مهدی همایون فر

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the drivers of bullwhip effect in supply chain of the pharmaceutical industry. This research is descriptive in terms of method and applied in terms of purpose. Conducting the research, first, based on the reviewing the literature on bullwhip effect in the supply chain, affecting drivers were extracted and were sent to 15 experts in form of a questionnaire. Then, using the fuzzy Delphi method, the final affecting criteria on bullwhip effect in the supply chain of the pharmaceutical industry were identified. Finally, in order to examine the relationships between the 13 basic drivers, another questionnaire was designed and asked the experts to fill it, where based on their answers and using DEMATEL and fuzzy cognitive map methods, critical drivers were determined. FCMapper software was used to conduct fuzzy cognitive map method and MATLAB was used for the DEMATEL method. In terms of centrality index in fuzzy cognitive map method, structured inventory control process, delivery time, inventory storage of chain elements, inventory policy and product return rate are 5 criteria of critical importance. In addition, the indicators of the number of echelons, forecasting (method) error and up-to-date demand forecast are in the eleventh to thirteenth ranks. Based on the results of DEMATEL method, inventory policy, price fluctuations, inventory storage of chain elements, structured inventory control process, differences with the desired inventory and information transparency were identified as the main drivers of bullwhip effect in the supply chain of the pharmaceutical industry.

Banks play an important role in the growth and development of any economy. A profitable banking system enhances economic stability and efficiency to mitigate the impacts of sudden macroeconomic shocks. To be more efficient and profitable, banks need to recognize the factors underpinning their performance. Accrued liabilities are one of the factors that hinder the profitability of banks. There are several methods to assess banks' profitability with their own pros and cons. Among them, data envelopment analysis (DEA) has been recommended as one of the most common approaches to evaluate different efficiencies including cost efficiency, revenue efficiency, technical efficiency, and finally profitability. The availability of prices/weights of inputs and outputs provides financial managers with significant information for evaluating efficiencies and assists them in decision-making and strategy development processes. This study mainly aims to analyze banks' profitability by considering accrued liabilities resulting from undesirable factors, for which relevant data were collected from 33 branches of a commercial bank in Gilan province, Iran based on managerial and weak disposability. The results illustrated that only three branches were graded one in three dimensions of efficiency, namely technical, cost and revenue, and profitability. Besides, it was suggested that the lack of these efficiencies was not correlated with the branches' profitability.