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Several definitions for Supply Chain Management Practices exist (Xiao et al. (2009); Abdusalam et al. (2020); Luo and Zhu (2020); Li et al. (2006)). However, the most comprehensive and often cited is provided by Koh, Bayraktar, Tatoglu, and Zaim, (2007) in which supply chain management practices was defined as “an array of activities undertaken by a firm to promote effective management of its supply chain”. SCM is gradually becoming an indispensable tool of competitive strategy (Doumbia, Afriyie, Ndum and Blankson, 2013) that enables firms across all sectors to improve upon their performance (both financial and non-financial). Nonetheless, integrating the three strands of the supply chain i.e. upstream, midstream and downstream activities remain a daunting task (Li et al, 2006), particularly, for pharmaceutical supply chains of developing countries such as Ghana (Asamoah, Abor and Opare, 2011). A couple of studies in SCM have attempted to have all the three strands of supply chain integrated into the SCMP construct. For example, Shufang, Shoki, Ariff, Norhayati, Zardian and Muhammed (2016) and Gandhi, Shaikh and Sheorey, (2017) both examined the effect of supply chain management practices on supply chain performance in China and India respectively. Flynn, Huo and Hao (2010) indicated that firms must integrate its upstream suppliers’ activities, processes and practices to its downstream customer requirements via information sharing (Ibrahim and Ogunyemi, 2012) to enhance organizational performance (Valmohammadi, 2013). Gandhi et al (2017) also noted that firms that strategically implement SCMP are most likely to enhance their supply chain performance as well. Therefore, a firm’s ability to competitive and respond to the demands and expectations of its customers somewhat depends on its adoption of SCMP (Chong, Chan, Ooi and Sim, 2011).
Extant empirical literature has established a significantly positive relationship between supply chain management practices and performance (Li et al., 2006; Flynn et al., 2010; Huang el al., 2014 and Gorane and Kant, 2017) in manufacturing (Toyin, 2012), healthcare (Lee et al, 2011), automobile (Choi and Hong, 2002) and electronics (Alireza et al., 2011). Nonetheless, the global pharmaceutical industry was slow in implementing the concept of SCM (Geimer, 2002), regardless of its key contribution to the success of the world economy and raking in a total pharmaceutical revenue of 0.33billion USD for Ghana in 2014 (EFPIA, 2016). The contribution of SCM to firm’s performance in the pharmaceutical industry was very negligible compared with other functions such as Sales and Marketing (Geimer, 2002). The supply chain of the pharmaceutical industry in Ghana, just like any other supply chain, has multiple actors and therefore needs to be managed seamlessly in an end-to-end process (Asamoah et al, 2011). According to Harper and Gyansa-Lutterodt (2007), the Ghanaian pharmaceutical industry realized, although belatedly that it can no longer improve on its internal activities only, but would rather have to extend such efficiency improvements to include all members of the supply chain (Hult et al., 2007). Implementing SCMP, therefore, would offer an opportunity to a firm to explore linkages within the entire supply chain by reaching out to key suppliers and customers, for example, to enhance performance (Gandhi, Shaikh and Sheorey, 2017) and to also serve as a source of competitive advantage to the pharmaceutical firms.
Literature covering supply chain management practices on organizational performance were reviewed but, although they offer considerable insight and guidance to managers, SCM practitioners, there is much less research in the area of pharmaceutical firms in developing countries such as Ghana. Li et al (2006) also noted that few studies in extant literature considered supply chain management practices as a multi-dimensional construct comprising of the upstream, internal and downstream into a comprehensive supply chain.