Identifying Manufacturing Strategic Decisions in Iran's Chemical Pharmaceutical Industry

Manufacturing strategy in the simplest definition means configuring manufacturing decisions tailored to the company's competitive priorities. Therefore, the first step in developing a manufacturing strategy is to properly recognize all manufacturing decision areas, In addition, in each decision, there are several alternatives for companies, and the choice of different alternatives together forms the configuration of the manufacturing unit. These decisions need to be customized for each industry because the nature of production in each industry is different. This research aims to do this in the Iranian chemical pharmaceutical industry. First, a comprehensive list of manufacturing decisions and alternatives was obtained by studying the research literature, and then more than 25 interviews were conducted with experts in the industry based on it. The interviews were analyzed using Qualitative Content Analysis method. The results showed that due to strict legal requirements in drug production and the specific type of drug sales in the Iranian market, companies in most decision areas, do not differ much from each other and the options available to them are limited. Therefore, the main difference between the manufacturers of chemical drugs in Iran is due to the difference in decision-making in the areas of Human Resource Management and Quality Management; and these two areas have a significant impact on the competitive position of companies. Also, cooperation with foreign leading companies in the field of process design, obtaining formulation and supply of raw materials has a great impact on the competitive position of companies in this industry in Iran.