Aspects Of Supply Chain Research Articles

Digitalised circular construction supply chain: An integrated BIM-Blockchain solution

Blockchain and smart contracts are measures to speed up the diffusion of circular economy into construction processes. Nevertheless, integrated solutions that cover all the aspects of circular supply chain including network structure, business processes, and the products are still missing. This paper is an attempt to bridge this gap, through offering a workable solution to address the disconnected nature of blockchain adoption across construction procedures. Informed by the overall approach of design science research (DSR), the solution is created following the five-staged procedure of DSR: (1) problem identification, (2) treatment suggestion, (3) treatment design, (4) evaluation and (5) conclusion. Findings establish that the proposed solution is novel in several ways; it: (1) enables construction practitioners to share their building components information on a safe and immutable medium; (2) enables government authorities (i.e., city council) to track the treatment and delivery of hazardous products/materials; (3) supports the upstream circular economy design through fostering collaboration among ‘designers to designers’ and ‘designers to asset owners’ in a blockchain network; and (4) supports developing ‘a bank of reusable BIM families’, encouraging designers to use these items in their designs. Apart from these contributions, this study provides some fertile ground for future research. Chief among all: future studies can provide fully automated systems through integrating the solution presented here with the Internet of Things (IoT); and researchers that validate the workability of the proposed solution across various contexts and real-life projects in exposure to various settings and peculiarities.

Enterprise credit risk portrait and evaluation from the perspective of the supply chain

AbstractThis paper aims to help financial institutions identify credit risk and reduce default losses more effectively by improving the accuracy and efficiency of the credit evaluation process using two methods. The paper first mines indicators that comprehensively describe the supply chain aspects of credit risk to obtain a precise credit risk portrait of the enterprise. The study then innovatively designs a random forest‐weighted naive Bayes (RF‐WNB) model that offers good interpretability and generalization qualities. The model forms an effective two‐stage process of enterprise credit risk evaluation that selects key features, quantifies the importance of each, and then evaluates credit risk. By applying empirical analysis to 1363 listed enterprises and performing one typical case analysis, we verified the effectiveness of the indicators and the two‐stage RF‐WNB model in evaluating enterprise credit risk.

Strengthening Millet Value Chain through Farmer Producer Organizations

Millets are a group of small-seeded “Nutri-Cereals” that are grown as food crops in many parts of the world and is need of hour for achieving nutritional security. In the traditional supply chain, millet farmers were not getting remunerative prices but being the members in Farmers’ Producer Organizations, the share in the consumer rupee was increased. The value chain approach was used for analyzing the supply chain aspects of millets to strengthen the linkages, increase efficiency, competitiveness, and profitability. The study was conducted during 2022-23 with ICAR-IIMR promoting FPOs. The establishment of a primary processing unit by ICAR-IIMR at the FPO farm gate through the FPO strengthened the millet value chain by engaging FPOs/SHGs/rural women/unemployed youth in preparing value-added products and delivering them through the GeM portal, ONDC, FPO Bazar, and e-commerce platforms. To meet the millet value chain challenges overall adoption of improved technologies, better market linkages, and increased investment in infrastructure were the key strategies. Primary processing, value-added technology adoption by FPOs and declaring minimum support price by the state government, and creating facilities to procure at MSP by establishing millet food parks, millet shakti cafes, and millet bazar were found key sources to generate better income.

Identifying Potential Supply Chain Bottlenecks Within the Ammunition Manufacturing Process for the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle

The U.S. Army is developing the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) to replace the Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV). The OMFV is slated to replace the BFV’s 25mm caliber gun with a 30mm or 50mm caliber gun. This analysis seeks to help inform the OMFV program's decision on round size by evaluating the supply chain aspects of each round. From stakeholder analysis, the primary supply chain concern is related to the casing material, with the 30 mm round using aluminum and the 50 mm round using steel. The manufacturing process for each round type was modeled in ProModel, including the supply chain issues related to steel and aluminum. The results indicated that both types of rounds are bottlenecked by steel limitations, since both rounds use steel projectiles. The study also indicated a larger variability in round cost for 50 mm rounds given the volatility of the steel market.

Significance of Sustainable Packaging: A Case-Study from a Supply Chain Perspective

The present case study-based research provides insights of the current packaging practices with a supply chain perspective and proposed sustainable packaging options that would cut down the environmental impact from supply chain operations at Midas Safety. The case study is based on qualitative research that used semi-structured open-ended interviews and observations to understand the current processes of the packaging and supply chain department of Midas Safety and how they are planning to adapt sustainability to their processes. Considering the current packaging practices, the study aimed to develop improved sustainable packaging practices with a supply chain aspect in order to cut down the negative environmental aspect such as standardization in packaging for all customers, elimination of wood pallets, developing local suppliers, change in packaging design, making the packaging more compact and lightweight, reducing carbon footprint and fuel consumption by encouraging trade through sea instead of air. The results concluded that internal factors such as alternate packaging material (like Mondi’s Aegispaper, Arjowiggins’ and Corrugated Bubble Wrap) along with the suggested sustainable packaging practices discussed above and external factors such as availability of local vendors are important requirements for successful sustainable packaging development.

New Zealand’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of its governance on the construction industry

The global COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the construction industry. The pandemic caused wide international disruption to employment, supply chain, costs, skills, and other aspects, and it caused huge uncertainty. Around the world, governments dealt with the crisis in different manners. This study investigates the ways New Zealand responded to this pandemic and examined the effects of its governance on the construction industry. This is done through examining and analysing government records and guidelines in response to COVID-19 at different stages and alert levels. Relevant government information portals and websites such as “Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment”, “Construction Sector Accord”, and “Covid.govt.nz” are investigated to find guidelines and information to help the construction industry respond to the impacts of COVID-19. These guidelines and information were compared to understand how similar these recommended responses were. The findings show the mitigating implications and solutions to the construction industry’s current disruption and demonstrate the similarity of the recommended solutions.

Financial Analysis and Hedging Strategy Analysis of Associated British Foods

A multinational food company may have to face various risks from its supply chain or other aspects. Hedging strategies by using financial derivatives such as futures contracts are useful for such companies to reduce their risks. This paper aims to make proposals for Associated British Foods (ABF) to reduce its risks by using the future contracts and options of its raw materials. Based on the analysis of the background and financial situation of ABF, it is suggested that future contracts of wheat and other raw materials and their options can be hedged. Long call, short call, bull spread, and bear spread are analyzed respectively based on the latest market data. The paper only takes one example of CHICAGO SRW WHEAT (ZWU2), but it is suggested that a number of related commodities can be hedged in similar methods.

A Brief Overview of Supply Chain Management and The Emergence of Quick Commerce in The Backdrop of Covid-19 Pandemic

This article succinctly describes all of the aspects of supply chain in the Indian setting and various supply chain management strategies. It also sheds light on how a new business model, such as fast commerce, is likely arise in the near future following the Covid 19 epidemic.

Blockchain Technology in Waste Management: Theoretical Evaluation for System Adoption

In recent years Blockchain technology has become increasingly important and accepted (i.e business sector, supply chain, and other aspects of sustainability). The purpose of this study was to determine the potential of Brewer spent yeast and determine the possibility of blockchain adoption in Brewer Spent Yeast (BSY) waste management. This study uses primary data and literature studies in the preparation of blockchain-based waste management. The data obtained were analyzed using the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method to extract the relationship between criteria within the blockchain framework. From the results of this study, it is known in the blockchain management aspect, it was found that the availability of technology and understanding of technology use insights were the most dominant cause criteria (Ri–Ci)>0.00. While the impact criteria with a value (Ri-Ci)<0.00 such as the criteria can be used for many sources of waste, cheaper transactions, and aspects of a culture of transparency in the implementation of waste treatment. The cause criteria will influence the effect criteria in the process of adopting the blockchain model in Brewer Spent Yeast (BSY) waste management.

Concurrent product-process-supply chain strategy formulation for small medium enterprises

Small-medium enterprises (SMEs) have the potentials to translate ideas into innovative products in a quick and efficient manner. Therefore, they should be supported to transform into well-established companies. However, SMEs often lack knowledge regarding operation and management. This study proposes three-dimensional concurrent engineering (3DCE) approach to help SMEs accelerate their growth through differentiation and efficiency, leading to high-quality yet low-cost products with efficient delivery. This study aimed to develop a strategic formulation framework incorporating the 3DCE concept in product functionality, concurrent process design, and appropriate supply chain solutions. The framework has been developed and implemented in food and beverage SME. Strategy development follows the traditional approach, including environmental analysis, strategy formulation, and strategy mapping. However, the result of environmental analysis extracted in the form of SWOT and Grand Strategy matrices are specifically piled into concurrent strategic theme covering the concurrent product, process, and supply chain aspects. Predominantly, product features covering the product innovation and functionality and process features covering segmentation-based and cross-functional process designs were tailored with innovative supply chain solutions based on the segmented model. The detailed framework and its implementation are highlighted accordingly.

Critical success factors to consider before digitizing a cell & gene therapy supply chain

Digital supply chains are challenging to implement, especially in fast-paced and burgeoning industries. It is important to be thoughtful and intentional in determining key supply chain aspects, such as a delivery and operational culture, the roadmap, and a decision-making methodology; before initiating a transformation to digital capabilities. This article outlines some key elements and lessons learned for consideration that could make or break a digital transformation.

Conceptual Model for Effects of the Buyer Supplier Relationship, Purchasing Process, and Measures of Performance in Supply Chains

Research into improving performance of supply chains is a dynamic field. As a result of the unpredictability of today's economic environment, a growing number of firms are looking for methods of improving performance indicators and exerting tighter management over their operations. The purchasing process and the buyer-supplier relationships are two aspects of modern retail supply chains that will be studied in depth, along with the contextual reasons that have led to their development in this particular cultural setting. The key objectives of this study are threefold: (1) to find the antecedents associated to each determinant; (2) to define the determinants themselves; and (3) to offer the conceptual model for this specific setting. This study contributes by developing an applicable conceptual framework for performance of supply chains for the preponderance of SMEs in China.

Assessment of Environmental Impacts from Different Perspectives-Case Study of Egg Value Chain System in Serbia.

The environmental performance of various aspects of animal origin food supply chains has been the focus of research in recent years, and has provided useful information. However, there were no studies that covered the entire egg supply chain from different perspectives. The aim of this study was to analyze the majority of environmental impacts in the table egg supply chain comprising of three subsystems: farms, retail outlets and households, with quantification of each individual subsystem and the entire supply chain. All data were gathered from 30 farms, 50 retail stores and 300 households in Serbia. In parallel, the perception and ranking of environmental impacts along the supply chain were also evaluated. Finally, the quality function deployment for the environment was used to determine the degree of correlation between the set of environmental requirements and the identified environmental impacts. Results revealed that the greatest environmental impacts come from the production of feed for laying hens and the use of natural resources, and they contribute the most to the pollution of each individual environmental indicator. Additionally, the results show the differences in the environmental impacts of each individual subsystem and identify opportunities to mitigate them through the optimization of animal feed, energy consumption and household food waste management. The overall perspective of the egg supply chain points to climate change effects as the most important. The differences in the perceptions of environmental impacts along the entire egg supply chain suggest the need for promotion of mitigation strategies to all stakeholders that would encourage them to achieve sustainable development goals.

Extending green supply chain practices through automation: Multinational best practices

This study simultaneously investigates the effect ‘greening’ has on supply chains and the effect injecting automation has upon these green supply chains. This article adapts the natural resource-based view of the firm, a theoretical perspective prevalent in management literature, to develop a conceptual framework. This study surveys 292 firms from multiple countries to test both relationships. Literature has laid the initial groundwork for multinational manufacturing efficiency studies that we build and expand upon. Multiple techniques were used to mitigate common method bias, including multiple survey responses per firm sampled, confirmatory factor analysis with Chi- square and Harman’s test of common method bias. We find automation generally lends itself to improving aspects of green supply chains regardless of global location of firms. With increasing automation levels, supply chain efficiency improves, thereby improving economic performance. Once automation is employed, there’s a positive effect that cascades through the entire supply chain.

Supply Chain and Logistics Management in Public Health Surveillance and Protection during COVID-19

Abstract COVID-19 shed light on the vulnerability of United States public health logistics and supply change management infrastructure concerning pandemic testing, tracking, and response. Logistics management challenges related to virus testing and tracking have made the critical need for more innovative and more comprehensive healthcare surveillance approaches. Public health surveillance is a critical and often underutilized aspect of public health logistics and supply chain infrastructure planning. Wastewater treatment infrastructures offer an innovative approach to gaining public health data to provide appropriate public health responses. Understanding the logistics and supply chain aspects of virus tracking, testing, and response data-driven response decision making are the key to mitigating the impact of future outbreaks. This project explores the utility of this approach through qualitative focus group interviewing to gain information from public health subject matter experts in the field.

Green Supply Chain Performance Measurement using Green SCOR Model in Agriculture Industry: A Case Study

The agriculture industry has proliferated in the last decades, increasing the envi­ron­mental footprint. Several development concepts include integrating the ecological aspect into the supply chain to reduce environmental degradation. In implementing the idea, companies in the agriculture industry need to evaluate their performance in the environmental area. This measure­ment uses the Green Supply Chain Operations Reference (GSCOR) Model that provides its entire supply chain aspect. This study demonstrates that the enable parameter criterion, which shows the magnitude of employee management toward environmental requirements, significantly impacts supply chain performance. Other criteria are also critical, such as a plan that considers every entity's usage and a source that considers the supply of the entities. The performance measurement produces a 6.357 value in the yellow color category with an average condition in the company. It produces three key performance indicators (KPI), such as water usage, percentage hazardous materials in inventory, and percentage hazardous waste, with a red classification that should be improved.

A review of reverse logistics and closed-loop supply chains in the perspective of circular economy

PurposeThis paper presents a systematic literature review of the various aspects of reverse logistics (RL) and closed-loop supply chains (CLSC) in implementing and achieving circular economy (CE) motives. CE is identified as a method of embracing imperishability into the economic structure, helping shift from a linear to a condition leading to ecological and social benefits.Design/methodology/approachSystematic literature was used to review a total of 80 peer-reviewed articles are included in the study and covers different concepts related to the implementation of CE, such as cost-saving, network design, sustainable RL, waste management and extended producer responsibility.FindingsThe findings reveal that the research in the domain is in a growing phase, and in recent years, a lot of attention has been given by researchers across the globe. However, further research is required in crucial areas for the adoption of CE, such as retail reverse logistics, pharmaceutical industries and resource recycling industry.Practical implicationsThe study discusses the business needs and solutions for industries. Key enablers and barriers are listed along with the main activities involved in each sector in CLSC. Managers can design a pathway to decide which lever to use to overcome a particular challenge.Originality/valueThe work contributes theoretically by developing research themes in RL and CLSC practices applied to CE. It also provides theoretical and practical implications of the study, which can be used as a signboard for further research.

Knowledge Management for Integration of Agricultural Supply Chain in India

Paper tries to explore the problems faced by Indian agriculture for food security in terms of inadequate infrastructure and highly inefficient supply chain in context of information technology. This paper broadly covers some of important aspects of agriculture supply chain in India-identification of issues at different levels in the supply chain; transformation in the agriculture due to various supply chain interventions; the role of information management in supply chain: and this paper also covers the suggestion to improve efficiency at different levels in supply chain. The paper concludes that information management plays very important role for development and contemporary issue for agriculture.

Saracura-Mirá, a Proposed Brazilian Amazonian Adaptogen from Ampelozizyphus amazonicus

The Amazon Forest is known all over the world for its diversity and exuberance, and for sheltering several indigenous groups and other traditional communities. There, as well as in several other countries, in traditional medical systems, weakness, fatigue and debility are seen as limiting health conditions where medicinal plants are often used in a non-specific way to improve body functions. This review brings together literature data on Ampelozizyphus amazonicus, commonly known in Brazil as “saracura-mirá” and/or “cerveja de índio”, as an Amazonian adaptogen, including some contributions from the authors based on their ethnographic and laboratory experiences. Topics such as botany, chemistry, ethnopharmacological and pharmacological aspects that support the adaptogen character of this plant, as well as cultivation, market status and supply chain aspects are discussed, and the gaps to establish “saracura-mirá” as an ingredient for the pharmaceutical purposes identified. The revised data presented good scientific evidence supporting the use of this Amazonian plant as a new adaptogen. Literature data also reveal that a detailed survey on natural populations of this plant is needed, as well as agronomical studies that could furnish A. amazonicus bark as a raw material. Another important issue is the lack of developed quality control methods to assure its quality assessment.

A Multiobjective Model for Optimizing Green Closed‐Loop Supply Chain Network under Uncertain Environment by NSGA‐II Metaheuristic Algorithm

Nowadays, due to growing development and competitiveness in global markets of products, companies are forced to make significant efforts for supply procurement, production, and goods distribution in order to survive in the market and be able to respond to their customers’ needs as quickly and cost‐efficiently as possible. In this regard, supply chain management is considered a crucial indicator. This study presents a multiobjective, multifacility, closed‐loop supply chain under uncertain environments considering green supply chain aspects. The model is designed with multiple products, periods, plants, customer markets, collection centers, recycle centers, distribution centers, return facilities, product recovery facilities, and suppliers. After modeling the study, the model is solved by the Nondominated Sorting Genetic Algorithms (NSGA‐II) in order to rank the optimum solutions. The efficiency of the research model is indicated by the results and depicted graphs in the present study. Results show that the exact value of the triple objective functions is calculated. Also, the problem is solved in small, medium, and large dimensions. Then, the accuracy of the proposed model compared to the metaheuristic method is shown. Finally, by performing sensitivity analysis, we showed that target functions are less sensitive to reducing the capacity of centers.