Modelling and disrupting counterfeit N95 respirator supply chains

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of counterfeit respirators and fraudulent medical products infiltrated legitimate supply chains, often facilitated by registered businesses, third-party logistics providers, and companies in the technology sector. The trade in counterfeit respirators during the global health crisis threatened public health, safety, and security. The study uses seizure data, as well as analysis of shipping records and investigation reports to understand illicit supply chains of counterfeit N95 respirators. To compare the effectiveness of different types of disruption strategies, the authors propose a multi-period optimization problem and study different types of disruption strategies that would undermine counterfeit respirator supply chains. The authors also share numerical experiments and findings concerning the effectiveness of the proposed model.