Applying operations management logic and tools to save lives: A case study of the world health organization's global drug facility

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.