Development Of Supply Chain Research Articles

Turkish-Chinese Cooperation within the Framework of the New Silk Road Initiative

The post-Soviet republics of Central Asia are becoming the arena of the geopolitical struggle between China and Turkey, which are interested in new logistics routes. Against the background of the growing economic presence of Turkey and China, the role of Russia in the region is also changing. Turkey believes that the countries of Central Asia are an important part of the trade route with China. The development of such supply chains has been discussed before, but now this issue is even more relevant. Interest is also shown in Beijing, but they are increasing transportation on Russian railways. It should be understood that all the countries of Central Asia, and especially Kazakhstan, are pursuing the so-called multi-vector foreign policy, which consists in the fact that Nur-Sultan (Astana) is trying to develop cooperation with Russia, China, the USA, the European Union and Turkey. The development of cooperation between the Central Asian states with these countries is explained by their desire to get the maximum benefi t from all external partners, they consider it pragmatic not to refuse any forms of partnership that they are off ered. Beijing has not yet changed its policy towards the countries of Central Asia and adheres to the previous strategy: emphasis on the economy, non-interference in internal aff airs and the formation of a positive image of the country. At the same time, China is interested in the functioning of existing transport and logistics routes, stable economic development and political stability of the region. Since the early 1900s, Turkey has been trying to play the role of the leader of the Turkic community; it was the fi rst of all countries in the world to recognize the independence of the countries of Central Asia (CA). However, interaction within the framework of the Turkic Council, created by Turkey in 2009, which includes most of the Central Asian countries, takes place largely in a cultural and humanitarian vein. The echo of Western sanctions could not but aff ect the Central Asian countries, since they traditionally have close and intensive economic ties with Russia, including through integration associations (CIS and the EAEU to the CSTO) and fi nancial institutions. Against the backdrop of US and EU pressure on the elites of the Central Asian countries, Eurasian integration with Russia and China does not allow them to succumb to provocations from the West.

Agribusiness and Supply Chain Development Policies in Nepal: A Review from Temporal Dynamics

A critical review of agriculture policies during different plan periods, aligned with political changes, has been conducted out to understand the shift in priorities, technology transfer ,support products, and private sector engagement. Firstly, in the 1950s, the policies were influenced by the first five-year plan and focused on the import and dissemination of technology. During the three decades of the Panchayat era, there was an emphasis on state mechanisms for technology transfer, agribusiness, and research, with limited incentives for the private sector. After 1990, agricultural policy products followed a path of liberalization and focused on defining the state’s role and promoting pluralism. This period witnessed the establishment of a wide range of private and cooperative-led agribusinesses, although their growth was hindered by political conflict. Subsequently, policies began to incorporate priorities such as nutrition security, comparative advantage, competitiveness, climate change adaptation, agrobiodiversity conservation, and sustainability. However, with the federalization of the state and establishment of a three-tier governance system in 2015, agriculture policies, priorities and strategies a became fragmented, diversified, and localized, and lack harmonization. This review demonstrates that agriculture policies were largely influenced by domestic political developments and structural changes at the international level. Nonetheless, a consistent focus on increasing production and productivity, as well as achieving food security and self-sufficiency, can be observed.. Throughout all policy periods, supply chain development, a crucial component of agribusiness, received limited prioritization, which remains a major impediment to agricultural transformation. Despite seven decades of policy evolution, Nepal has been unable to create an enabling policy environment to attract significant private and cooperative sector investments that could drive substantial growth in agribusiness. This situation calls for further research in the field of policy formulation capacity among the three tiers of government to foster agribusiness and promote supply chain development for agricultural transformation.

The behavioural evolution of the smart electric vehicle battery reverse supply chain under government supervision

PurposeRecycling and reuse of the electric vehicle (EV) batteries are ways to extend their limited lives. If batteries can be traced from production to recycling, it is beneficial for battery recycling and reuse. Using blockchain technology to build a smart EV battery reverse supply chain can solve the difficulties of lack of trust and data. The purpose of this study is to discuss the behavioural evolution of a smart EV battery reverse supply chain under government supervision.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts evolutionary game theory to examine the decision-making behaviours of the government, EV manufacturers with recycled used batteries and third-party EV battery recyclers lacking professional recycling qualification.FindingsOn the smart reverse supply chain integrated by blockchain technology, a cooperative recycling strategy of the third-party EV battery recycler is the optimal choice when the government tends to actively regulate. The probability of the EV manufacturer choosing the blockchain adoption strategy exceeds (below) the threshold, and the government prefers negative (positive) supervision. According to numerical analysis, in the mature stage in the EV battery recycling industry, when the investment cost of applying blockchain is high, EV manufacturers' willingness to apply blockchain slows down, the government accelerates adopting a negative supervision strategy and third-party EV battery recyclers prefer cooperative recycling.Practical implicationsThe results of this study provide opinions on the strength of government supervision and the conditions under which EV manufacturers and third-party EV battery recyclers should apply blockchain and cooperate. On the other hand, this study provides theoretical analysis for promoting the application of blockchain technology in smart reverse supply chain.Originality/valueCompared with previous research, this study reveals the relevance of government supervision, blockchain application and cooperation strategy in smart EV battery reverse supply chain. In the initial stage, even if the subsidy (subsidy reduction rate) and penalty are high and the penalty reduction rate is low, the EV manufacturer should rather give up the application of blockchain technology. In the middle stage in the EV battery recycling industry, the government can set a lower subsidy (subsidy reduction rate) combined with a penalty or a higher penalty (penalty reduction rate) combined with a subsidy to supervise it. The third-party EV battery recycler is advised to cooperate with the EV manufacturer when the subsidy is low or the penalty is high.

A polycentric network strategy for regional diversification of agriculture: theory and implementation

Widespread and substantial diversification of current agroecosystems appears fundamental to meeting many grand challenges in agriculture. Despite urgent calls for diversification on regional scales, particularly in regions dominated by industrialized, low-diversity agriculture, strategies for diversification on such scales are in early stages of development, conceptually and practically. We outline such a strategy, and its implementation by the Forever Green Partnership, a public-private-NGO coalition in support of agricultural diversification in the U.S. Midwest region. Our strategy supports introduction and scaling of multiple novel crops in a region, which requires development of many interdependent supporting elements, including supportive markets, infrastructure, policy, finance, and R&D. The core of our strategy is development of sustainable supply chains (SSCs) for a set of novel crops. We define SSCs as rudimentary systems of these supporting elements for novel crops, linking on-farm crop production to end-use markets while advancing economic, environmental, and social sustainability criteria that are demanded by stakeholders. SSCs provide a scaffold upon which fully-developed support systems for multiple novel crops can be constructed, thus driving regional diversification. SSCs cannot be “built in a day”; rather they must evolve as production of novel crops expands over time and space, and as new challenges and opportunities emerge. Therefore, regional diversification requires a system to sustain this evolutionary process across time and multiple novel crops. We posit that an effective system can be built from two crucial elements: a process of conscious and concerted cultural evolution, and a polycentric network that organizes and supports that process. We outline this system and its conceptual basis, and its implementation by the Forever Green Partnership, and associated challenges and accomplishments. Three years after its inception, the Partnership has attracted substantial resources, developed a polycentric network, and some elements of the cultural-evolution process are in place. However, node development is uneven across the network, hindering its operation. In addition to advancing strategies for regional-scale diversification, the Partnership is seeking to advance conceptual and practical understanding of sustainability transitions in agriculture, and to explore the potential value of conscious cultural evolution in such transitions.

Computational experiment-aided prescriptive decision-making for complex supply chains: A case of multi-generation smartphone marketing

A supply chain is a complex multivariate evolutionary system that challenges traditional decision-making paradigms and calls for new decision-making frameworks which can comprehensively support multivariate potential emergence prediction and further extend the decision-making from prediction to prescription. To fill these methodological gaps, a computational experiment-aided prescriptive decision-making framework was proposed for the analysis of complex supply chain evolution. The proposed framework enables the exploration of multivariate emergences for solution optimization in a closed-loop interactive iteration between computational experiments and evolutionary multi-objective algorithms. This framework enhances the solution stability behind multivariate emergences and can support Pareto-optimal solution selection based on a multi-criteria decision-analysis approach. A case study of multi-generation smartphone marketing was then conducted to validate the proposed framework and illustrate its applicability. Results indicate that the proposed framework can (i) bridge the complex nonfunctional relationships between impact factors and objectives for marketing prediction; and (ii) exploit the multivariate marketing performances within these relationships to make optimal prescriptions after the closed-loop interactive iterations. This framework enables managers to obtain Pareto-optimal solution prescriptions with improved solution stability surpassing those of traditional prediction.

The Changing Landscape of Supply Chain Management in India: An Analytical Study of Implications for Competitiveness

The supply chain management landscape in India has changed dramatically in recent years. With India's rise as a key participant in the global economy, supply chain management has become an essential component of the country's competitiveness. This analytical research investigates the consequences of evolving supply chain management methods for India's competitiveness. The research focuses on the changing landscape's problems and possibilities, such as the advent of e-commerce, the development of new technologies, and the shift towards sustainability. The report highlights important elements that are expected to define the future of supply chain management in India using both primary and secondary data and gives advice for organisations wishing to increase their competitiveness in the Indian market.

A comprehensive and policy-oriented model of the hydrogen vehicle fleet composition, applied to the UK market

Road vehicles play an important role in the UK’s energy systems and are a critical component in reducing the reliance on fossil fuels and mitigating emissions. A dynamic model of light-duty vehicle fleet, based on predator-prey concepts, is presented. This model is designed to be comprehensive but captures the important features of the competition between types of vehicles on the car market. It allows to predict the evolution of the hydrogen based vehicle’s role in the UK’s vehicle fleet. The model allows to forecast effects of policies, hence to inform policy makers. In particular, it is shown that the transition happens only if the hydrogen supply can absorb at least 350,000 new vehicles per year. In addition to this, the model is used to predict the demand for hydrogen for the passenger vehicle fleet for various scenarios. A key finding of the policy-oriented model is that a successful transition to a clean fleet before 2050 is unlikely without policies designed to fully support the supply chain development. It also shows that the amount of hydrogen required to support a full hydrogen based vehicle fleet is currently not economically viable; the needed infrastructure requires yearly investment larger than £2.5 billions. In order to mitigate these costs, the policy focus should shift from hydrogen based vehicles to hybrid vehicles and range extenders in the transport energy system.

International trade under new stresses in the development of the global economy

In the past few years, the international exchange of goods and services has faced two unprecedented shocks – a pandemic and increased geopolitical tensions. These shocks significantly weaken international trade, slow down the development of global supply chains and cause serious damage to the global economy as a whole. This article considers the problems of sustainability of international trade in goods and services in the light of the analysis of new triggers for its development, as well as taking into account the changed context for exporting and importing countries. The author came to the conclusion that the established patterns of participation of countries in international trade will undergo significant changes. The main directions for increasing the stability of global supply chains, as well as Russia's participation in it in the face of severe sanctions pressure, are identified. The prospects for the development of international trade are assessed by us as gloomy and uncertain, and exchange risks are elevated. A number of areas of international trade policy that could be effective for adjusting current trade relations between countries were discussed.

Transformational Factors in the Development of Global Supply Chains

Transformational Factors in the Development of Global Supply Chains

Transformational Factors in the Development of Global Supply Chains

Transformational Factors in the Development of Global Supply Chains

A systematic assessment of multi‐dimensional risk factors for sustainable development in food grain supply chains: A business strategic prospective analysis

AbstractThe food grain supply chain (FGSC) is composed of several links, stretching from the point of production to the point of consumption. A broken connection might produce a food catastrophe. The structural imbalance of India's FGSC is an obstacle to achieving sustainability; this has to be addressed if the country is to preserve national food security. This present study aims to develop a systematic assessment of the risks and the priority of risk‐mitigating solutions in attaining sustainability in the Indian FGSC. Multiple groups of individuals and businesses involved in the FGSC have been surveyed and interviewed, with their responses analyzed. A total of 31 risk factors and 11 risk‐reduction strategies are identified. Further, the identified risk factors are classified into five‐dimensional sustainability criteria (environmental, economic, institutional, technical, and social) by using exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Then, a fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP), combined with the fuzzy technique for order performance by similarity to ideal solution (FTOPSIS) method, is adopted to find the most critical risk factors and choose the best course of strategies for risk mitigation. The study finds that inability to incorporate advanced technology imposes the highest risk to sustainability followed by natural disasters. Ensuring end‐to‐end computerization using advanced technology like agri 4.0 is the need of the hour in intercepting the range of FGSC risks. The results may help policymakers create a comprehensive risk mitigation plan and taxonomy to increase supply chain resilience.

Research on Development of Supply Chain with Lean Management in Tunisia

Research on Development of Supply Chain with Lean Management in Tunisia

Insurer financing for borrowing producers in a supply chain under alternative carbon allowance trades

The article models the borrowing producers in a production supply chain with insurer green finance. The borrowing firms' transacting carbon allowances (CA) under the cap-and-trade mechanism affect the insurer's loan rate-setting and guaranteed rate-setting decisions. One result shows that a stringent regulatory cap toward carbon emission reduction increases the loans at a reduced loan rate (i.e., reducing the insurer's interest margin). The most significantly reduced margin is the case of the product producer and input provider being CA buyers, and the minor reduction is the CA sellers. We also show that a strict regulatory cap increases the life insurance policies at an increased guaranteed rate (i.e., decreasing the insurer's interest margin), resulting in higher policyholder protection and, thus, insurance stability. Policyholder protection is the most (least) significant when the borrowing firms in the supply chain are CA sellers (buyers) in the cap-and-trade mechanism. In conclusion, the significantly increased policyholder protection reduces the insurer's profits less considerably due to the stringent cap regulation toward sustainable development in a green production supply chain.

The mental health and wellbeing impact of a Community Wealth Building programme in England: a difference-in-differences study

Wide differences in health exist between places in the UK, underscored by economic inequalities. Preston, an economically disadvantaged city in England, implemented a new approach to economic development, known as the Community Wealth Building programme. Public and non-profit organisations modified their procurement policies to support the development of local supply chains, improve employment conditions, and increase socially productive use of wealth and assets. We aimed to investigate the effect of this programme on population mental health and wellbeing. Difference-in-differences techniques compared trends in mental health outcomes in Preston, relative to matched control areas before (2011-15) and after (2016-19) the introduction of the programme. Outcomes were antidepressant prescribing, prevalence of depression, and mental health related hospital attendance rates using data provided by National Health Service Digital, the Quality and Outcomes Framework, and the Office for National Statistics. Additional analysis compared local authority measures of life satisfaction, median wages, and employment with synthetic counterfactuals created using Bayesian Structural Time Series. The introduction of the Community Wealth Building programme was associated with reductions in the prescribing of antidepressants (1·3 average daily quantities per person [95% CI 0·72-1·78) and prevalence of depression (2·4 per 1000 population [0·42-4·46]), relative to the control areas. The local population also experienced a 9% improvement in life satisfaction (95% credible interval 0-19·6%) and 11% increase in median wages (1·8-18·9%), relative to expected trends. Associations with employment and mental health related hospital attendance outcomes did not reach statistical significance. During the period in which the Community Wealth Building programme was introduced, there were fewer mental health problems than would have been expected compared with other similar areas, as life satisfaction and economic measures improved. This approach potentially provides an effective model for economic regeneration potentially leading to substantial health benefits. National Institute for Health Research.

From seedlings to ships: supply chain and production management in the Venice Arsenale, 1400–1800

Purpose The Arsenale was the largest medieval industrial enterprise, famous for its assembly line. Management faced extreme variations between peace-time and war-time demands. Satisfying these unpredictable and sudden demands for a large, complex product with a multiple years–long production cycle was challenging. The purpose of this study is to analyze the Arsenale’s operations and supply chain arrangements, and to identify and assess their management policies. We also track its development and investigate its influence on other countries. Design/methodology/approach The research methodology used is archival research with content analysis of text and graphic representations of production processes. Findings These reveal that Venice’s supply chain management evolved from simply exploiting woodlands as needs arose, to a managed forest with planned planting, cultivation and harvesting, ending with the active modification of growing trees so their natural growth was artificially shaped to satisfy production requirements. Instead of fabricating components in their factory, the Venetians formed them by shaping the trees while they were still growing. These arboriculture techniques then provided a planned and regular supply of high-quality components that purely natural processes provided only randomly. Research limitations/implications There may be undiscovered archival documents despite the authors’ best efforts. The development of this historic supply chain reflects modern managerial concerns. Practical implications Modern restorations of historic ships and buildings use some of the fabrication methods identified, although the more intensive techniques would require higher volume production. Social implications This reveals historical forestry practices emphasised long-term needs and sustainable use. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is a unique long-term investigation of an integrated production system and considers its influence on Iberian, French, British and American forestry and ship building. The close integration of production requirements with forestry practices was a novel finding.

Designing a sustainable fish closed-loop supply chain network under uncertainty.

There is increasing attention to the sustainable development of supply chain (SC) and reverse logistics (RL) in the contemporary competitive economy, notably in the food sector, by scholars and stakeholders. This study investigates a sustainable closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) for fish due to its high value in the family food basket, its perishability, and the importance of waste product recycling. A multi-objective mathematical model is developed under uncertainty and sustainability criteria to optimize production rates with the aim of better distribution among different demand markets, total costs, social issues, and negative environmental effects (e.g., CO2 emissions and unused/waste products). A combination of exact, meta-heuristic, and hybrid meta-heuristic algorithms are used to solve the suggested model. Then, the optimal solutions are found using the Taguchi method by evaluating the best initial replies. The solutions are evaluated based on various performance metrics. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the "filtering/displaced ideal solution" methods determine the best solution approach. Moreover, a case study with a trout CLSC in Northern Iran is examined. In addition, the Lingo software utilizes the ε-constraint method to evaluate and check the performance of the algorithms under different levels of uncertainty. Finally, sensitivity analyses are carried out to confirm the efficacy of the proposed algorithms. The findings demonstrate the proposed network's outstanding consistency with the algorithms used and its application and efficiency.

Reputation-Aware Supplier Assessment for Blockchain-Enabled Supply Chain in Industry 4.0

In Industry 4.0, the development of intelligent supply chains is the key to improving enterprise efficiency and customer satisfaction. At present, the strategy with blockchain to optimize the supply chain ensures the security of data sharing and interaction between different suppliers. However, the quality of service (QoS) loss in time efficiency and supplier cooperation is still a severe problem in these strategies. Therefore, it is essential to conduct reputable supplier selection to reduce QoS loss under the premise of blockchain security. Meanwhile, choosing a reputable supplier as the primary peer in the blockchain consensus process can also effectively reduce transaction latency. To solve this problem, a reputation-aware supplier assessment system, named SAS, is proposed. Specifically, Canopy and K-medoids are utilized to classify suppliers preliminarily. Then backpropagation neural network is deployed to evaluate supplier reputation. The results show that SAS is effective in supplier reputation evaluation through extensive experiments.

The Influence of Informality in a Local Agri‐food Supply Chain in Brazil

SummaryDuring qualitative research on trust, conducted in a mariculture chain in southern Brazil, the theme of informality emerged spontaneously in most interviews. Although it is difficult to measure, some data and estimates point out that informality is still quite present worldwide, but especially in emerging and developing countries, and this situation was confirmed in the studied supply chain. In analysing the narratives, we noticed that this is a chronic issue which bothers the producers that are properly formalised mainly because of unfair competition, and hinders the organisation of the chain. Some factors foster the persistence of informality, such as family labour and temporary jobs, the low educational level of entrepreneurs, lack of adequate supervision and cultural aspects of producers and their families. We could corroborate the perspectives of modernisation (informality is still persistent), neo‐liberal (informal entrepreneurs reject the bureaucracy of an over‐regulated market) and post‐structuralist (informality is a way of life related to identity, social position and/or resistance against the formal structure) theories. Our research has shown us that the situation found is contributing to a reduction in the number of formal producers and impairing the development of that local supply chain, as well as its sustainability.

Resilient Supply Chains to Improve the Integrity of Accounting Data in Financial Institutions Worldwide Using Blockchain Technology

Accounting information systems (AIS) gather, store, and analyze data in providing information to business leaders. Information technology resources and a computer-based accounting system are often used to monitor accounting activities in an accounting information system. Supply chain management strategies, planning, and implementation are increasingly dependent on the expertise of accountants with globalization. The accountant's job is to assist the supply chain design, development, and implementation group. Top management commitment, the kind of accounting information systems used, and input controls are all factors that affect accounting information systems' data quality. They can trace any form of theft or misappropriation using the blockchain (BC), which maintains asset transfers. In hopes of avoiding fraud, agreements loaded with economics and finance principles might be used to govern corporate operations. Using internet of things (IoT) data, banks can better understand their customers' business demands and value chain.

The evolution of symbiotic innovation, water, and agricultural supply chains

AbstractThe water literature has mainly investigated the diversion and distribution of water from the source to the end users or the utilization of water at the farm level in crop production. This paper presents a supply chain perspective that links the innovation supply chain of water delivery and irrigation with the complete water supply chain to the crop and the crop supply chains. These supply chains are symbiotic. Changes in the demand for crops, agronomic technology, and knowledge about water will modify the water infrastructure, irrigation technology, land‐use and crop production patterns, and the pricing of water and related commodities. The parameters that guide investment in water innovation and the design of the water supply chain depend on political, economic, and technological considerations that have coevolved over time with water and crop systems. Evidence from California and elsewhere supports the findings of the paper.