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Cold chain

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A supply chain is a complex logistics system that consists of facilities that convert raw materials into finished products and distribute them to end consumers or end customers . Meanwhile, supply chain management deals with the flow of goods in distribution channels within the supply chain in the most efficient manner.

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107-398: A cold chain is a supply chain that uses refrigeration to maintain perishable goods, such as pharmaceuticals, produce or other goods that are temperature-sensitive. Common goods, sometimes called cool cargo, distributed in cold chains include fresh agricultural produce , seafood, frozen food , photographic film , chemicals, and pharmaceutical products . The objective of a cold chain

214-625: A healthy diet are also recommended. Supportive care in severe cases includes treatment to relieve symptoms , fluid therapy , oxygen support and prone positioning , and medications or devices to support other affected vital organs. More severe cases may need treatment in hospital. In those with low oxygen levels, use of the glucocorticoid dexamethasone is recommended to reduce mortality. Noninvasive ventilation and, ultimately, admission to an intensive care unit for mechanical ventilation may be required to support breathing. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been used to address

321-413: A quality management system . Temperature data loggers and RFID tags help monitor the temperature history of the truck, reefer container, warehouse, etc. and the temperature history of the product being shipped. They also can help determine the remaining shelf life . Also, temperature sensors may need to be National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) traceable depending on the body monitoring

428-615: A variant of concern (VoC) or a variant of interest (VoI). Many of these variants have shared the more infectious D614G . As of May 2023, the WHO had downgraded all variants of concern to previously circulating as these were no longer detected in new infections. Sub-lineages of the Omicron variant (BA.1 – BA.5) were considered separate VoCs by the WHO until they were downgraded in March 2023 as no longer widely circulating. As of 24 September 2024 ,

535-460: A "colder chain" infrastructure. This creates some issues of distribution for the Pfizer vaccine . It is estimated that only 25 to 30 countries in the world have the infrastructure for the required ultracold cold chain. The cold chain distribution process is an extension of the good manufacturing practice (GMP) environment that all drugs and biological products are required to follow, and are enforced by

642-423: A "supply chain". At the end of the supply chain, materials and finished products only flow there because of the customer behaviour at the end of the chain; academics Alan Harrison and Janet Godsell argue that "supply chain processes should be coordinated in order to focus on end customer buying behaviour", and look for "customer responsiveness" as an indicator confirming that materials are able to flow "through

749-588: A bank, for example, may play a supporting role in certain supply chains, but acts as either the customer or the nearest supplier to the customer in the supply chain for security printing . Brown et al. refer to supply chains as either "loosely coupled" or "tightly coupled": Cutting-edge companies are swapping their tightly coupled processes for loosely coupled ones, making themselves not only more flexible but also more profitable . These ideas refer to two polar models of collaboration: tightly coupled, or "hard-wired", also known as "linked", collaboration represents

856-440: A close relationship between a buyer and supplier within the chain, whereas a loosely-coupled link relates to low interdependency between buyer and seller and therefore greater flexibility. The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply 's professional guidance suggests that the aim of a tightly coupled relationship is to reduce inventory and avoid stock-outs . There are a variety of supply-chain models, which address both

963-666: A cold chain due to war may produce consequences similar to the smallpox outbreaks in the Philippines during the Spanish–American War , during which the distributed vaccines were inert due to lack of temperature control in transport. For vaccines, there are different types of cold chains. There is an ultralow, or deep freeze, cold chain for vaccines that require -70 degrees C, such as the Ebola and Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines, and some animal vaccines, such as those for chickens. Next

1070-409: A company's decision-making on the number of suppliers it will engage with for each product or service as an important aspect of the design of a supply chain. Determining the number of suppliers logically precedes an RFP process for determining which suppliers will form part of the supply chain. Morgan refers to an "n + 1 rule" example in the business practice of IT component supplier Intel , whereby

1177-565: A company. Starting in the 1990s, several companies chose to outsource the logistics aspect of supply-chain management by partnering with a third-party logistics provider (3PL). Companies also outsource production to contract manufacturers. Technology companies have risen to meet the demand to help manage these complex systems. Cloud-based SCM technologies are at the forefront of next-generation supply chains due to their impact on optimization of time, resources, and inventory visibility. Cloud technologies facilitate work being processed offline from

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1284-493: A comprehensive international study. Such deaths include deaths due to healthcare capacity constraints and priorities, as well as reluctance to seek care (to avoid possible infection). Further research may help distinguish the proportions directly caused by COVID-19 from those caused by indirect consequences of the pandemic. In May 2022, the WHO estimated the number of excess deaths by the end of 2021 to be 14.9 million compared to 5.4 million reported COVID-19 deaths, with

1391-405: A fundamentally new system. This leads to a panarchical interpretation of a supply chain, embedding it into a system of systems , allowing to analyze the interactions of the supply chain with systems that operate at other levels (e.g. society, political economy, planet Earth). For example, these three components of resilience can be identified in relation to the 2021 Suez Canal obstruction , when

1498-438: A global map of the organization's supply network. In the 1980s, the term supply-chain management (SCM) was developed to express the need to integrate the key business processes, from end user through original suppliers. Original suppliers are those that provide products, services, and information that add value for customers and other stakeholders. The basic idea behind SCM is that companies and corporations involve themselves in

1605-590: A large number of people". During the COVID-19 pandemic, as with other pandemics, the meaning of this term has been challenged. The end of a pandemic or other epidemic only rarely involves the total disappearance of a disease, and historically, much less attention has been given to defining the ends of epidemics than their beginnings. The ends of particular epidemics have been defined in a variety of ways, differing according to academic field, and differently based on location and social group. An epidemic's end can be considered

1712-448: A median range of 0.24% to 1.49%. IFRs rise as a function of age (from 0.002% at age 10 and 0.01% at age 25, to 0.4% at age 55, 1.4% at age 65, 4.6% at age 75, and 15% at age 85). These rates vary by a factor of ≈10,000 across the age groups. For comparison, the IFR for middle-aged adults is two orders of magnitude higher than the annualised risk of a fatal automobile accident and much higher than

1819-405: A mobile app which solves the common issue of inventory residing in areas with no online coverage or connectivity. Supply chain managers are under constant scrutiny to secure the best pricing for their resources, which becomes a difficult task when faced with the inherent lack of transparency. Cost benchmarking helps to identify competitive pricing within the industry but benchmarking across

1926-451: A patent on 12 July 1940, subsequent to a challenge to invent a refrigerated truck over a 1937 golf game by associates of Numero's, Werner Transportation Co. president Harry Werner, and United States Air Conditioning Co. president Al Fineberg, This technology has been frequently in use since the 1950s, when it was most often used for preserving animal-based cells or tissue. As medical breakthroughs, such as in cancer treatment, have taken place,

2033-422: A product design is completed, it drives the structure of the supply chain, limiting the flexibility of engineers to generate and evaluate different (and potentially more cost-effective) supply-chain alternatives. Design for Supply Chain is described as a process that aims to drastically reduce the product life cycle costs ... improve product quality, improve efficiency and improve profitability for all partners in

2140-815: A random sample have consistently found that total infections considerably exceed the reported case counts. Many countries, early on, had official policies to not test those with only mild symptoms. The strongest risk factors for severe illness are obesity, complications of diabetes , anxiety disorders, and the total number of conditions. During the start of the COVID-19 pandemic it was not clear whether young people were less likely to be infected, or less likely to develop symptoms and be tested. A retrospective cohort study in China found that children and adults were just as likely to be infected. Among more thorough studies, preliminary results from 9 April 2020 found that in Gangelt ,

2247-440: A range of supply chain performance factors has been recommended as best practice. The SCOR model contains more than 150 key indicators which measure the performance of supply chain operations: see also Supply chain operations reference#Performance measurements . Debra Hofman has noted that "measuring supply chain performance is not a new practice. Most companies today measure at least some aspect of their supply chain and understand

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2354-487: A sequence of supply chain processes in order to meet end customer buying behaviour". Many of the exchanges encountered in the supply chain take place between varied companies that seek to maximize their revenue within their sphere of interest but may have little or no knowledge or interest in the remaining players in the supply chain. More recently, the loosely coupled, self-organizing network of businesses who cooperate in providing product and service offerings has been called

2461-483: A ship blocked the canal for several days. Persistence means to "bounce back"; in our example it is about removing the ship as quickly as possible to allow "normal" operations. Adaptation means to accept that the system has reached a "new normal" state and to act accordingly; here, this can be implemented by redirecting ships around the African cape or use alternative modes of transport. Finally, transformation means to question

2568-457: A social phenomenon, not just a biological one. Time reported in March 2024 that expert opinions differ on whether or not COVID-19 is considered endemic or pandemic, and that the WHO continued to call the disease a pandemic on its website. During the initial outbreak in Wuhan , the virus and disease were commonly referred to as "coronavirus", "Wuhan coronavirus", "the coronavirus outbreak" and

2675-508: A supply chain by exchanging information about market demand , distribution capacity and production capabilities. Keith Oliver , a consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton , is credited with the term's invention after using it in an interview for the Financial Times in 1982. The term was used earlier by Alizamir et al. in 1981, and Burns and Sivazlian in 1978. If all relevant information is accessible to any relevant company, every company in

2782-585: A supply chain seeks to match demand with supply and do so with minimal inventory . Various aspects of optimizing the supply chain include liaising with suppliers to eliminate bottlenecks; sourcing strategically to strike a balance between lowest material cost and transportation , implementing just-in-time techniques to optimize manufacturing flow; maintaining the right mix and location of factories and warehouses to serve customer markets; and using location allocation, vehicle routing analysis, dynamic programming , and traditional logistics optimization to maximize

2889-503: A supply chain, such as wholesale and retail determine their break-even point by considering transaction costs , relative to market price. Additionally, there are financial costs associated with all the stages of a supply chain model. The Global Supply Chain Forum has introduced an alternative supply chain model. This framework is built on eight key business processes that are both cross-functional and cross-firm in nature. Each process

2996-451: A test. Conversely, deaths of people who died from underlying conditions following a positive test may be included. Countries such as Belgium include deaths from suspected cases, including those without a test, thereby increasing counts. Official death counts have been claimed to underreport the actual death toll, because excess mortality (the number of deaths in a period compared to a long-term average) data show an increase in deaths that

3103-538: A year (often seasonally). The supply chain for clothing often requires constant analysis of new fashion trends to manage the quantity needed for various markets. Supply chain security has become particularly important in recent years. As a result, supply chains are often subject to global and local regulations. In the United States, several major regulations emerged in 2010 that have had a lasting impact on how global supply chains operate. These new regulations include

3210-517: Is a high-level, industry-neutral enterprise process model that allows organizations to see their business processes from a cross-industry viewpoint. The PCF was developed by APQC and its member organizations as an open standard to facilitate improvement through process management and benchmarking, regardless of industry, size, or geography. The PCF organizes operating and management processes into 12 enterprise-level categories, including process groups, and over 1,000 processes and associated activities. In

3317-518: Is associated with COVID-19 and is reported in as many as 88% of cases. The disease is mainly transmitted via the respiratory route when people inhale droplets and small airborne particles (that form an aerosol ) that infected people exhale as they breathe, talk, cough, sneeze, or sing. Infected people are more likely to transmit COVID-19 when they are physically close to other non-infected individuals. However, infection can occur over longer distances, particularly indoors. SARS‑CoV‑2 belongs to

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3424-503: Is discouraged altogether by the WHO, due to limited evidence of its efficacy. The severity of COVID-19 varies. It may take a mild course with few or no symptoms, resembling other common upper respiratory diseases such as the common cold . In 3–4% of cases (7.4% for those over age 65) symptoms are severe enough to cause hospitalisation. Mild cases typically recover within two weeks, while those with severe or critical diseases may take three to six weeks to recover. Among those who have died,

3531-526: Is in terms of creating demand. In other words, it is the ability of a product's design to generate demand by satisfying customer expectations. But product design affects not only demand generation but also manufacturing processes, cost, quality, and lead time. The product design affects the associated supply chain and its requirements directly, including manufacturing, transportation, quality, quantity, production schedule, material selection, production technologies, production policies, regulations, and laws. Broadly,

3638-463: Is increasingly being utilized in supply chain management, especially in the strategic purchasing and supply management sector. Effective application of big data can improve the performance of supply chain activities through improved decision-making capabilities. Moore et al. note a trend towards strategic supply-base reduction as a mechanism for leading businesses to reduce costs and improve supplier-related performance, and similarly Ogden identifies

3745-439: Is intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID-19 ). Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, an established body of knowledge existed about the structure and function of coronaviruses causing diseases like severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). This knowledge accelerated

3852-448: Is managed by a cross-functional team including representatives from logistics, production, purchasing, finance, marketing, and research and development. While each process interfaces with key customers and suppliers, the processes of customer relationship management and supplier relationship management form the critical linkages in the supply chain. The American Productivity and Quality Center (APQC) Process Classification Framework (PCF) SM

3959-402: Is more significant than ever. In addition, as supply, and therefore competition, among companies for the limited market demand increases and as pricing and other marketing elements become less distinguishing factors, product design likewise plays a different role by providing attractive features to generate demand. In this context, demand generation is used to define how attractive a product design

4066-485: Is not explained by COVID-19 deaths alone. Using such data, estimates of the true number of deaths from COVID-19 worldwide have included a range from 18.2 to 33.5 million (≈27.4 million) by 18 November 2023 by The Economist , as well as over 18.5 million by 1 April 2023 by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and ≈18.2 million (earlier) deaths between 1 January 2020, and 31 December 2021, by

4173-452: Is the ratio of deaths to diagnoses. This metric can be misleading because of the delay between symptom onset and death and because testing focuses on symptomatic individuals. Based on Johns Hopkins University statistics, the global CFR was 1.02 percent (6,881,955 deaths for 676,609,955 cases) as of 10 March 2023. The number varies by region and has generally declined over time. Several variants have been named by WHO and labelled as

4280-406: Is the seventh known coronavirus to infect people, after 229E , NL63 , OC43 , HKU1 , MERS-CoV , and the original SARS-CoV . The standard method of testing for presence of SARS-CoV-2 is a nucleic acid test , which detects the presence of viral RNA fragments. As these tests detect RNA but not infectious virus, its "ability to determine duration of infectivity of patients is limited". The test

4387-693: Is to preserve the integrity and quality of goods such as pharmaceutical products or perishable good from production to consumption. A well functioning, or unbroken, cold chain requires uninterrupted sequence of refrigerated production, storage and distribution activities, along with associated equipment and logistics, which maintain a desired low-temperature interval to keep the safety and quality of perishable or sensitive products. Unlike other goods or merchandise, cold chain goods are perishable and always en-route towards end use or destination. Adequate cold storage, in particular, can be crucial to prevent food loss and waste . Mobile refrigeration with ice from

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4494-614: Is typically done on respiratory samples obtained by a nasopharyngeal swab ; however, a nasal swab or sputum sample may also be used. The WHO has published several testing protocols for the disease. Preventive measures to reduce the chances of infection include getting vaccinated, staying at home or spending more time outdoors, avoiding crowded places, keeping distance from others, wearing a mask in public, ventilating indoor spaces, managing potential exposure durations, washing hands with soap and water often and for at least twenty seconds, practising good respiratory hygiene, and avoiding touching

4601-702: The extended enterprise , and the use of the term "chain" and the linear structure it appears to represent have been criticized as "harder to relate to the way supply networks really operate. A chain is actually a complex and dynamic supply and demand network. As part of their efforts to demonstrate ethical practices , many large companies and global brands are integrating codes of conduct and guidelines into their corporate cultures and management systems . Through these, corporations are making demands on their suppliers (facilities, farms, subcontracted services such as cleaning, canteen, security etc.) and verifying, through social audits , that they are complying with

4708-458: The 2013 Savar building collapse with more than 1,100 victims have led to widespread discussions about corporate social responsibility across global supply chains. Wieland and Handfield (2013) suggest that companies need to audit products and suppliers and that supplier auditing needs to go beyond direct relationships with first-tier suppliers (those who supply the main customer directly). They also demonstrate that visibility needs to be improved if

4815-636: The European Commission issued a Communication concerning "a better functioning food supply chain in Europe", addressing the three sectors of the European economy which comprise the food supply chain: agriculture, food processing industries, and the distribution sectors. An earlier interim report on food prices (published in December 2008) had already raised concerns about the food supply chain. Arising out of

4922-501: The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market there, but it is possible that human-to-human transmission began earlier. Molecular clock analysis suggests that the first cases were likely to have been between October and November 2019. The scientific consensus is that the virus is most likely of a zoonotic origin, from bats or another closely related mammal. While other explanations such as speculations that SARS-CoV-2

5029-547: The Importer Security Filing (ISF) and additional provisions of the Certified Cargo Screening Program. EU's draft supply chain law are due diligence requirements to protect human rights and the environment in the supply chain. With the increasing globalization and easier access to different kinds of alternative products in today's markets, the contribution of product design to generating demand

5136-407: The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimating the true number of cases as of early 2022 to be in the billions. One measure that public health officials and policymakers have used to monitor the pandemic and guide decision-making is the test positivity rate ("percent positive"). According to Johns Hopkins in 2020, one benchmark for a "too high" per cent positive is 5%, which was used by

5243-597: The basic reproduction number (R 0 ) for COVID-19 in January 2020 were between 1.4 and 2.5, but a subsequent analysis claimed that it may be about 5.7 (with a 95 per cent confidence interval of 3.8 to 8.9). In December 2021, the number of cases continued to climb due to several factors, including new COVID-19 variants. As of that 28   December, 282,790,822 individuals worldwide had been confirmed as infected. As of 14 April 2022 , over 500 million cases were confirmed globally. Most cases are unconfirmed, with

5350-423: The coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic ), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 ( SARS-CoV-2 ), began with an outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan , China, in December 2019. It spread to other areas of Asia, and then worldwide in early 2020. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) on 30 January 2020, and assessed

5457-593: The ice trade began with reefer ships and refrigerator cars ( iceboxes on wheels) in the mid-19th century. The term cold chain was first used in 1908. The first effective cold store in the UK opened in 1882 at St Katharine Docks . It could hold 59,000 carcasses, and by 1911 cold storage capacity in London had reached 2.84 million carcasses. By 1930 about a thousand refrigerated meat containers were in use which could be switched from road to railway. Mobile mechanical refrigeration

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5564-534: The required standard . A lack of transparency in the supply chain can bar consumers from knowledge of where their purchases originated and facilitate socially irresponsible practices. In 2018, the Loyola University Chicago 's Supply and Value Chain Center found in a survey that 53% of supply chain professionals considered ethics to be "extremely" important to their organization. Marshall L. Fisher (1997) asks

5671-450: The variants of interest as specified by the WHO are BA.2.86 and JN.1, and the variants under monitoring are JN.1.7, KP.2, KP.3, KP.3.1.1, JN.1.18, LB.1, and XEC. Symptoms of COVID-19 are variable, ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness. Common symptoms include headache, loss of smell and taste , nasal congestion and runny nose , cough, muscle pain , sore throat , fever, diarrhoea , and breathing difficulties . People with

5778-429: The "Wuhan coronavirus outbreak", with the disease sometimes called "Wuhan pneumonia ". In January 2020, the WHO recommended 2019-nCoV and 2019-nCoV acute respiratory disease as interim names for the virus and disease per 2015 international guidelines against using geographical locations (e.g. Wuhan, China), animal species, or groups of people in disease and virus names in part to prevent social stigma . WHO finalised

5885-636: The WHO in the past. As of 10 March 2023, more than 6.88   million deaths had been attributed to COVID-19. The first confirmed death was in Wuhan on 9 January 2020. These numbers vary by region and over time, influenced by testing volume, healthcare system quality, treatment options, government response, time since the initial outbreak, and population characteristics, such as age, sex, and overall health. Multiple measures are used to quantify mortality. Official death counts typically include people who died after testing positive. Such counts exclude deaths without

5992-419: The WHO, US, European Union, and Australia. On 12 November 2022, the WHO released its Global Vaccine Market Report. The report indicated that "inequitable distribution is not unique to COVID-19 vaccines"; countries that are not economically strong struggle to obtain vaccines. On 14 November 2022, the first inhalable vaccine was introduced, developed by Chinese biopharmaceutical company CanSino Biologics , in

6099-451: The actual product being shipped. Unique to fresh produce cargoes, the cold chain requires to additionally maintain product specific environment parameters which include air quality levels (carbon dioxide, oxygen, humidity and others). The cold chain is used in the supply of vaccines to distant clinics in hot climates served by poorly developed transport networks. Vaccines can lose their efficacy if cold chain management fails. Disruption of

6206-538: The assumptions of globalization, outsourcing, and linear supply chains and to envision alternatives; in this example this could lead to local and circular supply chains. Supply chain resilience has been identified as an important business issue. The United Kingdom's Confederation of British Industry reported in 2014 that a significant number of businesses had reshored parts of their supply chain to European locations, with many identifying supply chain resilience as "a key factor in their decision to do so". Incidents like

6313-448: The broad family of viruses known as coronaviruses . It is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA (+ssRNA) virus, with a single linear RNA segment. Coronaviruses infect humans, other mammals, including livestock and companion animals, and avian species. Human coronaviruses are capable of causing illnesses ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS, fatality rate ≈34%). SARS-CoV-2

6420-630: The centre of a major infection cluster in Germany, 15 per cent of a population sample tested positive for antibodies . Screening for COVID-19 in pregnant women in New York City , and blood donors in the Netherlands, found rates of positive antibody tests that indicated more infections than reported. Seroprevalence -based estimates are conservative as some studies show that persons with mild symptoms do not have detectable antibodies. Initial estimates of

6527-746: The city of Shanghai, China. For the first two years of the pandemic, no specific and effective treatment or cure was available. In 2021, the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) approved the oral antiviral protease inhibitor , Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir plus the HIV antiviral ritonavir ), to treat adult patients. FDA later gave it an EUA. Most cases of COVID-19 are mild. In these, supportive care includes medication such as paracetamol or NSAIDs to relieve symptoms (fever, body aches, cough), adequate intake of oral fluids and rest. Good personal hygiene and

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6634-462: The cold chain. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 ( license statement/permission ). Text taken from The State of Food and Agriculture 2019. Moving forward on food loss and waste reduction, In brief​ , 24, FAO, FAO. Supply chain In sophisticated supply chain systems , used products may re-enter

6741-480: The cumulative number of infected individuals (including asymptomatic and undiagnosed infections and excluding vaccinated infected individuals). It is expressed in percentage points. Other studies refer to this metric as the infection fatality risk . In November 2020, a review article in Nature reported estimates of population-weighted IFRs for various countries, excluding deaths in elderly care facilities, and found

6848-433: The demand for cold chain systems has grown. The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated vaccinations , have caused vastly increased need. Cold chains are common in the food and pharmaceutical industries and also in some chemical shipments. One common temperature range for a cold chain in pharmaceutical industries is 2 to 8 °C (36 to 46 °F), but the specific temperature (and time at temperature) tolerances depend on

6955-578: The developing country public health setting, John Snow, Inc. has developed the JSI Framework for Integrated Supply Chain Management in Public Health, which draws from commercial sector best practices to solve problems in public health supply chains. Similarly, supply chain mapping involves documenting information regarding all participants in an organization's supply chain and assembling the information as

7062-441: The development of various vaccine platforms during early 2020. The initial focus of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines was on preventing symptomatic and severe illness. The COVID-19 vaccines are widely credited for their role in reducing the severity and death caused by COVID-19. As of March 2023, more than 5.5 billion people had received one or more doses (11.8 billion in total) in over 197 countries. The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine

7169-615: The difficulty of "keeping a supply chain with India unbroken" during the British expedition to Tibet . A typical supply chain can be divided into two stages namely, production and distribution stages. In the production stage, components and semi-finished parts are produced in manufacturing centres. The components are then put together in an assembly plant. The distribution stage consists of central and regional distribution centres that transport products to end-consumers. Mentzer et al. suggest that at least three entities are required for there to be

7276-538: The efficiency of distribution. The term "logistics" applies to activities within one company or organization involving product distribution, whereas "supply chain" additionally encompasses manufacturing and procurement, and therefore has a much broader focus as it involves multiple enterprises (including suppliers, manufacturers, and retailers) working together to meet a customer need for a product or service. However, John Mills et al . note that "early research" on supply chains focused on internal supply relationships within

7383-483: The enacting of policies that can improve occupational safety and health management in organizations. In fact, international organizations with presence in other nations have a responsibility to ensure that workers are well protected by policies in an organization to avoid safety related incidents. Many agribusinesses and food processors source raw materials from smallholder farmers. This is particularly true in certain sectors, such as coffee , cocoa and sugar . Over

7490-513: The eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands. Those diagnosed with COVID-19 or who believe they may be infected are advised by healthcare authorities to stay home except to get medical care, call ahead before visiting a healthcare provider, wear a face mask before entering the healthcare provider's office and when in any room or vehicle with another person, cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue, regularly wash hands with soap and water and avoid sharing personal household items. A COVID-19 vaccine

7597-407: The face of change". For a long time, the interpretation of resilience in the sense of engineering resilience (or robustness) prevailed in supply chain management, leading to the notion of persistence . A popular implementation of this idea is given by measuring the time-to-survive and the time-to-recover of the supply chain, allowing identification of weak points in the system. More recently,

7704-547: The flow of information and finances is part of the chain as well as the product or service. Fazel Zarandi et al. add "buyer-seller relations" (at each stage), in addition to the flow of information, as the third main component of a supply chain. Mentzer et al. remind readers also that the focus of a supply chain is on the product or service in its end state: they refer to "the supply chain for candy " and "the supply chain for clothing". Individual supply chain actors may be positioned at different points in different supply chains:

7811-490: The frozen chain requires -20 degrees C. Varicella and zoster vaccinations require this level. Then the refrigerated chain, which requires temperatures between two and eight degrees C. Most flu vaccinations only require refrigeration. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic , vaccines being developed may need ultracold storage and transportation temperatures as cold as −70 °C (−94 °F), requiring what has been referred to as

7918-474: The general public beginning in December 2020, made available through government and international programs such as COVAX , aiming to provide vaccine equity . Treatments include novel antiviral drugs and symptom control. Common mitigation measures during the public health emergency included travel restrictions , lockdowns , business restrictions and closures, workplace hazard controls , mask mandates , quarantines, testing systems, and contact tracing of

8025-657: The infected. The pandemic caused severe social and economic disruption around the world, including the largest global recession since the Great Depression . Widespread supply shortages , including food shortages , were caused by supply chain disruptions and panic buying . Reduced human activity led to an unprecedented temporary decrease in pollution . Educational institutions and public areas were partially or fully closed in many jurisdictions, and many events were cancelled or postponed during 2020 and 2021. Telework became much more common for white-collar workers as

8132-470: The interpretations of resilience in the sense of ecological resilience and social–ecological resilience have led to the notions of adaptation and transformation , respectively. A supply chain is thus interpreted as a social-ecological system which – similar to an ecosystem (e.g. forest) – is able to constantly adapt to external environmental conditions and – through the presence of social actors and their ability to foresight – also to transform itself into

8239-484: The issue of respiratory failure. Existing drugs such as hydroxychloroquine , lopinavir/ritonavir , and ivermectin are not recommended by US or European health authorities, as there is no good evidence they have any useful effect. The antiviral remdesivir is available in the US, Canada, Australia, and several other countries, with varying restrictions; however, it is not recommended for use with mechanical ventilation, and

8346-576: The majority of the unreported 9.5 million deaths believed to be direct deaths due the virus, rather than indirect deaths. Some deaths were because people with other conditions could not access medical services . A December 2022 WHO study estimated excess deaths from the pandemic during 2020 and 2021, again concluding ≈14.8 million excess early deaths occurred, reaffirming and detailing their prior calculations from May as well as updating them, addressing criticisms. These numbers do not include measures like years of potential life lost and may make

8453-458: The maximum number of suppliers required to maintain production levels for each component is determined, and no more than one additional supplier is engaged with for each component. With the increased complexity and b2b activity associated with economic growth , actors often seek to view supply chain collaboration as a part of the value adding activities in a value chain . COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as

8560-483: The motives for and performance efficacy of vertical integration differ by global region. Incorporating SCM successfully leads to a new kind of competition on the global market, where competition is no longer of the company-versus-company form but rather takes on a supply-chain-versus-supply-chain form. The primary objective of SCM is to fulfill customer demands through the most efficient use of resources, including distribution capacity, inventory , and labor. In theory,

8667-409: The need for a more comprehensive measurement program." However, the abundance of options for potential performance metrics to use is seen as a challenge for supply chain managers. One approach is to relate multiple measures in a hierarchical structure so that interdependencies and the contribution of multiple indicators to the "key" or most significant metrics can be more easily seen. Hofman suggests that

8774-495: The official names COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 on 11 February 2020. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus explained: CO   for corona , VI   for virus , D   for disease and 19 for when the outbreak was first identified (31 December 2019). WHO additionally uses "the COVID-19 virus" and "the virus responsible for COVID-19" in public communications. WHO named variants of concern and variants of interest using Greek letters . The initial practice of naming them according to where

8881-427: The outbreak as having become a pandemic on 11 March. COVID-19 symptoms range from asymptomatic to deadly, but most commonly include fever, sore throat , nocturnal cough , and fatigue. Transmission of the virus is often through airborne particles . Mutations have produced many strains (variants) with varying degrees of infectivity and virulence . COVID-19 vaccines were developed rapidly and deployed to

8988-407: The pandemic 2021's leading cause of death . The time between symptom onset and death ranges from   6 to 41 days, typically about 14 days. Mortality rates increase as a function of age. People at the greatest mortality risk are the elderly and those with underlying conditions. The infection fatality ratio (IFR) is the cumulative number of deaths attributed to the disease divided by

9095-491: The pandemic evolved. Misinformation circulated through social media and mass media , and political tensions intensified . The pandemic raised issues of racial and geographic discrimination , health equity , and the balance between public health imperatives and individual rights . The WHO ended the PHEIC for COVID-19 on 5 May 2023. The disease has continued to circulate, but as of 2024, experts were uncertain as to whether it

9202-443: The past 20 years, there has been a shift towards more traceable supply chains. Rather than purchasing crops that have passed through several layers of collectors, firms are now sourcing directly from farmers or trusted aggregators. The drivers for this change include concerns about food safety , child labor and environmental sustainability as well as a desire to increase productivity and improve crop quality. In October 2009,

9309-415: The population's age structure and the age-specific pattern of infections. There have also been reviews that have compared the fatality rate of this pandemic with prior pandemics, such as MERS-CoV. For comparison the infection mortality rate of seasonal flu in the United States is 0.1%, which is 13 times lower than COVID-19. Another metric in assessing death rate is the case fatality ratio (CFR), which

9416-469: The question in a key article, "Which is the right supply chain for your product?" Fisher, and also Naylor, Naim and Berry (1999), identify two matching characteristics of supply chain strategy: a combination of "functional" and "efficient", or a combination of "responsive" and "innovative" (Harrison and Godsell). Mentzer et al. distinguish between "direct supply chains", "extended supply chains", and "ultimate supply chains"; in their usage: In each case,

9523-458: The risk of dying from seasonal influenza . In December 2020, a systematic review and meta-analysis estimated that population-weighted IFR was 0.5% to 1% in some countries (France, Netherlands, New Zealand, and Portugal), 1% to 2% in other countries (Australia, England, Lithuania, and Spain), and about 2.5% in Italy. This study reported that most of the differences reflected corresponding differences in

9630-496: The same infection may have different symptoms, and their symptoms may change over time. Three common clusters of symptoms have been identified: one respiratory symptom cluster with cough, sputum , shortness of breath, and fever; a musculoskeletal symptom cluster with muscle and joint pain, headache, and fatigue; a cluster of digestive symptoms with abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhoea. In people without prior ear, nose, and throat disorders, loss of taste combined with loss of smell

9737-406: The success of the supply chain depends on the product design and the capabilities of the supply chain, but the reverse is also true: the success of the product depends on the supply chain that produces it. According to an industrial engineering study which looked at a process for Design for Supply Chain (DFSC), since the product design imposes multiple requirements on the supply chain, then once

9844-554: The supplier's supplier to the customer's customer". It includes delivery and order fulfillment performance, production flexibility, warranty and returns processing costs, inventory and asset turns, and other factors in evaluating the overall effective performance of a supply chain. A supply chain can often be split into different segments: the earlier stages of a supply chain, such as raw material processing and manufacturing , determine their break-even point by considering production costs relative to market price. The later stages of

9951-471: The supply cannot be directly controlled and that smart and electronic technologies play a key role to improve visibility. Finally, they highlight that collaboration with local partners, across the industry and with universities is crucial to successfully manage social responsibility in supply chains. This incident also highlights the need to improve workers safety standards in organizations. Hoi and Lin (2012) note that corporate social responsibility can influence

10058-460: The supply chain at any point where residual value is recyclable. Supply chains link value chains . Suppliers in a supply chain are often ranked by "tier", with first-tier suppliers supplying directly to the client, second-tier suppliers supplying to the first tier, and so on. The phrase "supply chain" may have been first published in a 1905 article in The Independent which briefly mentions

10165-414: The supply chain has the ability to help optimize the entire supply chain rather than to sub-optimize based on local optimization. This will lead to better-planned overall production and distribution, which can cut costs and give a more attractive final product, leading to better sales and better overall results for the companies involved. This is one form of vertical integration . Yet, it has been shown that

10272-418: The supply chain. Supply chain consultant Anthony Tarantino has identified a number of best practices affecting the resilience and operation of supply chains, including the formation of multi-disciplinary centres of excellence, hybrid supply chain organizations which optimize the balance between centralization and de-centralization, and more extensive use of both structured and unstructured data . Big data

10379-446: The three key indicators of a well-functioning supply chain are: A Cranfield University boardroom survey in 2010 found evidence that many organizations recognized the importance of the supply chain contribution to their business success, with a focus on cost, customer lead-time and customer quality being the primary performance indicators. Supply chain resilience is "the capacity of a supply chain to persist, adapt, or transform in

10486-411: The time from symptom onset to death has ranged from two to eight weeks. Prolonged prothrombin time and elevated C-reactive protein levels on admission to the hospital are associated with severe course of COVID-19 and with a transfer to intensive care units (ICU). Between 5% and 50% of COVID-19 patients experience long COVID , a condition characterised by long-term consequences persisting after

10593-491: The two reports, the Commission established a "European Food Prices Monitoring Tool", an initiative developed by Eurostat and intended to "increase transparency in the food supply chain". In March 2022 the Commission noted "the need for EU agriculture and food supply chains to become more resilient and sustainable". The supply chain in the fashion industries has some unique properties, as clothing fashion changes several times

10700-694: The typical convalescence period of the disease. The most commonly reported clinical presentations are fatigue and memory problems, as well as malaise , headaches, shortness of breath , loss of smell, muscle weakness , low fever and cognitive dysfunction . Many countries attempted to slow or stop the spread of COVID-19 by recommending, mandating or prohibiting behaviour changes, while others relied primarily on providing information. Measures ranged from public advisories to stringent lockdowns. Outbreak control strategies are divided into elimination and mitigation. Experts differentiate between elimination strategies (known as " zero-COVID ") that aim to completely stop

10807-555: The upstream and downstream elements of supply-chain management (SCM). The SCOR ( Supply-Chain Operations Reference ) model, developed by a consortium of industry and the non-profit Supply Chain Council (now part of APICS ) became the cross-industry de facto standard defining the scope of supply-chain management. SCOR measures total supply-chain performance. It is a process reference model for supply-chain management, extending "from

10914-543: The variants were identified (e.g. Delta began as the " Indian variant") is no longer common. A more systematic naming scheme reflects the variant's PANGO lineage (e.g., Omicron 's lineage is B.1.1.529) and is used for other variants. SARS-CoV-2 is a virus closely related to bat coronaviruses , pangolin coronaviruses, and SARS-CoV . The first known outbreak (the 2019–2020 COVID-19 outbreak in mainland China ) started in Wuhan , Hubei, China, in December 2019. Many early cases were linked to people who had visited

11021-422: The various health regulatory bodies. As such, the distribution process must be validated to ensure that there is no negative impact to the safety, efficacy or quality of the drug substance. The GMP environment requires that all processes that might impact the safety, efficacy or quality of the drug substance must be validated , including storage and distribution of the drug substance. A cold chain can be managed by

11128-443: Was accidentally released from a laboratory have been proposed, as of 2021 these were not supported by evidence. Official "case" counts refer to the number of people who have been tested for COVID-19 and whose test has been confirmed positive according to official protocols whether or not they experienced symptomatic disease. Due to the effect of sampling bias , studies which obtain a more accurate number by extrapolating from

11235-500: Was invented by Frederick McKinley Jones , who co-founded Thermo King with entrepreneur Joseph A. "Joe" Numero. In 1938 Numero sold his Cinema Supplies Inc. movie sound equipment business to RCA to form the new entity, U.S. Thermo Control Company (later the Thermo King Corporation ), in partnership with Jones, his engineer. Jones designed a portable air-cooling unit for trucks carrying perishable food, for which they obtained

11342-457: Was still a pandemic. Pandemics and their ends are not well-defined, and whether or not one has ended differs according to the definition used. As of 30 November 2024, COVID-19 has caused 7,075,455 confirmed deaths. The COVID-19 pandemic ranks as the fifth- deadliest pandemic or epidemic in history . In epidemiology , a pandemic is defined as "an epidemic occurring over a very wide area, crossing international boundaries, and usually affecting

11449-502: Was the most widely used. According to a June 2022 study, COVID-19 vaccines prevented an additional 14.4 million to 19.8 million deaths in 185 countries and territories from 8 December 2020 to 8 December 2021. On 8 November 2022, the first recombinant protein-based COVID-19 vaccine (Novavax's booster Nuvaxovid ) was authorised for use in adults in the United Kingdom. It has subsequently received endorsement/authorisation from

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