Logistics and supply chain challenges may impact medical oxygen availability in third wave In July last year, patients in Eastern Cape hospitals were reportedly fighting over oxygen. The short supply of medical oxygen claimed lives in India as the country battled its second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. While it has been reported that South African oxygen suppliers are ready now, that lessons were learnt from the previous waves of Covid-19, and production capacity has been increased to handle South Africa's third wave, there are other risks and challenges that may impact the availability of medical oxygen. There are logistics and supply chain management issues. The oxygen must get to where it is needed when it is needed, in the quantities required. It was reported last month that seven Covid-19 patients died at an Indian hospital because the driver of an oxygen tanker scheduled to deliver to the facility got lost. This tragedy highlights difficulties that go beyond simply increasing the capacity of oxygen plants.

At the height of India's second wave of Covid-19, government and industry experts said that the country's medical oxygen crisis was due to distribution problems, not a shortage of oxygen being produced, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. The 800 to 9 000 tons of oxygen being produced a day was sufficient to meet the demand, but there were supply chain issues, they noted. The problems included the location of oxygen production plants far from the hospitals where it was needed and a shortage of specialised cryogenic tankers needed to transport oxygen. A further challenge was transporting medical oxygen swiftly and safely on India's narrow and congested roads. Many hospitals in South Africa rely on oxygen cylinders rather than on-site storage tanks, and cylinder deliveries are a logistical issue. Empty cylinders must be collected timeously to be refilled. Hospital and clinic staff need to understand this process. They need supply chain management skills and knowledge to ensure that they understand things like demand planning, turnaround times, and reverse logistics, to ensure an uninterrupted supply of oxygen. This is a complex supply chain that lives are depending on.

The robust, reliable supply chains that are essential for positive health outcomes - including medical oxygen supply chains require a skilled, knowledgeable and connected supply chain workforce. The health commodities supply chain, particularly in the public sector in Africa, has traditionally been managed and operated by healthcare professionals with an intuitive understanding of supply chain operations, but often without the relevant supply chain training or qualifications. There is a need to increase the capabilities and skills of the existing supply chain resources, while creating an awareness and an environment that will attract appropriately skilled supply chain professionals. There is also an imperative to ensure that effective collaboration takes place between private and public healthcare and other involved role players. In this way, we can improve health outcomes in South Africa and across the continent.

Healthcare is one of the sectors in which non-profit organisation SAPICS (The Professional Body for Supply Chain Management) is playing a critical role by building supply chain management excellence in individuals and enterprises through world-class education, training and events, internationally recognised certifications, comprehensive resources, and a community of accomplished industry professionals. SAPICS is a Coalition member of "People that Deliver", a global initiative that aims to improve health outcomes by promoting sustainable workforce excellence in health supply chain management. A partnership between SAPICS and the International Association of Public Health Logisticians (IAPHL) was established to promote professionalism and community in South African public health supply chains with the objective of improving the availability of healthcare supplies.

Source:https://www.news24.com/health24/medical/infectious-diseases/coronavirus/opinion-logistics-and-supply-chainchallenges- may-impact-medical-oxygen-availability-in-third-wave-20210618

The Health Minister, Dr Joe Phaahla has approached you as a procurement manager to assist him in identifying problems when purchasing oxygen cylinders from international markets. With reference to the case study, explain to the Dr Phaahla the various problems associated with international procurement. Your answer should also include examples to support your discussion