Downstream Supply Research Articles

“The map is not the territory”: a boundary objects perspective on supply chain mapping

PurposeTo empirically examine the usefulness and value of supply chain mapping (SC mapping), which has been neglected despite its importance in research and practice.Design/methodology/approachBased on three combined theoretical perspectives, we conducted a case study on a car manufacturer's managers mapping their downstream supply chain (SC). We conducted semi-structured interviews and a mapping exercise with them, followed by a focus group.FindingsWe find differences between individual and corporate SC maps and between how managers define the outbound SC, the SC map they draw and what they say when mapping. The three theoretical perspectives allow us to enrich SC mapping thinking. We focus on boundary objects to formulate propositions. SC mapping and maps are discussed with respect to contemporary SCs and SCM.Research limitations/implicationsBased on a single case study on one firm's outbound SC. Research could be expanded to the company's external partners and follow the development and use of maps in real time.Practical implicationsHighlights the usefulness and difficulties of SC mapping, for individuals and organisations. For the company, it opens avenues for further development and use of SC mapping to improve inter-functional and inter-organisational collaboration.Social implicationsConfirms the need for SC mapping competences in SCM and consequently the usefulness of teaching SC mapping courses in logistics and SCM programs.Originality/valueHighlights the usefulness of SC mapping and rekindles interest in SC mapping and maps in SCM. Introduces boundary objects into SCM research.

Toward sustainable optimization with stackelberg game between green product family and downstream supply chain

Green products are increasingly considered by companies, owing to the significant attention of government regulations, customers’ requests and competitors. Here, we deal with Green Product Families (GPFs) by selecting green components, modules and products which are produced based on the assembling to order (ATO) approach to cover diverse customer needs. Designing a GPFs is important but not sufficient for sustainable optimization. In fact, we need to simultaneously consider the supply chain of a GPF to control the pollution generated in the downstream supply chain. For a sustainable optimization approach, this joint configuration is usually structured based on economic, environmental and social criteria, which are often conflicting. Maximizing the total profit, maximizing the product greenness and minimizing the total supply chain cost with environmental considerations constitute our main objectives. We apply the Leader-Follower Stackelberg game in order to present a joint configuration of the GPF and its green supply chain (GSC). Maximizing the total profit (an economic criterion) and maximizing product greenness (a social criterion) are the two objectives of the leader problem to attain the GPF. This is done by determining the optimal selection of components, modules, and product variants. The follower of the joint problem seeks to configure the supply chain by minimizing the GSC costs considering carbon emissions (an environmental criterion). This includes the optimal selection of suppliers, manufacturers, the assembly plant, distribution centers, and retailers. A bi-level multi-objective linear programming problem (B-MOLP) is used to model the Stackelberg game of the GPF-GSC. A new particle swarm optimization algorithm, named as bi-level multi-objective PSO (B-MOPSO), is developed to solve the proposed bi-level multi-objective model. To show the validity of the proposed model and the efficiency of our algorithm, a case study at a mobile phone company is worked through. Finally, certain results with some managerial implications are obtained through a sensitivity analysis.

Supply Chain Management and Logistics: An Editorial Approach for a New Era

Supply Chain Management and Logistics: An Editorial Approach for a New Era

A conceptual framework for Servitisation of the manufacturing companies to deliver Product–Service Systems solutions: A study case of the Indonesian Motorcycle Industry

This study develops a framework for the servitisation of manufacturing that covers area of upstream and downstream supply chain to provide a bundling of product and service. An integration of upstream and downstream supply chain is essential to support the Product–Service Systems. However, a research of integrating the upstream and downstream supply chain is still nascent. A Dynamic capability is used as underpinning theoretical framework for this research. Six hypotheses are developed to build the conceptual framework particularly to investigate the relationship between the supply chain capabilities and sustainability performance of Product– service systems in the Indonesian motorcycle industry.

Application of Six Sigma methodology in an Indian chemical company

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to deploy Six Sigma (SS) methodology for addressing the customer complaints pertaining to Chemical-X in an Indian chemical company.Design/methodology/approachThe study followed a structured Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control (DMAIC) approach to address the customer complaints. The complaints have been classified into different categories along with a project charter in the define phase. In the measure phase, measurement system analysis (MSA) and supplier, input, process, output and control (SIPOC) have been applied. In the analyze and improve phase, why–why analysis, process capability study, how–how analysis, Gage repeatability and reproducibility and Taguchi design have been applied to optimize the manufacturing process parameters for Chemical-X. Lastly, in the control phase, validation of 20 batches has been piloted to validate the optimized parameters.FindingsThe findings of this study highlight the optimization and prioritization of the process parameters. It shows that humidity has the least impact on the manufacturing of Chemical-X, whereas shift type has the maximum impact. The experimental output indicates that the 1st Shift, the holding time after grinding should be twenty-four hours, and the temperature after grinding should be 40 °C to reduce the customer complaints concerning lumps formation in Chemical-X.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is performed for a single product (Chemical-X). It has focused only from the manufacturing process view and not from the transportation, suppliers and downstream supply chain view.Originality/valueA systematic and data-driven approach of the SS methodology ensured that the customer complaints due to lumps formation reduced from 5% (approx.) to 1% (approx.) which resulted in the cost saving of INR 4 million (approx.) annually.

A Need for Investment in Nigerian Crude Oil Refining and Infrastructures: A Panacea to Refined Petroleum Shortages and Economic Growth

Despite the abundance of occurring natural crude oil resources, Nigeria continually suffers shortages of refined petroleum products, which undermines economic development of the country. The purpose of this multicase study was to explore the strategic role of how investment in petroleum refineries and infrastructures can improve supply and hence mitigate shortages or scarcity of refined petroleum products in the petroleum supply chain and enhance economic development in Nigeria. The research participants comprise of ten senior leaders from two private-sector Nigerian downstream petroleum supply companies located in the Niger Delta region, who had effectively implemented strategies for petroleum supply. The conceptual framework for the study was the resource based view theory. Data were collected through semistructured face-to-face interviews and review of operational and policy documents from the supply or marketing petroleum companies. Data were transcribed, analyzed, and validated through member checking and triangulation. The discoveries indicate the need to establish more refineries, privatize the existing moribund refineries, and build more infrastructures in Nigeria. Findings may be used by petroleum leaders and investors to optimize available crude oil natural resources, and to create investment strategies in the petroleum supply chain, leading to product availability, sustainability, poverty reduction, and economic development in Nigeria.

A mapping of current downstream shallot supply chain based on agent-based modeling and quadruple innovation helix: a case study at Cirebon district, Indonesia

Shallots have the prospect of developing value-added downstream products. Currently, the only downstream product on the market is fried shallots, so it is necessary to map the downstream product supply chain shallots in Cirebon Regency as one of the regions producing shallots. The issue in the downstream development is how to map current downstream supply chain development, including current interaction between actors, so we can make a decision for future downstream development priority. This paper designs the mapping of the downstream supply chain of shallot commodities to see the interaction between actors in the shallots agorindustrial downstream supply chain network. The research method used was agent-based modeling (ABM) based modeling to determine agent behavior and its interactions in the shallots agro-industry supply chain. The structure of the agent structure in the supply chain was designed with the quadruple innovation helix (QIH) approach, which consists of 4 actors’ classifications, namely farmers, private sector, government, and universities. This research produces an interaction design that can be used as a basis for evaluating performance, added value and other aspects through the interaction behavior of each QIH actor in agent-based modeling to support downstream innovation in shallots agro-industry. Case studies in the Cirebon district of Indonesia show that the ABM and QIH models designed are able to show the form of interaction between downstream supply chain actors.

Decision-making models and support systems for supply chain risk: literature mapping and future research agenda

Supply chain disruptions have serious consequences for society and this has made supply chain risk management (SCRM) an attractive area for researchers and managers. In this paper, we use an objective literature mapping approach to identify, classify, and analyze decision-making models and support systems for SCRM, providing an agenda for future research. Through bibliometric networks of articles published in the Scopus database, we analyze the most influential decision-making models and support systems for SCRM, evaluate the main areas of current research, and provide insights for future research in this field. The main results are the following: we found that the identity of the area is structured in three groups of risk decision support models: (i) quantitative multicriteria decision models, (ii) stochastic decision-making models, and (iii) computational simulation/optimization models. We mapped six current research clusters: (i) conceptual and qualitative risk models, (ii) upstream supply chain risk models, (iii) downstream supply chain risk models, (iv) supply chain sustainability risk models, (v) stochastic and multicriteria decision risk models, and (vi) emerging techniques risk models. We identified seven future research clusters, with insights from further studies for: (i) tools to operate SCRM data, (ii) validation of risk models, (iii) computational improvement for data analysis, (iv) multi-level and multi-period supply chains, (v) agrifood risks, (vi) energy risks and (vii) sustainability risks. Finally, the future research agenda should prioritize SCRM's holistic vision, the relationship between Big Data, Industry 4.0 and SCRM, as well as emerging social and environmental risks.

Biofuel supply chain risk mitigation strategy framework: Expert interview based Approach

Purpose: The purpose of this case study is to develop and framework supply chain characteristics and risk mitigation strategies in the context of biodiesel downstream supply chain.Design/methodology/approach: This study employs an expert interview-based approach as a qualitative approach with a multi-perspectives view.Findings: There are vary strategies among perspectives, such as perspectives of organization and business types, stakeholder types, times and methods. These also shows that business strategy of collaborative, coordinative, and cooperative arise as alternative strategies for each perspective and each level of stakeholder. Those business strategies may apply in a vary operation strategies which linking through an energy security framework element as company’s competitive priorities.Research limitations/implications: The research scope includes only a certain area of the country’s territory and the target company’s supply chain areas of activity. The research method includes only internal stakeholders and experts as respondents and data sources. The level of analysis was only at corporate level in the corporate case study context. The research also targets only a downstream activities of biodiesel supply chain context. The interview-based approach as a qualitative approach faces some subjectivity challenges among respondents.Practical implications: The research result provides some positive implications for business practice, includes how to minimize the impact of supply chain risk on company’s business activities and performance, how supply chain experts and practitioners used risk mitigation practices, how to formulate strategic plans to minimize the impact of supply chain risk and enhance the effectivity and sustainability of the supply chain activities.Social implications: The implication for business practice was that company’s leaders implemented supply chain risk mitigation strategies that provide positive impacts on the more valuable relationship among supply chain actors and stakeholders.Originality/value: The first, is an activities areas and operation schemes-based of biodiesel supply chain point of view. The second, is a multi-perspectives-based biodiesel supply chain characteristics framework. The third, is an energy security framework-based biodiesel risk mitigation strategies framework.

Some Approaches for Sharing Logistics Information from Manufacturing Enterprises with Downstream Supply Chain Partners

Manufacturing enterprises sometimes cannot accept orders from corporate customers because their manufacturing capacity is busy. To solve this problem, this article proposes some approaches for information sharing with downstream partners of supply chains. The main approach is sending an XML file with free capacity by days from a manufacturing enterprise to its corporate customers. In this case corporate customers who send orders to the manufacturer are sure that their orders will be accepted and carried out. The practical implication of the proposed method is for manufacturing enterprises who have a lot of orders and sometimes reject some of the orders due to the lack of free manufacturing capacity.

The impact of market orientation on innovativeness: evidence from Yemeni SMEs

Purpose This study aims to investigate the impact of market orientation on small and medium-sizedenterprises (SMEs) innovativeness in Yemen. Design/methodology/approach The study uses empirical data collected from 206 managers, owners and operators of SME in Sana'a. By using exploratory and quantitative methods, the collected data was examined using descriptive, correlation and regression analyses. Findings The results indicated that market orientation, as a whole, has a significant impact on SME innovativeness. Specifically, while the two dimensions – customer orientation and supplier orientation – have a significant impact on SME innovativeness, the other two dimensions – competitor and inter-functional coordination – do not have a significant impact on SME innovativeness. Research limitations/implications The study focuses only on four factors that have an influence over SME innovativeness based on the perspective of managers. Practical implications SMEs represent the largest portion of businesses in Yemen’s private sector. It is anticipated that the findings of this study will help SMEs’ owners and managers to better understand market orientation and the significant impact it has on SME innovativeness. Originality/value The value of this research work is evident from the fact that the market orientation models have neglected the part of suppliers (upstream supply chain) in generating superior value for customers, even though they have concentrated on the role of customers (downstream supply chain) and competitors.

Energy Enterprise Management in China under the Perspective of Green Development

With the aggravation of climate change, energy enterprises will gradually assume more and more responsibilities for environmental protection and energy conservation. How to incorporate green ideas into their business management has become an important theme. After reviewing the past background and policies, based on the supply chain model established in the past literature, this paper determines the more important indicators that affect the sustainable development of the company, and based on this, puts forward the points that should be paid attention to in the future management of the enterprise. First, energy companies should incorporate green ideas into their corporate training to raise the morale of their employees. Second, through strict control of upstream and downstream suppliers and the establishment of environmental requirements, so as to improve the green degree of the entire supply chain. Third, in the current society with advanced information technology, the operation of information means to achieve the goal of green management should be the focus of future management.

Sourcing analytics for evaluating and selecting suppliers using DEA and AHP: a case of the aerospace company

Sourcing represents one of the most upstream supply chain activities, which often dictates the rest of downstream supply chain activities. As such, a poor sourcing decision has a significant trickle-down effect on the effectiveness of a buying firm's manufacturing and logistics decisions. Considering such significance, it is imperative for the firm to make a wise, systematic decision in evaluating and selecting suppliers. To support a critical sourcing decision, we propose a supplier evaluation decision-aid tool within the framework of business analytics, which takes in to account the multiple facets of supplier performance evaluation criteria. As a core of such a tool, we develop a relatively new model that is capable of considering both objective and subjective performance criteria simultaneously using a combination of data envelopment analysis (DEA) and analytic hierarchy process (AHP). To verify the practicality and validity of the proposed analytics-based tool, we applied it to an actual problem facing a US aerospace company.

The Impact of U.S. Supply Shocks on the Global Oil Price

I examine the role of the U.S. shale oil boom in driving global oil prices. Using a structural vector autoregressive (SVAR) model that identifies separate oil supply shocks for the U.S. and OPEC, I find that U.S. supply shocks can account for up to 13% of the oil price variation over the 2003-2015 period. This is considerably more than what has been found in other studies. Moreover, while U.S. oil production has increased substantially since 2010, U.S. oil supply shocks first started to contribute negatively to oil prices beginning in late 2013. This mismatch implies a temporary friction in the transmission of U.S. supply shocks to the rest of the world likely caused by logistical and technological challenges observed in the downstream supply chain.

From grain to glass to COVID-19

The case examines the business operations of Midwest Whiskey, MWW, focusing on the downstream supply chain. This includes examining the risks, efficiencies, and modes of distribution for all of the MWW products, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Questions of interest include: considering the downstream supply chain for MWW, where would you suggest Casey invests in the B2B and B2C channels? Would your answer change had the pandemic not occurred? What risks does MWW have? Why did you choose each? What capabilities, and subsequent actions, can MWW use to mitigate these? What are positives and negatives to investing in a three-way liquor license? What parameters should be taken into consideration in developing a forecasting model?

Sourcing analytics for evaluating and selecting suppliers using DEA and AHP: a case of the aerospace company

Sourcing represents one of the most upstream supply chain activities, which often dictates the rest of downstream supply chain activities. As such, a poor sourcing decision has a significant trickle-down effect on the effectiveness of a buying firm's manufacturing and logistics decisions. Considering such significance, it is imperative for the firm to make a wise, systematic decision in evaluating and selecting suppliers. To support a critical sourcing decision, we propose a supplier evaluation decision-aid tool within the framework of business analytics, which takes in to account the multiple facets of supplier performance evaluation criteria. As a core of such a tool, we develop a relatively new model that is capable of considering both objective and subjective performance criteria simultaneously using a combination of data envelopment analysis (DEA) and analytic hierarchy process (AHP). To verify the practicality and validity of the proposed analytics-based tool, we applied it to an actual problem facing a US aerospace company.

Level of Integration among Supply Chain Members in Moving towards the Adoption of Sustainable Supply Chain Management in Ethiopian Manufacturing Industries

Sustainability is a multi-dimensional combination that enlarges the economic bottom line notion that focuses on efficiently and effectively usage of resources and realizing a return on investments, by adding social considerations and promoting superior ecological responsibility. The purpose of this study is to investigate the level of integration among supply chain members in moving towards the adoption of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM). In order to address this objective, descriptive research design was used based on cross-sectional survey. The data were collected through survey questionnaires from the top and middle-level managers of the sample firms. These sample firms were selected by proportional stratified sampling technique. From each sample firms three respondents were selected by using purposive sampling technique. Accordingly, valid data were collected from 420 participants from 146 large-scale manufacturing firms using self-administered questionnaires. The major findings are: despite to its limitation on jointly anticipating and developing plans for tackling potential problems on SSCM (environmental, social, and economic) large-scale manufacturing firms in Ethiopia were found highly integrated internally via information system and that enabled them to share up-to-dated information within firms. A strong level of integration with downstream supply chain members on strategic partnership, and in sharing adequate and quality information was also found. Integration on both suppliers and customers’ involvement on environmental and social related issues of SSCM was found weak. On average the grand mean score value revealed that the level of integration among supply chain members in moving towards the adoption of SSCM for both external and internal was found moderate. Therefore, it can be concluded that the level of integration either externally or internally seems that the commitment of supply chain members (firms) is more on addressing their business or economic than environmental and social aspects of SSCM.

Tradeoffs in water and carbon footprints of shale gas, natural gas, and coal in China

China has set ambitious goals for developing its vast shale gas reserves. The rapid growth in shale gas needs to better understand its environmental implications. This study performs a comprehensive evaluation framework for identifying the tradeoffs in water and carbon footprints of China's shale gas, and compares the lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and water consumption of shale gas with that of conventional natural gas and coal. Scenario analysis and white noise are used for addressing system’s uncertainties. A deterministic mathematic method is then developed for identifying the optimal breakeven methane leakage and wastewater recycling rates. Results reveal that the carbon footprint of shale gas (39.71 g CO2/MJ) is slightly higher than that of conventional natural gas (35.51 g CO2/MJ), but their carbon footprints are lower than that of coal. When the downstream supply chain is considered, coal-fired technologies have a larger amount water consumption than gas-fired technologies. Theoretically, the water consumption can increase by approximately 2% when switching from conventional natural gas to shale gas. Shale gas development in China cannot lead to a significant increase in its total GHG emissions, whereas a coal-to-shale gas switch can offset some GHG emissions. The optimization solutions indicate that the methane leakage rate in shale gas technology decreases from 7.89% to 5.75% when the methane recovery rate in coal technology increases from 0 to 100%. This relationship implies that increasingly strict methane leakage regulations are necessary in the shale gas industry to achieve climate benefits of shale gas subsidization for coal.

Greening the supply chain: an empirical study

ABSTRACTThis article examines the notion of green supply chain management (GSCM) in the New Zealand business context. Despite the increasing significance of the GSCM approach at the global level, there is a paucity of empirical research that explores GSCM within the New Zealand business context. This study intends to bridge the gap in the literature by investigating the GSCM practices adopted by New Zealand based companies. To this end, a sample of 23 companies was selected and 29 interviews were conducted with senior corporate managers. The results revealed that most interviewees’ companies were proactive in improving their mid-stream GSCM performance, but the same enthusiasm was not manifested at the upstream and downstream supply chain levels. Hence, we argue that companies need to recognise and embrace the holistic nature of GSCM and promote collaborative supply chain activities to realise improvements in environmental, economic and operational performance.

Influence of different stakeholders on first-tier suppliers\u2019 sustainable supplier selection: insights from a multiple case study in the automotive first-tier industry

Public and academic attention towards sustainably managing companies and corresponding supply chains has been gaining significant momentum in recent years. While extensive literature is available on corporate sustainability and the original equipment manufacturers’ (OEMs) downstream supply chains, there is little empirical knowledge concerning why first-tier (FT) suppliers in the upstream supply chain implement sustainability into their supplier selection (SS) processes. However, FT suppliers have a crucial role in ensuring sustainability in upstream supply chains, as they are a key transmitter and often accountable for their OEMs’ sub-supplier portfolios. Grounded on a cross-case study approach of five FT suppliers, two associations and three non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as well as stakeholder theory, this paper investigates how different stakeholder groups are influencing the integration of sustainability aspects into FT suppliers’ SS processes. Therefore, government, NGOs, OEMs and employees are investigated as stakeholder groups. Characteristics, such as FT suppliers’ size, legal structure, material criticality, employees’ distance to the supply chain function, company culture and industry culture, could be identified as factors that influence the urgency of stakeholders’ sustainability claims and thus FT suppliers’ perceived sustainability pressure. Moreover, with regard to the OEM stakeholder group, it was found that, depending on the urgency of OEMs’ sustainability claims, FT suppliers align their sustainable SS processes to the actions and expectations of different stakeholder groups and thus fulfill the OEM’s sustainability expectations to varying degrees. Thus, our study contributes empirical knowledge to this so far underrepresented research field and is moreover beneficial for decision makers.