Operations and supply chain management Assignment Sample

Introduction to Operations and Supply Chain Management Sample

Operations and supply chain management involve the overall management of resources, information, as well as materials required to deliver services and products to distributors and customers. Healthcare supply chain management (SCM) highlights the tactical coordination of the distribution and procurement of the goods needed to support the operations of the business and the care of service users or patients. The current study is based on the National Health Service (NHS), which is the largest publicly funded healthcare system operating since 1948. The current study will outline the detailed analysis and evaluation of the operation and supply chain management. Along with this, the diagrammatic representation of the supply chain of the NHS will be highlighted. Lastly, the evaluation of the issues in relation to the supply chain, along with the proposed solution, will be provided for better improvement of the supply chain.

Explore this Operations and Supply Chain Management sample focusing on the NHS, its healthcare supply chain structure, operational processes, and key supply chain challenges. An Assignment writing helper can support students in understanding supply chain evaluation and improvement strategies.

Main Body

Literature review on operations and supply chain management

According to the views of Sawyerr and Harrison (2023), operations management is a practice which is assistive to companies in managing the procurement of materials and manufacturing goods and services. Within the healthcare context, the effective supply chain and operation management must be maintained. When the activities of operation management are effectively working, then automatically the overall working will be improved, and it will assist in making the services effective and providing better patient care. When the supply chain is effectively managed, the patient will be provided with the right services. On the other side, Duong et al, (2025) stated that the supply chain also needs to be managed on time. Supply chain is defined as the network which is used by companies and organisations for the effective procurement of raw materials and finished goods to consumers. This included the transportation of the goods from one place to another, and as a result of this, the overall efficiency is improved.

In the view of Scala and Lindsay (2021) the operation management is very crucial, as this will help the company in managing and optimising the resources and their utilisation well so that the overall working is improved. With the assistance of effective operations management and the related services like logistics, supply chain management and others, the company can effectively manage its operations. Betcheva, Erhun and Jiang (2021) stated that effectively implementing the use of operations management assists in enhancing the productivity and proficiency of the company. This is because of the reason that when the effective type of operational management is followed, the work is improved and better profits are generated. Thus, Kmietowicz (2021) stated that with the optimised operation management and supply chain, the company can get the competitive advantage. This assists the company in attracting a large number of consumers, and ultimately the better working conditions will be fostered.

Additionally, Boulding and Hinrichs-Krapels (2021) also stated that complying with the concept of operation and supply chain management (OSCM) needs following as there are many different issues in managing the supply chain. It is due to the reason that it emphasises effectively on both aspects effectively because both are highly relevant for the success of the company. This assists in improving the working capability of the company, and ultimately, the overall efficiency is improved. Further, Schneller et al, (2023) supported that compliance with the OSCM is assistive in improving the production activities of the company, and resultantly the effective working is improved. Also, the use of the appropriate strategies will provide a better direction to the company and the employees, and a good quality product will be produced, which will attract more consumers. In the context of healthcare, the effective supply chain needs to be followed so that the overall work can be improved.

According to the views of Marsilio et al, (2022) the compliance with the correct type of operational management techniques needs to be followed. This is needed for the reason that when the effective type of the techniques is implemented, it improves the working and helps in improving the capability well. Also, Zarei (2022) stated that the operational management is a highly customer-centric approach which assists in improving the day-to-day activities so that better care can be provided to the patient. This also includes providing better support to the patient so that better services can be provided to the company.

Diagram of the supply chain of the company

For the NHS to provide better services to the patient, it is necessary that the effective type of the supply chain is followed. In case it is not used, then problems and issues will be created for the successful working of the NHS. So for fostering the working, the NHS follows an effective type of supply chain and operation management principles. However, when the effective type of the supply chain elements is followed, then it will improve the working greatly (Thornber et al, 2022). The supply chain of the NHS starts with the Plan, and this is done with the help of demand planning and budgeting. Along with this, the next step is procurement, which is done by purchasing and sourcing from different contractors. Further, the store is the next stage, which includes keeping the stock of raw materials and finished goods. Thus, this NHS complies with effective warehousing, and this improves the working of the NHS in terms of increasing operational efficiency (Gregory, Atkins and Dwivedi, 2025). Lastly, comes the element of moving, and this includes having a good logistics system so that the NHS is capable of moving the products and services to the consumer or the end-user of the service. This is needed for the reason that when the effective type of transmission of the product is done from one place to another, then it improves the working efficiency of the NHS, and as a result, it will help manage the work better.

With the evaluation of the above supply chain of the NHS, it is clear that there are different types of suppliers which are providing for different types of materials to the NHS. This includes suppliers like GE, Johnson-Johnson, Siemens, BD and many other types of suppliers who provide the needed equipment and other materials to the NHS. For this, NHS ensures that they effectively selects suppliers which emphasise effective sustainability. It is necessary because currently, the trend of sustainability is highly focused, and it is necessary for successful working that the suppliers selected must be working on sustainability, so that with better services, the environment is also protected and emphasised (MacNeill, McGain and Sherman, 2021). Also, with the supply chain, it is clear that 4 major aspects are present, which include planning, procuring the material, storing it, and moving it to the place of need. The end users of the supply chain of the NHS include the consumers, patients, community care, different labs, primary care, diagnostic hubs and many other types of users of the services of the NHS. For the successful working and management of the supply chain, it is mandatory that the effective elements of the elements of supply chain are followed so that the working can be improved and also better services are provided to the patient.

Further, the supply chain of the NHS also follows the concept of upstream and downstream supply chains. Both these types of supply chain are needed for the successful working of the company, and the NHS is effectively emphasising effective working. The upstream supply chain is the one which starts with procuring the raw material and bringing it to the place where the manufacturing takes place. Hence, for this, the material must be effectively processed and provided to the company (NHS in the current case). For providing better services to the patient then it will increase the working and as a result, the products which are manufactured in the NHS will be done well. Also, the downstream supply chain is necessary to be followed so that the product and services are provided to the end-users. It is necessary for the reason that when the materials are provided to the end users on time then it will result in better work.

Further, with the analysis, it is clear that when the downstream supply chain is followed, then it enhances the working capability and overall, better services are provided to the patients and other end-users of the services of the NHS. Moreover, it is needed for the NHS must effectively try to manage its work better so that the proper supply chain is followed and effective services are provided to all patients and every user of the NHS (Sawyerr and Harrison, 2023). Further, with the supply chain, it is also necessary for the NHS that they must also emphasise effective quality so that the overall working can be improved. When the quality input is made into the supply chain, then automatically it increases the working, and as a result of this, the overall efficiency is improved. Thus, focusing on better quality management is needed to be implemented so that better working conditions can be fostered and good quality services can be provided.

Identifying the issues and recommending a project as a remedy

There are lot many different types of the issues which are witnessed by the company at time of managing the supply chain. The company operates in the external environment and there are lot many changes which can disrupt the supply chain and operational management activities. So, for this, the different types of issues faced by the NHS in managing the supply chain are as follows-

• The most common type of issue is in logistics and transportation. It is due to the reason that the UK is highly affected by the increase in the prices of fuel, and as a result, there is port congestion and driver shortages. Thus, due to this, there is a major issue within the logistics and transportation. Hence, with this, the supply chain is delayed, and it can result in mismanagement of the work, and ultimately, it will create a negative impact on the work of the business and companies (Supply Chain Issues in the NHS UK: Challenges and Solutions, 2025). Thus, it delays the supply chain and ultimately, all the other activities are affected and are not done on time.
• Further, another challenge of the issue in the implementation and management of the supply chain is the increased cost and budget. This is another major issue which is created and is affecting the working of the company. For the effective management of the working of the NHS, compliance with more costs is implemented, thus, for managing the NHS supply chain, high cost is incurred, which is another major issue faced by the NHS and affect the working of the healthcare setting.

The link between the two issues is that company is not able to manage the logistics on time as due to the labour shortages, the NHS is not capable of bringing the raw materials on time. Also, they are implementing high cost for managing all these issues and as a result it creates more problem and issues in managing the supply chain and ultimately the operational process of NHS is affected. Thus, for overcoming the issues within the supply chain, it is highly recommended to the NHS that they must effectively integrate the digital transformation into the working and operational management activities. For this, the implementation of use of artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data analytics, automated procurement and many other types of digital technology. Thus, the recommended solution to all the problems faced by the NHS supply chain is the implementation of digital disruption into the supply chain.

So the objective of the recommended solution is to implement the use of the latest techniques in the direction of the management and optimisation of the supply chain. When the latest techniques are implemented well, then it will foster better working and ultimately the efficiency is improved well. With the compliance with the latest technology then it will improve the working capability and ultimately the effectiveness will be improved. The proposed benefit of this project for improving the supply chain and operations management is that it will assist the company in predicting the future demand, and with the help of this, the supply chain will be optimised well (Scala and Lindsay, 2021). It needs to be implemented by the NHS as with the help of effective data optimisation techniques, the company will be in a better position to manage and improve the working better and provide better services to the end-users. Hence, with the application of the agile methodology, this proposed solution will be implemented by the NHS so that the overall working can be improved. With the help of the agile methodology, the NHS will be implementing the new proposed idea of digital transformation with the help of a step-by-step process through which the plan of implementation of the solution needs to be implemented.

Project planning

Task Mode	Task Name	Duration	Start	Finish	Predecessors
1	Project Initiation	16 days	Mon 09-06-25	Mon 30-06-25
1.1	Communicating with operations management employees to identify the problem	10 days	Mon 09-06-25	Fri 20-06-25
1.2	Conducting a feasibility study	6 days	Mon 23-06-25	Mon 30-06-25	2
2	Project planning	26 days	Tue 01-07-25	Tue 05-08-25
2.1	AI Algorithm Selection & Customisation	12 days	Tue 01-07-25	Wed 16-07-25	2,3
2.2	Database Design & Setup	14 days	Thu 17-07-25	Tue 05-08-25	5
3.	Project execution	57 days	Wed 06-08-25	Thu 23-10-25
3.1	Developing an AI model	15 days	Wed 06-08-25	Tue 26-08-25	6
Testing the model and validating	10 days	Wed 27-08-25	Tue 09-09-25	8,6
3.2	User Interface Design	9 days	Wed 10-09-25	Mon 22-09-25	9
3.3	System Integration	12 days	Tue 23-09-25	Wed 08-10-25	9,10,8
3.4	Internal Review & Adjustments	11 days	Thu 09-10-25	Thu 23-10-25	11
4	Project Monitoring	15 days	Fri 24-10-25	Thu 13-11-25
4.1	Security & Compliance Testing	6 days	Fri 24-10-25	Fri 31-10-25	12
4.2	User Training Module Development	5 days	Fri 24-10-25	Thu 30-10-25	11,12
4.3	Pilot Deployment	9 days	Mon 03-11-25	Thu 13-11-25	14,15
5	Project closure	23 days	Fri 14-11-25	Tue 16-12-25
5.1	Full System Deployment	15 days	Fri 14-11-25	Thu 04-12-25	16
5.2	Project Closure & Final Reporting	8 days	Fri 05-12-25	Tue 16-12-25	18

Risk matrix

Risk	Likelihood	Impact	Mitigating strategy
Compliance risk	Medium	High	The mitigating strategy is to keep a regulatory check on every stage of implementation to ensure that the planned stage is implemented well.
Financial risk	High	High	To mitigate this, some funds will be kept aside so that they can be used in case of emergencies

Stakeholder matrix

Stakeholder	Interest	Power	Communication strategy
Project manager	High	High	Every hour, communication is done to ensure the effectiveness of the project.
Project team	High	Low	Hourly communication is done to ensure that employees are working well.
Sponsor	High	Low	Every fortnight, communication is done to improve the working.

Conclusion

Lastly, it is inferred that appropriate management of the operations and supply chain needs to be implemented well so that the overall working can be improved. When the operations management and supply chain are effectively managed then it assists the NHS in improving its working better. Hence, the study highlighted that the supply chain is significant in the context of the NHS and it includes increasing the efficiency, profitability and many others. Further, it was assessed that the compliance with the right supply chain is assistive to the NHS in improving its efficiency, and this resulted in better working conditions. Moreover, it also stated that the compliance with the upstream and downstream supply chain is also undertaken by the NHS in improving the overall working. At last, it was recommended to the NHS that they must integrate automation and digitalisation within the supply chain so that work can be managed well.

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References

Books and Journals

• Betcheva, L., Erhun, F. and Jiang, H., 2021. OM Forum—Supply chain thinking in healthcare: Lessons and outlooks. Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, 23(6), pp.1333-1353.
• Boulding, H. and Hinrichs-Krapels, S., 2021. Factors influencing procurement behaviour and decision-making: an exploratory qualitative study in a UK healthcare provider. BMC health services research, 21, pp.1-11.
• Duong, L., Sanderson, H.S., Phillips, W., Roehrich, J.K. and Uwalaka, V., 2025. Achieving resilient supply chains: managing temporary healthcare supply chains during a geopolitical disruption. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 45(5), pp.1090-1118.
• Gregory, A., Atkins, J. and Dwivedi, A., 2025. Towards transformative supply chain research and practice: A critical systems perspective. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 42(1), pp.242-259.
• Kmietowicz, Z., 2021. Healthcare and tech companies pledge to decarbonise NHS supply chain by 2045. BMJ: British Medical Journal (Online), 375.
• MacNeill, A.J., McGain, F. and Sherman, J.D., 2021. Planetary health care: a framework for sustainable health systems. The Lancet Planetary Health, 5(2), pp.e66-e68.
• Marsilio, M., Roldan, E.T., Salmasi, L. and Villa, S., 2022. Operations management solutions to improve ED patient flows: evidence from the Italian NHS. BMC Health Services Research, 22(1), p.974.
• Sawyerr, E. and Harrison, C., 2023. Resilience in healthcare supply chains: a review of the UK’s response to the COVID19 pandemic. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 53(3), pp.297-329.
• Scala, B. and Lindsay, C.F., 2021. Supply chain resilience during pandemic disruption: evidence from healthcare. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 26(6), pp.672-688.
• Schneller, E., Abdulsalam, Y., Conway, K. and Eckler, J., 2023. Strategic management of the healthcare supply chain. John Wiley & Sons.
• Thornber, K., Adshead, F., Balayannis, A., Brazier, R., Brown, R., Comber, S., Davidson, I., Depledge, M., Farmer, C., Gibb, S. and Hixson, R., 2022. First, do no harm: time for a systems approach to address the problem of health-care-derived pharmaceutical pollution. The Lancet Planetary Health, 6(12), pp.e935-e937.
• Zarei, M.H., 2022. Managing medical waste in humanitarian supply chains: lessons for healthcare services. British Journal of Healthcare Management, 28(11), pp.269-274.

Online

• NHS Supply Chain – Traceability goals and benefits. 2022. Online. Available through: <https://www.gs1uk.org/sites/default/files/Sara_Ford_presentation.pdf>
• Supply Chain Issues in the NHS UK: Challenges and Solutions. 2025. Online. Available through: <https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/supply-chain-issues-nhs-uk-challenges-solutions-ankur-mitroo-2qhfe>