{"id":{"repo_id":"mit","oai_identifier":"oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/92120"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mit/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/92120","repository":{"repo_id":"mit","name":"MIT","base_url":"https://dspace.mit.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"A root cause analysis of stock-outs in the pharmaceutical industry","abstract":"PharCo (an assumed name) is a leading global healthcare company with well-recognized brands of both pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare products. As PharCo continues to expand its global presence, product stock-outs in their pharmaceutical business unit have been consistently increasing. PharCo suspected that manufacturing quality defects were a major cause of stock-outs, reducing the production yield and preventing the company from meeting customer demand. To help test this hypothesis and address the stock-out challenge, we reviewed existing research on the subject of product stock-outs within the pharmaceutical industry. To understand PharCo's manufacturing process, we conducted on-site visits and reviewed their quality control practices. Finally, we designed a mixed methods approach that combines qualitative and quantitative techniques to analyze the root causes of product stock-outs at PharCo. The analysis revealed that, instead of manufacturing quality defects, regulatory issues were the primary cause for stock-outs at PharCo. Regulatory challenges associated with developments such as new product launches, license renewals, and formulation modifications need to be addressed for PharCo to reduce their stock-out level.","abstract_html":"PharCo (an assumed name) is a leading global healthcare company with well-recognized brands of both pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare products. As PharCo continues to expand its global presence, product stock-outs in their pharmaceutical business unit have been consistently increasing. PharCo suspected that manufacturing quality defects were a major cause of stock-outs, reducing the production yield and preventing the company from meeting customer demand. To help test this hypothesis and address the stock-out challenge, we reviewed existing research on the subject of product stock-outs within the pharmaceutical industry. To understand PharCo's manufacturing process, we conducted on-site visits and reviewed their quality control practices. Finally, we designed a mixed methods approach that combines qualitative and quantitative techniques to analyze the root causes of product stock-outs at PharCo. The analysis revealed that, instead of manufacturing quality defects, regulatory issues were the primary cause for stock-outs at PharCo. Regulatory challenges associated with developments such as new product launches, license renewals, and formulation modifications need to be addressed for PharCo to reduce their stock-out level.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Sun, Xuewen, M. Eng. Massachusetts Institute of Technology","Yin, Bangqi"],"institution":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division.","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Roberto Perez-Fraitco."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014","date_published":"2014","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:22:05Z","subjects":["Engineering Systems Division."],"languages":["eng"],"rights":["M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. 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They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission."]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/92120"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Thesis: M. Eng. in Logistics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2014.","Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.","Includes bibliographical references (pages 45-46)."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["PharCo (an assumed name) is a leading global healthcare company with well-recognized brands of both pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare products. As PharCo continues to expand its global presence, product stock-outs in their pharmaceutical business unit have been consistently increasing. PharCo suspected that manufacturing quality defects were a major cause of stock-outs, reducing the production yield and preventing the company from meeting customer demand. To help test this hypothesis and address the stock-out challenge, we reviewed existing research on the subject of product stock-outs within the pharmaceutical industry. To understand PharCo's manufacturing process, we conducted on-site visits and reviewed their quality control practices. Finally, we designed a mixed methods approach that combines qualitative and quantitative techniques to analyze the root causes of product stock-outs at PharCo. The analysis revealed that, instead of manufacturing quality defects, regulatory issues were the primary cause for stock-outs at PharCo. Regulatory challenges associated with developments such as new product launches, license renewals, and formulation modifications need to be addressed for PharCo to reduce their stock-out level."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["M. Eng. in Logistics"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A root cause analysis of stock-outs in the pharmaceutical industry"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Roberto Perez-Fraitco."],"dc:contributor.department":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division."],"dc:contributor.other":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division."],"dc:creator":["Sun, Xuewen, M. Eng. Massachusetts Institute of Technology","Yin, Bangqi"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2014-12-08T18:50:16Z"],"dc:date.available":["2014-12-08T18:50:16Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2014"],"dc:description":["Thesis: M. Eng. in Logistics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2014.","Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.","Includes bibliographical references (pages 45-46)."],"dc:description.abstract":["PharCo (an assumed name) is a leading global healthcare company with well-recognized brands of both pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare products. As PharCo continues to expand its global presence, product stock-outs in their pharmaceutical business unit have been consistently increasing. PharCo suspected that manufacturing quality defects were a major cause of stock-outs, reducing the production yield and preventing the company from meeting customer demand. To help test this hypothesis and address the stock-out challenge, we reviewed existing research on the subject of product stock-outs within the pharmaceutical industry. To understand PharCo's manufacturing process, we conducted on-site visits and reviewed their quality control practices. Finally, we designed a mixed methods approach that combines qualitative and quantitative techniques to analyze the root causes of product stock-outs at PharCo. The analysis revealed that, instead of manufacturing quality defects, regulatory issues were the primary cause for stock-outs at PharCo. Regulatory challenges associated with developments such as new product launches, license renewals, and formulation modifications need to be addressed for PharCo to reduce their stock-out level."],"dc:description.degree":["M. Eng. in Logistics"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/92120"],"dc:language.iso":["eng"],"dc:publisher":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"],"dc:rights":["M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission."],"dc:rights.uri":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"],"dc:subject":["Engineering Systems Division."],"dc:title":["A root cause analysis of stock-outs in the pharmaceutical industry"],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:22:05Z"}