Elements Of Supply Chain Management Research Articles

Kiwi Medical Devices Ltd: Is “Right Shoring” the Right Response?

Today's competitive market is very dynamic. New rivals emerge and customer expectations change—sometimes overnight. This case illustrates the following elements of supply chain management: Offshoring, Global Network Design, Country Selection and Facility Location.

Supplier selection considering sustainability measures: an application of weight restriction fuzzy-DEA approach

With the growing of consumer awareness in environmental and social issues sustainable development has become an essential element in supply chain management. Supplier evaluation and selection is one of the main strategic decisions for purchasing management in supply chain. This paper use Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to propose a new model for evaluation and ranking of a given set of suppliers from sustainable point of view. The proposed model integrates the fuzzy set theory and DEA to consider the decision makers’ preferences and handle the ambiguity and uncertainty in supplier selection process. For this purpose, linguistic values in the form of triangular fuzzy numbers are used to assess the weights of criteria, sub-criteria, and the ratings of suppliers’ performance with respect to sub-criteria. Then, a fuzzy-DEA model, using α-cut approach, is developed considering weight constraints. An application from Supplying Automotive Parts Company (SAPCO) Company, which is one of the largest suppliers of automotive parts in the Middle-East, is presented to show the applicability of the proposed model. Finally, the proposed weight restriction fuzzy-DEA model is validated through comparing with one of the recent supplier selection methods.

The impact of asymmetry on performance in different collaboration and integration environments in supply chain management

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the non-linear aspects of the relationship between asymmetry and performance in supply chains (SCs), under varying intensities of collaboration and integration.Design/methodology/approachThe paper offers a useful new approach to designing strategic elements of supply chain management (SCM) relationships. Using the partial least squares method, an empirical study of 66 companies in Spain has been conducted to clarify contemporary relationships, suggest new directions and ultimately contribute toward developing SCM theory.FindingsThe influences of asymmetry on performance in varying collaboration and integration contexts are shown to be unstable and have non-linear paths. It is inappropriate for all firms to collaborate or integrate continually, even for a prescribed period. Furthermore, due to asymmetry, SCM processes are more complex.Research limitations/implicationsThe results’ validity may be limited to contexts specific to Spanish SCs. It would be valuable to investigate the impact of asymmetry on firms’ performance and relationships in other markets.Practical implicationsCollaborations and integration between partners in a SC might change the role of asymmetry from restraining to improving performance. The best way to improve performance in asymmetric relationships is to collaborate. Certain dimensions of integration and full integration are not necessarily required to improve firms’ performance under asymmetry conditions.Originality/valueThe study adds a new viewpoint on SCM by suggesting that not all collaboration and integration developments lead directly to improved performance.

An AHP Framework for Evaluating Construction Supply Chain Relationships

Managing business relationships between customers and suppliers at different ties is the essential element of supply chain management in construction. The Construction Supply Chain (CSC) relationships among the parties should be continuously evaluated and improved to enhance the effectiveness of supply chain management. Hence, a model or an evaluation framework of the CSC relationships should be built to measure and assess the relationships among the parties. However, existing models and frameworks had some obvious deficiencies, for example, the weights of criteria for evaluating the CSC relationships have not been determined yet. The AHP method has been adopted in this study to build up a framework for evaluating the CSC relationships. Based on a comprehensive literature review, survey questionnaires, factor analysis method, and AHP method, an evaluation framework was formed, which includes the detailed weights of three main criteria and twelve sub- criteria, five levels of assessment, and nature of measurement. The criteria in this framework provide a rich and structured understanding of what occurs in CSC relationships among the parties. The framework may help the parties to measure and improve their current relationships with others in the supply chain.

Effects of Supply Chain Management on Tomato Export in Iran: Application of Structural Equation Modeling

ABSTRACTAlthough Iran is one of the top 10 countries in the world that produce tomatoes, the level that they are exported into the global market is low. This issue may have resulted from a major problem within tomatoes’ supply chain management. This paper aims to develop an empirical model of the supply chain management (SCM) of tomato companies. Throughout the reviewed literature, a SCM construct with different six indicators has been developed, including information sharing, long-term relationship, cooperation, quality, flexibility, and delivery. In this study, the influence of the SCM components on tomato export was identified through the use of empirical data that were collected from 20 different tomato companies in Northeast Iran. Using structural equation modeling, the major elements of SCM were found to have significant impacts on the export of tomatoes. The results also showed that information sharing, cooperation, flexibility, quality, and delivery had significant positive effects on the export of tomatoes.

An Empirical Study on the Impact of Individual and Organizational Supply Chain Orientation on Supply Chain Management

ABSTRACT This study empirically identifies individual supply chain orientation (SCO) components as antecedents of organizational SCO and analyzes the causal relationships between organizational SCO and supply chain management (SCM). A survey was conducted with Korean firms and the partial least squares method was used to test the proposed hypotheses. The results show that individual SCO has a significant influence on organizational SCO. Organizational SCO has a significant influence on strategic SCM, whereas only information technology for SCO affects operational SCM. Strategic SCM has a significant influence on operational SCM. This study extends our understanding of the social and behavioral elements of SCM by classifying SCO into individual and organizational SCO and identifying the causal relationships between them.

The application of supply chain management principles to emergency management logistics: An empirical study.

Key elements of supply chain theory remain relevant to emergency management (EM) logistics activities. The Supply Chain Operations Reference model can also serve as a useful template for the planning, organizing, and execution of EM logistics. Through a series of case studies (developed through intensive survey of organizations and individuals responsible for EM), the authors identified the extent supply chain theory is being adopted and whether the theory was useful for emergency logistics managers. The authors found several drivers that influence the likelihood of an organization to implement elements of supply chain management: the frequency of events, organizational resources, population density, range of events, and severity of the disaster or emergency.

Anticipation of new technologies: supply chain antecedents and competitive performance

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to propose and empirically validates a measure of the anticipation of new technologies (ANT) construct, first suggested by Hayes and Wheelwright (1984). ANT allows establishment of a sustained competitive advantage through acquiring new technologies and the capability to use them, in advance of actual need. The theoretical foundation for ANT is developed using the literature on absorptive capacity. Several elements of supply chain management are proposed as antecedents to ANT.Design/methodology/approach– Perceptual survey data from 317 manufacturing plants in ten countries was used to test the hypotheses using structural equation modeling and confirmatory factor analysis.Findings– The key supply chain antecedents of ANT are supply chain planning, internal integration and supplier integration. ANT was related to both operational and cost performance.Research limitations/implications– Potential limitations include the use of an existing database, the plant as the unit of analysis and the need to include customer integration, as well as supplier integration. The results demonstrate the competitive importance of the ANT construct and the key role that relationships with suppliers play in its development.Practical implications– This research sheds new light on a construct whose roots are inherently practical. Suppliers and their extended networks are an important source of external knowledge about technology and future customer needs, thus, supply chain relationships are an important contributor to ANT.Originality/value– Although the role of technology in establishing a competitive advantage has been thoroughly studied, the effectiveness of developing technologies that are expected to be important in the future has not, although this concept was first introduced almost 30 years ago. The authors use absorptive capacity to develop the role of supply chain relationships in building an organization's ANT capability, contributing to the operations strategy literature by grounding a practical construct in the theoretical literature and demonstrating its importance.

Developing measures for the evaluation of information flow efficiency in supply chains

Member organisations in a supply chain are dependent on each other to provide material, services and information to perform optimally in the supply chain. Efficient, unrestricted information flow is needed in supply chains to function properly. Information flow is thus an element of supply chain management that needs to be managed. Yet, no indication could be found in supply chain management literature of the measurement of information flow efficiency. Hence, the aim of this article is to explore the measurement of information flow efficiency in supply chain management (SCM) and exploratively develop possible measures (indicators and associated metrics) to measure the efficiency of information flow.In this research the theory of information and related concepts, the basic notions of information systems and the models of business performance measurement were explored. Based on information flow theory and information flow characteristics a research instrument was developed. It was used in a survey to seek inputs from supply chain managers as to the usefulness of characteristics as indicators and metrics for the measurement of information flow efficiency in a supply chain. The main contribution of the study is the development of a conceptual framework of indicators and metrics that may be used to evaluate the efficiency of information flows in supply chains. The results of this study can be used as a basis for further studies to validate the instrument for measuring information flow efficiency and to develop scales to actually measure information flow efficiency.

A critical review of supply chain management frameworks: proposed framework

PurposeThe literature of supply chain management (SCM) is burgeoning with frameworks but there has been no attempt in extant literature to highlight the inconsistencies present in existing SCM frameworks. The purpose of this paper is to identify these inconsistencies by critically reviewing 57 SCM framework articles. Based on the results of reviewing these articles, an attempt is made to propose a framework that possibly suggests a way to achieve coherency in use of SCM frameworks, and hence help researchers in reducing the inconsistencies that may occur in future frameworks.Design/methodology/approachReview of frameworks is based on certain criteria such as novelty of frameworks, participation of practitioners and consultants in making academic frameworks, verification of frameworks, modes of verification and degree of standardization of SCM elements (or constructs).FindingsThe analysis of selected frameworks reveals major inconsistencies, such as negligence of researchers towards adapting existing frameworks, lack of significant participation of practitioners/consultants in development of SCM frameworks and highly incoherent use of elements (or constructs) in development of SCM frameworks. The findings of this paper also establish that further research in SCM should be directed towards finding a “unified theory of SCM” which must lead to a set of coherent elements (or constructs).Originality/valueThe framework articles are selected from a large population of 1,807 articles. These frameworks are critically reviewed in this paper and a debate is initiated on what is a framework and what constitutes a framework in SCM.

Not‐for‐profit supply chains in interrupted environments

PurposeThis paper primarily aims to address the following research question: Are techniques and practices developed for uninterrupted, for‐profit supply chains adaptable to the not‐for‐profit (NFP), interrupted context? In other words, can the managerial tools of business logistics be used in humanitarian relief logistics?Design/methodology/approachA combination of grounded research and case‐based research methods is used. Grounded research methods involve coding interview data to enable constant comparison of the data with emerging categories. Three managerial representatives of a single case organisation, the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), are interviewed.FindingsMCC is a small NFP organisation operating in interrupted environments. As a matter of strategy, it pursues economic and social objectives. Strategic partnerships with “like‐minded” organisations are critical to achieve these objectives. To assess its achievements, MCC needs a wide range of performance measures.Research limitations/implicationsSince the paper is based on a single case, it is difficult to generalise the results beyond MCC, a small, faith‐based NFP providing humanitarian assistance. There are future research opportunities to study more cases and search for additional themes.Practical implicationsPartnerships and performance measurement are important elements of supply chain management (SCM) in humanitarian relief, characterised by NFP operations in interrupted environments. SCM tools and techniques created in the for‐profit or business context, for partnership formation (e.g. “how to commit”) and performance measurement (e.g. balanced scorecard), should be adapted for the humanitarian context.Originality/valueThere is a growing literature on supply chain interruptions, but very little research on NFP sector supply chains, despite pressing needs for effective SCM within the NFP context. Also, there are relatively few studies on adapting business logistics practices for the humanitarian logistics context. The paper addresses these issues.

RFID‐enabled supply chain systems with computer simulation

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to review key points about the radio frequency identification (RFID) and the fundamental concepts of supply chain management (SCM). To understand important supply chain (SC) strategies for a complete success, main strategies are identified. Some applications of RFID in SC are briefly reviewed and three large cases of RFID implementation in SC are discussed.Design/methodology/approachProvides key elements of SCM, a brief background on RFID, and the integration of SC and RFID to generate new systems with higher level of profitability and efficiency. Three cases using computer simulation techniques for system evaluation are reviewed.FindingsThe paper finds that to make the SCM functional and successfully operational, management must be committed to high standard of performance including competitive lead times to customers, significantly reduced inventories, world‐class product quality, and reduced process and product complexity.Originality/valueOwing to the fact that a better management of a production system is related to the full understanding of the technologies implemented and the system under consideration, sufficient background on the RFID technology is provided and a SCM system including its appropriate strategies are discussed.

Scatter search algorithm for supplier selection and order lot sizing under multiple price discount environment

Supplier selection is one the most important elements of supply chain management. This function involves evaluation of many factors such as, cost of parts/materials, size of order, quality, and delivery performance. Therefore, this problem is categorized as multi-criteria decision making problems. Different approaches have been applied in order to assess and select the suppliers when suppliers offer discount on the unit price. In practical conditions, buyers may face a situation where different types of discount may be offered by candidate suppliers. None of the previous studies have considered different discount schemes simultaneously. In this article a mathematical model is introduced which consider different types of discount (all-unit cost, incremental discount, and total business volume discount) through multi-objective formulation for single item purchasing problem. In addition, constraints such as suppliers’ capacity and demand are taken into consideration in the model. Due to the complexity of the problem a proposed scatter search algorithm (SSA) is presented to solve this problem. Finally several sample problems have been solved by the proposed SSA and the exact (branch and bound) method. The results illustrate slight relative errors to compare with reasonable saving in computational times.

Coordination and synchronization of material flows in supply chains: An analytical approach

The coordination of joint material flows is a key element in supply chain management. Although analytical models for the coordination of materials are of great practical value, literature analyzing them remains scarce. This article contributes to this gap by studying a generic supply chain model. The supply chain is assumed to have a single production facility that is supplied by two independent suppliers. The field of combinatorics serves as a means to derive exact results for important performance measures, and the results suggest insights related to several supply chain management principles.

A study on supply chain management from the retailer's perspective

Retailers offer choice, immediacy, different price points and an ambience that influences consumption. The win-win scenario is where manufacturers and retailers work together to create highly satisfying experiences for the consumer. The present work identifies the various critical factors and operating elements of Supply Chain Management (SCM) and develops a valid and reliable instrument in order to cover the aspects of SCM in India from the perspective of the retailer. In this paper, from the retailer's perspective, the relationship between the factors of SCM and the measures of performance is investigated in a moderated environment. The results indicate that the moderator (supply chain orientation) has a significant and positive effect on the relationship between the factors of SCM and the performance variable of the retailers.

The role of Guanxi in supply management practices

Guanxi has been identified as having an important influence on business behavior. This paper investigates the influence of guanxi on three elements of supply chain management: strategic purchasing, outsourcing, and supplier development. Survey data was collected from 175 companies in the electronics sector of Hong Kong. The results indicate that guanxi has a significant influence on these three supply management constructs. The managerial implications are examined from a relationship perspective and in terms of transaction cost economic theory. The failure to appropriately assess the impact of guanxi-based supply management practices can have a detrimental effect on organizations attempting to enter the Chinese market.

Antecedents of inter-organisational systems adoption in manufacturing

Despite the remarkable development in the use of inter-organisational systems (IOS) in supply chain management, there is still limited knowledge regarding the factors that motivate their adoption in manufacturing. This study investigates the role of structural elements of supply chain management as antecedents of inter-organisational systems (IOSs) adoption. More specifically, it explores the extent to which variables including foreign supply, direct material cost, number of suppliers, and supplier collaboration practices explain variation in the adoption of dyadic IOSs including electronic data interchange (EDI) and extranets, and multilateral IOSs including internet auctions, liquid exchanges and private marketplaces. The study involves statistical analysis of data from 219 manufacturers of fabricated metal products, machinery, and equipment from 13 countries. The results indicate that dyadic IOSs relate to high-volume transactions with international suppliers, while multilateral IOSs relate to low-volume transactions with a limited number of suppliers.

A Study on Effectiveness of Speed as a Parameter for Supply Chain Management

It is commonly accepted that one of the most important elements of Supply Chain Management (SCM) is speed. Few studies, however, have estimated the effectiveness of various parameters of SCM. This article therefore analyzes and evaluates lead time (speed), inventory, and total cost, regarded as representative parameters of SCM, as to their effectiveness in a SCM system for minimizing total costs from production scheduling to replenishing products to depots.The purpose of this study was to identify an effective parameter among several options and to apply a developed and proposed model to a real case as a benchmark. This research is significant as a first attempt at selecting the best parameter for modeling of this type.

Reassessing the management of the global supply chain

Focuses on specific elements of supply‐chain and partnering arrangements to assess the contribution of these to managing the supply chain and making it more responsive to the changing business environment. The initial sections of the paper articulate the key elements of supply chain management, risk management and relationship marketing. A model is then developed that displays the complementarity of these elements. Conclusions are drawn from three case studies in relation to certain key elements of the model, with suggestions for further development of the model in terms of conceptual and applied research.

AN EXAMINATION OF REVERSE LOGISTICS PRACTICES

Managing reverse logistics is becoming an important element of supply chain management and, in some cases, a profit generating function. In this paper, reverse logistics activities and key reverse logistics management methodologies are discussed, as well as their benefits and the barriers to successful implementation. Economic and supply chain issues related to reverse logistics are examined, and a working definition of reverse logistics is developed.