What vaccine distribution planners can learn from Amazon and Walmart model

The initial rollout of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine has begun, and vaccines are shipping across the U. S. Demand for COVID-19 vaccines will outpace supply for the foreseeable future. Yet experts have warned that a substantial proportion of these highly perishable vaccines could go to waste if they are not being used before they expire.

With such short supplies and high demand, worrying about waste may sound paradoxical, but is actually a predictable result of two well-known medical distribution challenges: complicated storage requirements and variability in demand.

We are two supply-chain experts who have studied vaccine purchasing and distribution. Drawing from our decadeslong research into supply-chain management and health care operations, we believe two supply-chain ideas practiced by Amazon and Walmart can help reduce waste and minimize shortages of COVID-19 vaccines.