What drives perishable inventory management performance? Lessons learnt from the UK blood supply chain

Abstract

PurposeManaging perishable inventories is a trade‐off of shortages and lost sales against wastage. This paper aims to identify what drives good management of perishables within the supply chain using the example of blood inventory management in hospitals.Design/methodology/approachSeven case studies with hospital transfusion laboratories in the UK blood supply chain were carried out in order to explore how perishable inventories are managed. The case studies identify drivers for good performance in perishable inventories.FindingsSix recommendations are developed for how managers can improve perishable inventory performance. These are based around simple management procedures implemented by e..