Chain Initiatives Research Articles

Digital Transformation Strategy of Macys: Addressing Challenges and Achieving Revival

Abstract: This study explores the challenges faced by Macys in the United States and its strategy for digital transformation. Firstly, it introduces the rise and fall of the U.S. department store industry and the challenges Macys faces as a representative of the traditional department store industry, such as the rise of e-commerce and changes in consumer shopping habits. Then, taking Macys as a case study, it describes its digital transformation strategy, Polaris, including cost reduction, accelerated digitization, reshaping the supply chain and other initiatives and the results achieved. It then proposes specific plans for staffing adjustments, enterprise transaction process optimization and online business model modifications. Finally, the challenges that may be faced in implementing digital transformation programs, such as data silos, change management and financial overheads, are analyzed, and solutions are proposed. By summarizing and learning from the successful experiences of modern enterprises, this study proposes a series of feasible digital transformation plans for Macy's to emerge from the predicament of the traditional department store industry, meet the challenges of the digital era, and achieve a renaissance.

Nexus supplier transparency and supply network accessibility: effects on buyer ESG risk exposure

PurposeThis paper investigates the role of nexus supplier transparency, which involves the collective information disclosure to the public by second-tier nexus suppliers, as an alternative mechanism for mitigating buyer environmental, social and governance (ESG) risk exposure. We also examine buyer supply network accessibility as a moderating factor that facilitates collecting detailed information and undertaking corrective actions accordingly.Design/methodology/approachWe collected a sample of 428 focal buyer firms and their supply networks up to third-tier suppliers. Data were obtained from Bloomberg and RepRisk databases. We identified critical nexus suppliers using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and tested hypotheses using regression analysis.FindingsThe results show that the benefits of nexus supplier transparency, such as reducing buyer ESG risk exposure, differ depending on the type of nexus supplier disclosing information and buyer supply network accessibility. Informational nexus supplier transparency was found to be beneficial. However, the results revealed the double-edged sword of monopolistic nexus supplier transparency, which benefits buyers with higher levels of accessibility but increases risk exposure for buyers with lower accessibility.Originality/valueThis study demonstrates that the transparency of critical second-tier suppliers mitigates buyer ESG risk exposure by providing information about lower tiers in the supply network. Challenging the notion of the focal buyer as the main orchestrator of supply chain initiatives, our alternative perspective opens a new avenue for risk management in multi-tier supply chains.

Barriers to sustainable supply chain initiatives in the petrochemical industry: a case study in the Saudi Arabia sector

Barriers to sustainable supply chain initiatives in the petrochemical industry: a case study in the Saudi Arabia sector

Land conflicts from overlapping claims in Brazil’s rural environmental registry

Satellite-based land use monitoring and farm-level traceability offer opportunities for targeted zero-deforestation interventions on private lands. Brazil's Rural Environmental Registry (Cadastro Ambiental Rural, or "CAR"), a land cadaster based on self-declaration of property boundaries, was created to monitor compliance with national forest laws. It has become an important enabling measure for sustainable supply chain initiatives like the Amazon Soy Moratorium. However, CAR enrollment is increasingly used to bolster illegal land claims, putting it at the heart of land grabbing dynamics. Self-declaration of properties in the CAR offers a unique situation to study land conflicts and their impact on land use decisions on a large scale. We quantified competing land claims among 846,420 registrations in the Brazilian Legal Amazon and applied a series of generalized linear mixed-effects models. We determined that CAR overlaps are more prevalent on larger registrations, in more densely settled areas, and in areas with less secure land tenure. We tested how landholders respond to land conflicts, finding significantly more deforestation and declared legal forest reserve on lands with multiple claims. CAR overlap results in an overestimation of forest reserves by up to 9.7 million hectares when considering double-counted and deforested areas of reserves, highlighting an overlooked form of Forest Code noncompliance. While the CAR continues to be used as evidence of land tenure, we conclude that the formalization of land claims through self-declarations is inadequate to decrease conflicts. CAR overlap information provides objective evidence of land conflict that authorities can leverage with field inspection to ensure peaceful occupation before issuing land titles.

Smallholder participation in zero-deforestation supply chain initiatives in the Indonesian palm oil sector: Challenges, opportunities, and limitations

As actors in tropical agricultural commodity supply chains implement commitments to end deforestation, they risk exacerbating social inequities by excluding smallholder farmers, who are important producers of many tropical commodity crops. Here, we explore the potential for independent oil palm smallholders in Indonesia to participate in zero-deforestation supply chains. We find that these smallholders are underrepresented in the share of zero-deforestation compliant oil palm production. We then synthesize perspectives from key actors in the oil palm industry including smallholders and their representatives, palm oil producing and consulting companies, nongovernmental organizations, and academic researchers. Based on these perspectives, we find that challenges to smallholder supply chain participation include limitations in knowledge (e.g., smallholders may not know the location of protected forests), institutional issues (e.g., absence of trust between oil palm growing companies and smallholder farmers), and financial constraints (e.g., the opportunity cost of not clearing forest). To address these shortcomings, we encourage oil palm growing and milling companies to take the lead on incentivizing, supporting, and facilitating smallholder participation in zero-deforestation initiatives. Specifically, these companies could build and use their technical and political resources to identify and map all forests in their entire supply shed and ensure small producers have land rights that enable participation in zero-deforestation supply chains. These policy levers would need to be combined with economic incentives such as access to improved inputs or price premia for their products. However, we caution that smallholder integration into existing zero-deforestation supply chains alone is unlikely to result in significant additional forest conservation at scale in Indonesia due to selection bias, leakage, and existing land tenure norms. Community-led and jurisdictional or landscape-scale supply chain initiatives that acknowledge multi-commodity production are more likely to provide equitable and just avenues for Indonesian smallholder farmers to steward forest resources.

7 Industry Leaders Share Their Insights on the Past, Present, and Future of Artificial Lift

_ In the past 25 years, the artificial lift industry has seen incredible changes, making hydrocarbon production smarter and more efficient. In this Q&A article, JPT talks with seven industry leaders from this field about its past, present, and future. This conversation showcases the technological progress such as materials, digital tools, and automation and the strategic leadership that has guided the industry to new heights. Join us as we dive into the world of artificial lift and discover the innovation and expertise shaping the future of energy. This roundtable Q&A includes the following participants: - Greg Stephenson, chief production engineer, Occidental Petroleum - Michael Romer, principal artificial lift engineer, ExxonMobil - Laura Labrador, senior production engineer, Ecopetrol, and 2023–2024 chairman of the SPE Artificial Lift and Gas Well Deliquification Technical Section - Shauna Noonan, Oxy Fellow and senior director global supply chain initiatives, Occidental Petroleum - Jose Ernesto Jaua, global product champion, SLB - Kevin Leslie, vice president artificial lift solutions, Weatherford International - Dana Meadows, global portfolio director, artificial lift systems, Baker Hughes JPT: Can you recall an experience, technical paper, or mentor that significantly influenced your early career in artificial lift? How did it shape your approach? _ Stephenson: Numerous individuals impact my early career, the most noteworthy being Herald Winkler, who was in the first class of SPE’s Legends of Artificial Lift awarded in 2014. I traveled to my first ATCE in New Orleans as a first-year petroleum engineering student. I distinctly remember walking the exhibit floor and seeing this little guy get mobbed by people asking him questions. I asked one of my fellow students, ‘Who is that guy? Tom Cruise?’ He told me, ‘No. That’s Wink.’ I then learned that Wink was one of the pioneers of gas-lift technology and wrote the first definitive book on the subject. At that moment, I realized that artificial lift might offer a viable career path for me. Eventually, I got to know him personally, first as a student and then as an artificial lift professional. One of the most impactful conversations I had with him was one in which he told me, ‘I am not a gas-lift expert. You cannot be an expert in gas lift—the field is too complex. I’m still learning things, and I’ve been doing this for over 60 years!’ That encounter taught me to be humble in approaching my craft and never assume I knew everything.

Effect of risk aversion on the performance of supply chain and carbon reducing initiatives under asymmetric information

AbstractThis paper considers a supply chain in which the risk‐averse manufacturer invests in carbon emission reduction (CER) technology and the risk‐averse retailer makes green sales efforts to reduce carbon footprint. The results show that when the information is symmetrical, the two‐part tariff contract can eliminate the double‐marginalization effect. Moreover, when the information is asymmetric, the manufacturer encourages retailer to report true market size and improve green sales effort by providing an incentive contract. This menu of contract ensures the manufacturer obtains more utilities with low carbon emissions. In addition, through the analysis of risk aversion coefficients, we find that under centralized decision, with the improvement of risk aversion awareness, both supply chain players will reduce the green efforts. However, under asymmetric information, compared with the manufacturer, the retailer's higher risk aversion will have an opposite effect on the equilibrium decision‐making, utilities, and carbon footprint of the supply chain.

Influence of Supply Chain Integration Practices on Operation Performance at Trans-Nzoia County Government Treasury, Kenya

Supply chain integration practices are considered a powerful weapon to gain competitive advantages and linking performance measurement systems to supply chain integration practices can lead to increased success of supply chain initiatives. This study sought to analyze the influence of supply chain integration practices on operation performance at Trans-Nzoia County Government Treasury, Kenya. Porter's Value Chain Theory and Systems Theory guided the study. This study employed a descriptive research design. Data collection involved a diverse group of participants, totalling 1207 individuals, from which a sample size of 121 respondents was determined. Descriptive data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 28, enabling the examination of both quantitative and qualitative information through coding. The research instrument, a five-point Likert scale questionnaire, demonstrated high reliability through its internal consistency, with a Cronbach's Alpha correlation coefficient exceeding 0.7. To assess the data both descriptively and inferentially, statistical techniques, including means, standard deviations, Pearson's correlation, and regression analysis, were employed. The findings highlighted the significant impact of supply chain integration practices, encompassing efficient consumer response practices, customer relationship management practices, vendor-managed inventory practices, and enterprise resource planning practices on operation performance at Trans-Nzoia County Government Treasury. The regression analysis revealed that when considered together, these practices explained 73.4% of the variance in operation performance. Furthermore, a positive correlation was observed between these supply chain integration practices and operation performance. Based on these insightful findings, the study recommended a more substantial incorporation of supply chain integration practices, particularly in efficient consumer response practices, customer relationship management practices, vendor-managed inventory practices, and enterprise resource planning practices. These implications held value for various stakeholders, including policymakers, government entities, researchers, and academics. By providing actionable insights, this research facilitated informed decision-making, ultimately contributing to the enhanced operation performance at Trans-Nzoia County Government Treasury, Kenya.

Assessing organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behavior in ensuring the smoothness of the supply chain for medical hospital needs towards a green hospital: Evidence from Indonesia

This research examined the relationships between Organizational Commitment, Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB), the Supply Chain, and Green Hospital practices in a healthcare setting. A cross-sectional study was conducted using self-reported data from healthcare employees. Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the relationships and mediation effects. The study confirmed that Organizational Commitment positively impacts the Supply Chain and Green Hospital practices. Similarly, Organizational Citizenship Behavior significantly influences the Supply Chain and Green Hospital initiatives. The Supply Chain was found to have a positive impact on Green Hospital practices and served as a mediator in the relationships between Organizational Commitment and Green Hospital and Organizational Citizenship Behavior and Green Hospital. The research provides valuable insights for healthcare organizations seeking to enhance their sustainability efforts. Fostering Organizational Commitment and Organizational Citizenship Behavior among employees can contribute to more efficient supply chain operations and environmentally responsible practices. The study underscores the crucial role of supply chain management in translating commitment and proactive behaviors into tangible sustainability initiatives. The research is context-specific, and using self-reported data and a cross-sectional design may limit generalizability. Future studies should explore these relationships in diverse settings and consider longitudinal or mixed-method approaches.

Customs intelligence and risk management in sustainable supply chain for general customs department logistics

In this descriptive analytical study conducted within the Jordanian Customs Department, the influence of Customs Intelligence and Risk Management on Sustainable Supply Chain practices and their subsequent effects on Customs Department Logistics were investigated. Data collected through a structured questionnaire distributed to department employees were analyzed using Smart PLS-4. The findings revealed that Customs Intelligence significantly shapes Sustainable Supply Chain practices, emphasizing the importance of data driven decision-making in achieving sustainability goals. Effective Risk Management strategies were found to positively contribute to Sustainable Supply Chain initiatives, highlighting the symbiotic relationship between risk mitigation and sustainability. Sustainable Supply Chain practices, in turn, were demonstrated to enhance the efficiency of Customs Department Logistics. Furthermore, the study unveiled that Sustainable Supply Chain acts as a mediator, enhancing the impact of both Risk Management and Customs Intelligence on Logistics outcomes. These findings collectively underscore the intricate dynamics of these factors in the context of the Jordanian Customs Department, providing valuable insights for optimizing logistics operations, ensuring compliance, and fostering sustainability. This paper contributes valuable insights and empirical evidence to the fields of customs-related logistics, risk management, sustainable supply chain management, and logistics operations within the Jordanian Customs Department. The paper provides recommendations that have the potential to inform and improve logistics practices, benefiting stakeholders in both the public and private sectors and advancing the understanding of these critical dynamics in the broader logistics and supply chain management discipline.

Exports and economic growth: relationships and threshold analysis for the Southern Africa customs union

This study examines the short-run and long-run relationships between exports and economic growth in the Sothern Africa Customs Union (SACU), as well as the corresponding threshold level. The study used panel data covering the period 1980 to 2021 and employed the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) Bounds to test for co-integration relationships, and the Generalized Least Squares (GLS) to determine the respective threshold level. Exports positively support economic growth both in the short-run and in the long-run in SACU. There is long-run bidirectional causality between exports and economic growth. The minimum threshold for exports is 59%. That is, exports only start contributing significantly to economic growth when they are above 59% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). SACU should put in place economic policies and regulations that are skewed towards the improvement of the competitiveness of its local products on the global market and also strategically consider export-oriented industrialization strategies. Efforts should also be channeled towards the implementation of bilateral and multilateral trade agreements and harnessing the synergic benefits through the adoption of deliberate value chain mechanisms and initiatives.

How reverse logistics and sustainable supply chain initiatives influence sustainability performance: the moderating role of organisational learning capability

PurposeThis research attempts to explore how reverse logistics (RL) and sustainable supply chain initiatives (SSCI) affect sustainability performance (SP) in the manufacturing industry under the moderating effects of organisational learning capability (OLC). At the same time, this study is expected to allow manufacturers to advance towards a high level of model generation in the green economy.Design/methodology/approachThe data for this study was obtained from 451 manufacturing companies in the Hebei Province, China. This study develops a model and tests all hypothesised relationships using partial least square–structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) with two-step analytical procedures.FindingsThe results indicate that SSCI and RL have a positive relationship with SP, and SSCI is positively related to RL. Moreover, the OLC moderates the relationship between RL and SP as well as the relationship between SSCI and SP.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings of the study yield valuable managerial insights on how the effective implementation of green practices, coupled with the utilisation of learning capabilities, can contribute to improving the sustainability of manufacturing firms. The study has certain limitations that suggest potential avenues for future research, the most significant of which is our reliance on data from a single country, which may impede the generalisability of the findings.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the existing literature on SP by considering RL and SSCI and offers a unique theoretical argument that describes the relationships by considering the moderating effect of OLC, which has not been empirically explored.

A literature survey on healthcare supply chain management

Supply Chain Management (SCM) is a practice that has rapidly spread across industries. SCM may boost output while simultaneously satisfying customers. Despite SCM's recognition as a key factor in enhancing healthcare efficiency, widespread adoption remains in its infancy. Hospitals, a crucial element of the healthcare supply chain (HSC), have failed to fulfill the primary goals of lowering costs and providing high-quality treatment due to their inadequate knowledge of supply chain management (SCM). This research was conducted to fill in the blanks in the current HSC literature. Achieving the healthcare supply chain's goal of reducing costs will be greatly aided by the thorough literature study completed for this report. This review of healthcare supply chain management can quantify the benefits of supply chain initiatives and identify opportunities for improvement. Healthcare institutions can make informed decisions on optimizing their supply chains by understanding customer and supplier needs. This includes making strategic decisions on how to improve inventory management, streamline processes and reduce costs. The focus of this study is on the relationship between supply chain practices, the efficiency of supply chain performance, and the financial outcomes for healthcare organizations. By highlighting certain key research issues that are shared by supply chain management and healthcare management, this article contributes to the literature in both areas.

Herbal medicine promotion for a restorative bioeconomy in tropical forests: A reality check on the Brazilian Amazon

Herbal medicine has experienced a renaissance both for health reasons and as part of a bioeconomy for regions rich in biodiversity and traditional knowledge. Medicinal plant value chains can promote local development and sustainable livelihoods that are critical for forest frontiers in need of inclusive economic alternatives. This sector can become an example of restorative bioeconomy, which not only maintains but enhances nature's contributions to people – notably to historically marginalized actors such as Indigenous peoples. However, a reality check is due. Using the Amazon as an emblematic case study, this article examines Brazil's context and policy framework on herbal medicine promotion. It draws from a literature review as well as 23 key-informant interviews and field visits to 10 local herbal medicine value chain initiatives. Our findings expose a closing window of opportunity, as while deforestation and forest degradation advances, Brazil's herbal medicine promotion has fallen short of its potentials for development and inclusiveness. Insufficient attention to traditional knowledge or to research on Brazil's native biodiversity, regulatory stringency without converse support to integrate marginalized actors, and ambivalent social acceptability of herbal medicine have been key barriers to advancing the sector. We conclude that herbal medicine offers a clear case of restorative bioeconomy with double potential to address historical inequalities both on healthcare access and socioeconomic inclusiveness, but delivering on that requires much more participatory research, attention to local capacity enhancement, and a better understanding of herbal medicine promotion in multicultural social settings.

China reshaping green value chain initiatives: between global and Southern standards

The paper contributes to the growing debate about how China drives change in institutions and norms of global governance. It analyses the case study of China’s approach to transnational voluntary sustainability standards as concrete tools of Western-sponsored green value chain initiatives, between integration and contestation. Engaging international political economy scholarship, the paper shows that China participates in such initiatives by reshaping their focus away from contested market-based approaches to more internationally consensual state-led ones. This stance indicates that China’s reshaping of international norms and institutions conveys claims made by Global South alliances. These alliances are increasingly important for China, not only politically and militarily but also economically and for the success of key initiatives, like the Belt and Road Initiative.

Vaccine traceability: Key learnings from the supply chain initiative by manufacturers from emerging countries

The use of global standards, and the placement of barcodes and data matrix codes on vaccine labels and other levels of packaging are crucial elements for the traceability of finished vaccine products. Vaccine manufacturers are committed to improving health through their products, as vaccine production offers opportunities that can be leveraged to benefit immunization systems. In 2019 the Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers Network (DCVMN) created the Supply Chain Initiative aimed at prioritize and explore traceability opportunities; concomitantly procurement agencies announced traceability requirements for vaccine global supply. Vaccine traceability brings benefits including supply chain reliability and safety through enhanced product movement visibility, and a reduction of falsified and expired vaccines circulating in the supply chain. DCVMN has coordinated the development and implementation of global traceability standards, at both primary and secondary vaccine packaging levels, to encourage and enable sharing these experiences. Six pilot studies in four different countries showed successful implementation, and constituted part of larger vaccine traceability work within the respective organizations. The main findings from these pilot studies indicated that stepwise approaches to the adoption of traceability standards allowed vaccine manufacturers to learn by doing, initially with lower risk, and to spread their investments over time. Because the value of traceability is in its scale of adoption and the use of the data, it remains important for all stakeholders to engage in and prioritize the journey of vaccine traceability, but also to suitably manage the financial risks. The DCVMN Supply Chain Initiative has demonstrated that its members are committed to driving supply system changes that benefit immunization, while recognizing that supply chain traceability is part of a larger healthcare ecosystem and should be adopted by countries and immunization programmes as well.

A literature survey on healthcare supply chain management

Supply Chain Management (SCM) is a practice that has rapidly spread across industries. SCM may boost output while simultaneously satisfying customers. Despite SCM's recognition as a key factor in enhancing healthcare efficiency, widespread adoption remains in its infancy. Hospitals, a crucial element of the healthcare supply chain (HSC), have failed to fulfill the primary goals of lowering costs and providing high-quality treatment due to their inadequate knowledge of supply chain management (SCM). This research was conducted to fill in the blanks in the current HSC literature. Achieving the healthcare supply chain's goal of reducing costs will be greatly aided by the thorough literature study completed for this report. This review of healthcare supply chain management can quantify the benefits of supply chain initiatives and identify opportunities for improvement. Healthcare institutions can make informed decisions on optimizing their supply chains by understanding customer and supplier needs. This includes making strategic decisions on how to improve inventory management, streamline processes and reduce costs. The focus of this study is on the relationship between supply chain practices, the efficiency of supply chain performance, and the financial outcomes for healthcare organizations. By highlighting certain key research issues that are shared by supply chain management and healthcare management, this article contributes to the literature in both areas.

Sequential Impact of Green Supply Chain Initiatives on Sustainable Performance: Food and Beverage Processing SMEs in Australia

Sequential Impact of Green Supply Chain Initiatives on Sustainable Performance: Food and Beverage Processing SMEs in Australia

Deforestation-Free Commodity Supply Chains: Myth or Reality?

Since the early 2000s, many private companies, public-private coalitions, and governments have committed to remove deforestation from commodity supply chains. Despite these zero-deforestation commitments (ZDCs), high rates of deforestation persist and may even be increasing. On the upside, a few region- and commodity-specific ZDCs have contributed to reductions by up to hundreds of thousands of hectares of deforestation, with mixed evidence on associated leakage. ZDCs have also spurred progress in monitoring, traceability, and awareness of deforestation. On the downside, as currently implemented, supply chain initiatives only cover a small share of tropical deforestation. Government- and company-led ZDCs are just two components of broader policy mixes aimed at reducing deforestation. To be more impactful, ZDCs needs to cover entire biomes, supply bases of companies, and export and domestic markets, with special attention not to exclude marginal producers.

Sustainable supply chain and circular economy ingenuities in small manufacturing firms- a stimulus for sustainable development

The corporate world is facing the mounting challenges of environment, governance and sustainability for growth and survival in an unpredictable business and environment climate. As the supply chains responsible for four fifths of gas emissions, has made a shift from linear to circular, created a lot of attention of academia, governments, and practitioners. This study provides evaluating the impact of the supply chain and circular economy initiatives of small business units on their sustainable value based corporate performance by practicing sustainable circular supply chain activities. In addition, it provides a clear sway of sustainable supply chain activities have any influence on the circular economic, social and environmental factors. Based on this uniqueness, the researchers proposed a framework to identify the linkage and the impact of the strategic approach, the sustainable circular supply chain initiatives with its corporate value-based performance for small manufacturing units. Data was collected using a pre-tested questionnaire from 486 respondents which includes the Chief Operations Officers in small paper bag manufacturing units located in the business clusters of region of Tamil Nadu. The findings have clinched that the initiatives of SCM, structuring the circular economy practices leads to sustainable circular supply chain management practices in supplier management, warehousing, inventory, distribution and logistics, which led to provide the value based corporate performance as resulted in analysis.