COVID-19 Supply Chain Planning: A Simulation-Optimization Approach

ABSTRACT

Healthcare providers' preparedness and response plans are crucial to effectively cope with infectious disease outbreaks such as COVID-19. These plans need to provide strategic and operational actionable insights to guarantee the availability of essential resources when needed. This study uses a simulation-optimization approach to (i) determine an optimal replenishment policy to restock personal protective equipment (PPE) items, and (ii) determine proactive demand planning for critical resources such as the number of beds, and ventilators. This model leverages a Simio-MATLAB integration to complete simulation and optimization tasks. © 2022 IEEE.