Abstract
Supply chain management in Japanese healthcare industry struggles to reform its distribution systems due to the necessity of cutting costs, because the expenditure of medical materials is thought to account for nearly one quarter of all expenditure in a hospital. The finding of the research is three issues to which the Japanese industry should overcome. There are 1) the use of IT: from the perspective of shorten lead time, 2) the enhanced purchasing power: cooperation with neighbouring hospitals, 3) the need for warehouse in remote area and in emergency including diverse disasters.
