CONSUMER BEHAVIOR IN THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY IN CASE OF STOCKOUT - IMPLICATIONS TO SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

ABSTRACT This paper analyses the behavior of consumers of a drugstore when they do not find the desired product. The objective of this study is evaluating consumer behavior, considering their importance as the final element of the supply chain. Consumer behavior definitely affects supply chain management, since it influences the decision making of the organizations that form this chain. Knowing the real chain element’s behavior, including the final consumer, brings many advantages - better understanding of especially important chain links, better management of production capacity, more efficient inventory policies and ability to focus at longterm perspective. A perceptual map associating consumer decisions and their characteristics was obtained by the statistical technique multiple correspondence analysis. This analysis allowed better understanding of consumer’s behavior of the drugstore in study.