A SYSTEMATIC ANALYSIS OF STOCKOUTS, PROCUREMENT INEFFICIENCIES AND OVERSTOCKING IN PHARMACEUTICAL SUPPLY CHAIN

Vaibhava V B, Isha M, Ayishath Aifa, Aysha Shamla, Nafeesath Nafiya, Khushi Tara

The pharmaceutical supply chain is fundamental to healthcare delivery, which ensures the timely availability of medicines that directly determine patient outcomes and system performance. Despite ongoing advancements in logistics and digital technologies, three critical challenges, such as stockouts, procurement inefficiencies, and overstocking, continue to disrupt supply chain performance globally. This systematic narrative review synthesises evidence from the peer-reviewed studies published between 2019 and 2026 to examine the root causes, clinical and economic impacts, and proposed solutions for these interconnected challenges. A structured literature search was conducted across various search engines. Findings indicate that inaccurate demand forecasting, supply-side disruptions, governance failures, and inadequate digital infrastructure are the primary drivers of all three challenges. The review shows that all these issues are interconnected. Poor procurement directly causes both shortages and excess inventory, whereas deficiencies in data weaken the decision-making at every supply chain stage. Recent articles support the effectiveness of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and digital procurement systems in improving supply chain performance; however, technology adoption remains uneven, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. This review contributes to pharmaceutical supply chain literature by providing a unified analytical framework connecting root causes, impacts, and solutions across all three challenging domains. Future research should focus on integrated, AI-driven approaches tailored to developing country contexts, supported by real-time data systems and comprehensive economic evaluation.

Keywords –Pharmaceutical supply chain, medicine shortages, procurement inefficiency, inventory imbalance, healthcare logistics, demand forecasting, supply chain resilience