Explore Supply Chain Research Articles

Linking Producers to Consumers: Exploring Supply Chain Dynamics in Nepalese Sugar Industry

Linking Producers to Consumers: Exploring Supply Chain Dynamics in Nepalese Sugar Industry

Supply chain integration capability: A three-stage circular model of visibility, agility, and flexibility

This paper presents supply chain capabilities in a three-stage circular model. Different from most studies exploring supply chain integration (SCI) from the perspective of processes, this paper studies SCI from a holistic approach. By applying dynamic capability view (DCV), this study develops a measurement of SCI capability based on the three-stage circular model. The scale items were drawn from existing literature. A survey study gathered 187 responses from firms in New Zealand. Factor analysis was conducted to validate the measurement of supply chain integration in the New Zealand businesses. The paper defines the SCI capability as a second-order construct including several well-studied dynamic capabilities such as visibility, agility, and flexibility. The three-stage circular model enables firms to learn, response, and reconfigure to achieve rapid continuous improvement in supply chains. This paper provides new insights and practical implications in SCI and supply chain capability studies and practices in the Industry 4.0 era.

Exploring supply chain infrastructures for supply chain innovation: the roles of supply chain transformational leadership, supply chain collaboration and entrepreneurial emphasis

ABSTRACT Supply chain (SC) innovation is crucial for organisations to gain competitive advantage, limited research has investigated the core factors that facilitate member participation in SC innovation practices. Drawing on the ‘Context – Drivers – Sources of advantage – Positional advantage’ framework, we posit that SC transformational leadership, as a SC organisational infrastructure, is a critical driver of SC innovation. SC collaboration as a key inter-organisational infrastructure, is a source of advantage, explaining the effect of SC transformational leadership on SC innovation. We also examine the boundary condition that maximise the effectiveness of SC transformational leadership and SC collaboration, demonstrating the driving role of entrepreneurial emphasis. Based on survey data from 288 Chinese machinery manufacturing firms, we utilised structural equation modeling and interaction analysis to validate our hypotheses. The research findings provide empirical evidence supporting our viewpoints, contributing to the existing literature and offering practical guidance for firms’ SC innovation management practices.

A Developed Model and Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Method to Evaluate Supply Chain Nervousness Strategies

Nervousness is thought to be a source of confusion, instability, or uncertainty in SC systems due to disruptions and frequent changes in decisions. Nervousness persists even with consistent SCs, which arise from planning flexibility in response to changes, where responsiveness and customer satisfaction balance. Although the term “nervousness” is well known, to our knowledge no prior research has examined and explored supply chain nervousness strategies (SCNSs). This research explores supply chain nervousness strategies, factors, reduction methods, and recent trends in the supply chain’s relationship with nervousness. The main purpose of this research is to determine the comprehensive and relevant nervousness strategies in the supply chains, especially in light of the unprecedented development and change in business, economics, and technology and the fierce competition. SCN strategies are introduced in a developed model to designate SCN measurements and indicators, mitigation strategies and stages, and management strategies. The fuzzy PROMETHEE method is employed to rank the strategies based on their importance and order of implementation. The suggested method for managing nervousness is then presented with a numerical case, along with the results. The research outcomes indicate that the top five strategies for managing nervousness include planning continuity, utilizing technology, managing nervousness, improving the SC cyber system, and managing supplies. The findings assist decision makers, practitioners, and managers in focusing on SC improvement, resilience, and sustainability.

Exploring supply chain and regional resilience through the analysis of the transport dimension

Despite the key role that global supply chains (GSC), and more specifically, the transport and logistics function, might play in the performance of regions, there is a lack of analytical tools that turn the data generated by supply chain operations into quantitative metrics allowing policymakers to identify early signals of potential vulnerabilities and assess how resilient the GSC are at regional level. In an effort to fill this gap, we present a Transportation Resilience Index (TRI) that permits evaluating how transport chains affect supply chain resilience and, consequently, regional resilience. Our index, based on publicly available data –statistics on foreign trade flows provided by the Spanish Customs, the World Bank’ Logistics Performance Index and the UNCTAD’ Bilateral Liner Shipping Connectivity Index − differentiates between the determinants over which the company has direct decision-making control, and those linked to the selection of the supply market (market and macro dimensions). The TRI is applied to the Spanish regions (NUTS2) by using the Benefit-of-the-Doubt (BoD) approach to Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and applying a Common Set of Weights (CSW) for the selection of the weights to the index components. In our specific analysis, the market and macroeconomic components account for 84% of the total weight of the TRI. Despite the lower relative weight of the company dimension, the high degree of homogeneity in the market and macroeconomic scores means the company dimension plays a key role in the relative resilience of the Spanish regions.

Exploring supply chain capabilities in textile-to-textile recycling – A European interview study

In light of the recent developments in recycling technologies and commercialization, supply chain capabilities are decisive for large-scale textile-to-textile recycling practices. Despite this, the current status and landscape of these practices is surprisingly little researched from a logistics and supply chain management point of view. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore supply chain capabilities required in the textile-to-textile recycling supply chain. The paper is based on an interview study with 20 stakeholders along the textile recycling supply chain, covering various types of collectors, sorters, and recyclers in Sweden and mainland Europe.The findings present eleven specific supply chain capabilities distributed over the three main supply chain activities of collection, sorting, and recycling. By doing this, the study seeks to provide a more thorough and comprehensive understanding of the role of logistics and supply chain management in textile-to-textile recycling practices. The findings also provide insights into more general industry-related design issues, including the matching of product supply and demand, the establishment of new supply chains, and balancing global and local interests.

Flexibility in Enhancing Supply Chain Resilience: Developing a Resilience Capability Portfolio in the Event of Severe Disruption

The current study aimed to determine alternative configurations of supply chain resilience strategies for managing supply chain performance (SCP) during a severe disruption. To do this, a multi-method and multi-study approach was adopted. Phase 1 of the study employed a qualitative approach to explore supply chain risk factors and their mitigation strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Phase 2, the quality function deployment technique was used alongside quantitative case studies to determine the most critical risk factors and most crucial resilience strategies. The final phase, Phase 3, used fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis to determine the alternative portfolio of strategies for SCP to create flexibility when employing resilience strategies. The results revealed that implementing resilience strategies alone is ineffective in improving SCP, while resilience strategies combined with the nullification of risk factors enhance SCP. The study also revealed two alternative configurations of resilience strategies to tackle the relevant risk factors. These findings can be used to guide managers toward identifying the most suitable configuration of resilience strategies to manage severe and unprecedented supply chain risk. The alternative configurations of resilience strategies can also provide flexibility to managers in deciding the best course of action for their firms.

The Influence of Strategic Human Resource Management and Artificial Intelligence in Determining Supply Chain Agility and Supply Chain Resilience

The aim of this research was to investigate factors that influence logistics firms’ supply chain agility and supply chain resilience. Therefore, an integrated research model based on strategic human resource management and artificial intelligence was developed to determine the agility and resilience of logistics firms. Empirical data were collected from 221 employees working in manufacturing firms in Saudi Arabia. For the data analysis, a structural equation modeling approach was used. The results indicated that joint leadership, employee skills, organizational culture, competitive intensity, human capital development, and artificial intelligence had substantial explained variance R2 of 80% for supply chain agility. Similarly, an importance performance analysis revealed that, within the integrated research model of supply chain agility, the factors of leadership, human capital development, and organizational flexibility had greater importance in determining supply chain resilience. Practically, this research shows that factors like leadership, employee skills, organizational culture, competitive intensity, human capital development, and artificial intelligence are positively associated with supply chain agility and, hence, require policymakers’ attention. The value of this research lies in its integration of artificial intelligence, organizational flexibility, and strategic human resource management to explore supply chain agility and its examination of the impact of these factors on supply chain resilience.

Emergency Management and Response Strategies for Resilient Supply Chain Systems in the Face of Unexpected Events

In the increasingly globalized and complex supply chain environment, unexpected events such as natural disasters, pandemics, and cyber-attacks have become more frequent and severe. Traditional supply chain management methods, due to their highly integrated and lean production characteristics, often lack resilience and are difficult to cope with such interruptions. The vulnerability exposed by recent global events highlights the urgent need to develop strong strategies to ensure continuity and rapid recovery. This paper aims to explore emergency management and response strategies for resilient supply chain systems in the face of unexpected events, providing systematic solutions to ensure stable operation and rapid recovery. The study delves into various aspects critical to enhancing supply chain resilience, including risk assessment, early warning systems, and emergency planning. It examines the role of advanced technologies such as big data analytics, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things (IoT) in predicting and mitigating risks. Additionally, it addresses the importance of effective communication and information sharing across the supply chain network, emphasizing the need for transparency and real-time data exchange. By adopting a multi-faceted approach, this paper also explores supply chain design enhancements, such as multi-sourcing strategies and redundancy, which are crucial for minimizing disruption impacts. The rapid response and decision-making frameworks are discussed to highlight the need for swift and coordinated actions during crises. Furthermore, the importance of collaboration and coordination with supply chain partners is underscored as a means to build collective resilience. Overall, this paper provides a comprehensive framework for emergency management and response in supply chains, offering practical recommendations and best practices to ensure resilience in the face of unforeseen disruptions. The insights presented aim to guide practitioners and researchers in developing and implementing robust strategies to safeguard supply chain integrity and performance amidst an ever-changing risk landscape.

Functional Model of Supply Chain Waste Reduction and Control Strategies for Retailers—The USA Retail Industry

Background: The US retail sector grapples with persistent challenges related to supply chain waste, including inefficiencies, overstocking, and logistical barriers, necessitating targeted reduction strategies to mitigate escalating costs, environmental impacts, and diminished profitability. Methods: This study adopts a qualitative research method that draws on secondary data sources such as books, journals, articles, and websites to explore supply chain waste reduction strategies within the US retail industry. The study delineates various supply chain waste types, examines associated challenges and drivers, and proposes a simplified model tailored to the US retail landscape to enhance efficiency and sustainability through waste reduction and control. Results: The findings of this paper underscore the necessity for proactive measures within the US retail sector to minimize supply chain waste, optimize operations, and bolster environmental stewardship. Conclusions: By offering a comprehensive overview actionable insights and proposed reverse logistics model, this study aims to equip US retailers with strategies conducive to sustainable growth and heightened competitiveness while advancing the broader discourse on supply chain efficiency and waste reduction.

The Role of Collaboration and Digital Technology in Supply Chain Management in Micro Enterprises

Micro businesses have revived, and many have sprung up after the COVID-19 pandemic, including the Coffee Shop micro business. In addition, technological developments in the increasingly rapid digital era have provided nuances and dynamics in research in micro-enterprise supply chains. This study aims to explore supply chain management behavior in micro-enterprises in the era of digital technology. This research contributes to enriching knowledge from research on micro-enterprise agility after the COVID-19 pandemic. This research strategy uses a qualitative approach that allows the author to conduct an in-depth analysis and sort the data into themes. Data was collected from a micro-scale coffee shop in Padang City, North East Coffee Shop. This paper found that (1) the best strategy is to collaborate with small roasteries that are more open to micro-scale coffee shops. (2) The coffee shop micro business has a level of technology adoption to support its operations. This research contributes to enriching knowledge from research on micro-enterprise agility after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Linking Producers to Consumers: Exploring Supply Chain Dynamics in Nepalese Sugar Industry

Linking Producers to Consumers: Exploring Supply Chain Dynamics in Nepalese Sugar Industry

Supply chain coordination with inventory risk allocation

Unlike the traditional decentralized channel, the drop-shipping channel entails a retailer relaying consumers' orders to the manufacturer, which proceeds to stock the orders and directly ship them to the consumers. This study explores supply chain coordination and product quality in drop-shipping and traditional channels. Specifically, we analyze the performance of both channels under wholesale price and revenue-sharing contracts. Our study yields several key findings. First, the revenue-sharing contract can coordinate both traditional and drop-shipping channels, effectively increasing supply chain performance. Second, given the channel structure, the retailer prefers the wholesale price contract, whereas the manufacturer prefers the revenue-sharing contract. Third, product quality is higher in the drop-shipping channel when demand uncertainty is high. Finally, the implementation of the revenue-sharing contract increases product quality in the traditional channel, whereas it keeps product quality unchanged in the drop-shipping channel.

Identifying Critical Success Factors in Supply Chain Performance

Because of the rapidly changing business environment, companies must have the ability to quickly respond to environmental changes in order to survive. This study explores supply chain critical success factors in supply chain performance. In this paper we review the relevant literature and establish related hypotheses. For the purpose of data collection, a survey form is developed based on the constructs for the study model. The questionnaire is designed using a five point Likert scale and administered to respondents. Total valid responses of 337 are used for this study purpose. Descriptive statistics of independent and dependent variables are identified. A regression analysis is conducted for model parameter estimates of supply chain performance with supply chain critical success factors. Study findings show that management may be in a better position dealing with CEO leadership commitment, customer information sharing, supply stability and flexibility, and supplier operational integration, in order. This study is expected to provide supply chain managers and relevant decision-makers with strategic insights for improving decision-making in a supply chain environment and other similar business settings.

What Have We Learned? A Bibliometric Review of a Three-Decade Investigation into the Supply Chain Uncertainty and a Revised Framework to Cope with the Challenges

Three decades ago, supply chain uncertainty was recognized as a significant conceptual problem that must be resolved to successfully satisfy supply and demand activities. For this reason, firms have developed several workable approaches and techniques (including lean, agility, and resilient framework) in response to the need to maintain such activities in the face of uncertainty. Despite this, the current pandemic’s onset has hampered supply chain management, indicating that current solutions fall short of being sufficient to shield firms from being impacted. Therefore, it raises the question of what we have learned from decades of research and studies to prepare us for such adversities. And what plans must the firms have put in place to address this disaster? To focus on this, the current study intends to explore supply chain uncertainty trends and patterns, to emphasize the future orientation. Using the PRISMA 2020 (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020) protocol, 884 peer-reviewed journal articles were selected from the Web of Science database and analyzed using bibliometric analysis through MS Excel and VOSviewer software (version 1.6.18). There are two ways the results are presented. First, performance analysis revealed that 2335 writers had written 884 publications (1993–2022), which had an average 32.2 citation level across 176 journals. Second, the science mapping analysis included well-known methods, such as citation analysis, co-citation analysis, bibliographic coupling, co-word analysis, and co-authorship analysis. The original contribution of this study lies in the identification of four clusters through the analysis, namely, overall impact of uncertainty, demand uncertainty, challenges uncertainty, and uncertain strategy. This led to recommendations for future research that practitioners could use.

Understanding interdependency of sustainability dimensions from the lens of collaborative relationship conditions: findings from an emerging economy

PurposeDrawing on the relational view and contingency theories, this study explores supply chain relationship conditions' roles in interrelationships between environmental, social and supply chain performance (SCP), i.e. triple bottom line (TBL).Design/methodology/approachThe data from industries and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used to validate the proposed model. Interviews with industry experts were conducted to further understand the findings.FindingsThe authors find that relationship conditions, such as inventory information sharing, dependency, opportunistic behavior and conflicts, moderate TBL linkages. Interestingly, power asymmetry does not moderate the linkages. Social performance mediates between environmental and SCP. This indirect effect is stronger than the effect of environmental performance on SCP.Originality/valueThis research is perhaps the first to bring a much-needed nuanced view on the importance of relationship conditions for TBL performance linkages. The research further underlines the importance of social performance in an emerging economy.

A novel coexistent resilience index to evaluate the supply chain resilience of industries using fuzzy logic

PurposeThis study aims to explore supply chain resilience (SCR) and provides a unique resilience index. The work measures the resilience status of 37 organizations across 22 industries and provides insight into accessing the supply chain (SC) vulnerability in an uncertain environment.Design/methodology/approachThis study involves measuring the resilience status of 37 organizations across 22 industries based on a subjective decision-making approach using fuzzy logic. Experts from industries rated the importance and level of implementation of 33 attributes of SCR, which are used to develop a fuzzy index of implementation that explains the resilience status of organizations.FindingsA novel coexistent resilience index is computed based on mutualism to exhibit the proportion of contribution or learning of each attribute of an organization in an industry. The research will enhance the response plans and formation of strategic alliances for mutual coexistence by industry.Research limitations/implicationsEvidence-based interpretations and suggestions are provided for each industry to enhance resilience through coexistence.Originality/valueThe work uniquely contributes to academic literature and SC strategy. The novel coexistent resilience index is computed based on mutualism, facilitating researchers to access SC resiliency.

Exploring Supply Chain Risks Management Influence on Firms Performance Under the Mediation of Customer Service and the Moderation of Information System: The Case of Cameroon Agro Industrial Sector

La présente recherche a pour objectif de définir l'influence que peut avoir le management des risques de la supply chain aval sur la performance des entreprises agro-industrielles sous la médiation du service client au Cameroun. L’étude combine l’analyse du contenu et les hypothèses sont testées à l’aide des équations structurelles via la méthode des moindres carrées partiels (Partial Last Square, PLS). Il ressort que le management des risques stratégiques influence positivement et significativement la performance des entreprises agro-industrielles. Ce lien est à la fois direct et indirect via la relation client. Par contre, le management des risques opérationnels entretient une relation négative mais non significative avec la performance. Cette relation est modérée par les systèmes d'information efficaces. Les promotions de vente n'influencent pas le lien relation client – performance. La principale limite est liée à la taille de l’échantillon qui n’est pas très représentatif de l’ensemble des agro-industries.

Assessing Supply Chain Innovations for Building Resilient Food Supply Chains: An Emerging Economy Perspective

Food waste reduction and security are the main concerns of agri-food supply chains, as more than thirty-three percent of global food production is wasted or lost due to mismanagement. The ongoing challenges, including resource scarcity, climate change, waste generation, etc., need immediate actions from stakeholders to develop resilient food supply chains. Previous studies explored food supply chains and their challenges, barriers, enablers, etc. Still, there needs to be more literature on the innovations in supply chains that can build resilient food chains to last long and compete in the post-pandemic scenario. Thus, studies are also required to explore supply chain innovations for the food sector. The current research employed a stepwise weight assessment ratio analysis (SWARA) to assess the supply chain innovations that can develop resilient food supply chains. This study is a pioneer in using the SWARA application to evaluate supply chain innovation and identify the most preferred alternatives. The results from the SWARA show that ‘Business strategy innovations’ are the most significant innovations that can bring resiliency to the food supply chains, followed by ‘Technological innovations.’ The study provides insights for decision makers to understand the significant supply chain innovations to attain resilience in food chains and help the industry to survive and sustain in the long run.

Microalgae-based circular supply chain configurations using Industry 4.0 technologies for pharmaceuticals

Renewable feedstocks and Industry 4.0 technologies in supply chains could operationalise circular economy and promote sustainable development. This study explores potential supply network configurations utilising microalgae feedstocks, whose bioactive morphology provides promising commercial opportunities, supported by continuous manufacturing technologies. Specifically, continuous microalgae cultivation photobioreactors and acoustic-based extractors, which leverage data, sensing, computation, and intelligent interconnection, enable centralised and decentralised network configurations. First, a value chain mapping approach was applied to the US pharmaceutical industry to illuminate how emerging microalgae platform technologies could stimulate the reconfiguration of medicine supply networks. Second, supply network modelling and scenario analysis allowed to explore supply chain configuration options for breast cancer pharmaceuticals in Texas. This research reveals that microalgae-based pharmaceutical supply networks using Industry 4.0 technologies could facilitate distributed manufacturing capabilities. The findings provide a foundation for galvanising future efforts toward exploiting renewable feedstocks and smart technologies for designing circular manufacturing networks.