Global Supply Chain Management Research Articles

How Can the Internet of Things Affect Global Supply Chain Management in the 21st Century: A Case Study Based on the Food Grocery Industry and the Manufacturing Industry

The global supply chain network in the 21st century is faced with increasing unprecedented uncertainty, such as the unpredictable rage of Covid-19 and the fierce international competition for more efficient and affordable supply chain management. For such reasons, the Internet of Things (IoT), a modern tool in supply chain management, has been used more often. This research examined the application of IoT in the food grocery and manufacturing industries, both of which sustained severe challenges during the rage of Covid-19 and are essential for social and economic development. The findings of this research suggest that IoT is a powerful tool to increase food safety and security in emergencies like Covid-19. IoT also enhances the supply network effectiveness of the food grocery industry by working with e-commerce. In the manufacturing industry, IoT reduces costs and avoids waste in goods transportation. IoT also increased supply chain reliability by tracking the movement of goods and more effective equipment maintenance. However, the findings also reveal that IoT is not flawless, as it bears more risks in terms of data breaches. This should be the future focus for improving IoT’s application in supply chain management.

Transformation into 4PL: The case of local logistics service providers in Vietnam

For a few decades, a new model of logistics service providers (LSP) has appeared and played the role of integrating all operations of the supply chain. This model is known as a logistics integrator, or fourth party logistics (4PL). 4PL has emerged as an ideal configuration for enterprises around the world to effectively utilize their resources and obtain cost reduction across the supply chain. With increasing competition among enterprises, customers’ requirements for complicated services, and global supply chain management, the limitations of inbound services from LSPs have become obstacles to their development. As a result, transformation into 4PL is inevitable for LSPs in the global logistics market. This paper aims to analyze the role, characteristics, and benefits of 4PL. A model for transformation into 4PL for local LSPs in Vietnam is constructed to identify impacting factors. The results point out six factors influencing the transformation process, as well as three important capabilities of 4PL.

Reforming global supply chain management under pandemics: The GREAT‐3Rs framework

The recent outbreak of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) has posed serious threats and challenges to global supply chain management (GSCM). To survive the crisis, it is critical to rethink the proper setting of global supply chains and reform many related operational strategies. We hence attempt to reform the GSCM from both supply and demand sides considering different pandemic stages (i.e., pre, during, and post‐pandemic stages). In this research paper, we combine a careful literature review with real‐world case studies to examine the impacts and specific challenges brought by the pandemic to global supply chains. We first classify the related literature from the demand and supply sides. Based on the insights obtained, we search publicly available information and report real practices of GSCM under COVID‐19 in nine top global enterprises. To achieve responsiveness, resilience, and restoration (3Rs), we then propose the “GREAT‐3Rs” framework, which shows the critical issues and measures for reforming GSCM under the three pandemic stages. In particular, the “GREAT” part of the framework includes five critical domains, namely, “government proactive policies and measures,” “redesigning global supply chains,” “economic and financing strategies under risk,” “adjustment of operations,” and “technology adoption,” to help global enterprises to survive the pandemic; “3Rs” are the outputs that can be achieved after using the “GREAT” strategies under the three pandemic stages. Finally, we establish a future research agenda from five aspects.

Transformation of Supply Chain Management to Green Supply Chain Management: Certain investigations for research and applications

In the production and manufacturing stream, green supply chain management has attracted much attention from academicians and policy makers. It encompasses theoretical and practical models, ranging from macro-level institutional pressure to micro-level lean manufacturing, total quality management, and supplier relationship management. A rising number of corporations are embracing sustainable development strategies, either due to peer pressure or to fulfil their social responsibilities to society and the environment. Against this backdrop, although vast literature is available, it lacks a theoretical model and management strategy for effective implementation of the GSCM within the firms effectively. The latest literature has a limited vision from the management perspective. Despite such popularity, there is a requirement for a comprehensive framework that can investigate the effect of GSCM on financial, social, and environmental performance with environmental uncertainties and product complexities at the micro-level. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine previous research and develop a theoretical model that incorporates an excellent theory-building process between the three primary features of global supply chain management practises competitive advantage and organizational performance. The study employs bibliometric analysis to conduct a holistic review to explore GSCM research and evaluate its methodological design, publication trends and themes.

Supply Chain Strategy to Support the Independence of the Defense Industry

The supply chain is a unified process and production activity starting from raw materials obtained from suppliers, the process of adding value that converts raw materials into finished goods, and the process of storing an inventory of goods until the process of sending finished goods to consumers. In the defense industry, the supply chain cannot be separated because of its role in regulating how defense products work, from raw materials to finished materials. The method of this journal is a literature review which is then processed using system thinking and SWOT analysis to solve the problem of the weak domestic Defense Industry supply chain. The results of the analysis of the literature review state that the supply chain has a vital role in the development and independence of the domestic defense industry. Problems with the domestic logistics system have contributed greatly to the weak domestic defense industry supply chain. In addition, dependence on imported raw materials for production also creates a potential threat that weakens the flow of the supply chain. Raw materials that are still imported are prone to embargoes so if that happens, the production flow of defense products will stop completely due to the absence of raw materials. Based on this study, good and integrated global supply chain management is recommended to be applied to the defense industry to overcome the weakness of the defense industry's supply chain.

Global Supply Chain Management - Automotive Industry

Global Supply Chain Management - Automotive Industry

ЦИФРОВІ ЛАНЦЮГИ ПОСТАВОК: ТЕХНОЛОГІЇ, ТЕНДЕНЦІЇ ТА НАПРЯМИ РОЗВИТКУ

The purpose of the article is to study the key aspects of the formation of digital supply chains, directions for the use of digital technologies in logistics and management of global supply chains. To achieve the goal of this study, meth-ods of analysis and synthesis, comparison, generalization, structural-logical methods were used. The article considers the essence of the concept of a digital supply chain, explores the accumulated theoretical and practical experience in this area, presents an analysis of trends in logistics and supply chains, clarifies the aspects of the use of various digital technologies in the process of digital transformation of supply chains, focuses on the defining characteristics of a digital supply chain, as well as the main levers of supply chain improvement 4.0. Both the benefits and the possible risks of introducing a digital supply chain are identified. The factors influencing the complexity and the cost of the necessary digital solutions are indicated and the directions for further trans-formation of supply chains based on digital technologies are presented. Mod-ern technologies have been characterized that allow digital transformation of supply chains, which include artificial intelligence, virtual integration with plat-form-based suppliers, predictive analytics, blockchain, etc. Our research con-cluded that the most important benefits of a digital supply chain are increased flexibility, efficiency and productivity. The digital supply chain presented as a dynamic and integrated network is characterized by a continuous flow of in-formation that facilitates automation, adds value, improved on work processes and analytics, and generates insights, thereby improving customer service and organizational sustainability. It is emphasized that the main goal is not the very fact of introducing digital technologies into the relevant business process-es, but what opportunities these technologies generate in order to create a new way of doing business, provide a new digital business strategy necessary to increase competitive advantages and create a positive customer experience through innovative new products and services.

Digital Transformation in Pharmaceutical Supply Chain: An African Case

Abstract Background: The pharmaceutical supply chain, pivotal in ensuring timely and efficient delivery of medical goods, has experienced significant challenges in the African context. Infrastructure deficiencies, fragmented distribution networks, and limited transparency have historically been obstacles in ensuring the consistent flow of essential drugs and treatments. Materials and Methods: The transformative power of digital technologies in reconfiguring the pharmaceutical supply chain across Africa. Drawing on multiple case studies, this paper presents evidence of how technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things (IoT) are being employed to enhance traceability, improve inventory management, and optimize distribution routes. These digital innovations are not only ensuring the integrity of medicines by reducing counterfeit products but are also enhancing the agility of the supply chain to respond to sudden market and health demands. Results: Executed in a thorough data analysis strategy to interpret the results and extract significant insights by investigating the challenges faced in this digital transformation, which include the need for skills development, infrastructure investment, and the creation of supportive regulatory environments. The study underscores the role of partnerships between governments, international organizations, and private enterprises in driving these innovations. Conclusion: While the journey of digital transformation in Africa’s pharmaceutical supply chain is ongoing, there are promising strides being made. By embracing digital solutions, Africa is positioning itself to better tackle health challenges and ensuring that its populace has access to genuine and essential medicines. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of digital transition strategies and offers actionable insights for stakeholders involved in global health and supply chain management.

포스코 그룹의 이차전지 글로벌 공급망 구축 사례 연구

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to benchmark the establishment of global supply chain management through the case of the POSCO group, which has established a global supply chain management related to secondary batteries, a key material for battery packs, a major core component of electric vehicles. Design/Methodology/Approach – This study aims to analyze the POSCO group, especially POSCO and POSCO chemical, which have built global supply chain management related to the secondary battery by applying the case study method. Findings – In order to secure lithium, nickel, graphite, and others, raw materials for the cathode and anode, which are major components of secondary battery, the POSCO group is securing the right to supply raw materials in the form of equity investment in companies through ownership of mines. The raw materials used are made into finished products in the form of cathode and anode materials through domestic POSCO chemical factory (facilities), which are supplied to LG energy solution and GM. In addition, it has established a cathode and anode material plant in the form of a joint venture with a finished car company to secure stable delivery processing and sign long-term supply contracts. In addition, POSCO chemical has one of the few manufacturing facilities and technologies in the world that produces both cathode and anode materials, and is simultaneously conducting product development and technology development to have a full line of secondary battery-related products. Research Implications – POSCO group is utilizing equity investment and joint venture to secure a stable global supply chain related to the secondary battery.

Impediments of product recovery in circular supply chains: Implications for sustainable development

AbstractProduct recovery has fascinated the concentration of organizations and is prominent among industry practitioners and researchers due to improved environmental concerns, social awareness, and economic benefits. Circular supply chain (CSC) compounds the concept of product recovery in global supply chain management to present a sustainable perspective. Therefore, this study aims to determine impediments of product recovery and CSC toward sustainable production and consumption in the background of manufacturing organizations. This study determines potential impediments from literature and in consultation with experts. Further, a fuzzy VIKOR approach is practiced to prioritize the impediments of product recovery and CSC. Then, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to verify the robustness of the framework attained. The results from the study reflect that “lack of collaboration from supply chain performers”, “lack of tax policies for facilitating CSC models” and “limited expertise, technology, information on CSC practices” are the critical impediments to product recovery in CSCs. The findings of the study could assist industry managers and practitioners in developing procedures and strategies to attain sustainable development.

Tapping into Middle Eastern Markets for Soft Drinks Industry of Bangladesh

Though in a relatively infant stage, the soft drink industry of Bangladesh has been thriving. Coupled with high-tech machinery, a stable production process (i.e., aseptic plant) and maintaining international standards have led some companies to export soft drinks to approximately 110 countries. However, despite these achievements, the companies still deal with wavering consumer perception, cultural differences and barriers to enter foreign markets (i.e., the Middle East). Focusing on Akij Food and Beverage Ltd., this case mainly sheds light on how local companies are adapting their strategies to tackle these hurdles: dealing with the fast and fickle consumers, scepticism about quality, changing production lines and even the brand name of products to enter the Middle East markets. The case revisits classical international business topics, such as expansion strategies, culture, communications, global strategic rivalry theory, global supply chain management and distribution networks.

Supply Chain Efficiency and Effectiveness Management Using Decision Support Systems

The management of global supply chains that emerge from outsourcing and offshoring activities emphasizes a globally dispersed supply chain. All stakeholders and entrepreneurs worldwide have a common understanding of information technology's importance to support business activity in a rapidly changing era of customer preference. Today, many believe in a production process transition, which subsequently affects the supply chain flow in general, fearing overuse and inefficiency from upstream to downstream. Thus, this article proposes supply chain efficiency and effectiveness management using decision support systems (SCE2M-DSS). This conceptual framework uses an intelligent decision support system for the supply chain's proactive capacity planning under uncertain conditions. An intelligent decision-making support system is designed with reinforcement learning (RL) to validate the conceptual framework. The application of decision-making methods developed initially focused on product development and service production.

Healthcare Supply Chain Management under COVID-19 Settings: The Existing Practices in Hong Kong and the United States.

COVID-19 is recognized as an infectious disease generated by serious acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. COVID-19 has rapidly spread all over the world within a short time period. Due to the coronavirus pandemic transmitting quickly worldwide, the impact on global healthcare systems and healthcare supply chain management has been profound. The COVID-19 outbreak has seriously influenced the routine and daily operations of healthcare facilities and the entire healthcare supply chain management and has brough about a public health crisis. As making sure the availability of healthcare facilities during COVID-19 is crucial, the debate on how to take resilience actions for sustaining healthcare supply chain management has gained new momentum. Apart from the logistics of handling human remains in some countries, supplies within the communities are urgently needed for emergency response. This study focuses on a comprehensive evaluation of the current practices of healthcare supply chain management in Hong Kong and the United States under COVID-19 settings. A wide range of different aspects associated with healthcare supply chain operations are considered, including the best practices for using respirators, transport of life-saving medical supplies, contingency healthcare strategies, blood distribution, and best practices for using disinfectants, as well as human remains handling and logistics. The outcomes of the conducted research identify the existing healthcare supply chain trends in two major Eastern and Western regions of the world, Hong Kong and the United States, and determine the key challenges and propose some strategies that can improve the effectiveness of healthcare supply chain management under COVID-19 settings. The study highlights how to build resilient healthcare supply chain management preparedness for future emergencies.

The Impact of Data Analytics on High Efficiency Supply Chain Management

Change is inevitable, so when supply chain (SC) managers strategize for future years, they must deal with challenges of the global supply chain management (SCM) issues. Leading trends over the last couple of years tend to be the increasing value of big data and analyzing the information through analytics. The information has tremendous value; businesses must capitalize on the assortment of information by proper and in-depth evaluation with the usage of big data analytics (BDA). This article seeks to spotlight the changing dynamics of the SC managing atmosphere, to recognize the way the two leading trends will influence SCM in future, to demonstrate the advantages which may be derived, and to generate suggestions for providing SC managers if BDA is adopted. The process of deriving value from the large quantities of information within the SCM is defined. It is demonstrated, through examples, the way SCM location might be influenced by these brand-new developments and trends. Within the examples, BDA have been adopted, utilized and applied effectively. Big data and analytics to draw out value coming from the information can create a big influence. It is clearly suggested that chain administrators pay attention to these two trends, since better usage of BDA can ensure they keep abreast with innovations modifications, which could help improve company competitiveness.

Understanding the dynamics of global supply chain sustainability initiatives: The role of institutional distance from the buyer's perspective

Research points to sustainable supply chain management as a core strategic goal for most global firms. However, managers continue to struggle with implementing successful sustainability initiatives both internally and throughout their globally dispersed supply chains. Using grounded theory, our findings uncover a potential explanation for how firms manage sustainability initiatives in the context of global supply chain management, from a buyer's perspective. Institutional theory of the firm is applied to help explain the challenges of developing and implementing global supply chain sustainability-related initiatives within buyer-supplier relationships. Analysis of the data from qualitative interviews show that institutional distance is an influential factor that produces mixed effects on the global buyer-supplier relationships in our sample in the context of buyer and supplier strategic orientation toward sustainability. The findings can help guide managers when approaching sustainability-related initiatives in the context of global supply chains. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed as well as areas for future research.

Precarious Work and Intermittent Life Trajectories in a Portuguese Gig Economy

Abstract Rapid advances in technology brought dramatic changes into the labour market, regarding precarious, flexible and informal work. The gig economy has enabled new forms of labour exploitation, social exclusion, intermittent and vulnerable professional trajectories. Not having fully recovered from the Great Recession, the Portuguese society is crossing a Covid-19 global pandemic which has accelerated the digitalisation and platformisation of work fecting not only the value chains, but the labour market dynamics in a heterogenous way. Between 2019 and 2020, 53 in-depth interviews were conducted with precarious workers in Portugal, comprising a focus on 15 life trajectories from digital platform workers. Through their voices, it was concluded that job insecurity is deeply intertwined with the global supply chain management operated by algorithmic control. Most of platform companies threaten established employment relationships, atomising workers who live in the present time without any future aspirations.

MANAGING GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN: TRANSFER PRICING ISSUES AND SOLUTIONS

World trade of goods and services is based upon the global supply chain and logistics management, and its flow is determined by the drivers of supply chain management. For a company to be successful in the new millennium where a paradigm shift has taken place it becomes necessary that its supply chain strategy gets fit with its competitive strategy so as to strike an appropriate balance between the supply chain’s efficiency and responsiveness. One of the supply chain management’s drivers, to achieve this fit is known as “Pricing”. In the context of global supply chain management, Transfer Pricing, with its components such as Arm’s Length Pricing (ALP), Advance Pricing Agreement (APA), Safe Harbour Rules (SHRs), etc. play a very important role and, therefore, in this paper an attempt has been made to explain issues relating to transfer pricing vis-à-vis solution for the same, so that MNEs may operate and supply their tangibles and intangibles to their related companies globally without having any disputes / litigations with a the taxation authorities.

Linking green supply chain management practices with competitiveness during covid 19: The role of big data analytics

Although the global green supply chain management (GSCM) practice has attracted considerable scholarly attention, its efficacy for environmental management systems (EMS) and market competitiveness during Covid-19 has not been fully capitalized. Therefore, the existing literature indicates that the important link between GSCM, EMS, and market competitiveness is missing as supply management is crucial to maintaining market competitiveness. To fill this research gap, the current study examines whether EMS affects the relationship between GSCM practices and market competitiveness. We also propose the moderating role of big data analytics and artificial intelligence (BDA-AI) and environmental visibility on these associations from a Covid-19 perspective. We tested a proposed model using the primary data (N = 283) from regression-based structural equation modeling (SEM). The results provide empirical support for the impact of GSCM on ESM and market competitiveness. Furthermore, the results show that BDA-AI and environmental visibility strengthen the positive relationship between GSCM-EMS and EMS and market competitiveness, respectively. Current research provides thoughtful insights for supply chain practitioners, policymakers, managers, and academics that organizations should opt for formal EMS, BDA-AI, and environmental visibility to achieve market competitiveness, even in times of crisis such as Covid-19.

Prediction of Purchase Volume of Cross-Border e-Commerce Platform Based on BP Neural Network

As a new form of foreign trade, cross-border e-commerce has huge development potential. Although the development prospect of cross-border e-commerce is good, the management of global supply chain is very important in order to gain a place in the fierce competition and develop steadily. The traditional forecasting of purchasing volume adopts time series, and the forecasting model is relatively simple. The purchase volume of the platform is related to the various consumption behaviors of consumers, such as the number of product reviews, the number of product collections, and whether there are tax subsidies. The sales volume in the next few days is predicted by the item number, time, and sales quantity. The four-layer BP neural network model is used, and the MATLAB neural network toolbox is used to draw the training error curve and the correlation coefficient curve. After network training, the training correlation coefficient R reaches 95.823%, and the prediction accuracy obtained at this time is higher. Further, using the established model based on BP algorithm, the traditional BP algorithm is optimized to obtain the purchase quantity of commodities. The method is applied to the forecast of commodity purchase volume of a cross-border e-commerce platform, and the results show that the average error rate of this method is 5.9%, which has high practical application value. The research results show that this paper considers multiple influencing factors and selects an appropriate forecasting method, which can effectively improve the accuracy of the company's commodity sales forecast, so as to better formulate procurement plans and optimize inventory structure, which has certain implications for the actual operation of cross-border e-commerce platforms.

A Self-Assessment Framework for Global Supply Chain Operations

This research developed an effective supply chain management (SCM) operation model and a corresponding diagnostic methodology in the global competitive environment by combining three phases and methodologies. In Phases 1, a list of impact factors was collected from relevant studies, and a hierarchy for the current complex research issue was established. In Phase 2, an expert survey was conducted for enhancing the content effectiveness of the model. Subsequently, an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was applied to determine the weights of those factors. In Phase 3, a self-assessment framework was developed to examine the effectiveness of the global SCM. Finally, a case was analyzed to verify the effectiveness of the self-assessment scales. The results show that the concept of global SCM tends to be broader and more comprehensive than traditional one. Especially in the coordination and cooperation between market, organization itself and suppliers, while using information technology as a communication tool.