Achievement of Competitive Advantage by Implementation of Supply Chain Strategies in Pharma Manufacturing Industries

IPASJ International Journal of Management (IIJM)
Web Site: http://www.ipasj.org/IIJM/IIJM.htm

Email: editoriijm@ipasj.org
ISSN 2321-645X
A Publisher for Research Motivation........
Volume 4, Issue 7, July 2016
ACHIEVEMENT OF COMPETITIVE
ADVANTAGE BY IMPLEMENTATION OF
SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGIES IN PHARMA
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES
N.V.MAHESH BABU TALUPULA1 , RADHIKA NERSU2
1
N.V.MAHESH BABU TALUPULA, Associate Professor, Guru Nanak Institutions Technical Campus, Hyderabad,
2
RADHIKA NERSU, Assistant Professor, Sri Indu College of Engineering and Technology, Hyderabad,
ABSTRACT
The concept of supply chain management is relatively a recent idea in pharma business management literature, efficient
pharma supply chains can result from stable networks and common relations traders and retailers. The main aim of this
research is to assess the influence of supply chain strategies i.e. lean, agile and le agile strategies on achievement of
competitive advantage in pharma manufacturing companies targeting supply chain managers and strategic planning
managers. The study was carried out on twenty pharma manufacturing companies in Telangana State. Questionnaires with
closed and open ended questions was used as study instruments and issued to the respondents on a drop and pickup later basis
that was collected after two weeks. Data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of the
computer software the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). Inferential statistics techniques utilized were correlation
and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The findings indicated the companies employed either of the supply chain strategies i.e.
lean, agile and le agile. The supply chain strategies as indicated by the study influenced competitive advantage, the strategies
correlated very strongly to competitive advantage. The findings also indicated that government policies as moderating
effects play an integral role on the relationship of supply chain strategies. The main conclusion is that supply chain strategies
can influence competitive advantage if well employed by the companies. The study recommends that pharma manufacturing
companies should develop competitive advantage capabilities that cannot be imitated by other competitors. Management need
to take a keen interest specifically on supply chain strategies and the need to adopt and implement good supply chain strategies
to have higher competitive advantage.
Key words: Analysis of Variance(ANOVA), Competitive advantage, Supply Chain Strategies, lean, agile, and lean &
agile (hybrid) strategies, Statistical Package for Social Sciences(SPSS).
1.Introduction
The concept of supply chain management is relatively a recent idea in Pharma business management literature, though
supply chain as such is few decades old. Efficient and fair Pharma supply chains can result from stable networks and
common relations between input suppliers, producers, processors, traders and retailers.
Ensuring pharmaceutical supply chain effectiveness
The pharmaceutical and biotech industry is under severe pressure. Research & Development (R&D) costs are spiraling,
development timelines are growing, payer pushback is increasing and consumers are becoming increasingly
knowledgeable about care options. The industry is responding driving time out of development, becoming smarter
about stopping projects early in the development cycle, and increasing efficiency through rationalization or outsourcing
of non-core activities.
As scientific advances enable the industry to move from a one-size-fits-all approach to care, to one of segmentation,
personalization and wellness, so the supply chain will need to evolve. The supply chain of the future will be built
around flexibility, responsiveness and reliability shifting the supply paradigm from a stock-based model to an orderbased model.
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Characteristics of Supply Chain include:

Techniques to rapidly commission and decommission new products and markets.
Alternate supply models to match shifts in the provision of care e.g., direct to consumer or pharmacist rather than
through a wholesaler channel.
Advanced product design and packaging to both drive patient compliance and protect intellectual property.
Inventory tracking tools to eliminate counterfeiting and parallel-importing risks.
Since structural changes to the supply chain model will have tax implications, it is imperative that organizations
carefully balance operational and financial efficiencies when designing supply chains. Manufacturing operations
continue to invest in new technologies targeting cost savings and flexibility, to address historically inefficient, low yield
batch processes, with inconsistent quality outcomes. The regulatory landscape covering the adoption of these new
techniques is maturing, due to the ICH (International Conference on Harmonization) initiative and more recently with
the new FDA draft guidance on process validation. The thorough evaluation of the appropriate innovative technologies
(like PAT (Process Analytical Technology), continuous, disposable and miniaturized manufacturing and new process
development methods (like Quality by Design), in line with the future manufacturing vision, will be key as
manufacturers prepare for the future.
Many pharmaceutical companies are considering transitioning non-core manufacturing from traditional strong-holds in
Ireland, Puerto Rico and Singapore to the emerging markets of China and India. But such uses of external supply
networks will require companies to employ new and more evolved tools of virtual supply chain management from
operations to finance to tax planning.
2.Competitive Advantage
Competitive advantage is the extent to which companies are able to create a defensible position over its competitors
(McGinnis & Vallopra, 1999).In todays global competition environment, facing the rapid technology progress and
high customer expectations, companies find it hard to win the competition only depending ones own capacity (Su et
al.,2008). In this situation, the establishment of the supply chain partnership among companies and the coordination of
the partners are highly valued. Also, many companies struggle in justifying the cost of quality within their supply
chain, but many companies fail to see the cost associated with varying quality levels from their suppliers. In order to
create a quality product, which is one of the competitive advantages, company must address all aspects of the supply
chain, including individual processes and supplier selection (Franca et al., 2010). This is the main role of the supply
chain management. There are some dimensions of supply chain performance based on supply chain processes and
management which have direct influence to competitive advantage: resource, output, flexibility, innovativeness and
information. So, improving supply chain performance has become one of the critical issues for gaining
competitive advantage for companies. Supply chain is a dynamic management tool and continuously improving
performance has become a critical issue for most suppliers, manufactures and the related retailers to gain and sustain
competitiveness (Cai et al, 2009).
Pharma business in India
The Indian pharmaceutical industry is a success story providing employment for millions and ensuring that essential
drugs at affordable prices are available to the vast population of this sub-continent, Richard Gerster
India is among the top six global pharmaceutical producers in the world. Indian vaccines are exported to 150 countries.
India produces 40-70 per cent of the WHO demand for DPT & BCG and 90 per cent of measles vaccine. Approximately
70 per cent of the patients in developing countries receive Indian medicines through NGOs like The Clinton
Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Doctors without Borders, the UNCTAD etc.
Presently there are 10,500 manufacturing units and over 3,000 pharma companies in India, growing at an exceptional
rate. India has about 1,400 WHO GMP approved manufacturing units. India has been accredited with approximately
1,105 CEPs, more than 950 TGA approvals and 584 sites approved by the USFDA. Globally more than 90 per cent of
formulations approvals for Anti-retroviral (ARVs), Anti-tubercular & Anti-malarial (WHO pre-qualified) have been
granted to India.
Indian Pharmaceutical Industry
The Indian Pharmaceutical Industry today is in the front rank of Indias science-based industries with wide ranging
capabilities in the complex field of drug manufacture and technology. A highly organized sector, the Indian Pharma
Industry is estimated to be worth S 4.5 billion, growing at about 8 to 9 percent annually. It ranks very high in the third
world, in terms of technology, quality and range of medicines manufactured. From simple headache pills to
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sophisticated antibiotics and complex cardiac compounds, almost every type of medicine is now made indigenously.
Playing a key role in promoting and sustaining development in the vital field of medicines, Indian Pharma Industry
boasts of quality producers and many units approved by regulatory authorities in USA and UK, International companies
associated with this sector have stimulated, assisted and spearheaded this dynamic development in the past 53 years
and helped to put India on the pharmaceutical map of the world. The Indian Pharmaceutical sector is highly
fragmented with more than 20,000 registered units. It has expanded drastically in the last two decades. The leading 250
pharmaceutical companies control 70% of the market with market leader holding nearly 7% of the market share. It is
an extremely fragmented market with severe price competition and government price control.
The pharmaceutical industry in India meets around 70% of the country's demand for bulk drugs, drug intermediates,
pharmaceutical formulations, chemicals, tablets, capsules, orals and injectibles. There are about 250 large units and
about 8000 Small Scale Units, which form the core of the pharmaceutical industry in India (including 5 Central Public
Sector Units). These units produce the complete range of pharmaceutical formulations, i.e., medicines ready for
consumption by patients and about 350 bulk drugs, i.e., chemicals having therapeutic value and used for production of
pharmaceutical formulations. Following the de-licensing of the pharmaceutical industry, industrial licensing for most
of the drugs and pharmaceutical products has been done away with. Manufacturers are free to produce any drug duly
approved by the Drug Control Authority.
3.Advantage India
1. Competent workforce
India has a pool of personnel with high managerial and technical competence as also skilled workforce. It has an
educated work force and English is commonly used. Professional services are easily available.
2. Cost-effective chemical synthesis
Its track record of development, particularly in the area of improved cost-beneficial chemical synthesis for various
drug molecules is excellent. It provides a wide variety of bulk drugs and exports sophisticated bulk drugs.
3. Legal & Financial Framework
India has a 53 year old democracy and hence has a solid legal framework and strong financial markets. There is
already an established international industry and business community.
4. Information & Technology
It has a good network of world-class educational institutions and established strengths in Information Technology.
5. Globalisation
The country is committed to a free market economy and globalization. Above all, it has a 70 million middle class
market, which is continuously growing.
6. Consolidation
For the first time in many years, the international pharmaceutical industry is finding great opportunities in India.
The process of consolidation, which has become a generalized phenomenon in the world pharmaceutical industry,
has started taking place in India.
Steps To Strengthen the Industry
Indian companies need to attain the right product-mix for sustained future growth. Core competencies will play an
important role in determining the future of many Indian pharmaceutical companies in the post product-patent regime
after 2005. Indian companies, in an effort to consolidate their position, will have to increasingly look at merger and
acquisition options of either companies or products. This would help them to offset loss of new product options,
improve their R&D efforts and improve distribution to penetrate markets. Research and development has always taken
the back seat amongst Indian pharmaceutical companies. In order to stay competitive in the future, Indian companies
will have to refocus and invest heavily in R&D. The Indian pharmaceutical industry also needs to take advantage of the
recent advances in biotechnology and information technology.
The future of the industry will be determined by how well it markets its products to several regions and distributes
risks, its forward and backward integration capabilities, its R&D, its consolidation through mergers and acquisitions,
co-marketing and licensing agreements. Pharmaceutical industry is a continuous growth industry, immune to economic
recession and commodity cycles. Rising population, new disease incidence or resurgence of certain spurs the growth.
Therapeutic usage of pharmaceuticals varies across the globe. Hypertension and cardiac diseases are more prominent in
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Fig 1: Indian Pharma Market share

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Fig 2 : Market Share Rankings of Pharma COS in India
developed countries while infectious diseases like typhoid, tuberculosis etc., are largely prevalent in developing nations.
Supply Chain Management in Pharmaceutical Industry
In today's economy the battlefield is shifting from individual company performance to what they call Supply Chain
Performance.
Supply Chain Performance refers to the extended supply chain's activities in meeting end-customer requirements,
including product availability, on-time delivery, and all the necessary inventory and capacity in the supply chain to
deliver that performance in a responsive manner. Supply Chain Performance crosses company boundaries since it
includes basic materials, components, subassemblies and finished products, and distribution through various channels
to the end customer. It also crosses traditional functional organization lines such as procurement, manufacturing,
distribution, marketing & sales, and research & development.
Indian pharma supply chain components:
Indian pharma supply chain follows a symmetric network with distributors, wholesalers and retailers occupying a major
portion of the segment. However, it is different from the US supply chain in the following two aspects.
Insurance providers as ad hoc segment: US pharma supply chain has insurance providers as an integrated segment
whereas Indian pharma supply chain is currently in an ad-hoc stage and not integrated completely with insurance
providers and other service providers.
Increasing partnerships with medical device companies: Major pharma companies such as Bayer, Boehringer
Ingelheim have collaborated with medical device companies such as Aptar, Nypro and Gerresheimer, starting from
Phase I development of drugs, for developing formulations for pre filled syringes and inhalers. Such a collaborative
approach calls for reducing the time to market these products in India, since the medical device companies are involved
in design and manufacturing of medical device components right from Phase I development of drugs.
Fig 3: Comparative Analysis of Indian Pharma with Global scenario

Indian pharma landscape A comparative analysis
While global pharma MNCs are well advanced in terms of innovative R&D, technology partnerships, open innovation
and crowd sourcing, domestic Indian players are yet to follow the race. However, this type of technological innovation
is yet to take shape in India, as Indian companies are not investing in R&D due to lack of adequate required capital.
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There are no companies in India who have already come up or are planning to install full-fledged virtual R&D centres
for the lack of technology and other funding requirements in India. Globally, the following sample alliances (See Table:
Innovative R&D alliances) indicate the highly innovative ventures taken recently by major pharma companies. The
reactive nature of Indian pharma industry might act as a barrier to run in the global race where innovation tends to be
the major factor to differentiate one pharma major from the other.
Fig 4 : Push Supply Chain System Indian Pharmaceutical Network

Logistics and distribution network
Pharma wholesaler or distributor sector is fragmented. The first point of contact after the manufacturer is the carry
forward agent. In each State there will be one or two carry forward agents who pay the deposit fee and carry pharma
inventory. Since India has a double taxation system for every state central sales tax and state sales tax, possessing
CFA in every state will avoid multiple tax payments for the same goods.
Fig 5: Logistics and Distribution Network of Pharma Industry

Integrating CROs with pharma companies
CROs form an integral part of the pharma supply chain and they assist major pharma companies in cost effective drug
development process. For example in India, CROs assist pharma companies in:
Providing staff: (Clinical Research Associate or CRAs) for monitoring clinical trials
Regulatory work: CRO help pharma companies expedite regulatory work (Clinical trial material import etc.)
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Data management: Though data management services are majorly provided by BPOs (TCS, Accenture, Cognizant),
some leading CROs in India (SiroClinpharm, Quintile) do provide these services as well.
SME background
Today, when enterprises across the world are growing fiercely competitive, SMEs are also paving a way for themselves.
According to survey conducted by market research firm Zinnov, India is home to around 4.88 crores small and medium
business (SMB) units and it would soon be the largest SME nation globally. As per the report, about 8.11 crores people
in India gets employment through SMB sector. We also understand from various findings that the SMB sector in India
is growing at an exceptional rate and has the potential to be one of the primary drivers of the Indian economy. SMB
sectors rapid evolution can be gauged from the data that 1.5 million SMEs export their product and services outside
our country. Statistically, SMEs contribute more than 8 percent of Indias total GDP. In short, small medium
enterprises are critical to the economic growth in India which has grown to somewhere 50 millions in numbers.
Fig 6: Market share of various sectors in India Statement of the Problem

Need to revamp Indian pharma supply chain
Primary reasons to revamp a pharma supply chain in India can be outlined as a shifting global trend towards in-life
licensing, continuous manufacturing and value based pricing. There is a huge potential left in terms of innovation in
which the aforementioned three parameters play a vital role.
Indian pharma manufacturing companies are yet to bring innovative R&D and patient management and assistance
programmes integrated into the supply chain and are dependent on the high volume segment generic drugs. Indian
pharma manufacturing industry is currently in a nascent stage in terms of technological innovation and new
advancements such as open innovation, crowd sourcing etc. The socio-economic conditions in India are driving the
patient segment towards low cost drugs. Hence, generics segment in India is growing at a faster rate when compared to
patented drugs. Though, global pharma companies are innovating in terms of technology, open innovation, crowd
sourcing, in-licensing etc., Indian pharma companies are yet to follow the global race.
However, Indian pharma segment has an intensive patient pool with varying genotypes when compared to developed
regions. Global pharma MNCs can leverage the patient pool for conducting their clinical trials in India. This will
provide opportunities for increased partnerships (which leads to increased R&D trials) of global pharma MNCs with
domestic CROs. A shift in industry trend from high volume to high value can be expected if pharma MNCs focus to
drive to increase their R&D spend. This will increase vertical integration in terms of increased partnerships from raw
material manufacturers (APIs, excipients and other chemicals back ward integration) to pharma distribution
companies (forward integration) in the overall pharma supply chain.
Supply Chain Management
Why is it Top Management Concern?
Today's CEO can't simply focus on his or her company's performance in a vacuum; there is an emerging requirement to
focus on the performance of the extended supply chain or network in which the company is a partner. The battleground
will be Supply Chain vs. Supply Chain, with emphasis on continuous improvement across the extended supply chain.
To maintain and encourage supply chain improvement we need to go beyond traditional functional and business
performance measures 3rd develop new metrics with enough detail and richness to handle Supply Chain performance
rather than individual business performance. Modern supply chains are highly complex and dynamic. They are
characterized by constantly changing relationships and configurations, they support a proliferation of Stock Keeping
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Units (SKU'S), they use a mixture of manufacturing techniques (build-to-stock, make-to-order, Flow} to fulfill orders,
and they involve multiple organizations.
Furthermore, the emergence of the Internet as a new technology enabler has increased the number of customer
interactions and product configurations, thereby presenting greater demands on supply chain management and
performance. The ultimate goal and measure is customer satisfaction: the ability to fulfill customer orders for
personalized products and services faster and more efficiently than the competition. It is critical therefore to focus
management attention on the performance of the supply chain as an integrated whole, rather than as a collection of
separate processes or companies.
Planning and linkages also proved to be among the capabilities most frequently transformed by respondents' recent
supply chain initiatives. Clearly, investments in these capabilities can help companies respond more effectively to
changing market conditions, proactively control costs, and tighten relationships through greater information sharing
and collaboration.
Fig 7 : Typical Pharmaceutical Supply Chain
Fig 8 : Typical Pharmaceutical Supply Chain
Previous researchers have focused on various areas of supply chain, Morash and Lynch (2002) [30] studied of global
supply chain capability and performance. In another study Wu, Yeniyurt, Kim and Cavusgil (2005) [36] illustrated the
impact of IT on organizational supply chain capabilities and performance. Chee et al (2005) in Seol ,South Korea
explored the effective SCM practices in Toy Industry, they established three main SCM practices for toy retailers in
terms of ordering behaviors (one-off, JIT and mixed model) and one dominated SCM practice for Toy manufacturers
(traditional mass-production or push model).
Supply chains strategies lean, agile and leagile, strongly affects an organization's competitiveness in such areas as
cost, working capital requirements, Flexibility, service perception, and human resource among others. In this
context few companies have adopted supply chain strategies, its critical to understand, that proper alignment of the
supply chain with business strategy is essential to ensure high levels of competitive advantage. From the literature
reviews, it is evident that there is no known study that has mainly focused on addressing this gap. There has been
little focus, research study that relates supply chain strategies and competitive advantage of Pharma manufacturing
firms in Telangana State. The sector includes multinationals and local companies where competition is quite
intense. There is also limited literature available on pharma supply chain processes and this has created a major
knowledge gap amongst supply chain managers on how to improve the process in the pharma manufacturing industry.
The study focused on the main objective to investigate the influence of supply chain strategies on achievement of
competitive advantage in pharma manufacturing companies in Telangana State.
4.Research objectives
In order to achieve the overall research aim to answer the research questions below objectives have been set.
General Objective
The purpose of this study was to establish the influence of supply chain strategies on achievement of competitive
advantage in Pharma manufacturing companies in Telangana State.
Specific objectives
The research addressed the following Specific objectives:
i. To est a bl i sh suppl y chain strategies in Pharma manufacturing companies in Telangana State.
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ii.To establish the influence of supply chain strategies in achieving competitive advantage in Pharma manufacturing
companies in Telangana State.
iii.To determine the moderating effects of the relationship between supply chain strategies and competitive
advantage in seed manufacturing companies in Telangana State.
Research Questions
This study aims to answer the following questions.
i. What Supply Chain strategies are practiced in Pharma manufacturing companies in Telangana State?
ii.How do supply chain strategies influence competitive advantage in Pharma manufacturing companies in
Telangana State?
iii.What are the moderating variables influencing supply chain strategies in Pharma manufacturing companies?
Significance of the study
Understanding how supply chains strategies influence competitive advantage in pharma business sector will be
useful to the stakeholders in several ways; first, availing the outcome of the study to the pharma business stakeholders
will not only increase awareness regarding the usefulness of having supply chain strategies in enhancing
business processes and creating competitive advantage but will also spur investments in areas of supply chain by the
businesses, hence, making them more competitive and profitable. The other stakeholders are customers who will
benefit on improved service delivery; efficient supply chains will always ensure organizations are able to meet the
market demand.
The government which has expressed immense interest in supply chain and the pharma sector been an area
driving the economy sectors may find the outcome of this study useful and together with other related studies may be
used as material for policy review and formulation. The researchers will also benefit from the study as it addresses the
knowledge gaps on the influence of supply chain strategies on achievement of competitive advantage in pharma
manufacturing companies in Telangana State and also identify areas of further research.
The aim of this research work is to understand how changes in market conditions, driven by an ever changing
customer demand, have resulted in the development of frameworks for integrated approach in supply chain in pharma
business, and how this has in turn contributed to a competitive advantage. The study thus seeks to point out the
influence that the concepts of lean and agile as supply chain strategies can have on competitive advantage in pharma
business sectors in Telangana State.
Figure 9: Conceptual Framework
Figure 10: Operationalization Framework
Scope and Delimitation of the study

The scope of the study was under supply chain management with the primary interest within the framework of lean,
agile and le agile supply chain strategies and their influence on achievement competitive advantage pharma
manufacturing companies in Telangana State.
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It was conducted in twenty pharma manufacturing companies within Telangana State. The conclusion was
based essentially on theoretical literature and results from the questionnaires that were issued to the supply chain
managers and strategic planning managers.
This research was scheduled to be completed in a specific time frame of less than six months. Primary data and
secondary data were used to cover this research.
Theoretical Framework
Traditionally, supply chain management has been viewed predominantly as a process for moving materials and goods.
From this view, supply chain management has been viewed as a support function that helps organizations
implement their strategies. Best value supply chains take an important additional step, their focus is on strategic
supply chain management, the use of a supply chain not merely as a means to get products to where they need to be,
but also as a means to enhance key outcomes that drive firm performance(Hult et al., 2004). In other words, strategic
supply chain management elevates supply chain management from a function that supports strategy to a key
element of strategy.
The notion of supply chains can become clearer and richer if examined from a variety of important theoretical
perspectives. A number of experts in the field of supply chain management have tried to provide theoretical
foundations for some areas of supply chain management by adopting organizational theory.
Lavassani, Movahedi and Kumar (2009) studied the roots of five organizational theories. That include, transaction cost
theory, resource-based view, knowledge-based view, strategic choice theory and agency theory .These theories and
views are proposed by several authors to have the potential for explaining various aspects of supply chain
management. It is argued that each of these concepts has application and some shortcomings in describing the
processes associated with various activities in supply chain management. Following that, the shareholder theory is
introduced and explicitly described, as an appropriate complementary theory for analyzing supply chain management.
It has started to attract more attentions for its application in supply chain management studies.
Conceptual framework
Mugenda and Mugenda (2003) define a conceptual framework as a hypothesized model identifying the concepts under
study and their relationships. It provides an outline of the preferred approach in the research and also outlines the
relationships and the desired effects, forming independent and dependent variables respectively. In this study, the
independent variables are supply chain strategies, while the dependent variable are competitive advantage.
Operationalization framework
The operation frame work shows the various parameter for the independent variables. It further shows how the
independent variables are measured.
Lead Time: indicates the ability of the manufacturing firm to execute a particular job from the date of ordering
to the date of delivery quickly and as soon as the order is placed. Lead-time needs to be minimized in lean
manufacturing as by definition excess time is waste, and leanness calls for the elimination of all waste. Lead-time also
has to be minimized to enable agility, as demand is highly volatile and thus difficult to forecast.
Cost: indicates the extent to which the minimization of expenses is manifested in company operations (the
cost of capital, overhead and any recorded cost of production and distribution). This is an essential factor to
be minimized in lean and agile manufacturing in order to maximize the profit of factory.
Service Level: indicates the extent to which customer orders can be executed with market-acceptable standards
of delivery.
Quality: indicates the standard of the finished product, and needs to be maximized in lean and agile
manufacturing in the form of minimal defects and maximal reliability, thus satisfying customers with the desirability
of the products properties or characteristics.
5.Supply Chain Strategies

Todays competition is not between autonomous business entities, but between integrated supply chains (Lambert &
Cooper, 2000) [24]. Therefore, supply chain management has received increasing attention from practitioners and
academia. Effectively managing the flow of materials from supply sources to the ultimate customer represents a major
challenge for todays managers. Thus, firms need to possess a clear strategic planning in order to effectively organize
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such complicated activities, resources, communications, and processes. Prior research has identified three major
supply chain strategies: lean, agile, and lean & agile (hybrid) strategies (Yusuf, Gunasekaran, Adeleye, &
Sivayoganathan, 2004) [38]. Research on supply chain strategy is closely linked with product characteristics. Fisher
(1997) [13] and Christopher and Towill (2000) [7] put forward that supply chain strategies must match with product
characteristics, competitive strategies, and the environment in order for them to be effective.
Lean supply Chain strategy
Womack, Jones and Roos (1990) introduced the business world to the premise of lean production in their seminal
book the machine that changed the world. The book examined how the techniques employed by Japanese
automakers, namely Toyota, outpaced the performance achieved by U.S and European competitors. Much has been
written in the academic and popular business press about Toyota much envied weapon, the Toyota production
system (TPS).
Taiichi Ohno (1998) believed that the fundamental success of any company is elimination of waste or muda. Waste, is
defined as anything that interferes with the smooth flow of production (McDuffie & Helper, 1997). The National
Institute of Standards and Technology Manufacturing Extension Partnerships Lean Network defines lean as a
systematic approach to identifying and eliminating waste through continuous improvement, flowing the product at the
pull of the customer in pursuit of perfection. Taiichi Ohno (1998), developed a list of seven basic forms of waste
i.e. defects in production, overproduction, inventories, unnecessary processing, unnecessary movement of people,
unnecessary transport of goods, waiting by employees. Womack and Jones (1996) added to the list with the muda of
goods and services that fail to meet the needs of customers. Womack, Jones and Roos, add that in comparison to mass
production approach, a lean company calls for far less inventory and incurs fewer defects while providing greater
variety in products. The potential offered by lean principles has been embraced by practitioners and researchers alike.
Beyond manufacturing, lean principles have also found application in logistics product development and launch &
accounting. (Disney, Naim, andTowill 1997; Jones, Hines, and Rich 1997; Wu 2002),
Womack and Jones (1996) extended their original conceptualization of lean operations to the broader enterprise. The
contented that the lean enterprise is one that identifies the value inbuilt in specific products, identifies the value for
each product, supports the flow of value, lets the customer pull value from the producer, and pursues perfection. It is
through this comprehensive, enterprise wide approach to lean implementation that the theory extends beyond
functional strategy to a broader supply chain strategy employed by the company. Lean typically relies on a shorter
forecast horizon and ability to adapt should production schedules change.
Lean management is essentially process oriented as it seeks to eliminate all non-value adding activities and reducing
waste within an organization. It does so by moving out unnecessary processes and aligning the whole processes in a
systematically continuous flow to optimize the utilization of resources in order to solve problems. A company that has
adopted lean production concept can design, manufacture, and distribute products in less than half the time taken by
other companies by using less than half of their resources (Womack et al., 1996).Lean production can also be consumer
oriented lean production is about doing things that add value from customers perspective.
Agile Supply Chain Strategy
While lean management emphasizes the pursuit of process efficiency, generating the greatest outcome from the least
input through the minimization of wastes, agility refers to effective
flexible
accommodation
of
unique
customer demands (Christopher 2000). Naylor, Naim and Berry (1997) suggest that the agile company is one that
uses market knowledge and virtual corporation to exploit profitable opportunities in volatile market places. Instead of
relying on speculative notions of what might be demanded the quantity of demand, not committing to products until
demand becomes known. While lean management typically calls for make to stock replenishment driven by short
term forecast, agile supply chains employ make to order provisions, producing what has already been sold or
committed in the market place.
The key to providing agile response is flexibility throughout the supply chain .In manufacturing this would call for the
ability to produce in large or small batches minimizing the pain associated with setups and product changeovers often
cited as a component of lean manufacturing. Beyond the capabilities of the focal firm the rest of the supply chain must
be responsive as well for agile market accommodation. Response based supply chains are always characterized as
short, with few or no intermediaries. Supply should be located nearby and information sharing among the parties must
be open and frequent (Christopher 2000; Christopher and Towill 2001) [7].
Advocates for agility have established a strong voice in practice and research. Many companies are realizing that the
costs and risks associated with holding speculative inventory are too great. This is particularly true with products
that have a short lifecycle or erratic demand where risks of obsolescence are high [7] (Christopher and
Towill 2001).Though lean and agile strategies are often pitted as opposing paradigms they share a common objective,
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meeting customer demands at the least total cost. It is on the nature of that demand and the basis of meeting demands
in which the two approaches differ. (Goldsby & Garcia-Dastugue 2003).
Yusuf et al. (2003) claim that there are four pivotal objectives of agile manufacturing as part of an agile supply chain.
These objectives are, customer enrichment ahead of competitors, achieving mass customization at the cost of mass
production, mastering change, uncertainty through routinely adaptable structures and leveraging the impact of people
across enterprises through information technology. This list clearly shows that enhanced responsiveness is a major
capability of an agile supply chain.
Le agile Supply Chain Strategy
Naylor, Naim, and Berry (1997) coined the term leagile refer to hybrids of the lean and agile approaches. This
combined approach is known as `Leagility and, as a consequence, the supply chain can thereby adopt a lean
manufacturing approach upstream, enabling a level schedule and opening up an opportunity to drive down costs
upstream while simultaneously still ensuring that downstream of the de-coupling point there is an agile response
capable of delivering to an unpredictable marketplace. Leagile is the combination of the lean and agile
paradigms within a total supply chain strategy by positioning the decoupling point so as to best suit the need for
responding to a volatile demand downstream yet providing level scheduling upstream from the marketplace.
while the decoupling point is the point in the material flow streams to which the customers order penetrates. It is
here where order-driven and the forecast driven activities meet. As a rule, the decoupling point coincides with an
important stock point in control terms a main stock point from which the customer has to be supplied(Naylor et
al.1997).Building on the concept of the blended strategy set forth by Naylor et al., Christohper and Towill (2001) [7]
conceived three distinct hybrids. The first hybrid approach embraces the Pareto (80/20) rule, recognizing that 80% of
company revenue is generated from 20% of the companys products.
The second leagile strategy involves having temporary capacity to meet the needs of peak demand. Most companies
experience a base level of demand over the course of the year. This base level of demand can be accompanied in a
lean manner using the companys own resources to employ smooth production principles to maintain highly efficient
operations. However when demand spikes over the course of the peak seasons of heavy promotions periods, outside
capacity is procured to meet the heightened demand of these distinct time windows. The procurement of outside
capacity for coverage in this situation is viewed as the agile component of this hybrid approach. Many companies
engage in leagile supply, manufacturing and logistics to support seasonal demands Christohper & Towill (2001) [7].
The third hybrid calls for postponement. This refers to delaying the final form of a product until an order is
received from customers dictating the quantity and quality of goods demanded (Feitzinger and Lee 1997).This
approach works best for goods that can be developed from common materials into a near finished state with final
touches to the product providing for a diverse assortment that accommodates distinct customer needs. The premise
calls for lean operations in the production of generic, semi-finished products and Agile accommodation in the
customization process(Mason-Jones,Naylor,& Towill 2000) Mason-Jones et al. (2000) propose a leagile model where
the lean and agile systems operate at different points in a manufacturing supply chain. A key element of this model is a
decoupling point, which separates the lean processes from the agile processes in the supply chain. The lean processes
are on the upstream side of the decoupling point, and the agile processes are on the downstream side. The decoupling
point also acts as a strategic point for buffer stock, and its position changes depending on the variability in demand and
product mix. An increase in product mix and fluctuating volume would force the decoupling point to move upstream,
making the supply chain system more agile. A more stable business environment with reduced variability in demand or
product mix would move the decoupling point downstream, making the supply chain system leaner. Prince and Kay
(2003) develop a similar model that is applicable to a single manufacturing plant. They suggest the application
of lean and agile concepts at different stages of the same manufacturing process.
Competitive Advantage
Competition is a fact of business life, a business should endeavor to develop strategies to compete successfully in the
market place for it to enhance its chances of growth and therefore perform far above industry average. In an
increasingly competitive Pharma industry, the absence of well-defined competitive strategies leads to weak competitive
positions and hence performance below the industry average. Competitive advantage is a management concept that has
been so popular in the contemporary literature of management nowadays. The reasons behind such popularity include
the rapid change that organizations face today, the complexity of the business environment, the impacts of
globalization and unstructured markets, the ever changing consumer needs, competition, the revolution of information
technology and communications, and the liberation of global trade (Al-Rousan & Qawasmeh, 2009).
One of the organizations' major concerns is to care about customers' needs and wants and transform such needs and
wants into targeted aptitudes or areas called "competitive dimensions". These dimensions that organizations focus
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on and show great interest in, while providing services and products so as to meet market demand, can help
organizations achieve competitive advantage. These competitive dimensions are four and include cost, quality, time
and flexibility. Organizations must make some kind of compromise between the cost and the characteristics of their
products and services. In general, most organizations choose to cut total cost by stripping fixed costs and applying
continuous control on raw materials, reducing employee compensation rates, and by achieving higher levels of
productivity (Al-Rousan & Qawasmeh, 2009)
Porter (1985) introduced the following five competitive forces that shape the strategy: bargaining power of buyers,
threats of new entrants, bargaining power of suppliers, threats of substitute products or services, and rivalry among
existing competitors. The strongest competitive force can be considered as the basis for the strategy formulation
(Porter, 2008) [31] . Based on Porters model, the competitive advantage of a company can be based on product
differentiation or lower prices. Porters generic competitive strategies model introduces three main competitive
strategies, including product differentiation, cost leadership and focus (market segmentation). Applying the
appropriate strategy depends on the targeted market scope either broad or narrow and the customers expectations
either lower cost or product differentiation.
Knowledge Gap
The pharmaceutical industry is the part of the healthcare sector that deals with medications. The industry comprises
different subfields pertaining to the development, production, and marketing of medications. These more or less
interdependent subfields consist of drug manufacturers, drug marketers, and biotechnology companies.
Research Design
The part of the research gives an explanation of the research designs and methodology and justification for having
used this research design. It also describes the characteristic of the population that was used in the study, detailed
description of sampling methods used and procedures, data collection instruments and the procedure of data
collection, finally it describes the appropriate data analysis method used to generate the data.
Research designs are the specific procedures involved in the research process that include Data collection, data
analysis, and report writing. Its a plan that is used to generate answers to the research problem (Creswell, 2008) [9].
The study was based on quantitative research, and adopted the descriptive research approach. The objective of
quantitative research is to develop and employ mathematical model, theories and /or hypotheses pertaining to natural
phenomena, it enables one to establish conceptual models and frameworks and also to know some vital variables and
analyze the connection between. Descriptive research is a scientific method of investigation where data is collected and
analyzed in order to describe the current conditions, terms or relationships concerning a problem (Mugenda and
Mugenda 2003). The design was suitable because its concerned at describing the influence of supply chain strategies
on achievement of competitive advantage in Pharma manufacturing companies in Telangana State.
Target Population
Mugenda and Mugenda (2003) define population as an entire group of individuals, events or objects with some
observable characteristics. Therefore based on this definition, the target population of this study was forty respondents
from twenty Pharma manufacturing companies in Telangana State where the top supply chain managers and strategic
planning managers responded to the questions issued in the questionnaire. These groups of respondents were targeted
because the study intended to focus on respondents who are able to provide an overall understanding of supply
chain strategies and competitive advantage of the firm.
Description of the Sample and Sampling Procedure
Sampling is the procedure a researcher uses to gather people, places or things to study. It is a process of selecting a
number of individuals or objects from a population such that the selected group contains elements representative of
the characteristics found in the entire group. A sample is a finite part of a statistical population whose properties are
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studied to gain information, about the whole (Orodho 2004). The study adopted a census technique, studying the entire
population because the target population is small, within reach and manageable. The questionnaire were administered
to two employees in the twenty Pharma manufacturing companies to give a population of fourty respondents. The
employees are the supply chain managers and strategic planning managers.
Data Collection
Primary data was collected using structured questionnaires with both close-ended and open-ended questions. The
respondents of the study were selected from the supply chain department team of the twenty Pharma
manufacturing companies in Telangana State. Primary data will be collected from respondents, two employees;
the head of supply chain and strategic planning manager will be selected as respondents. Therefore a total of forty
respondents are expected. Questionnaires were administered to respondents during working hours on a drop and pick
later method was applied.
Secondary data was gathered from library material, supply chain journals and reports, media publications and various
Internet search engines covering the supply chain management and competitive advantage. It helps to better
understand and explain our research problem, broaden the base from which scientific conclusion can be drawn etc.
All these are because it is an already existing data that can be used almost at any time it is needed. Secondary data was
used in introduction and literature reviews of the research proposal to provide data gathered from various
researchers and further explain the various theories in the research.
Validity and Reliability of Research Instrument
Validity of research instrument refers to the extent to which a test or instrument measures what it was intended or
supposed to measure. This research study adopted content validity that was determined through seeking opinions
of experts in the field of study especially in the department of supply chain in pharmaceutical supply
manufacturing companies in Telangana State.
Reliability of research instruments refers to the degree to which a research instrument yields consistent results or data
after repeated trials (Mugenda and Mugenda, 2003). Reliability of the research instrument was enhanced through testretest method and coefficient correlation method will be used to determine reliability. Reliability
Coefficient alpha () - (Cronbachs alpha) is the most widely used, it estimates test score reliability from a single
test administration using information from the relationship among test items. Reliability coefficient range from
0.00 to 1.00, with higher coefficients indicating higher levels of reliability (Cronbachs (2004) [10]. Questionnaires
were administered to the same individuals at different times in a span of two weeks after the first administration.
Data Presentation and Analysis
Data analysis refers to examining what has been collected in a survey or experiment, and making deductions and
inferences (Kombo and Tromp, 2006). It also refers to a variety of activities and processes that a researcher
administers to a database in order to draw conclusions and make certain decisions regarding the data collected
from the field. After data collection, the questionnaires will be coded, edited to detect errors and omissions to
enhance accuracy and precision. The three objectives were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics to
describe and examine the relationship between the variables attained from the administered questionnaires with the
aid of the computer software the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). Descriptive statistics involved are
mean, frequencies and percentages. The purpose of descriptive statistics is to meaningfully describe a distribution of
scores or measurements, using a few indices. It transforms large groups of members into a more manageable form. It
helps with the transformation of raw data into a form that will make it easy to understand and interpret. Inferential
statistics involved use of correlation analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA). They were run with supply
chain strategies as the independent variables and competitive advantage as the dependent variable.
Ethical Considerations
A letter of consent was sent to the twenty companies to request for participation of the staff in the research. The
interviewer was informed openly on the reasons for the Interview and the study so that when the interviewer is
giving information they are best informed.
The respondents were kept completely anonymous in the research and maintain confidentiality. The benefits of
assuring the participants of anonymity and confidentiality is that they would be more willing to consent to an interview
and that they would be more likely to reveal more and higher quality information, including personal opinions and
insights that they would not otherwise want to be quoted as saying.
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6.Findings
The findings on influence of supply chain strategies on achievement of competitive advantage in Pharma
manufacturing companies in Telangana State, India. The findings are presented following the research questions as
stated in chapter one.
Response rate
The study was able to get a response from 38 respondents out of the 40 questionnaires distributed to the Pharma
manufacturing companies in the study area as shown in Table 1; this represented a response rate of 95% which was
acceptable (Kothari, 2004)
Table 1: Questionnaire response rate
Number of
Number of questionnaires returned Response rate(%)
questionnaires issued
40
38
95
Bio Data of the Respondents
The study sought to determine the demographic characteristics of the respondents as they are considered as categorical
variables which give some basic insight about the respondents. The characteristics considered in the study were;
number of years in business/industry, number of employees in the company, size of the company and position in
the organization in the Pharma manufacturing companies.
The study aimed to determine how long respondents have been in the organization. The findings on number of years
in business/industry of the respondents were summarized in Table 2 .
Number of Years in
business/industry
0 to 5 years
6 to 10 years
11 to 15 years
16 to 20 years
0ver 20 years
Total
Table 2: Number of Years in business

Frequency
Percent
9
10
8
4
7
38
23.7
26.3
21.1
10.5
18.4
100.0
The findings suggest that respondents have been in the company / industry for 6-10 years (26.3%). The respondents
have been with the organization for a reasonable time. More so, the years in industry of the respondents places them in
a good position to handle management issues in their organizations.
The study aimed to determine the number of employees in the company. The findings are summarized in Table 3.
Table 3: Number of employees in the company
Number of employees in the company
Frequency
1 to 119
22
120 to 249
250 to 499
0ver 500
Total
7
2
7
38
Percent
57.9
18.4
5.3
18.4
100.0
The findings indicate that the number of employees range between 1-119 at 57.9 %. This already shows a lean
organization. A bloated or very large organization can make organization inefficient. Lean ensures that the
organization is streamlined and dealing with the core business and outsourcing other services that are not considered
core.
The study aimed to determine the Size of the company, whether large, medium or small sized company. Majority of
the respondents rated the companies as medium sized (42.1%). The findings are summarized in Table 4
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Table 4: Size of the company

Frequency
13
16
9
38
Size of the company

Large size
Medium sized company
Small sized company
Total
Percent
34.2
42.1
23.7
100.0
The study aimed to determine the position of the respondent in the company whether a supply chain manager or a
strategic planning manager.52.63% of the respondents were supply chain manager and 47.37 % were strategic
planning manager. These people are expected to have adequate knowledge of their organizations systems and
processes. The findings are summarized in Table 5.
Position in the company

supply chain manager
Strategic planning manager
Total
Table 5: Position of respondents in the company

Frequency
20
18
38
Percent
52.63
47.37
100.0
Descriptive statistics
This section presents the results of the descriptive statistical analyses of the data and their interpretations. The
descriptive statistics used are the mean, frequencies, percentages and Anova. The descriptive statistics helped to
develop the basic features of the study and form the basis of virtually every quantitative analysis of the data. The
results were presented in terms of the study objectives.
Supply chain strategies in seed manufacturing companies
The study sought to explore the supply chain strategies practiced in the Pharma manufacturing company. The
respondents were asked to indicate to which extent the various appropriate strategies are employed. A five-point Likert
scale anchored from 1= very small extent; 2= small extent; 3= moderate; 4= large extent, 5= Very large extent was
used. The findings are summarized in Table 6
Supply
Chain
Strategy
Lean
Very
small
extent
1
1(2.6)
Agile
Le agile
Table 6: Supply Chain strategies employed

small
Large extent
extent
Moderate
very large
extent
Mean
2
3(7.9)
3
6(15.8)
4
11(28.9)
5
17(44.7)
4.05
2(5.3)
3(7.9)
7(18.4)
9(23.7)
17(44.7)
3.95
2(5.3)
7(18.4)
6(15.8)
13(34.2)
10(26.3)
3.56
The findings in Table 4.6 above established that the lean strategy was employed by most organization at a mean of
4.05. This was followed by the agile strategy at a mean of 3.95 and the le agile strategy was employed with the
organizations at a mean of 3.56. For instance, Oliveira (2003) argued that it is imperative for any firm that seeks to
gain a competitive advantage to explore and exploit its resources in a manner that can give it a strategic advantage.
Lean Supply Chain Strategy and Competitive Advantage
The study sought to explore the lean supply chain strategy and competitive advantage with the metrics of
competitive advantage aspects i.e. cost, lead time, quality and service level. The respondents were asked to indicate to
which extent the lean supply chain strategy have influenced competitive advantage. A five-point Likert scale
anchored from 1= very small extent; 2= small extent; 3= moderate; 4= large extent, 5= Very large extent was used.
The findings are summarized in Table 7
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Table 7: Lean supply chain strategy and competitive advantage

Very
small
Large
Very
small extent
extent
Moderate
Extent
Large
Extent
1
2
3
4
5
Cost
1(2.6)
1(2.6)
4(10.5)
17(44.7)
15(39.5)
Lead time
1(2.6)
3(7.9)
1(2.6)
17(44.7)
16(42.1)
Quality
3(7.9)
2(5.3)
5(13.2)
15(39.5)
13(34.2)
Service Level
2(5.3)
2(5.3)
7(18.4)
11(28.9)
16(42.1)
Supply
Metrics
Chain
Strategy
Lean
strategy
Mean
4.16
4.16
3.87
3.97
The results in Table 7, it can be deduced that the lean supply chain strategy have influenced competitive advantage.
This is indicated by the metrics of competitive advantage used in the study i.e. cost, lead time, quality and service
level. Cost indicates the extent to which the minimization of expenses is manifested in company operations, as
indicated 44.7% agree that cost has reduced at a mean of 4.16. The findings also indicate that lead time, the ability of
the manufacturing firm to execute a particular job from the date of ordering to the date of delivery quickly and as soon
as the order is placed was reduced at a mean of 4.16 and 44.7% indicating this occurred at a large extent. Lean strategy
influenced quality i.e. indicates the standard of the finished product to a small extent as indicated on the above table.
The respondents thought that lean strategy had an impact on quality 39.5% at a mean of 3.87.Service level was also
high with lean strategy as indicated by respondents 42.1% at a mean of 3.97 .These findings imply that use of lean
strategy had influenced competitive advantage in pharma manufacturing companies in Telangana State, India.
Agile Supply Chain Strategy and Competitive Advantage
The study sought to explore the agile supply chain strategy and competitive advantage with the metrics of competitive
advantage aspects i.e. cost, lead time, quality and service level. The respondents were asked to indicate to which
extent the agile supply chain strategy have influenced competitive advantage. A five-point Likert scale anchored from
1= very small extent; 2= small extent; 3= moderate; 4= large extent, 5= Very large extent was used. The findings are
summarized in Table 8
Table 8: Agile supply chain strategy and competitive advantage
Supply
Chain
Strategy
Agile
strategy
Metrics
Cost
Lead time
Quality
Service Level
Very
small
extent
small
extent
Moderate
Large
Extent
1
5(13.2)
2(5.3)
1(2.6)
4(10.5)
2
11(28.9)
2(5.3)
1(2.6)
8(21.1)
3
1(2.6)
1(2.6)
16(42.1)
6(15.8)
4
8(21.1)
21(55.3)
2(5.3)
4(10.5)
very
large
Extent
Mean
13(34.2)
12(31.6)
18(47.4)
16(42.1)
3.34
4.03
3.53
3.53
From the findings above, it can be deduced that the agile supply chain strategy have influenced competitive advantage.
This is indicated by the metrics of competitive advantage. Cost indicates the extent to which the minimization of
expenses is manifested in company operations, as indicated the agile strategy did not greatly influence cost as
indicated by 34.2% at a mean of 3.34.The findings also indicate that lead time, the ability of the manufacturing firm to
execute a particular job from the date of ordering to the date of delivery quickly and as soon as the order is placed was
reduced as indicated by 55.3% of the respondents at a mean of 4.03. Agile strategy influenced quality as indicated
by 47.4 % of the respondent and service level as indicated by 42.1 % all with at a mean of 3.53.These findings
imply that use of agile strategy had influenced competitive advantage in seed manufacturing companies in Telangana
State, India.
Le Agile Supply Chain Strategy and Competitive Advantage
The study sought to explore the Le agile supply chain strategy and competitive advantage with the metrics of
competitive advantage aspects i.e. cost, lead time, quality and service level. The respondents were asked to respond by
indicating to what extent the le agile supply chain strategy have influenced competitive advantage. A five-point Likert
scale anchored from 1= very small extent; 2= small extent; 3= moderate; 4= large extent, 5= Very large extent. The
findings are summarized in Table 9
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Table 9: Le Agile supply chain strategy and competitive advantage

Supply
Chain
Strategy
Metrics
Le agile
strategy
Cost
Lead time
Quality
Service Level
Very
small extent
small
extent
Moderate
Large
Extent
Very
Large
Extent
1(2.6)
1(2.6)
4(10.5)
1(2.6)
5(15.8)
1(2.6)
11(28.9)
3(7.9)
1(2.6)
17(44.7)
6(15.8)
1(2.6)
17(44.7)
4(10.5)
8(21.1)
17(44.7)
14(36.8)
15(39.5)
9(23.7)
16(42.1)
Mean
4.00
4.16
3.34
4.16
From the findings above, it can be deduced that the Le agile supply chain strategy have influenced competitive
advantage. This is indicated by the metrics of competitive advantage. Cost indicates the extent to which the
minimization of expenses is manifested in company operations, as indicated by 44.7% of respondents at a mean of 4.00.
The findings also indicate that le agile strategy influenced lead time moderately as shown by 44.7% of the respondents
with a mean of 4.16; on the other hand le agile strategy influenced service level as shown by 44.7% of respondents at a
mean of 4.16. Le agile strategy influenced quality i.e. indicates the standard of the finished product to a small extent as
indicated on the above table by 28.9% of the respondents at a mean of 3.34. These findings imply that use of Le agile
strategy had influenced competitive advantage in Pharma manufacturing companies in Telangana State, India.
Other factors that contributed to success of the supply chain strategies
The study aimed to establishing which other factors have an effect on supply chain strategies. Data collected from the
field established that 26% of the respondents felt that resource availability had the most effect in contributing to
successful supply chain strategies. Customer engagement and management involvement also contributed to successful
supply chain strategies as 21% of respondents felt. Other factors that were mentioned by respondents included team
work and total quality management at 3%, technology was also mentioned by the respondents at 10%.some of the
respondents did not provide any feed back to the question at 16%.
Figure 11 Other factors that contributed to success of the supply chain strategies
Government policies in influencing supply chain strategies
The study aimed to establish the moderating effects of government policies on the relationship between supply chain
strategies and attainment of competitive advantage. Majority of the respondents 55.26 % felt that the government had
an influence on the effectiveness of supply chain strategies towards the realization of competitive advantage. The
findings are summarized in Table 10.
Table 10: The moderating effects of Government policies
Response of the respondents
Frequency
Percent
Yes
21
55.26
No
17
44.74
Total
38
100.0
The government policies employed by any country play an integral role in the success of any organizations. They can
influence or deter the strategies of an organization. The below chart indicates the policies that the respondents
felt that influenced the supply chain strategies in their company.
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Figure 12 Government policies in influencing supply chain strategies

Some of the respondents did not feel that the government policies influenced the supply chain
strategies
(44.74%).The government policies that were mentioned by the respondent (55.26%) who felt that the
government had an influence included Government Pharma Regulation, ISO Certifications, Licensing, Market
Restriction, Stream lined policies, Technology and trade unions.
Correlation Analysis of the supply chain strategies and competitive advantage Correlation analysis is used to
measure the degree of relationship between two variables. It is a relative measure of values that ranges from the
positive to negative. Negative correlation implies that the variables under test are moving in opposite directions, that
is, they have an inverse relationship. On the other hand, positive correlation implies that the variables are moving
in the same positive direction (Kothari, 2004).The correlation analysis was used to determine whether lean
strategy influenced competitive advantage in pharma manufacturing companies.
Table 11: Summary correlation of Lean strategy and Competitive Advantage
Cost
Lead Time
Quality
Service Level
Lean
Strategy
Pearson
Correlation
Sig. (2- tailed)
N
.750
.626
.732
.675
.000
38
.000
38
.000
38
.000
38
Correlation significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed)

As indicated above in table 11 the correlation matrix shows that a strong relationship exists between the lean strategy
and the aspects of competitive advantage. The strongest relationship was between lean strategy and cost (r = 0.750)
and lean strategy and quality (r = 0.732).This indicates that organizations that employed lean strategy had competitive
advantage in terms of cost and quality. The lean strategy was also correlated with lead time( r = 0.626) and service
level (r = 0.675 ). The Karl Pearsons product moment coefficient of correlation also suggests that the relationship is
positive implying lean strategy influenced competitive advantage as indicated by the metrics i.e. cost, lead time,
quality and service level.
A correlation analysis was used to determine whether agile strategy influenced competitive advantage in pharma
manufacturing companies.
Table 12: Summary correlation of agile strategy and Competitive Advantage
Cost
Lead Time
Quality
Service Level
.671
.712
.522
Agile
Pearson Correlation .810
Strategy
.000
.000
.000
.000
Sig. (2-tailed)
38
38
38
38
N
As indicated in table 12 above the strongest correlation was observed between agile strategy and the aspects of
competitive advantage, cost (r=0.810) and quality (r=0.712).This indicates that organizations that employed agile
strategy had competitive advantage in terms of cost and quality. The agile strategy was also correlated with lead
time( r = 0.671) and service level (r = 0.522 ).The Karl Pearsons product moment coefficient of correlation also
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suggests that the relationship is positive implying agile strategy influenced competitive advantage as indicated by
the metrics i.e. cost, lead time, quality and service level.
A correlation analysis to determine whether the Le agile strategy influenced competitive advantage in pharma
manufacturing companies was also conducted. The table below 13 shows a positive correlation.
Le agile
Strategy
Table 13: Summary correlation of Le agile Strategy and Competitive Advantage

Cost
Lead Time Quality
Service Level
.582
.522
.589
.568
Pearson
Correlation
.000
.000
.000
.000
Sig. (2-tailed)
38
38
38
38
N

From the findings above it shows that a significant relationship exists between the le agile strategy and the aspects of
competitive advantage exhibited in cost (r=0.582) and quality (r=0.589), this was followed by service level with
(r=0.568) and finally lead time with (r=0.522).The Karl Pearsons product moment coefficient of correlation also
suggests that the relationship is positive implying le agile strategy influenced competitive advantage as indicated by the
metrics i.e. cost, lead time, quality and service level.
Discussions of the findings
The findings established which supply chain strategies were employed. The lean strategy was the most widely used by
most organizations with a mean of 4.05, followed by agile with a mean of 3.95 and le agile strategy with a mean
of 3.56. Fisher (1997) [13] and Christopher and Towill (2000) [7] put forward that supply chain strategies must
match with product characteristics, competitive strategies, and the environment in order for them to be effective.
The finding also established the influence of the supply chain strategies in influencing competitive advantage. The
aspects of competitive advantage that were used were cost, lead time, quality and service Level. Womack et
al.,(1996),Lean management is essentially process oriented as it seeks to eliminate all non-value adding activities
and reducing waste within an organization. Taiichi Ohno (1998), developed a list of seven basic forms of waste i.e.
defects in production, overproduction, inventories, unnecessary processing, movement of people, transport of goods,
waiting by employees company that has adopted lean production concept can design, manufacture, and distribute
products in less than half the time taken by other companies by using less than half of their resources. The lean and
agile strategy showed a very strong positive correlation in cost and quality. The lead-time and service level also showed
a positive correlation. There are two relevant features of agility: flexibility and complexity ( Calvo, Domingo,
Sebastian, 2008). Flexibility has been identified as a key productive factor for success or competitive advantage
(Suarez et al. 1995) However, based on flexibility and the response to customer, agility also includes cost
reduction, high quality of products and the delivery conditions and service (Goldman and Nagel, 1991).
Naylor, et al., (1997) coined the term le agile refer to hybrids of the lean and agile approaches and calls for
postponement. The le agile correlation also exhibited positive correlation to the aspects of competitive advantage with a
correlation above 0.5 .This le agile strategy refers to delaying the final form of a product until an order is received from
customers dictating the quantity and quality of goods demanded (Feitzinger and Lee 1997).
The study was further interested in establishing the moderating effects of government policies on the relationship
between supply chain strategies and attainment of competitive advantage. 55.26 % of the respondents indicated that the
government had an influence on the effectiveness of supply chain strategies towards the realization of competitive
advantage. The government policies indicated by the respondents included Government Pharma Regulation, ISO
Certifications, Licensing, Market Restriction; Stream lined policies, Technology and trade unions. Though many
variables may affect the success of a lean manufacturing implementation, many researchers agree that commitment by
top management is vital (Womack & Jones 1996). Management that fails to embrace the implementation may
intentionally or unintentionally sabotage the effort.
Summary of findings
This part of the paper presents a summary of the research findings. It then gives conclusions derived from the
study, recommends and finally it gives suggestions for further studies. The purpose of this study was to assess the
influence of supply chain strategies on achievement of competitive advantage in Pharma manufacturing companies in
Telangana State, India.
The study had three research questions, the first question sought on supply chain strategies i.e. Lean, agile
and le agile practiced by the companies. The second question was the influence on supply chain strategies on
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achievement of competitive advantage, the metrics of competitive advantage that were used in the study include cost,
and lead time, quality and service level. The third question established how moderating variables like government
policies have an influence on supply chain strategies on achievement of competitive advantage in seed manufacturing
companies in Telangana State, India. The analysis of the data obtained below major findings.
Supply chain strategies employed
Majority of the respondents were aware of the supply chain strategies used in their company, either in a very large
extent or a moderate extent. This implied that the majority of the metrics of competitive advantage i.e. cost,
quality, lead time and service level are to be considered in the organization. The lean strategy was at a mean of
4.05 with 44.7% indicating the strategy was employed at a very large extent, followed by agile strategy with a mean of
3.95 and 44.7 % of respondents indicating it was employed at a very large extent. Finally the le agile was at a mean
of 3.56 with 34.2% indicating it was employed at a large extent.
Influence of supply chain strategies on achievement of competitive advantage
Secondly, on the influence on supply chain strategies on achievement of competitive advantage the study
revealed that the supply Chain strategies influenced competitive advantage on cost, quality, lead time and
service level. The strategies correlated very positive with the competitive advantage metrics.
The lean strategy indicated strong correlations in cost (r = 0.750) and quality (r = 0.732).This indicates that
organizations that employed lean strategy had competitive advantage in terms of cost and quality. The lean strategy
was also correlated with lead time at (r = 0.626) and service level (r = 0.675).
The agile strategy correlated strongly also in, cost (r=0.810) and quality (r=0.712). This indicates that organizations
that employed agile strategy had competitive advantage in terms of cost and quality. The agile strategy correlated with
lead time at (r = 0.671) and service level (r = 0.522).The le agile strategy had a strong correlation between the metrics
of competitive advantage above r=0.5. The Karl Pearsons product moment coefficient of correlation also suggests
that the relationship is positive implying le agile strategy influenced competitive advantage as indicated by the metrics
i.e. cost, lead time, quality and service level.
The moderating effect of government policies
Moderating variables like government policies on influence of supply chain strategies on achievement of competitive
advantage. 55.26% of the respondents felt that government policies had an influence on supply chain strategies
on achievement of competitive advantage. The policies mentioned by the respondent included Government Seed
Regulation, ISO Certifications, Licensing, Market Restriction, Stream lined policies, Technology and trade unions.
Thus, the study inferred that use of supply chain strategies can influence achievement of competitive advantage.
Grant (1991) in his study said that every firm in the market can be viewed as a collection of resources whose form of
productive use depends on its managers visions and perceptions. If these resources are somewhat rare, scarce,
specialized, and complimentary and value adding, they can be used as sources of competitive advantage, making firms
to be super.
Conclusions
Based on the findings of this research the following conclusions were made relating to the research objectives.
The study concluded that either of the supply chain strategies i.e. lean, agile or league were been employed by the
companies. The lean strategy was at a mean of 4.05 with 44.7% indicating the strategy was employed at a very
large extent, followed by agile strategy with a mean of 3.95 and 44.7 % of respondents indicating it was employed at a
very large extent. Finally the le agile was at a mean of 3.56 with 34.2% indicating it was employed at a large extent.
The study concluded that there is a significant influence of supply chain strategies and achievement of competitive
advantages. The companies had competitive advantages as shown by the metrics i.e. cost, lead time, service level and
quality. This may be because of the nature and dynamism of the agribusiness environment therefore the need to
stay abreast with it. The strategies correlated very positive with the competitive advantage metrics.
The government has also a role on companies when they apply their supply chain strategies .As the study
found 55.26% of the respondents agree that the government had an influence for the companies to employ the supply
chain strategies in order to achieve competitive advantage. The policies indicated by the respondent included
Government Seed Regulation, ISO Certifications, Licensing, Market Restriction, Stream lined policies,
Technology and trade unions
Recommendations
Based on the findings, discussions and conclusions of this research, the following recommendations are made:
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Firms should develop competitive advantage capabilities that cannot be imitated by other competitors in the area of
creativity and innovations which will ensure they remain competitive in the industry.
Management need to take a keen interest specifically on supply chain strategies. The study findings strongly
confirm this thus Pharma Manufacturing companies need to adopt and implement good supply chain strategies to have
higher competitive advantage. More so, this will ensure that interests of the firm are served as well as sustaining
customer customers and marinating customer satisfaction. The government should provide a more enabling
environment that would encourage Pharma Manufacturing firms to achieve their objectives.
Limitation of the study
There were some limitations due to the time constraints of this research for example, sample selection method was not
adequate enough thus a limitation in getting meaningful results. It would therefore be recommended that a bigger
sample covering all counties should be employed in a similar study targeting the same industry or another. This would
also enable use of advanced data analysis techniques.
The findings of this study and application thereof are limited to Pharma manufacturing companies in Telangana State
in India. They may not be applicable directly to other organizations operating outside the pharma manufacturing
industry. It is therefore important to note that they can only be used for Comparative purposes and not any direct
application in another country.
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APPENDIX : QUESTIONNAIRE
Dear Sir/Madam
I am N.V.Mahesh Babu.T a student at the A.P. Productivity Council, Hyderabad pursuing Post Graduate Diploma in
Logistics and Supply Chain Management. The research seeks to investigate the ACHIEVEMENT OF
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE BY IMPLEMENTATION OF SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGIES IN PHARMA
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. The definitions of the strategies in this survey are;
Lean manufacturing is a systematic method for the elimination of waste within a manufacturing process. The
goal of lean is to reduce all types of waste (inventory, unused capacity, poor quality, obsolete items, etc.), in order to
minimize costs.
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Agile manufacturing is a term applied to an organization that has created the processes, tools, and training to enable
it to respond quickly to customer needs and market changes while still controlling costs and quality.
Le agile is the combination of the lean and agile paradigms within a total supply chain strategy by positioning the
decoupling point so as to best suit the need for responding to a volatile market demands Participation in the research
study is absolutely voluntary. Any information you forward will be treated with utmost confidentiality and will not be
used for any purpose other than study objectives. Kindly adhere to the guidelines.
Please tick [] the appropriate answers in the boxes provided and also write down the appropriate answers in the spaces
provided. Do not write your name on the questionnaire. Thank you in advance for your time and cooperation.
SECTION 1: Bio-Data of Respondents
1. For how long have you been in this business/Industry?
Years In the Industry
Please
0 5 years
6 10 years
11 15 years
16 20 years
Over 20 years
2. How many employees does the company have?
Number of employees
Please
Tick
1-119
120-249
250-499
Over 500
3. What is the size of your company in terms of market share?(please tick[])
a. Large sized company
b. Medium sized company
c. Small sized company
4. What is your position in the organization/department?(please tick[])
a. Supply Chain Manager
b. Strategic Planning Manager
SECTION 2: Supply chain strategies in pharma manufacturing companies in Telangana State
5. Please indicate the extent to which the following supply chain strategies are practiced within your
organization (on a scale of from 1 to 5, where I and 5 represents very small extent and very large extent
respectively.
Ratings
Supply Chain Strategy

1
Lean Strategy
Agile Strategy
Le agile Strategy
SECTION 3:-Lean supply chain strategy and competitive advantage
Lean manufacturing is a systematic method for the elimination of waste within a manufacturing process. The
goal of lean is to reduce all types of waste (inventory, unused capacity, poor quality, obsolete items, etc.), in order to
minimize costs.
6. Please rate the extent to which lean supply chain strategy have influenced competitive advantage. On a scale of 1-5
where;
1= very small extent; 2= small extent; 3= moderate; 4= large extent, 5= Very large extent
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ISSN 2321-645X
Strategy
Metrics
Metric Statements
Lean
Strategy
Cost
Lead time
Application of lean strategy has helped in cost

reductions.
Lean strategy has enhanced short lead times.
Quality
Lean strategy has increased product Quality.
Service Level
Lean strategy has improved customer satisfaction.
Ratings
1
SECTION 4:-Agile supply chain strategy and competitive advantage

Agile manufacturing is a term applied to an organization that has created the processes, tools, and training to enable
it to respond quickly to customer needs and market changes while still controlling costs and quality.
7. Please rate the extent to which agile supply chain strategies have influenced competitive advantage. On a scale of
1-5 where
Strategy
Metrics
Metric Statements
Agile
Strategy
Cost
Lead time
Application of Agile strategy has helped in cost reduction

Agile strategy has enhanced short lead times.
Quality
Agile strategy has increased product Quality.
Service Level
Agile strategy has improved customer satisfaction.
Ratings
1
SECTION 5:-Le agile supply chain strategy and competitive advantage

Le agile is the combination of the lean and agile paradigms within a total supply chain strategy by positioning the
decoupling point so as to best suit the need for responding to a volatile market demands
8. Please rate the extent to which le agile supply chain strategies have influenced competitive advantage. On a scale of
1-5 where;
Strategy
Le Agile
Strategy
Metrics
Cost
Lead time
Quality
Service Level
Metric Statements
Ratings
1 2 3
Application of Le agile strategy has helped in cost reduction

Leagile strategy has enhanced short lead times.
Leagilestrategy has increased product Quality.
Le agile strategy has improved customer satisfaction.
9.
What other factors (if any) contributed to the success of the supply chain strategies in your
organization..
10. Have government policies influenced the supply chain strategies in your organization. Yes/No (tick one applicable)
Yes
No
If Yes, please mention these policies below
THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO COMPLETE THIS QUESTIONNAIRE YOUR VIEWS ARE
IMPORTANT AND WILL REMAIN CONFIDENTIAL.
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AUTHOR
N.V.MAHESH BABU TALUPULA presently working as an Associate Professor in Mechanical
Engineering, in Guru Nanak Institutions Technical Campus, Hyderabad, India, has received his
M.Tech in 2014 from JNTU Hyderabad. He is pursuing Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from JNTU
Hyderabad on HCCI engines with blends of Fuels. He has received his B.Tech in Mechanical
Engineering from Kakatiya University in the year 2000 with Seventh Rank in the University. He
received his M.B.A. from B.R.A.O.U. Hyderabad in 2005. He has received his Post Graduate Diploma
in Energy Management from University of Hyderabad in 2014. He has received his Post Graduate
Diploma in Logistics and Supply Chain Management from AP Productivity Council, Hyderabad in 2016. He has served
as an Assistant Professor in colleges like Auroras Scientific Technological and Research Academy (ASTRA), Sri
Sarathi institute of Engineering and Technology. His research areas include Optimization Techniques, Operations
Management, Machine Design, Advanced Manufacturing Systems. He has an experience of Eight years in various
Engineering colleges and M.B.A. colleges since 2006. Prior to the above he has served as a Senior Animator for three
years.
NERSU RADHIKA presently working as an Assistant Professor in Mathematics in Sri Indu
College of Engineering and Technology, Hyderabad, has received her M.Sc Mathematics and B.Ed.
in Mathematics from Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur- India. She is graduate with
Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science. She has served as Director in Venus School of
Excellence, Vijayawada since 2004 to 2008. She has received Post Graduate Diploma in Bioinformatics from PGRRCDE, Osmania University, Telangana - India. She is working in the areas of
Optimization Techniques, Soft computing methods in various areas such as Operations Research,
Mathematics, Bio-informatics and allied fields. Her research interest includes Optimization Techniques, Bioinformatics, Database management of Biological Systems. Presently, she is pursuing M.Sc. in Statistics from
PGRRCDE, Osmania University.
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IPASJ International Journal of Management (IIJM)

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A Publisher for Research Motivation........

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Characteristics of Supply Chain include:

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Fig 1: Indian Pharma Market share

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Fig 2 : Market Share Rankings of Pharma COS in India

Fig 3: Comparative Analysis of Indian Pharma with Global scenario

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Fig 4 : Push Supply Chain System Indian Pharmaceutical Network

Fig 5: Logistics and Distribution Network of Pharma Industry

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Fig 6: Market share of various sectors in India Statement of the Problem

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Fig 7 : Typical Pharmaceutical Supply Chain

Fig 8 : Typical Pharmaceutical Supply Chain

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Figure 9: Conceptual Framework

Figure 10: Operationalization Framework

Scope and Delimitation of the study

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5.Supply Chain Strategies

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