, depend on the effective and efficient application of supply chain principles. This research assessed the awareness, adoption, and impact of supply chain principles on supply chain performance in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industries of Southeastern Nigeria. A cross-sectional descriptive survey approach was adopted. Randomly selected sixty-four (64) respondents from thirty-seven pharmaceutical industries that are registered with the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria at the time of the study, with one or two product lines, were used. Data was collected using a well-designed and validated questionnaire in an interviewer-administered approach. The collected data were descriptively analysed using SPSS (version 20). The results showed that the perceived awareness of supply chain principles among pharmaceutical manufacturing industries in the southeast was moderate (50.8%), while the knowledge of these principles was notably high (71.4%). Furthermore, the findings revealed a low adoption rate of modern supply chain principles (44.4%). However, where these principles were implemented, they demonstrated a significant positive impact (mean score: 3.77 ± 0.87) on key performance indicators, particularly in enhancing customer satisfaction and improving overall operational efficiency. Economic and financial barriers, as well as organisational and management issues, were identified as the major hindrances to the adoption of supply chain principles. There is a need for pharmaceutical manufacturing industries in the Southeast to prioritise workforce training with practical applications that enhance supply chain processes during budgeting.