Applying operations management logic and tools to save lives: A case study of the World Health Organization's Global Drug Facility
通过世界卫生组织全球药物基金的案例，展示了如何将缩短交付时间的运营管理理论应用于非营利组织，以减少结核病导致的不必要死亡，并说明排队论建模工具有助于非政府组织采纳运营逻辑。
Abstract In the field of operations management, theory concerning lead‐time reduction is well developed. The application of lead‐time reduction theory to the not‐for‐profit operations context, however, has been limited. We present an illustrative case study of a not‐for‐profit operation in which long lead times cause a substantial increase in unnecessary deaths from tuberculosis and hinder the efforts of the World Health Organization to eradicate tuberculosis globally. The case study suggests that lead‐time reduction theory may be as effective in not‐for‐profit (service) operations as it has been in manufacturing operations. Our results also illustrate how use of sophisticated but “user‐friendly” queuing theory‐based modeling tools can facilitate the acceptance and transfer of operations logic to a not‐for‐profit intergovernmental organization setting.