Choice Of Suppliers Research Articles

Lessons learned and new approaches to stockpiling for public health emergencies

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need to improve preparedness for emerging health threats. This includes reserving assets for use in health emergencies, such as, shelters, energy supply items, and a stockpile of medical countermeasures (MCMs). Learnings from the recent pandemic are key to improving future strategies for preparedness in Ireland and across Europe. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with key representatives in France, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and Norway. These countries were chosen as they have a similar threat profile to Ireland. The interviews aimed to understand the national approach taken in each country to stockpiling of MCMs for public health emergencies. Interview summaries were developed and reviewed by key representatives for clarity. Thematic analysis was conducted. Results All of the key representatives interviewed were working within their associated Department of Health, or a government affiliated public health agency. Themes and key findings identified included scope and current stockpiling approaches; cost considerations and efficiency, and an understanding of how stockpiling approaches have evolved overtime. While some countries stockpiled items such as facemasks, gloves and ventilators during the COVID-19 pandemic, this is being reviewed, due to the high costs involved. Additionally, all countries reported that waste due to unused stock was a challenge, however, the use of stock rotation can reduce stock waste. Choice of supplier is also key for security of supply. Using indigenous suppliers can facilitate a scale up of supply in times of crises. Conclusions National MCMs stockpiles are a key resource that may be deployed as part of a response to health emergencies and disasters. Reducing waste was a key priority and challenge for all countries. Measures identified to reduce waste in future included active management of stockpiles, stock rotation and the use of indigenous suppliers. Key messages • As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries are reviewing their current approach to stockpiling. • Key issues for countries included preventing waste and ensuring security of MCM supply.

Moving milk and shifting risk: A mixed methods assessment of food safety risks along informal dairy value chains in Kisumu, Kenya

Animal sourced foods (ASF) are important for global food security and in mitigating the impact of undernutrition. Across Sub-Saharan Africa, demand and urbanization continue to increase, creating a greater divide between farm-level production and consumption. Food safety residues including antibiotics and aflatoxin residues often originate at the production site, and risk can shift as milk is transported. In 2022, milk samples (n = 190) were collected from eight milk vendors in Kisumu, Kenya and tested for betalactams and aflatoxins with cut off values of 300 parts per billion (ppb) and 200 parts per trillion (ppt), respectively. Data was collected on the origin and containers of each sample, and the eight vendors responded to an open-ended questionnaire regarding the structure and challenges in their milk business.Aflatoxin residues were detected in 7 % (13/190) of samples with no samples (0/190) testing positive for antibiotic residues. Overall, 80 % samples were collected from metal transportation containers, and no milk containers >20 l tested positive for aflatoxins. The origin location(s) of milk was not significantly associated with residues (p = 0.44). Vendor questionnaire data were summarized into three themes: 1) Physical properties of milk are understood to influence quality, 2) Fluctuating availability of milk impacts profits and is the main influence on choice of supplier, and 3) Trust and rapport among value chain actors are key to mitigating business challenges.Our results indicate that farm-level practices around antibiotic use is not posing a major milk safety risk to urban consumers. Use of large 50-l containers for transporting milk may be protective as risk of aflatoxin residues is diluted below key thresholds. We recommend supporting existing relationships and identifying drivers that build trust among informal value chain actors which could strengthen collaboration and allow actors to move towards a shared goal of reliable and safe milk available for urban consumers.

Research on the recycling decision of WEEE in rural China under dual supervision

Against the backdrop of promoting green, low-carbon, and high-quality development, this paper aims to promote efficient recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) in rural China. In this paper, considering the integrated development of urban and rural areas and the standardization of industrial recycling system, under the joint action of the extension of producer responsibility and “dual regulation” of supply and marketing cooperatives, the evolutionary game model and system dynamics model of three-level recycling network of farmers, supply and marketing cooperatives and retailers are established. The mechanism of the participants to promote the recycling of WEEE in rural areas is discussed and the strategic choices and interactive relationships of various entities in the evolutionary process were used to analyze through the evolutionary game method. Meanwhile, using the theory of system dynamics, the main influencing factors of different evolution stages and the dynamic change process of the system are analyzed. The results show that: (1) supply and marketing cooperatives, retailers, and farmers can initially tend to participate in and supervise the recycling of WEEE; however, (2) they can finally achieve strong supervision, actively undertake and participate in the recycling and stabilization stable strategy of rural WEEE depends on their benefits and cost of expenditure expenditures are reasonable. (3) The strategic choice of supply and marketing cooperatives has the most significant impact on the strategic choice of retailers and the strategic choice of retailers has the most significant impact on the strategic choice of farmers.

Proses Negosiasi Antara UMKM A.M Tahu Dan Pemasok Bahan Baku Produksi

SME’s are an industry that play an important role in the Indonesia’s economic development. A.M Tahu as one of SME’s have problems in fulfilling raw materials. The existence of special orders and moral hazard from suppliers were often obstacles in the production process so that A.M. Tahu is needed to make a negotiation process to get affordable prices, good quality, and flexibility in the quantity of raw materials with a limited choice of suppliers. The negotiation process certainly does not immediately reach the desired agreement, but efforts need to be made to convince both parties. The research aims to determine the negotiation process that occurs between A.M Tahu and raw material suppliers in reaching agreements. The types of data used in this study are primary and secondary data using AHP (Analysis Hierarchy Process) analysis methods and qualitative descriptive. The results showed that the negotiation process for A.M Tahu has several stages in reaching an agreement between the two parties, including starting from preparation, meetings, offers, and finally agreements. A.M Tahu gets a more convenient raw material price of Rp3,000 per kilo than the price should be, soybean quantity flexibility, and good quality assurance of soybean grain raw materials. A.M Tahu is also prioritized to choose suppliers who are outside the sub-district, and make raw material variables the main thing to consider in supplier selection.

Choosing of Telecommunications Equipment Suppliers Based on the Choquet Integral and Fuzzy Measure Variance Minimization

Telecommunications equipment suppliers play an important role in the functioning of corporations with large-scale distributed computer networks such as system integrators, Internet service providers and others. An important condition of sustainable development for these companies is effective and reasonable decision making concerning the choice of suppliers. At the same time, the amount of information to be considered in many industries for making decisions has grown several times. In accordance with the above, decision making support systems for the reliable choice of suppliers started to be developed. At the same time, the approaches to designing such systems possess some disadvantages. In order to overcome these disadvantages this article suggests an approach to decision making support for choosing telecommunication equipment suppliers based on the Choquet Integral and minimization of fuzzy measure variance. It deals with the task of criteria normalization, fuzzy measure identification, gives examples of expert estimations for criteria and also the results of supplier assessments based on which the decision is made.

REDUCTION OF FOOD COSTS AND WASTE IN PRE-PREPARATION OF MEALS BY IMPLEMENTING TECHNICAL TOKENS IN A FORTALEZA-CEARÁ FOOD AND NUTRITION UNIT

The Food and Nutrition (HFS) is a unit which develops activities related to food and nutrition, providing safe meals. To reduce waste, it can be used to produce sheet (FTP) that it is an effective tool for the control of production of foodstuffs both in financial as well as nutrition. This work aims to standardize and reduce waste in the pre-preparation and cost of preparations by deploying factsheets on a Power Unit Nutrition business in Fortaleza-Ceará. This is an observational study, prospective, descriptive quantitative, with six days of execution. The fact sheets were made of five (5) dishes present in the unit in which menu was composed of entrance, main dishes, base plate, trim and desserts. Among the FC obtained in this study there was a significant variation in the results available in the literature, making it possible to compare the losses, evaluation of raw materials, storage, receipt and hand labor used. With the reduction of factors, therefore there was a reduction in the cost of the preparation of the meals, as FC interfere with cost values, the sales price is an important factor in determining the profit of the company. Based on the data presented, it is concluded that this data sheet is a very important tool for the units of food and nutrition, it provides a reduction in waste and cost of preparations, and contribute to the choice of supplier, upon receipt, storage , handling, assisting in the planning of purchasing, control production costs and providing a standard and quality of meals.

SELECTION OF SUPPLIERS UNDER CONDITIONS OF UNCERTAINTY AS A COMPONENT OF PROCUREMENT MARKETING

The choice of suppliers of material and technical resources is one of the most important decisions in procurement marketing. Effective decisions on the selection of suppliers are the basis for creating a database of sources of supply. The aim of the study is to analyse approaches to the selection of suppliers of material and technical resources in procurement marketing and substantiate the directions of increasing its efficiency under conditions of uncertainty.In order to make a balanced selection of suppliers, the authors propose an algorithm for organising procurement activities and criteria for evaluating potential suppliers, substantiating the use of a multi-criteria approach that allows a balanced approach to the selection of a supplier. The main criteria and scale for evaluating suppliers of material resources for the SE "Arena Lviv" are determined, and the results of their expert evaluation are presented.The algorithm for organising procurement activities and the multi-criteria approach to selecting suppliers, developed by the authors, can be recommended for enterprises and organisations engaged in procurement activities.

Hours of work and the long‐run effects of in‐work transfers

AbstractPolicymakers have increasingly turned to ‘in‐work transfers’ to boost incomes among poorer workers and strengthen work incentives. One attraction of these is that labour supply elasticities are typically greatest at the extensive margin. Because in‐work transfers are normally subject to earnings‐related phase‐outs, they tend to most strongly incentivize part‐time work, weakening incentives to increase hours beyond that. But if part‐time work generates relatively little in the way of human capital and career progression, then policy design should factor in the longer‐term consequences of labour supply choices along the intensive margin. To that end, we use a dynamic model of female labour supply with endogenous human capital accumulation, and study actual and hypothetical welfare reforms in the UK. We show that for a given expansion in the government budget, those reforms that incentivize full‐time work can do considerably more to increase incomes, including among poorer households, and to raise welfare. Our results suggest that in‐work transfers could be refined by paying greater attention to the intensive margin effects through the design of their phase‐outs.

Pineapple-based agroforestry in Bangladesh: Determinants of market choice and quantity of supply decision

Agroforestry is a land-use system integrating trees, crops, and sometimes livestock, offering a promising solution for both environment and agricultural resilience. The primary objectives of the study were to examine the determinants of market choice and quantity of market supply of pineapple in the agroforestry system in the Sal-forest under Tangail district in Bangladesh. Data were collected by using stratified randomly selected 200 pineapple farmers of Madhupur sub-district in Bangladesh and conducted 15 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and 2 In-depth Interviews (IDIs). The study employed a multivariate probit model and multivariate linear regression. The pineapple farmers simultaneously selected 3 markets to maximize their profit: local market, district market and central market. Small and medium farmers are more likely to sell their products in local markets, and large farms are more likely to sell products in central and district markets. Multivariate probit regression analysis showed that training, farm size, and farmer ambition negatively influence local market selection by farmers. Ethnicity, training, experience, farm size, and knowledge of quality requirements had a positive influence on district market selection. Investment in production and uncertainty in buyers’ stability had a negative influence on central market selection. Multivariate linear regression analysis indicated that the age of respondents, total production, and association involvement positively impacted quantity of supply in the local market. Training, total production, and farmers’ ambition positively impacted district market supply. Farm size and average price of the pineapple positively impacted the quantity supply in the central market. The district and central markets offered better returns although several obstacles limited pineapple producers’ access to these markets. The uncertainty of buyers in accessing the central market (more profitable markets) needs to be addressed by stakeholders to encourage more agroforestry pineapple-based producers to select the right markets.

Analysis of manufacturers' dual‐source and dual‐channel strategies under the trend of brand weakening

AbstractIn the context of the world economic downturn, consumers are showing a trend of brand weakening. In order to explore the product advantages of the source manufacturer, that is, the competitive supplier, we establish a game theory model to study the strategy choice of original equipment manufacturers (OEM), competitive suppliers (CS), and noncompetitive suppliers (NS) based on consumer heterogeneity. By dividing consumers into quality consumers and ordinary consumers and considering horizontal competition (between suppliers) and vertical competition (between OEM and suppliers), it is found that the products of the source manufacturers are becoming more and more popular with consumers. Contrary to the traditional view, we find that under the trend of brand weakening, the products of the source manufacturers should be positioned above the price range acceptable to consumers, and the OEM products of the brand owners should be appropriately reduced. The interesting question is whether CS will discontinue the supply of OEM components once it has its own branded products. Further, we analyze that CS terminating the component sales business is an untrustworthy threat to OEM. Finally, we find that there will be a “win–win” zone between OEM and competing suppliers, and the “win–win” region will decrease as the manufacturing cost of the competing supplier increases and increase as the manufacturing cost of the noncompeting supplier increases.

Green Supplier Selection Using Fuzzy AHP, Fuzzy TOSIS, and Fuzzy WASPAS: A Case Study of the Moroccan Automotive Industry

The green supplier selection presents numerous challenges, from initial assessment to final selection, which specialists in this field of supplier management often encounter. Among the techniques that aim to meet these challenges that are continually progressing is the creation and development of high-quality decision-making tools. In this study, the assessment of suppliers hinges on both traditional and environmental factors. A framework of multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) is announced in order to appraise green supplier selection. This framework integrates Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) combined with two additional methods: WASPAS (“Weighted Aggregated Sum-Product Assessment”) and TOPSIS (“Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution”). At the outset, there were five environmental criteria for green supplier selection: “Health and Safety”, “Sustainable Product Design”, “ISO 14001 Certification”, “Investment Recovery”, and “Green Packaging”, along with three conventional criteria including quality, price, and delivery, were pinpointed through a review of literature and expert input to facilitate the MCDM approach. As part of demonstrating the pertinency of the recommended framework, a practical case study of the automotive industry in Morocco is discussed. The results demonstrate that the utilized Fuzzy hybrid methods yield consistent rankings for green suppliers. Additionally, among the four green suppliers, number three obtained the best ranking, which indicates the robustness and performance of the chosen models. Furthermore, this study offers a unified platform for selecting green suppliers under a Fuzzy environment. Therefore, the chosen strategy and its analysis provide relevant data and information to decision-makers for the choice and selection of suppliers. It can also provide and help procurement departments and decision-makers to choose and select the efficient ecological supplier in the global market supply chain.

Carbon emission allowances purchasing decisions in supply chains under the cap-and-trade mechanism in China: an evolutionary game analysis

PurposeThe importance of carbon reduction has become a global consensus, and more and more countries are implementing the cap-and-trade mechanism, including China. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the optimal carbon emission allowances (CEA) purchasing decisions of supply chain members under the cap-and-trade mechanism in China.Design/methodology/approachAn evolutionary game model is established to analyze the CEA purchase strategy choices of suppliers and manufacturers in the supply chain. The influence of the key parameters on the evolutionary game results is analyzed by numerical simulations.FindingsThe supply chain system always evolves towards neither supplier nor manufacturer purchasing CEA or both purchasing CEA. Illegal production behavior and excessive CEA costs are key factors that hinder parties from purchasing CEA. High revenue from purchasing CEA for production, high supply chain losses and high governmental penalties can promote parties to purchase CEA.Originality/valueThe results help supply chain members make better CEA purchasing decisions and also benefit the development of China’s carbon trading market and environmental protection.

A Literature Survey on Application of MCDM Mathematical Optimization Models for the Sustainable Supplier Selection in Manufacturing Industries

Organizations need to entertain and motivate their ability on sustainable supply chain activities based on environment protection regulation activities. GSCM needs multi-dimensional techniques and methods. Thus multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques adopted for performance assessment of suppliers in Green supply chain management (GSCM). Supplier selection is important and it is one of the important operational function for the development of GSCM. In order to select the most suitable suppliers, many economic and environmental criteria must be taken account in the decision process. Green supplier choice is a very hard work that needs to consider sustainable factors incorporated into the traditional supplier selection. This paper aims to survey the existing different MCDM approaches which are applied in GSCM for supplier selection and evaluation and identify most significant and effective MCDM approach in comparison with some other MCDM approaches.

The choice of suppliers and consumers: the evolutionary game equilibrium of platforms

ABSTRACT Platforms competition affects both the structure of the whole industry and the fate of the individual companies within it. The extant studies either simply divide the participants of a platforms war into suppliers and consumers or adopt unbounded rationality assumptions. This paper constructs a game model that includes platforms, suppliers, and the final consumers. We analyze the condition and stability of each equilibrium and the impacts of the characteristics of the core and complementary products on the equilibrium by using the method of evolutionary game. Our results show the following: (1) If the two platforms initially have separate advantages in terms of the number of suppliers or consumers, there will be an equilibrium of the coexistence; otherwise, there will be an equilibrium of single platform dominating. (2) The equilibrium of a single platform dominating is more stable than that of the coexistence of multiple platforms. (3) Incidental shocks to the number of suppliers are more likely to break the coexistence equilibrium than consumers. (4) Platforms with poor core product quality and a high price for core and complementary products can coexist with other superior platforms only if the former has more consumers and suppliers at the beginning of the competition.

The Norwegian tax holiday: Salience, labor supply responses, and frictions

AbstractAn emerging consensus is that the Frisch elasticity of labor supply is small. This may reflect a lack of salience, inelastic preferences, or prevalence of frictions. Studying survey data collected during a tax holiday in Norway, when earnings were untaxed during a transition between tax systems, I report three findings. First, 80 per cent of adults were aware of the tax holiday. Second, one fifth of adults responded by working more. Third, frictions in adjusting working hours or nonworking time appear to be the reason for a majority of nonresponses. The findings support the long‐held notion that labor supply choices are constrained.

Customer attractiveness: A comparative analysis of startups versus incumbents in supplier choice

Startups compete against incumbents for supplier resources. In this competition, startups suffer from the liability of newness and lack a track record and positive reputation. Startups that want to mobilize supplier resources need to become attractive to suppliers. This research analyzes the factors impacting startup attractiveness as buyers. Our findings from a discrete choice experiment with 129 salespeople show that startups are less attractive as customers than incumbents. We found eight factors that impact customer attractiveness. We compared the relative importance of customer attractiveness factors. We discovered that strategic compatibility, operative excellence, and innovation positively impact startups more than incumbents’ attractiveness.

How local dealers benefit from their international participation: evidence from Africa

PurposeAlthough the prior literature has identified the relevance of dealer participation for multinational enterprises (MNEs), it is unclear whether such participation could also be an important means for local dealers to learn from MNEs. By adopting local firms’ viewpoint, our study draws on organizational learning theory to examine how local dealers benefit from their participation with foreign suppliers in Africa.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical setting is a combinative dataset of secondary data and primary survey of 164 small- and medium-sized local dealers with nine subsidiaries of a Chinese motorcycle company in six countries of Sub-Saharan Africa.FindingsThis research shows that dealer participation is positively associated with dealer performance, and this positive effect is stronger when local dealers operate in regions with low government corruption and high government support. However, the positive relationship is weaker when local dealers use the local tongue extensively but becomes stronger when their foreign suppliers have a high dealer coverage.Originality/valueBy taking a local-participant perspective, our study extends the participation literature to show how firms from a resource-constrained region may benefit from their proactive participation with foreign counterparts. Additionally, we identify the boundary conditions of institutional factors and strategic choices of local dealers and foreign suppliers, providing a nuanced understanding of firm behaviors in complex and uncertain markets.

Sustainable Supplier Evaluation: From Current Criteria to Reconstruction Based on ESG Requirements

The disclosure of ESG tasks, seen as companies’ performance of sustainability, has gradually became a necessity for listed enterprises. From an ESG perspective, this paper revisits and restructures the sustainable supplier evaluation criteria. Leveraging thematic analysis, this study dissected ESG reporting guidelines across stock exchanges and explored ESG annual reports and supplier codes of conduct from the listed firms. This elucidated the evaluation criteria currently in practice. The findings indicate that existing sustainable supplier evaluations cannot fully meet ESG regulatory requirements. Drawing insights from these gaps, we reconstructed the evaluation criteria through text analysis to better align with ESG mandates. This study introduces the concept of a “Relative Word Frequency Ratio” to analyze the importance of each indicator and to further determine which to retain or delete. This research offers a robust theoretical foundation and practical guidance for enhancing supplier sustainability evaluations, and the proposed sustainable supplier evaluation criteria system could provide a decision-making reference for enterprises in the choice of ESG-qualified suppliers.

Optimizing the mass marking of fish with alizarin red S: an example with glass eels.

Fish marking is an essential tool for fisheries management, especially for evaluating the stocking of endangered fish species to support conservation and sustainable use of fish stocks. Batch marking of young European eels Anguilla anguilla (L.) prior to stocking is recommended as the benefits of stocking for the spawning stock can be evaluated by recapturing marked fish over time, therefore mass marking of young eels with substances such as alizarin red S (ARS) is becoming increasingly important. To improve the marking method and reduce marking costs when immersing glass eels in an ARS solution, eight laboratory experiments under varying conditions (e.g., temperature, ARS concentration, immersion time, osmotic induction, fish density) and with ARS from different suppliers were carried out. The results show that optimal marking of glass eels can be carried out in the field or during transport by putting approximately 50 g of glass eels per liter in 150 mg L-1 ARS solution for 3 h at 10-15°C. Lower concentrations did not result in reliable marking. Water temperatures of 5°C and below can have a stunning effect on the eels and increase mortality significantly, regardless of the concentration of ARS. Glass eel densities below 50 g L-1 in the marking bath increase marking costs unnecessarily, while a higher density of 100 g L-1 resulted in significantly higher mortality and lower marking success. A somewhat more difficult but less expensive alternative is to bathe the fish in a saline solution of 1% (10 PSU) of 80 mg L-1 ARS for 3 h at 10°C. Costs can also be significantly reduced by choice of supplier for ARS, but care should be taken as the quality of the powder appears to vary (mean percentage of sufficiently marked eels ranged from 59% to 91% among suppliers in the present study) and can lead to marking failure. The optimal marking conditions can help ensure that stocked glass eels can be reliably identified in future studies to assess stocking benefits while reducing costs.

Production chain and covid-19 disruption: Sustainability via flexibility framework a case of the beverage industry

The pandemic has uncovered the weakness and volatility of production chains. The study examined the implication of corona-virus on the production chain functionality in a beverage production firm in terms of sustainability and flexibility. The study also evaluated a contextual analysis of an organization, the impact of the corona-virus outbreak, and the challenges the organization encountered. A purposive method was utilized as an information-gathering source from 200 participants. The outcome shows that the pandemic prompted critical disturbances such as the deficiency of resources/extra parts, accessibility of transportation, accessibility of work, and safety guidelines. The study also postulates that there is a need to re-design the production chain to be more flexible and resilient by providing recuperation plans (anticipation, choice of supply, modeling, observing) that consider measures in various echelons. Given this, a prescribed optimal procedure was suggested for the contextual analysis by considering inward, outward, and technological bottlenecks during the pandemic. A portion of the designated procedure and the optimization of the production chain can be considered and utilized in the other sectors.