La logística tiene un gran potencial de contribución a la búsqueda de los objetivos de calidad, cobertura y eficiencia de las instituciones hospitalarias. Desafortunadamente, ésta área es a menudo relegada a un segundo o tercer plano y sólo es visible a los ojos de la alta dirección cuando aparecen problemas. Este artículo analiza tres casos en los que se logra incrementar la contribución de la logística al desempeño de tres hospitales en Francia, Canadá y Colombia. Este análisis permite identificar algunos elementos comunes que pueden guiar a quienes busquen una transformación similar en sus instituciones.

Like other Canadian provinces, Quebec managed shortages of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic. Two years later, with hindsight, what lessons can we learn from this logistics crisis? It is precisely to better understand the decisions made by the supply chain players in the province of Quebec that this paper was written. To fully understand the events, this paper first describes the Quebec healthcare system. Then it retraces the series of events and actions during the first wave, at a time when it was most challenging to procure PPE. It also specifies the main characteristics of the supply chain in the Quebec healthcare sector. Finally, it analyzed these data to come up with recommendations to help public decision makers adopt better supply chain management practices.

Over the last few years, the management of reverse logistics has become increasingly important for organizations and a field of interest for researchers. We observe that the implementation and coordination of reverse logistics networks call for original responses with regard to their governance structure. In this context, the research question for this article is which factors explain the existence and contribution of different governance structures in reverse logistics. Our research is exploratory in nature, and we look at the following reverse logistics networks: recycling of used tires, empty beer bottles, used paint, and paper products. Some of our case studies feature original arrangements where additional stakeholders, such as government organizations and dedicated third parties, become involved in the governance of reverse logistics networks and modify the natural relationships normally observed in traditional supply chains.

Des produits pharmaceutiques, des fournitures médicales, des repas, du linge, des fournitures de bureau circulent quotidiennement ou de façon hebdomadaire à travers l’hôpital entre leur lieu d’entreposage principal ou leur lieu de production et les différents points de service. Pour les produits et les fournitures qui soutiennent directement les activités cliniques, le réapprovisionnement des unités de soins présente un caractère particulièrement critique car il doit limiter les perturbations auprès du personnel soignant. Un programme de recherche est mené depuis quelques années visant à identifier les facteurs contextuels qui affectent la performance des modes de réapprovisionnement des fournitures médicales aux unités de soins. Cet article présente des résultats de la recherche.