Data warehousing in decision support for pharmaceutical R&D supply chain

摘要

The expanding technology of data warehousing is providing organisations with a powerful decision support utility that can be effectively used to support supply chain activities throughout a business or industry. Pharmaceutical Research and Development (R&D) activity represents a unique type of information-based supply chain that utilises a huge amount of data and involves a large number of decision-making points along its stages. By analysing the processes of drugs R&D in a pharmaceutical case study (company unnamed), the authors identify the main types of internal and external information sources utilised by the principle decision-making levels within the drug R&D supply chain. A classification of the information sources and the decision-making levels is then presented. The paper also discusses how by integrating these information sources, data warehouse technology can facilitate effective decision support leading to a shortening of the drug development life cycle.