Artificial Intelligence in The Pharmaceutical Industry: Case of Moroccan Companies

Proceedings of The 3rd International Conference on Advanced Research in Supply Chain Management

Year: 2023

DOI:

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Artificial Intelligence in The Pharmaceutical Industry: Case of Moroccan Companies

Nouhayla Bouanba, Barakat Ouafa

ABSTRACT: 

The current economic context is characterized by globalization, market changes and the financial crisis that has disrupted the global economy. In fact, the economic model is in full change following the evolution of digital technologies, namely artificial intelligence (AI), big data, biotechnology, robotics or the Internet of Things. The supply chain performance is impacted by strategic, operational, and environmental factors. So, powerful optimization skills are being delivered by AI, which are necessary for more precise capacity planning, increased productivity, high quality, lower costs, and larger output, all while promoting safer working conditions. All of these advantages are made achievable by the integration of AI into supply chains. AI is actually a complex concept that has been widely popularized in the world of science fiction, but it integrates further domains and applications in the industrial and economic sectors that continue to develop today. It is gaining more and more presence in our environment and is becoming a real opportunity for the good development of tomorrow’s business. Through its extraordinary capacities, AI has great potential to boost efficiency and make smarter decisions. In addition to providing competitive advantages over other competitors, it opens up chances for cost reduction in demand forecasting, purchasing requirement planning, production planning, inventory, packaging, transportation, warehousing, and distribution planning. In Morocco, the majority of businesses have not yet begun putting AI strategies into practice. In order to lead the way in Arab growth in North Africa and the Middle East, Morocco is paving his way through. According to ABI Research, 1,500 businesses employed Al in 2018, and by 2022, that number is expected to increase to more than 56,000. The banking sector, insurance, telecom, information technology, agriculture, and industry are examples of sectors that have begun to move in the direction of Al. Representing about 5 billion MAD of added value, the national pharmaceutical industry is one of the sectors with the highest added value in Morocco. With permanent investments in technological innovation, quality, training and, recently, in ecology, the Moroccan industry confirms its civic dimension which really makes its strength. Besides that, the pharmaceutical sector was one of the sampled industries that used AI to improve their supply chain, according to our previous study. Ahmed Shaikh & al.

in their research have examined the impact of new technologies on the pharmaceutical industry. It revealed that experts believe that including AI through new technologies has a positive impact on the pharmaceutical industry, since the work gets done more effectively in less time. It is in this perspective that the present research is conducted, seeking to explore the degree of deployment of AI techniques by Moroccan pharmaceutical companies for the optimization of their supply chain. To this end, a qualitative methodological approach of an exploratory nature was adopted. We are using semi-structured interviews as a data collection tool, conducted with logistics and supply chain managers in Moroccan pharmaceutical companies, and data analysis will be conducted using the IRAMUTEQ analysis software, in addition to the content analysis. Our findings will show the different applications of AI in some Moroccan pharmaceutical companies, the types of AI technologies used, and more importantly the impact of adopting AI in improving and optimizing the performance of their supply chain.

keywords: Artificial intelligence, Pharmaceutical industry, Supply chain performance, Optimization