Effective Supply Chain Management Research Articles

Fuzzy inventory model for NVOCC\u2019s returnable containers under empty container repositioning with leasing option

At present, the entire globe gets engaged in importing and exporting the products for promoting their business in which supply chain management is playing a vital role. The main aspect of any effective supply chain management is the transportation of cargoes. To avoid the damages of cargoes during transportation and for minimizing the cost, the returnable containers are used. The present research deals with an inventory model of Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier (NVOCC) for returnable containers with price dependent demand under fuzzy environment. In this study, it is presumed that the import of cargoes is less than the export. The Empty Container Repositioning (ECR) and the leasing options are utilized to replace the deficit containers which prevent shortages. The proportion of the used containers returned, the proportion of the repositioned containers and the fraction of repairable from the returned containers are considered as Triangular Fuzzy Numbers [TFNs]. Fuzzy inventory model is framed for the purpose of attaining optimal length of the screening, the repositioning cycle and the leasing cycle which are used to minimize the expected total cost and the proposed model is illustrated with the numerical example. The sensitivity analysis is performed to show the effect of fuzziness of return rate, repositioning rate and repairable percentage along with the changes in parameters.

ОСОБЛИВОСТІ УПРАВЛІННЯ ЛАНЦЮГАМИ ПОСТАВОК У ЗОВНІШНЬОЕКОНОМІЧНІЙ ДІЯЛЬНОСТІ

The article analyzes the peculiarities of supply chain management in foreign economic activity. Particular attention is paid to the need to establish cooperation and appropriate integration between the participants of the supply chain. Supply chain analysis in foreign economic activity helps to investigate logistics costs and solve the problem of their optimization, which, in fact, turns into a task of their minimization, as well as to optimize the cost of customs clearance of goods. A changing competitive environment requires the formation of an effective supply chain, taking into account the peculiarities of not only the national market, but also international norms for transport services of foreign economic activity and legislation of different countries regarding customs procedures. When planning economic activity and foreign economic activity, in particular, many factors that have a direct or indirect impact on the formation of a price for the end user are taken into account, one of the main ones is the proximity to raw materials, fuel, and consumers. The pattern of rational placement of production follows from the economic law of labor economy, which regulates the costs of overcoming the distance between the areas of raw materials production, production and consumption of products, and also takes into account additional costs arising from the movement of raw materials or final products of the customs border. The role of this law is decisive, since logistics costs and customs clearance costs during implementation often occupy the lion's share in the cost of final products and, accordingly, form a price for the consumer. It is through the solution of logistical problems that it is possible to minimize transport costs and customs clearance costs, which ultimately affects the cost of finished products. The effectiveness of such actions depends on the amount of financial and time costs and in the current competitive environment is the main factor that affects the formation of competitiveness of the enterprise. Thus, the task of minimizing total costs is reduced to the task of minimizing transport costs and customs clearance costs. Thus, effective management of supply chains, taking into account the peculiarities of the implementation of foreign economic contracts, will greatly simplify the process of promoting the finished products of the enterprise in foreign markets and establish effective cooperation with foreign suppliers of raw materials for their own production.

Značaj digitalizacije nabavke u ostvarivanju višekanalne maloprodajne izvrsnosti

Digitalization of procurement is a path to e-procurement and includes a set of practices and technologies, which through smart use of data, ICT and automation, raises the efficiency and effectiveness of existing and leads to the development of new procurement processes and activities. The most common notion of digitalization of procurement in retail implies the implementation of certain electronic solutions in various e-procurement phases of the retailer. Procurement and selling are two sides of the same retail coin. From time immemorial, business logic has dictated that everything should be procured rationally and that only what can be sold should be procured. With the modernization of retail come new challenges, which require exceptional coordination between sales and purchasing activities. Therefore, in certain circumstances, the digitization of sales may affect the digitization of procurement, and vice versa. The concept of multiple channel sales has been extensively present, from the moment when retailers started using multiple marketing channels in parallel. In this regard, modern, theoretically narrower understanding of multiple channel business implies the intersection of physical and digital sales channels. The market implications of the COVID-19 pandemic only further accentuated the need to integrate traditional and electronic sales channels, in order to respond to contactless purchasing requests. Achieving a multiple channel strategy is usually multi-iterative, as the retailer goes through the previous multiple channel phases, gradually expanding the range of sales channels and their integration. In this regard, Jocevski et al. (2019) noted that the key predispositions for the transition from a multichannel to an omnichannel strategy are a "seamless" shopping experience, data integration, and effective supply chain management. By its nature, the digitalization of retail procurement, as a business process, touches on all three key aspects of multiple channel integration. It is in this context that it is necessary to look for the previously mentioned link between the digitization of procurement and sales. Therefore, the focus of this paper will be on locating and explaining the specific ways in which procurement digitalization can affect the multiple channel integration of retail business.

Стратегія інтеграції терміналів морських портів як напрямок підвищення їх ефективного функціонування

It has been proven that in the context of globalization of production and increasing consumption, the logistics and transport industry is faced with the task of satisfying the complex demands of consumers. Manufacturing enterprises are recognizing the need for effective supply chain management in response to a globalized economy and competition, and hence the need to adopt new strategies such as supply chain management and global sourcing and outsourced logistics functions. First, we will structure the existing research on the selected topic. Such a literature review should provide a basis for and identify changes in research trends. The systematization of scientific literature on terminal operations and port efficiency provides justification for specific popular areas, but does not cover all problematic issues. Port management reforms continue to take place in different ways, depending on the situation in the country or region. Thus, maritime researchers increasingly tackled port-related problems in the context of supply chain management or port research. Based on these studies, three approaches to the philosophy and practice of supply chain management can be distinguished: studies on the impact on the shipping and port industry, the application of supply chain management concepts and models for port research, and the integration of supply chain activities. Researching the Impact of Supply Chain Management on the Port Industry. Examines the impact of supply chain management strategies adopted by manufacturing companies on the port industry. He typically views supply chain management as a phenomenon that occurs outside of port operations, and analyzes the dynamics among market players when exposure is externally. Research on the application of supply chain management concepts for ports. Consider supply chain management concepts and models as analytical tools for addressing and expanding port operations and management issues. Based on the position that the port industry has been significantly influenced by supply chain management practices and accepts this approach as the dominant logistics perspective. Research on supply chain integration activities. This approach also views ports as an extended system that interacts with other parts of the supply chain. In addition, this approach recognizes the integration of supply chain management and the integration of supply chains as phenomena that can take place in ports along the supply chain and views ports as a holistic system that actively participates in the phenomenon under study. A port-to-supply chain integration strategy must be firmly based on a strong focus on supply chain integration within individual seaport terminals. Successful implementation of this strategy necessarily implies a significant increase in terminal productivity.

A vendor recommendation model using neural networks

Suppliers today are considered as a logical extension to a firm that provide critical inputs to its processes. Supplier performance evaluation is vital for any firm to carry out supplier selection and to practice effective supply chain management. Further, the supplier performance measurement system should continuously evolve in a company as a process for improving the capabilities, execution effectiveness and efficiency. Though the supplier performance systems have been well investigated in the literature, very few studies have proposed an order-based supplier selection approach that takes into account the changing priorities of the customer. The research tries to address this gap by attempting to establish a dynamic linkage between customer order priorities and supplier characteristics. A neural network model for the order driven vendor recommendation system that ranks the suppliers as per the requirements of the order has been proposed.

SUPPLIER SELECTION WITH AHP AND 0-1 GOAL PROGRAMMING: AN APPLICATION IN HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY

In order for health institutions to continue their activities, the goods and services they need must be supplied at the right time, in the right amount, at the right quality, at an affordable price and from the right source. This is possible with an effective supply chain management and selection of the right supplier. Supplier selection studies in the health sector are almost nonexistent, therefore, it was wanted to contribute to the literature by studying in this sector. In this study, it was aimed to work with the right suppliers to ensure that a dental health center provides critical medical supplies. First of all, the products of vital importance were determined by ABC (Always, Better Control)-VED (Vital, Essential, Desirable) matrix analysis and a supplier list was created. The best suppliers were selected with the Zero-One Goal Programming method based on AHP priorities, one of the multi-criteria decision making methods, by determining the criteria suitable for the sector.It is thought that this model will contribute significantly to the literature and will save time in supplier selection studies in the health sector.

Supply Chain Management practices: Competitive Advantage and Organizational Performance in Sri Lankan Construction Industry

In the construction industry supply chain management (SCM) is a vital tool in controlling business processes in a defined and a systematic way to improve quality, time management and increase profit. Effective supply chain management has become a potentially valuable method of securing and improving competitive advantage and organizational performance since competition no longer between organizations, but between global organizations and among supply chains. This paper aims to investigate the impact of supply chain management practices on competitive advantage and organizational performance in the construction industry, Sri Lanka, due to the lack of application of supply chain management practices to determine the organizational performance in the competitive environment. Further, this study focuses five SCM practices: strategic supplier partnership, customer relationship, level of information sharing, quality of information sharing, and postponement to investigate what supply chain management is, how it works in increase competitive advantage and what are its dynamics. Six hypotheses were developed based on the constructed conceptual framework derived from the supply chain management literature. The data were collected over the survey technique by randomly administering structured questionnaires from 198 respondents of construction management teams and different sub-contractors. First Multiple regression analysis was performed to explore the impact of five supply chain management practices on competitive advantage and organizational performance in the construction industry and the analysis was carried out the factor analysis to explore the significance of supply chain management dimensions. The results of the regression analysis indicated that all SCM variables have a positive impact on competitive advantages and organizational performance of the construction industry in Sri Lanka. Moreover, it suggested that the strategic supplier partnership was the most significant SCM variable which determines the competitive advantage and level of information sharing variable was the less significant variable towards competitive advantage. The results of this study provide new insights to the construction companies to better understand the significant role that SCM variables play in respect to the competitive advantages and organizational performance in Sri Lanka. The study has outlined to examine the five SCM variables in construction industry. Hence future study can be outlined to further examine the impact of SCM on competitive advantages in other industries. Moreover, the future study can be outlined to further examine the impact of SCM variables in different dimensions especially including customer perspective in respect to human variables. Besides, this study was based on the limited large-scale construction companies operated in Sri Lanka and ignore the small and medium scale supermarkets.

Blockchain and Supply Chain Management: A New Paradigm for Supply Chain Integration and Collaboration

Despite there are some arguments about blockchain, it has been highlighted as an important distributed secure technology in the 21st century. It is an incorruptible digital ledger of economic transactions that can be programmed to record not just financial transactions but virtually everything of value. Dobrovnik et al. (2018) suggest that blockchain is a revolutionising technology that would change industries at an international level, add values to firms and supply chain networks, improve commerce, and drive economy. Although blockchain has attracted attentions, very few blockchain studies have been focussed on supply chain integration and collaboration areas. This study illustrates the possibilities of applying blockchain technology in the coordination of activities for effective and efficient supply chain management. The study takes a closer look at the use of blockchain in supply chains beyond cryptocurrency, payment, and finance via the use of smart contract and consensus algorithm (i.e. imposing constraints). The key attributes of blockchain are discussed and potential questions were identified in New Zealand. The expected outcome of this study will advance the understanding of the blockchain and supply chain literature, besides inspire both researchers and practitioners to consider the use of blockchain in different context-aware future studies.

Sustainable Supplier Evaluation and Selection of Fresh Agricultural Products Based on IFAHP-TODIM Model

In recent years, increasing pollution of the ecological environment, excessive use of pesticides, and lack of effective management of agricultural product supply chains have made the problem of having a green and safe supply of fresh food increasingly prominent. The sustainability of the fresh agricultural products supply has become an inevitable focus in the development of agricultural enterprises. There are some problems in the supply chain of fresh agricultural products, such as scattered production sites and difficult logistics transportation, which makes it difficult for enterprises to choose reliable suppliers. Supplier selection is a key component of sustainable supply chain management, and the criteria for evaluating the quality of sustainable suppliers are often affected by economic, social, and environmental factors. Therefore, from the perspective of sustainability, based on triple bottom line theory and comprehensively considering the three aspects of society, environment, and economy, this paper proposes a novel evaluation index system for the selection of sustainable suppliers of fresh agricultural products. This paper innovatively integrates the intuition fuzzy analytic hierarchy process and TODIM (an acronym in Portuguese of interactive and multiple attribute decision-making), and these are applied to select sustainable suppliers. Finally, the integration method is applied to the example, and a sensitivity analysis is carried out to verify the validity of the evaluation model.

Requirements to IT support of oil refinery supply chain

One of the factors that ensure the efficiency of any enterprise is effective supply chain management, in which the enterprise is a par-ticipant. The purpose of this article is to describe and model the supply chain of the oil refining industry and formulate requirements for IT sup-port for supply chain management. As a result, the place of refining pro-cesses and related logistics in the supply chain of the oil industry was determined, a model of the supply chain of a refinery was formed, a high-level architecture of IT support for this chain was proposed, and high-level requirements for IT services of IT architecture subsystems were developed.

Supply Chain Resilience in a Pandemic: The Need for Revised Contingency Planning

Abstract Organizations have worked over the years to develop efficiencies to their supply chains, which includes efforts to reduce waste, lower costs, consolidate suppliers and distributors, better manage costs of goods sold and inventory, develop efficiencies in packaging, storage, and shipping of product, as well as utilizing digital analytics to manage consumer choices and demands. These are all by-products of world-class manufacturing which have promoted systematic organizational and supply chain efficiencies. However, under economic shocks that are sustained over longer periods of time (e.g., Covid-19 Pandemic) and that affect supply chains from a variety of disruptions, a supply chain that is not prepared or adaptable may be broken or at a minimum weigh down the organization. Therefore, the ability to manage and control risk is a key aspect of effective supply chain management. However, the literature on pandemic risk mitigation is nascent. Thus, this paper offers a review of the extant literature, provides a strategic mitigation model covering five dimensions: leadership, preparedness, digitalization, resilience, and pivoting. These dimensions are designed to help organizations in the future to be more adaptive to events such as global pandemics and other large-scale disruptions and discuss implications for future research.

COVID-19 social distancing and the US service sector: What do we learn?

This study investigates the impact of COVID-19 social distancing on the US service sector. Results from four industry indexes (hotels, entertainment, restaurants and airlines) indicate that conditional correlations among index pairs exhibited substantial increases. Iterated Cumulative Sums of Squares (ICSS) tests in dynamic conditional correlations show that while the relationship between airlines and entertainment venues is unstable, restaurants and hotels demonstrate stable co-movement. Markov regime-switching regression analysis suggests the pandemic is affecting mainly the entertainment and airline industries, with gradual deterioration in the hotel industry, led by small-market-cap companies. However, we see no evidence of a negative impact on the restaurant industry from the pandemic in our analysis period. This may be related to Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Based on our results, we recommend employment of effective working capital and supply chain management methods in the service sector to streamline the operations of affected companies. In addition, all other sectors should utilize appropriate methods of risk measurement and should take 'Black Swans' into account to incorporate a more accurate probability of unexpected events.

Promoting public value by implementing reverse logistics in the South African Police Service

Background: Effective supply chain management (SCM) processes across all South Africa’s three spheres of government has become critical in view of increasing demand for public services amidst scarcity of resources. Objectives: This article provides an assessment of the implementation of reverse logistics within the supply chain management (SCM) system of the South African Police Service (SAPS), in order to produce public value. Method: The article utilised a qualitative desktop approach, drawing from an extensive review of literature, in particular, SAPS reports, policy documents relevant to journal and online articles on SCM, and reverse logistics. Results: It is hoped that through the implementation of reverse logistics in SAPS SCM processes, public value is enhanced; there is better financial performance, legislative compliance, employment and preservation of resources. It was found that a shortage of resources, lack of skills, institutional capacity, inadequate control systems and corruption are all detrimental to public value. In order to optimise the efficiency of reverse logistics in enhancing public value, SCM managers must develop policies to manage procurement and resource management processes, as well as implement information systems and automation for the entire reverse flow. Conclusion: In order to mitigate the reverse logistics challenges and enhance public value in SAPS, there is a need for redesigning the institutional budget priorities, implementation of adequate control measures, recycling of resources, reskilling of SCM personnel, automation and review of the SCM processes.

Entrepreneurial management of project supply chain – a model approach

The paper’s principal purpose is to present the original concept of the project supply chain’s entrepreneurial management. Based on the literature on the subject, one defines the entrepreneurial management concept showing the influence of entrepreneurial management on company operation. Moreover, the paper also outlines the most important concepts of the project supply chain and presents the functioning scheme. Theoretical considerations concerning contemporary theories of entrepreneurial management and project supply chain are the prelude to presenting the concept of entrepreneurial management. The presented approach can be found helpful for the effective management of the project supply chain, which has not yet been thoroughly defined. It should be mentioned that the designed model of the entrepreneurial supply chain management is an original proposal for the paradigm of project supply chains. Both in a classical and project supply chain, a significant role is given to the flow of material resources between the individual chain components. It determines that the project supply chain is mainly driven by the need for its members’ value increase. It was explained that regarding entrepreneurial competences, knowledge can be transferred to other organizations in the whole supply chain. It was also mentioned that the project supply chain’s entrepreneurial management takes into account the flexibility manifesting itself through the establishment of agile project teams, and by focusing on human relationships. It is the basis for the presented concept of the entrepreneurial management model of the project supply chain. AcknowledgmentThe project is financed within the framework of the program of the Minister of Science and Higher Education under the name “Regional Excellence Initiative” in the years 2019–2022; project number 001/RID/2018/19; the amount of financing PLN 10,684,000.00.

Demand forecasting in the presence of systematic events: Cases in capturing sales promotions

Reliable demand forecasts are critical for effective supply chain management. Several endogenous and exogenous variables can influence the dynamics of demand, and hence a single statistical model that only consists of historical sales data is often insufficient to produce accurate forecasts. In practice, the forecasts generated by baseline statistical models are often judgmentally adjusted by forecasters to incorporate factors and information that are not incorporated in the baseline models. There are however systematic events whose effect can be quantified and modeled to help minimize human intervention in adjusting the baseline forecasts. In this paper, we develop and test a novel regime-switching approach to quantify systematic information/events and objectively incorporate them into the baseline statistical model. Our simple yet practical and effective model can help limit forecast adjustments to only focus on the impact of less systematic events such as sudden climate change or dynamic market activities. The model is validated empirically using sales and promotional data from two Australian companies. The model is also benchmarked against commonly employed statistical and machine learning forecasting models. Discussions focus on thorough analysis of promotions impact and benchmarking results. We show that the proposed model can successfully improve forecast accuracy and avoid poor forecasts when compared to the current industry practice which heavily relies on human judgment to factor in all types of information/events. The proposed model also outperforms sophisticated machine learning methods by mitigating the generation of extremely poor forecasts that drastically differ from actual sales due to changes in demand states.

PRIORITIZATION of ROAD TRANSPORTATION RISKS: AN APPLICATION in GİRESUN PROVINCE

The purpose of this study is to determine and rank the road transportation risk factors that are crucial for effective and economic supply chain management. Road transportation risk factors can be defined as equipment related risks, risk to be lost and disappearance, risks related to delivery and packaging, inadequacy of qualified personnel and technical equipment, risks caused from incompatibility to logistic information system/technology, security risk, compulsory reasons, risks originated from regulations and arrangements, risks related to waiting at customs gate and transport infrastructure based risks. Accordingly, fuzzy PIPRECIA as a multi-criteria ranking method was used to prioritize the risk factors. According to the results, while the transport infrastructure based risks criterion was found as the most important, the risk to be lost and disappearance factor was obtained as the least important one.

A principal component analysis of supply chain management skills for the Nigerian construction industry

Supply chain management (SCM) has been posited as a remedy to address the challenges and reduce fragmentation in the construction supply chain. But the success of its adoption in the construction industry (CI) is influenced by the availability of professionals with the required SCM skills. This study examined SCM skills with a view to identify the existence of any relationship and complex structure among them using a data reduction technique. A well-structured questionnaire was administered to 215 construction professionals and a relatively high response rate of 82% was attained. A principal component analysis of the data was carried out, and this reduced the identified 24 SCM skill variables to four skill areas namely; information and human resource management competencies; leadership and negotiation competencies; process management competencies, and political sensitivity and salesmanship competencies. These forms the basis for effective SCM training in the context of the Nigerian CI. The study recommended that professionals and students in the CI should undergo trainings in these areas and educators should update their curriculum to be in track with current and emerging practices of SCM. Further studies can replicate this research in other developing countries to affirm or disprove the study results.

A CASE STUDY ON CREATING CUSTOMER VALUE IN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

In this post globalization era, the business units are being forced ‘forced’ to provide better than the best to the customers. For, today’s customers are a different lot than what they used to be decades ago. They are no longer willing to be content with the ‘take it or leave it attitude’ of the traditional business units. They are demanding, aggressive and are determined to have the best product at a price & quality, which they are willing to pay and what they consider it to be right in their own perspective. This paradigm shift in the attitude of the customers’ is forcing the organizations to be innovative and create value for the customers such as injecting technology to provide services to the customers on 24x7x365 basis across the world and assisting the customer in placing the order for a product while he is in US and to have it delivered in India at a time and place as ‘dictated’ by him. But, all this emphasis on creating customer value and of providing services round the clock, has the backbone of an effective, efficient and efficacious Supply Chain Management System. For, without, this core aspect, the focus on customer value goes for a toss. Thus, business units of today are keenly studying, analyzing, innovating and implementing myriad measures so as to ensure customer value satisfaction. This is a conceptual case study, based on the corporate experience of the authors. The domain of the case study is the automobile sector. Initially the case study covers the basics of Supply Chain Management System and gradually it transcends to an establishment of Supply Chain Management System Finally the problems at the end are focused more on the usage of analytical skills rather than the usage of the theoretical concepts of Supply Chain Management System. KEY WORDS: Attitude, Backbone, Customer, Innovative, Value

Impact of buyer-supplier network complexity on firms’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions: An empirical investigation

Building on transaction cost economics theory and social network theory, we investigate the impact of dimensions of buyer-supplier network (BSN) complexity (horizontal, vertical, and spatial) on firms' environmental performance, specifically, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Using secondary data from diverse sources on the supply networks of 319 firms, extending to the Tier-2 level, we present and test a robust empirical model that also accounts for potential endogeneity effects. To understand this key relationship between BSN complexity and environmental performance at a deeper level, we further test the moderating influence of BSN members' reach on this key relationship. We also test the moderating effects of a focal firm's control over its BSN on this key relationship. We find that both the vertical complexity dimension and the horizontal complexity dimension of BSNs had a U-shaped relationship with the participating firms' GHG emissions. In contrast, the spatial complexity dimension of BSNs had a positive impact on the participating firms' GHG emissions. With respect to the moderating effects, we found that firms' control over their BSN negatively influenced these relationships, whereas the reach of the BSN members positively influenced these relationships. Taken together, this set of mixed-pattern findings casts new light on the broad literature of multitier BSNs, environmental sustainability, and the effective management of supply chains. The managerial implications of our findings are also discussed.

Traceability of Pharmaceutical Drugs throughout the Supply Chain using Blockchain

The pharmaceutical industry is prone to many risks and the effect of these risks propagating to patients is enormous. Just like other sectors, the pharmaceutical sector can also benefit from new methodologies in the supply chain network. More effective supply chain management can benefit the pharmaceutical industry by reducing the risks from the current challenges being faced by the industry. Difficulties like missing interest data, human asset reliance, request of the board, distribution center administration, absence of coordination, shipment perceivability and lapse must be confronted. An important observation from these challenges is their dependence on human resources to come about these changes in the state and process information. Inevitably, blockchain can construct the profitability and straightforwardness of flexible chains and vehemently influence everything from warehousing to movement to portion. The core benefits of the blockchain technology are Immutability, Corruption & tamper proof, Secure and Zero downtime. These make the blockchain technology a very effective means for revolutionizing the supply chain management