Complex Supply Chain Research Articles

A review of Factors Affecting the Performance of Subcontractors in construction Industry

The construction industry has a complex supply chain, where subcontractors play a significant role in the success of construction projects. Subcontractors are responsible for delivering specialized services, such as electrical, plumbing, and HVAC systems, among others, which are critical for the successful completion of construction projects. Therefore, understanding the factors that affect the performance of subcontractors in the construction industry is essential for improving project outcomes. This study examines the factors that influence the performance of subcontractors in the construction industry. Using Literature reviews, the study identifies several factors that impact subcontractor performance, including project management, communication, collaboration, financial stability, and trust. The meta-analysis shows that effective management of these factors can lead to improved subcontractor performance, which is critical for the success of construction projects. The study provides a comprehensive understanding of the key factors affecting subcontractor performance and offers insights to assist project managers in improving their subcontractor management strategies. The findings from this study contribute to the existing literature on subcontractor performance in the construction industry and have practical implications for project management practices.

Retailer perspectives reveal knowledge gaps in the traceability of the scleractinian coral trade in Singapore

Scleractinian corals are key reef-builders in tropical marine ecosystems. Harvests of wild stocks for the global marine aquarium trade have raised concerns about unsustainable exploitation. While it is important to ensure that marine ornamental species are used legally and sustainably, it is challenging to trace them through the trade due to the fragmented and complex supply chain. Retailers can provide unique perspectives to narrow knowledge gaps as they interact closely with both suppliers and consumers. Through semi-structured interviews of retailers based in Singapore, we investigated their knowledge of the supply chain, trade practices, and consumer preferences. We also surveyed taxa available for sale at these brick-and-mortar aquarium shops. Our study revealed at least 42 genera from 14 families of scleractinian corals present across 20 shops in Singapore. Retailers displayed a lack of familiarity in coral provenance and trade regulations, suggesting that they have limited awareness of traceability along the supply chain. Import decisions were not guided by traceability and environmental sustainability, but instead were driven by demand and supply factors such as aesthetics, rarity, and availability. This underscores the need for more outreach and engagement efforts to raise awareness among commercial stakeholders towards improving traceability and sustainable management in the marine aquarium industry.

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AND BUSINESS PROCESS INNOVATION IN SLOVENIAN AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY: AN IN-DEPTH QUALITATIVE STUDY

This paper aims to delve into the process of transforming business models and value chains within the automotive industry, with a specific focus on the significance of digital transformation (DT) and its role in addresing transition challenges based on changed consumer preferences, electrification and supply chain complexities. By examining empirical insights derived from in-depth interviews conducted with Slovenian companies operating in automotive industry, this study contributes to the existing literature by establishing connections and shared concepts across various research domains. It sheds light on key empirical findings within a country boasting a long tradition in automotive industry, while providing informed recommendations. The main findings underscore the considerable variations between companies in terms of their current technological progress and the technologies they employ in their operational processes. These differences are influenced by factors such as their position within the supply chain, company size and the leadership’s attitude toward embracing digital solutions.

Managing Bullwhip Effect in Acoustic Guitar Manufacturing: A Case Study Through Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) Approach

The Bullwhip Effect is a condition where differences arise between the supply and demand numbers within supply chain management. This acoustic guitar manufacturing faces challenges resulting from demand fluctuations, supply chain complexities, and inventory inefficiencies, which often lead to the Bullwhip Effect. The company experiences fluctuations in both demand and supply, consequently leading to inventory accumulation in its warehouses. This study aims to reduce the Bullwhip Effect score in acoustic guitar manufacturing by implementing the Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) method. VMI acts as a regulatory mechanism during distribution, ensuring better control over dispatched products by incorporating forecasting techniques such as single exponential smoothing, double exponential smoothing, and linear regression. Before implementing VMI, the Bullwhip Effect scores were 1.42 for Retailer 1 and 1.69 for Retailer 2. After the successful implementation of VMI, significant reductions in the Bullwhip Effect scores were observed, with scores of 0.48 and 0.91 recorded for Retailer 1 and Retailer 2, respectively.

Supply Chain Complexity and Traceability in Adverse Events Revisited: A COVID-19 Perspective

Previous research regarding complexity, traceability, and adverse events in supply chains has examined the avoidance of adverse events or the traceability of adverse events. An earlier article regarding the influence of supply network complexity on traceability of adverse events offered propositions regarding the relationships among complexity, traceability, and transparency. Utilizing covariance-based structural equation modeling techniques, we analyze data from nonfood manufacturers, gathered during the COVID-19 pandemic disruption (Summer of 2021), and test three of the propositions considering an actual catastrophic adverse event. Results are analyzed through the lens of event system theory and contingent resource-based view. In addition, we expand the model by including the variable information sharing. The results indicate that in the absence of information sharing as a mediator in the model, complexity positively impacts transparency and traceability, which contradicts some findings in the literature. When information sharing is included in the model as a mediator, the results reveal that information sharing partially mediates the complexity/transparency relationship and information sharing fully mediates the complexity/traceability relationship. We offer possible reasons for the difference from previous findings. This provides insights for companies that necessarily maintain a certain degree of complexity of their supply chains due to the nature of their products or production processes.

CiteSpace-based Visualization and Analysis of Knowledge Graph in International Supply Chain Domain

Abstract Along with globalization and technological advances, the complexity and dynamics of international supply chains are increasing. Using CiteSpace to visualize and analyze the knowledge map of the global supply chain helps to deeply understand the industry’s development trends and essential elements. The knowledge map of the international supply chain field is visualized and analyzed using CiteSpace software in this paper, which uncovers the key components and development trends in the field. The study involves collecting and analyzing relevant literature from 2009 to 2021, and applying techniques such as word frequency analysis, co-occurrence network construction, and spectral clustering algorithms to map the knowledge map. Supply chain management, supply chain resilience and risk management are the most popular topics in the supply chain field, in which the word “supply chain management” has a co-occurrence frequency of 485 times, with a centrality of 0.457. Using the spectral clustering algorithm, we identify several key research clusters and find that “supply chain security” has become a recent research topic. Security” has become a hot research topic recently. Research in the field of supply chain is gradually focusing on improving chain flexibility and reducing risks. There is increasing interest in the trend of supply chain futurization and intelligence.

Managing an efficient energy supply chain

The functioning of the modern world economy is impossible without the efficiency of its key processes. The main purpose of the research is to argue the main aspects of effective supply chain management in the energy sector. The relevance of the study is due to the growing energy shortage in the world, which creates the need to develop and increase the efficiency of supply chains. Attention is focused on the complexity and risks of global supply chains in modern conditions. Structuring the basic aspects of the organization and the benefits of a sustainable supply chain in the energy sector. The main trends that are transforming modern supply chains in the world are substantiated. Formalization of the key stages of effective supply chain management to ensure the achievement of strategic business goals and objectives of companies, minimizing costs and risks, optimizing business processes and increasing efficiency. Conceptualize key strategies for improving supply chain efficiency and reducing cost drivers in the energy sector. The main results of the study are significant and can be applied in practice when building a supply chain and formalizing a strategy for increasing the efficiency of global supply chains, both in the energy sector and in other directions.

A primer on brand-name prescription drug reimbursement in the United States.

Branded prescription drug reimbursement in the United States is complex and comprises multiple transactions among the parties involved in the drug supply chain, including manufacturers, wholesalers, pharmacies, health care providers, health plans or insurers, pharmacy benefit managers, and patients. This primer provides an overview of the parties involved in the reimbursement of brand-name drugs under both the pharmacy and medical benefits of an insurance policy and the flow of products and payments among them. Prescription drug spending in the United States grew from $30 billion in 1980 to $335 billion in 2018, and 80% of spending is on brand-name drugs.1,2 Pharmaceutical spending and drug prices have been the focus of intense debate in recent years, which has brought attention to the complexity of the drug supply chain. This primer provides a high-level overview of the distribution and reimbursement of brand-name drugs (italicized words are defined in the Glossary) used in the outpatient setting and covered by health plans or insurers in the United States. The focus is on the parties involved and the flow of products and payments among them. The purchase of drug products outside of insurance and differences in drug reimbursement between private and public insurers are outside of the scope of this primer.

Modernization of digital food safety control.

Foodborne illness remains a pressing global issue due to the complexities of modern food supply chains and the vast array of potential contaminants that can arise at every stage of food processing from farm to fork. Traditional food safety control systems are increasingly challenged to identify these intricate hazards. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) New Era of Smarter Food Safety represents a revolutionary shift in food safety methodology by leveraging cutting-edge digital technologies. Digital food safety control systems employ modern solutions to monitor food quality by efficiently detecting in real time a wide range of contaminants across diverse food matrices within a short timeframe. These systems also utilize digital tools for data analysis, providing highly predictive assessments of food safety risks. In addition, digital food safety systems can deliver a secure and reliable food supply chain with comprehensive traceability, safeguarding public health through innovative technological approaches. By utilizing new digital food safety methods, food safety authorities and businesses can establish an efficient regulatory framework that genuinely ensures food safety. These cutting-edge approaches, when applied throughout the food chain, enable the delivery of safe, contaminant-free food products to consumers.

A reliability-based methodology for resilient spare parts planning and control

Geo-political conflicts, financial crises, natural disasters, pandemics, human operational errors, and other disruptive events can affect supply chain integrity with unpredictable consequences. In addition, intermittent demand patterns and strict service requirements enhance the complexity of Spare Parts Supply Chains (SPSCs). SPSC resilience has become a significant challenge in today’s increasingly competitive business environment.This study presents a reliability-based methodology with a customer-oriented perspective to support industrial companies in spare parts planning and control. This original approach provides resilience to SPSCs by defining a statistical variable to study supply chain variabilities and externalities, aiding stockout risk control, and suggesting spare parts management plans. The application of the proposed methodology in a case study of a packaging machine company is illustrated.

Microfluidics in smart food safety.

The evolution of food safety practices is crucial in addressing the challenges posed by a growing global population and increasingly complex food supply chains. Traditional methods are often labor-intensive, time-consuming, and susceptible to human error. This chapter explores the transformative potential of integrating microfluidics into smart food safety protocols. Microfluidics, involving the manipulation of small fluid volumes within microscale channels, offers a sophisticated platform for developing miniaturized devices capable of complex tasks. Combined with sensors, actuators, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things, smart microfluidic systems enable real-time data acquisition, analysis, and decision-making. These systems enhance control, automation, and adaptability, making them ideal for detecting contaminants, pathogens, and chemical residues in food products. The chapter covers the fundamentals of microfluidics, its integration with smart technologies, and its applications in food safety, addressing the challenges and future directions in this field.

Drop Trailer Forecasting in Volatile Networks

This paper delves into the critical aspect of demand forecasting within the broader context of optimizing drop trailer management in volatile networks, with a specific focus on a large pallet manufacturer’s supply chain operation. The study underscores the importance of accurate demand forecasting as a foundational element for informing subsequent optimization models. The main objective is to enhance our sponsor company’s supply chain efficiency by accurately predicting future trailer requirements, which is crucial for the subsequent development of an effective inventory control and optimization model. This research utilizes forecasting methods like Gradient Boosted Trees and highlights the challenges of traditional forecasting methods in the context of our sponsor company’s complex and dynamic supply chain network. The demand forecast is meant to inform the development of optimization models crucial for ensuring the effective allocation and management of trailer assets, ultimately leading to cost reductions and improved service levels within our sponsor company’s network. The study contributes significantly to supply chain management literature by showcasing the application of sophisticated forecasting techniques in a real-world context and setting the stage for the development of robust optimization models in the domain of drop trailer management.

A Conversationally Enabled Decision Support System for Supply Chain Management: A Conceptual Framework

This paper introduces a conceptual framework for integrating Conversational AI (CAI), specifically conversational agents (CAs), with Decision Support Systems (DSS) to enhance Supply Chain Management (SCM) decision-making processes. In today’s complex supply chain environment, characterized by diverse processes and entities operating across different geographic locations, the effective use of AI in DSS is crucial. The proposed framework envisions a Conversationally Enabled Supply Chain (CESC) where decision-makers interact with the DSS using natural language through a CA, facilitating tasks such as data analysis, scenario analysis, and simulation. The choice of a conceptual framework as a research tool provides a systematic approach to collect and organize elements, offering a clear reference structure and a common language. This framework aims to enhance understanding, guide research and analysis, and integrate knowledge from diverse sources, contributing to a holistic understanding of the proposed CA-empowered DSS for SCM. The paper emphasizes the significance of CESC and sets the stage for future research and development in the domain, providing a foundation for ongoing work.

An analysis of pipe spool supply chain in shipbuilding using 2-stage queuing model and discrete event simulation

Pipe spool supply in Korean shipbuilding industry consists of a complex supply chain comprising manufacturing and painting vendors. Major Korean shipyards with the most competitive edge have applied various policies and techniques to control the pipe spool supply chain and prevent production delays related to supply delays in pipe spools. Although research has been done on implementing the policies and techniques, there has been a gap on the theoretical consideration of pipe spool supply chain characteristics using a simulation model. Therefore, this study proposes an analytical method based on queueing model to analyze the characteristics of the pipe spool supply chain and also proposes a simulation model based on discrete event simulation (DES) to verify it. In addition, a numerical experiment using DES for the M/G/1 queuing model is conducted to examine the effect of time variability in the spool supply chain. From the more reliable experimental results, control parameters and management insights to manage the supply chain optimality are proposed and the effectiveness of policies that have been implemented by major shipyards is verified.

Model-based approach to formalizing a production system architecture

An approach to developing a set of related system models that forms the boundaries of the subject area, a hierarchical decomposition of the target system itself and its formalized description, called Model-based System Engineering, is considered. This approach is one of the basic systems engineering tools in the system modeling practice of complex systems. The results associated with the application of a model-based approach in complex supply chain planning systems in the electronics industry are presented. A comparative analysis of modeling languages for systems (SysML), web ontology (OWL) and the visual language of the BPMN method was carried out from the perspective of tools and a model-oriented approach. Recommendations are given on the use of tools for developing visual system models when modeling the order management process within the framework of supply chain control in the electronic equipment production. Keywords visual modeling, model-based systems engineering, MBSE, business process modeling, BPMN, SysML, ontology development, OWL

Hybrid Tabu-Grey wolf optimizer algorithm for enhancing fresh cold-chain logistics distribution.

The increasing public demand for fresh products has catalyzed the requirement for cold chain logistics distribution systems. However, challenges such as temperature control and delivery delays have led a significant product loss and increased costs. To improve the current situation, a novel approach to optimize cold chain logistics distribution for fresh products will be presented in the paper, utilizing a hybrid Tabu-Grey wolf optimizer (TGWO) algorithm. The proposed hybrid approach combines Tabu search (TS) and Grey wolf optimizer (GWO), employing TS for exploration and GWO for exploitation, aiming to minimize distribution costs in total and establish efficient vehicle scheduling schemes considering various constraints. The effectiveness of the TGWO algorithm is demonstrated through experiments and case studies compared to other heuristic algorithms. Comparative analysis against traditional optimization methods, including Particle swarm optimization (PSO), Whale optimization algorithm (WOA), and original GWO, highlights its superior efficiency and solution quality. This study contributes theories by demonstrating the efficacy of hybrid optimization techniques in complex supply chain networks and dynamic market environments. The practical implication lies in the implementation of TGWO to bolster distribution efficiency, cost reduction, and product quality maintenance throughout the logistics process, offering valuable insights for operational and strategic improvements by decision-makers. However, the study has limitations in generalizability and assumptions, suggesting future research areas including exploring new search operators, applying additional parameters, and using the algorithm in diverse real-life scenarios to improve its effectiveness and applicability.

Driving Supply Chain Resilience: Exploring the Potential of Operations Management and Industry 4.0

The COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian war revealed vulnerabilities in supply chains, emphasizing the need for resilience in multiple industries. While Industry 4.0 is valuable, it cannot fully address complex supply chain challenges. Therefore, exploring additional drivers like Operations Management has become imperative. More clearly, the adoption of Operations Management tools and practices helps implement and use enabling technologies more effectively. In this context, the aim of the paper is to conduct a literature review to study supply chain resilience considering these two concepts. In other words, the objective of the work consists in examining the effectiveness of the mentioned combination. The paper presents a conceptual framework for enhancing supply chain resilience by exploring the potential of Industry 4.0 and Operations Management. The paper also underlines the positive impact issued from hybridizing both solutions to achieve resilience. As it discusses enhancing features of each concept aside the other. The paper provides a basic model for researchers to further detailed studies, and for managers to bringing the proposed framework from theory to practice.

Insights from interviews with German supply chain managers: a study of supply chain transformations and emerging issues

To investigate current trends and challenges related to supply chain management in Germany, we conduct an interview-based study involving 16 experts. The study focuses on three areas: supply chain transformations, software challenges, and the adoption of emerging technologies. Supply chain transformations are influenced by increasing supply chain complexity, the growing prevalence of e-commerce, and the increased importance allocated by customers to trust and transparency. Complexity is, in part, due to disruptions caused by policy responses to the pandemic and to software challenges in terms of the adaptability of ERP systems and the cybersecurity of cloud-based solutions. This study is relevant for practitioners, as it sheds light on pressing issues in supply chain management, and for researchers as it uncovers potential topics that require further research in the future.

Driven by supply chain ambidexterity. Substitutable and complementary effects of supply chain emergence and control on triadic relational performance

With the increasing level of supply chain complexity, the mechanisms of emergence and control have become essential for achieving superior performance. To operationalize the relationships between the two mechanisms, we develop the dimensions of balance emergence-control (BEC) and combined emergence-control (CEC). While BEC highlights the need to match two mechanisms that are substitutes, CEC treats emergence and control rather as complements that reinforce one another. Additionally, we also develop the construct of supply chain ambidexterity as a conglomerate of exploitation and exploration practices performed within service triads. In this study, we investigate the effects of supply chain ambidexterity on emergence and control, and their resulting effects on triadic relational performance.To develop the research model and test hypotheses, hypothetic-deductive logic was employed to underpin the quantitative survey-based methodology. The data for the analysis was derived from 350 service triads operating in Europe. To ensure the robustness of the results, Confirmatory Factor Analysis was carried out, followed by hierarchical regression analysis and path analysis. The findings show that while supply chain ambidexterity has a positive effect on emergence, it has a negative effect on control. The results also demonstrate that when applied independently, balance emergence-control and combined emergence-control have a respective positive and negative effect on triadic relational performance. Interestingly however, when applied collectively, balance emergence-control and combined emergence-control demonstrate a positive effect on triadic relational performance.

Embracing Supply Chain Complexity for Enhanced Viability: The Influence of Strategic Information Flow and Network Capability

Embracing Supply Chain Complexity for Enhanced Viability: The Influence of Strategic Information Flow and Network Capability