Purpose Pharmaceutical industry involves highly specialized business processes where strong research and development focus along with market differentiation and localization are the deciders of success. This has led to evolution of segments and complexities in supply chain. This paper aims to focus on segmental differences in supply chain performance of Indian Pharmaceutical firms. Design/methodology/approach This paper measures supply chain performance of select segmental players of the pharmaceutical industry using financial metrics and supply chain operations reference (SCOR) key performance indicators through a five-year timeline. The best performance results are compared across the segments to identify unique performance features, if any. The sample results are validated through hypothesis testing methodology. Findings This paper has evidenced that the innovators segment is performing better in cash-to-cash cycle time and supply chain working capital productivity, whereas generics segment is doing better in distribution cost efficiency and total cost to serve aspects. Research limitations/implications The paper is based on historical financial data of firms and measures the firm focused supply chain performance. The results may not be generalized in a global context but serve as a motivator for other researchers to take similar studies. The paper may further be analyzed with primary data of the firms to understand the segmental difference in customer focus supply chain performance measures. Practical implications This paper has brought out important segmental supply chain performance features of the Indian pharmaceutical firms and identified segment-specific problems by integrating SCOR KPIs and financial metrics. Originality/value This paper has integrated both SCOR KPIs and financial metrics to provide unique insights on segmental differences in the performance behavior of pharmaceutical supply chain.

The automobile industry is broadly categorized into three segments—commercial vehicles, passenger vehicles and two/three-wheelers. The automobile supply chain is complex, as this includes raw material suppliers, component manufacturers, sub assemblers, final assemblers, different distribution channels, networks and end consumers. This demands a robust supply chain that can integrate all these links for cost efficiency and profitability. The objectives of this article are to find segmental differences in the supply chain performance of the Indian automobile industry and to quantify the impact of supply chain performance on the overall profitability of the firms across the segments. This article measures the performance of the supply chain of Indian automobile industry segments integrating supply chain financial metrics and supply chain operations reference key performance indicators (SCOR KPIs) through a 10-year timeline. The results are compared across segments to identify unique performance features, if any, using ANOVA. A panel data fixed effect model (least square dummy variable [LSDV]) is constructed to establish the relationship between supply chain performance and profitability and to understand whether the identified supply chain performance variables have any significant impact on profitability across the segments. This article has evidenced that though the supply chain of two/three-wheelers segment is performing better in fixed asset and inventory turnover it is more impacted by distribution inefficiency. The supply chain of the commercial-vehicles segment is impacted more by excess fixed assets, distribution inefficiency and poor inventory turnover. Although inventory turnover of passenger-vehicles segment is better than that of the commercial vehicles, the supply chain fixed assets remain a concern for this segment. Across the industry segments, the profitability of the segment is more impacted by poor distribution efficiency compared to fixed assets and inventory turnover. This article contributes towards finding key segmental supply chain performance features of the Indian automobile industry and building a panel data fixed effect model by integrating supply chain performance indicators with the profitability of the firms across the segments. This model can contribute towards effective decision-making in the automobile supply chain.

The competitive nature of the pharmaceutical industry necessitates that its multifaceted supply-chain be cost-efficient and profitable. This paper aims to ascertain the critical supply-chain financial indicators influencing pharmaceutical-supply-chain (PSC) performance, revealing its unique features and assessing these indicators’ effect on profitability. This paper measures the PSC performance of 55 public-limited Indian pharmaceutical firms, including multinational enterprises, integrating supply-chain financial variables and SCOR KPIs through a ten-year timeline. The critical supply-chain-performance indicators (SCPIs) are identified from the measured set through factor analysis. A panel data random effect model is developed, linking these critical SCPIs and profitability to understand their significant influence on profitability. This paper has evidenced the existence of three critical SCPIs, revealing working capital efficiency, material flow efficiency and investment efficiency. It has also proved the significant influence of these SCPIs on firms’ profitability and has brought out the importance of material flow efficiency in terms of inventory and distribution efficiency as a leading contributing factor for profitability. This paper contributes to finding key PSC performance features and their vital role in pharmaceutical firms’ profitability. Supply-chain managers can enhance PSC’s specific performance areas to be cost-efficient and can increase the firm’s profitability.

The purposes of this article are to establish the crucial indicators of supply chain performance (SCPI) impacting firms’ export performance, revealing its unique characteristics, and assess the effects of these SCPIs on the export capability of the firms. This article develops a statistical model, involving how critical SCPIs can influence firms’ export performance. The developed model is then empirically validated using top 53 firm-level data, based on market share, from the Indian pharmaceutical industry, taken for 10 years. The randomized complete block design approach is employed to confirm the variation of export intensity across firms and time. A panel data fixed-effects model is developed, associating critical SCPIs with export intensity to understand their impact on export performance. Finally, bootstrap is applied as a cross-validation procedure to carry out model authentication. This article contributes to obtaining crucial SCPIs and their impact on firms’ export competitiveness. It has revealed that firms’ raw material import efficiency, working capital efficiency, asset management efficiency, research and development (R&D) capability, and the total cost to serve have a significant impact on the firms’ export capability. The proposed model can help firms make appropriate decisions about different influencing parameters of supply chain performance to improve their export competitiveness.