Dar es Salaam Zone focuses on efficiently supplying quality pharmaceutical and medical products throughout the zonal service care area. As one of MSD’s key zonal centers, the Dar es Salaam Zonal Store is vital in ensuring a reliable supply chain for medical products, supporting healthcare facilities, and optimizing distribution within the Dar es Salaam zone. The Dar es Salaam zone is one of the ten (10) zones at MSD located in the eastern part of Tanzania. It started its activities as the cost center in 2009 with 17 staff. Under the support of DANIDA, it serves three regions: Morogoro, Coast region, and Dar es Salaam. The zone also serves Zanzibar, which has a population of more than eight million (8,082,644).

Distribution Coverage :Dar Zonal Store manages transportation to deliver goods across the zonal service-care area, which comprises the three regions of Dar es Salaam, Coast, and Morogoro, and the neighboring Islands of Zanzibar (i.e., Unguja, and Pemba).

Key Functions:

1. Supply Chain Management:The DSM Zonal Store manages the zonal supply chain operations, coordinating with the central MSD to fulfill orders and replenish stock.

2. Warehousing:With dedicated storage facilities, DSM Zonal Store maintains large volumes of pharmaceuticals and other medical supplies under regulated conditions.

3. Quality Assurance:Observe quality standards and monitor products to ensure they maintain health and safety requirements.

4. Stakeholder Engagement:Collaborates with public health facilities, local government, and healthcare providers in the zone to ensure that supply needs align with healthcare demands.

5. Data Collection and Reporting:Prepares and submits periodic performance reports on sales, inventory management, and distribution metrics to assist MSD's decision-making processes, improve business performance, and enhance transparency.

Stakeholders:

• i. Healthcare Facilities:There are 1,051 healthcare facilities in the Dar es Salaam zone, including the National Hospital (2), Special Hospitals (4), Regional Referral Hospitals (5), District hospitals (25), Health Centres (93), and Dispensaries (922).

• ii. Local and Regional Health Authorities:Coordination with local government and health authorities to align services with healthcare needs.

• iii. Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Donors:Collaborates with stakeholders, including Faith-Based Organizations, to enhance healthcare service delivery. Furthermore, it supports Governmental Health Programsinitiatives like Malaria, Tuberculosis, and HIV programs.

• iv. Tanzanian Government:Ensures compliance with national health policies and regulations by translating the current MSD Strategic Plan.

Customer Base Segmentation: - The Dar es Salaam Zonal Store has a customer base segmented primarily based on healthcare facilities and organizations it serves within the zone. There are two groups:

1. Corporate Customers: This includes tertiary-level institutions such as two National Hospitals, four specialized hospitals, five regional referral Hospitals, the National Public Health Laboratory, and Zanzibar.

2. Non-Corporate Customers: This category covers primary health facilities, such as dispensaries, health centers, and district hospitals registered by PO-RALG and the Ministry of Health.