Leveraging AI to Build Agile and Resilient Healthcare Supply Chains for Sustainable Performance: A Systematic Scoping Review and Future Directions

Ongoing global disruptions, including pandemics, geopolitical tensions, and climate-driven events, have exposed vulnerabilities in healthcare supply chains (HSCs). This study examines how artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping HSCs to improve agility, resilience, and sustainable performance. Using a systematic literature review with PRISMA-style screening across Scopus and Web of Science, the study is complemented by bibliometric analysis and latent Dirichlet allocation topic modeling to analyze peer-reviewed articles. The results indicate an exponential increase in AI-enabled HSC research, concentrated in a small number of journals and spanning a globally diverse author community. Three dominant thematic clusters emerged: (1) sustainability-oriented supply chain design, (2) disruption and resilience management, and (3) healthcare-focused digital transformation. Across these themes, AI, digital twins, Internet of Things, and simulation are evolving from efficiency tools to strategic enablers of decision intelligence, supporting real-time sensing, scenario analysis, and proactive risk mitigation. The study highlights a convergence of “triple transformation” in which digitalization, resilience, and sustainability are increasingly co-dependent capabilities in HSCs. However, persistent barriers exist, including data quality issues, legacy systems, workforce skill gaps, limited model interpretability, and incomplete governance frameworks, which constrain large-scale adoption. The findings indicate a need for longitudinal and multi-method studies on human–AI collaboration, trust calibration, and leadership in AI-enabled HSCs. This study provides practical guidance for healthcare organizations looking to leverage AI in developing agile, resilient, and sustainable supply chain ecosystems.