A2389C Health Products Supply and Distribution Project Assignment Questions 2025

Instructions to Candidates

• This individual graded assignment will constitute 75% (60 marks) of the overall module marks, with the oral presentation constituting 25% (20 marks) of the overall module marks.
• Graded assignment is to be submitted via SA 3.0 by 01 August 2025, 23:59 hrs.
• Late submission of graded assignments without leave of absence (LOA) for the module will be subject to the following late penalty:

Note: Late submission penalty will apply only to the component(s) that relate to the submitted work. Time after submission deadline includes weekends & Public Holidays.

The graded assignment should be uploaded into SA3.0 before the stipulated deadline. Save your graded assignment in Word document format, as “<Full Name>_<Student ID>.doc”.

Complete the Graded Assignment Declaration on Page 2 and upload it onto SA3.0 along with your assignment as one file.

For Official Use

Case Study

In 2025, the United States significantly increased tariffs on Chinese imports, with cumulative rates reaching 54% by April 2025. These measures, announced by President Trump, include plans for major tariffs on pharmaceutical products to encourage more domestic drug manufacturing (Forgey, 2025; Reuters, 2025).

These actions have disrupted global supply chains, driving up costs and creating delays for pharmaceutical manufacturers worldwide. Countries like Singapore, which rely heavily on imported raw materials and health products, are particularly affected. Singapore’s role as a key pharmaceutical hub means it could experience higher production costs, stock delays, and price fluctuations for essential medicines and devices.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry Singapore, has acknowledged these global developments, stating that rising tariffs could impact export-reliant industries and put pressure on healthcare logistics (MTI, 2025).

References

Forgey, Q. (2025, April 8). Trump says ‘major’ pharmaceutical tariffs on the way. Politico. Politico

Reuters. (2025, April 8). Stocks slide again as the US forges ahead with 104% tariffs on China. Reuters. Reuters

Ministry of Trade and Industry, Singapore. (2025, February 5). Written reply to PQ on the impact of the US’s new tariffs on Singapore’s export-dependent economy. MTI

Question 1

You are a team of consultants specialising in emergency preparedness for pharmaceutical supply chains, appointed by the Singapore Government to address a potential disruption in the supply of pharmaceuticals due to the above-mentioned situation. This disruption may lead to shortages of essential medicines, health products, and medical supplies, impacting the nation’s healthcare services and public well-being.

Your primary task is to develop a comprehensive preparedness and mitigation plan to ensure the continued availability of critical pharmaceutical products to the Singapore population during such a disruption.

As a team, you must identify critical products at risk of shortage due to the scenario described above. From the list below, select TWO inventory classification techniques to be used in combination:

• VED (Vital, Essential, Desirable) Analysis
• FSN (Fast-, Slow-, Non-moving) Analysis

Use these two techniques to identify at least 10 therapeutic products (specific brand/generic names, not just categories) that are most vulnerable to supply disruptions in Singapore. Briefly discuss and justify your analyses.

You should consider:

• Which techniques are suitable to be use on a national level
• Which 2 techniques can be used complementarily with each other to give you a better overall understanding of the healthcare needs of Singapore
• Where the therapeutic products come from
• Demand of the therapeutic products (e.g. usage rates in hospitals or community pharmacies)
• Medical necessity of the therapeutic products (i.e. impact on patient health and survival)
• Variability or predictability of the demand for therapeutic products
• Consequences of the unavailability of the therapeutic products (26 marks)

Question 2

Based on your answers provided in Question 1, identify ONE therapeutic product that is the MOST affected by the increased tariffs situation. How can you and your team of consultants help the Singapore Government stay prepared, such that the product you have identified stay available for Singaporeans in times of crisis?

Your plan should consider supplier planning, warehousing and storage, and stockpiling in your preparedness planning. (14 marks)

Question 3 – This question is to be done individually.

Suppose, now, there is a disease outbreak in Singapore, such as an unknown strain of influenza, amidst this global tariff war. Would your analyses and preparedness planning in Questions 1 and 2 be affected? Explain your answer. (8 marks)

Note: To include at least 3 references for this assignment.