Supply chain leagility in professional services: how to apply decoupling point concept in healthcare delivery system

Purpose – This paper aims to show how leagility can be applied in professional services, especially hospitals. Design/methodology/approach – The case study approach was used to consider the concept of leagility in professional services. Therefore, it studies a specialized hospital in Iran as a professional service provider. Findings – The specific condition of the patients forces the hospital to be highly agile and at the same time it can benefit from lean strategies. By grouping healthcare services into three pipelines, it identifies decoupling points for the supply chain. It also argues that while discussing leagility in a professional service organization, the important role of human resources should be highlighted. Research limitations/implications – The paper considers leagility in a specialized hospital. There is a need to discuss this concept in generalized hospitals with multiple pipelines. It is also limited because it considers one specialized hospital, thus the results of this research cannot be generalized to other specialized hospitals. Originality/value – Leagility in professional services is something rarely dealt with in the literature. Thus, this research expands on the concept of leagility in professional service, particularly in hospitals, and the paper fills this gap in the literature which could be further explored.