Evaluation of suppliers and their influence on the integrated management systems in pharmaceutical companies in Guayaquil, Ecuador, 2025

Abstract

Introduction. In the development of this research, the general objective is to evaluate the management of suppliers through a participatory analysis to strengthen the performance of the Integrated Management System (IMS) of pharmaceutical companies in the city of Guayaquil, for which relevant knowledge was obtained about the PHVA cycle (Plan, Do, Verify and Act)) in relation to the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System, ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management System and the ISO 45001:2018 Occupational Health and Safety Management System, also pointing out the importance of the ARCSA (National Agency for Health Regulation, Control and Surveillance) as a sanitary control entity for medicines distributed by pharmaceutical companies. Methodology. In the current research, it is a quantitative approach since the survey was used as the main data collection technique, therefore, the sample is made up of 148 pharmaceutical companies located in the city of Guayaquil, considering 5% as a margin of error and 95% as a confidence level. The survey was structured according to the evaluation of suppliers, being the independent variable, while the GIS (Integrated Management System) corresponds to the dependent variable. Results. The results obtained reflect that the financial health of the suppliers is acceptable in 49.10%, while 64.60% of them comply with all legal standards such as the constitution of the company and sanitary regulations, in addition to this, the organizational reputation of the drug suppliers was located at 55.20% in which years of experience in the market were evaluated.  customer relations and punctuality in the delivery of their products. In addition, 47.50% of pharmaceutical entities comply in full of ISO 9001:2015, 55.7% with ISO 14001:2015 and 54.2% of organizations comply with ISO 45001:2018. Conclusion. It has been identified that there is a relationship between the evaluation of suppliers and the Integrated Management System, so that greater control of suppliers facilitates the strengthening of the IMS, also considering that during the transfer of medicines there are biological and ergonomic risks in the operating personnel, so the correct application of Occupational Health and Safety (OSH) policies is preponderant.  General area of study: Administration. Specific area of study: Business management. Type of item: original.