Improve Supply Chain Management Research Articles

Towards an agriculture solution for product supply chain using blockchain: case study Agro-chain with BigchainDB

ABSTRACT In recent years an effort has been made to improve supply chain management (SCM) and traceability control in different industrial sectors, for example, in agriculture one of the main concerns is about to know where is the product in particular moment and where it will be next. Problem here is, as many other systems, the centralisation of information and trust problems derived from human interaction with transactions in the system. Based on this context of lack of trust, we propose the design and development of a platform using a database based on Blockchain technologies, the platform’s main effort is to propose a solution for agriculture SCM and control over internet taking as study case Colombian agriculture negotiation process.

Barriers to adequate analgesia in paediatric burns patients

All children with burn injuries experience pain at some time during their management and recovery. Burn pain is challenging to manage, owing to a combination of factors. The process of achieving adequate analgesia involves the correct scripting of medication based on the doctor's knowledge, the correct fulfilling of that script, and patient compliance. To assess two components of this process, correct scripting of medication based on the doctor's knowledge and the correct filling of that script, to highlight potential barriers to adequate analgesia for burn-injured patients being followed up at an outpatient department. Patient compliance was out of the scope of this study. The study was conducted in the Pietermaritzburg Burn Service (PBS) in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, and was undertaken in two parts. The first part was conducted through an anonymous, voluntary questionnaire completed by doctors working in hospitals referring to the PBS. The aim of the questionnaire was to identify deficits in knowledge of doctors regarding background analgesia for burn-injured children. The second part was conducted through an audit of the outpatient folders of children attending the PBS outpatient clinic to identify discrepancies between analgesia prescribed and analgesia supplied to the patient. Thirty-six doctors completed the questionnaire. While nearly all the doctors prescribed background analgesia, just over half (58%) prescribed paracetamol, and of those, only half prescribed the correct dose. Half of the doctors prescribed tilidine, and only half of them knew the correct dose. Forty-seven percent of the doctors prescribed both paracetamol and tilidine for background analgesia. The outpatient folders of 59 children attending the outpatient clinic were audited. Fifty-three patients were prescribed paracetamol. There was a statistically significant difference between the paracetamol volume prescribed and the volume supplied (p<0.0001). Twenty-four patients were prescribed ibuprofen. There was a statistically significant difference between the ibuprofen volume prescribed and the volume supplied (p<0.0001). Burn-injured children commonly receive inadequate analgesia in our setting. The reasons for this are multifactorial. The correct dose and the correct drugs for burn-related background pain are deficits in the knowledge of doctors who deal with this common problem. Furthermore, even if the correct drug and dose are prescribed, the correct volume of medication is often not issued by the pharmacy. This study highlights barriers to achieving adequate analgesia in children with burns being managed as outpatients. Potential strategies to overcome barriers include improving education with regard to pain management and burns at an undergraduate and postgraduate level, and improved supply chain management.

A Study on effect of Customer Intergration & Market Orientation on Management Performance through SCM Performance

As globalization has been progressed, companies faced a situation in which it was difficult to secure global competitiveness only with their internal management systems. To overcome this, Supply Chain Management (SCM) emerged, which optimizes the whole supply chain process from suppliers to demand companies. In this study, it was analyzed that the effects of customer integration among the integration factors of SCM, and market orientation among the strategic orientations on management performances such as non-financial performance and financial performance through a mediating role of flexibility. At this time, it was analyzed whether CEO's support has a moderating effect on the influence of the market orientation. As a result of analysis, the customer integration was found to have an indirect effect on the non-financial performance and the financial performance through the flexibility. The market orientation was found to have a direct effect on the non-financial performance and at the same time, indirectly affected it through the flexibility. In addition, it was shown that more the level of CEO's support, higher the influence of the market orientation. This moderating effect had an indirect effect on the financial performance. Based on the above findings, various implications for improving management performance were proposed. This study suggests that investments in computerization such as ERP and smart factories can improve supply chain management performance and ultimately improve customer satisfaction and financial performance.

Utilisation of digital central supplier database in enabling electronic procurement in the Limpopo provincial departments

Background: The establishment of a digital central supplier database (CSD) in the Limpopo provincial departments was envisaged not only to eliminate the duplication of service provider compliance requirements during procurement processes and payment processing but also to level the playing field amongst service providers so that small and upcoming businesses can have equal competitive bidding opportunities like any other business. This therefore meant that the CSD was to ensure that all registered suppliers have an equal and fair prospect of providing goods and services to government, and that acquiring of goods and services is done in a cost-effective manner. However, the Limpopo provincial departments are persistently underspending their allocated budgets at the end of each financial year.Aim: The aim of this study was to assess whether CSD as an electronic procurement (e-procurement) system adopted by the provincial departments in Limpopo is efficient and cost-effective in enhancing the provisioning of goods and services.Setting: The study focused on the Limpopo provincial departments, South Africa.Methods: The study used a qualitative research approach to assess the use of CSD in enabling e-procurement processes. Purposive sampling was employed to sample 14 participants from 12 provincial departments.Results: The outcome revealed that the technological innovation of centralising the suppliers’ records on the CSD increased transparency and accountability in the process of selecting suppliers who qualify to do business with government, and the system has the potential, if rightly used, to eliminate corrupt activities such as favouritism and collusion.Conclusion: The article concludes that the successful implementation of CSD by provincial departments and public entities may, amongst other things, improve supply chain management performance, particularly in the selection of suppliers, and may also promote economic development of small, medium and micro-enterprises.

The efficiency of using a tailored inventory management system in the military aviation industry

IntroductionMilitary aviation inventory management systems are a vital tool for air forces to reduce operating costs whilst improving fleet readiness, aircraft serviceability, and availability, and the safety measurements of the country. ObjectiveThis paper aims to establish a local, affordable, high quality, reliable, and adaptive inventory management system which manages and improves inventory in the military aviation industry (Air forces). The aim of the new system is to improve aircraft fleet serviceability, reliability, and readiness in order to enhance the operational status and level of readiness at the least possible costs. MethodsThis study designs, proposes, and implements a highly reliable customized Microsoft Access software as a powerful, simple, user-friendly. Affordable software that supports the on-time availability of the air force inventory of spare parts. The system will have full capability of integrating maintenance management systems (M.M.S.) and will address aircraft inventory challenges. ResultsThe proposed system provides high-quality reports that improve supply chain management and processes that help collate maintenance, supply chain, and logistics information that reduces stock to the minimum. This will result in improved components, increased serviceability, availability, and reliability, decreased costs, and decreased Aircraft on Ground (A.O.G.).

PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF GREEN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT OF DIAPER RAW MATERIALS

X is a company engaged in manufacturing and it is necessary to do a performance measurement in improving supply chain management to be an environmentally friendly Green Supply Chain management. The purpose of this study is to determine the current condition of the company's SCM and then analyze the value of the performance of green supply chain management and propose improvements to the company after knowing the most influential indicators in order to improve the performance of green supply management in the company. Based on the problems studied, the method used in the study is to measure the performance of the company's supply chain using the Supply Chain Operation References (SCOR) method. The initial hierarchy model of performance measurement is adjusted to the condition of the company to measure the performance of its supply chain, while the normalization of Snorm De Boer serves to equalize the matrix value used as an indicator of measurement. The importance of performance attributes is measured based on weighting with subjective questionnaires using AHP. SCM Conditions of PT. X it is known that there are two stages of SCM that have low KPI values, namely manufacturing and distribution. Green supply chain performance measurement results obtained that the calculated performance value is 67.95. This value indicates that the achievement of the performance of the green supply chain management is classified as average and needs to be improved, especially for indicators that have low values

The Effect of its Application on Supply Chain Performance Through Green Supply Chain Management in Food and Beverage Industry in Surabaya, Indonesia

This study examines the effect of IT application on the supply chain performance through green supply chain management in the Food and Beverage Industry in Surabaya. Data collection is conducted using questionnaires designed with a five-point Likert scale. From 70 questionnaires distributed, 64 were considered valid for further analysis. Data analysis uses the SEM-PLS technique with SmartPLS software version 3.0. This study assesses the extent to which the corporate apply IT and adopt the green supply chain management in improving the supply chain performance. The results of this study indicate that the use of IT applications influences supply chain performance. The IT application affects the green supply chain management. Green supply chain management affects the supply chain management. One of the interesting findings is that the IT application indirectly affects supply chain performance through green supply chain management. The findings of this study provide an insight for the manager on how to improve supply chain management. This research also contributes to the on-going research in the field of supply chain management.

Relationship between customer collaboration in supply chain management and operational performance of manufacturing companies

This paper presents the results of empirical analysis on the relationship between customer collaboration practices in supply chain management and operational performance of manufacturing companies. Data were collected between 2013 and 2015 from 304 manufacturing companies in 13 countries across the world in the framework of high-performance manufacturing project. The results of statistical descriptive analysis, correlation analysis and regression analysis indicate that customer collaboration practices have positive relationship with operational performance in terms of quality, cost, delivery speed, on-time delivery and flexibility. This study suggests the researchers and managers to develop and implement a set of customer collaboration practices to improve supply chain management effectiveness.

Differences in Differentiation: Rising Variety and Markups in Retail Food Stores

In this paper I show that consumers in food stores and supermarkets/hypermarkets became significantly less price sensitive between 2006 and 2017. At the median, across thousands of stores and products in nine large categories, estimated own-price elasticities have declined by 25% over this period. I argue that these changes are likely due in part to improved supply chain management, which has led stores to offer a larger variety of goods which better match consumers’ individual preferences. I show that newer products are indeed more “niche” in this sense, and that other potential sources of rising differentiation including increases in quality and changes in consumer wealth play a smaller role. Markups implied by a monopolistic pricing rule suggest that the observed rise in differentiation was large enough to generate significant increases in firms’ markups absent any changes in pricing behavior or competition.

A novel initiative to improve access to medicines for control of non-communicable diseases in low-and middle- income countries

The global burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is growing, and access to prevention and treatment strategies remain limited, especially for those in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Novel approaches are needed to improve access and affordability of medicines that can treat NCDs in LMICs. The Access and Affordability Initiative (AAI) is a public private partnership aiming to improve access to and availability of essential medicines for the treatment of NCDs and strengthening of health systems. Through this novel initiative a prospective cohort of patients with hypertension and diabetes were followed in Ghana and the Philippines to examine the effect of differential pricing on access to treatment of hypertension and diabetes. An integrated approach including differential pricing, health systems strengthening, improved supply chain management and greater affordability can improve access to medicines for NCDs. While differential pricing has several advantages for improving the affordability of NCD medicines in LMICs, it can’t overcome all barriers as a standalone approach. An integrated approach to health systems strengthening, supply chain management and affordability are needed to overcome key challenges in getting medicines for NCD to patients in LMICs. Availability and affordability of medicines to treat NCDs among vulnerable patients will help achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

Value Stream Analysis in Military Logistics: The Improvement in Order Processing Procedure

Military logistics is a complex process where response times, demand uncertainty, wide variety of material references, and cost-effectiveness are decisive for combat capability. The demanding flexibility can only be achieved by improving supply chain management (SCM) to minimize lead times. To cope with these requirements, lean thinking can be extended to military organizations. This research justifies and proposes the use of lean methodologies to improve logistics processes with the case study of a military unit. In particular, the article presents the results obtained using value stream mapping (VSM) and value stream design (VSD) tools to improve the order processing lead time of spare items. The procedure starts with an order generation from a military unit that requests the material and ends before transportation to the final destination. The whole project was structured, considering the define–measure–analyze–improve–control (DMAIC) problem-solving methodology. The results show that the future state map might increase added-value activities from 44% to 70%. After implementation, it was demonstrated that the methodology applied reduced the lead-time average and deviation up to 69.6% and 61.9%, respectively.

Standardized management systems and risk management in the supply chain

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to determine the impact of standardized management systems (ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 22000 and ISO 28000) on minimizing selected aspects of risk in the supply chain.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire was used to explore this topic. Respondents were divided into two group regarding organization type – logistic service providers and focal companies. Basic data analysis was based on descriptive statistics and on analysis of variance with organization type as a stratification factor. Deeper data analysis was based on factor analysis with principal component analysis and varimax rotation with Kaiser normalization.FindingsResearch shows that standardized management systems turn out to be useful in supply chain risk management (SCRM) regardless of the role that the organization plays in the supply chain. However, the strength of their positive impact varies. There were few respondents among logistic operators who were low in assessing the legitimacy of implementing standardized management systems in the examined context. Having this in mind, especially representatives of logistic operators with a limited budget should consider making the decision to implement standardized management systems.Practical implicationsThe obtained research results may be helpful for managers who consider to implement standardized management systems in the context of using obtain guidelines to develop procedures to improve supply chain management and ensure the repeatability of ongoing processes.Originality/valueAlthough the number of studies on the SCRM increases, it is worth noting that in the literature there is still a lack of research and studies addressing the impact of standardized management systems on SCRM (especially from the perspective of organizations with various functions in supply chains such as focal companies and logistic service providers). Therefore, there is a need for comprehensive research in this area. According to the authors, the study carried out, at least to some extent, will fill this gap.

Assessing the Integrated Community-Based Health Systems Strengthening initiative in northern Togo: a pragmatic effectiveness-implementation study protocol

BackgroundOver the past decade, prevalence of maternal and child morbidity and mortality in Togo, particularly in the northern regions, has remained high despite global progress. The causes of under-five child mortality in Togo are diseases with effective and low-cost prevention and/or treatment strategies, including malaria, acute lower respiratory infections, and diarrheal diseases. While Togo has a national strategy for implementing the integrated management of childhood illness (IMCI) guidelines, including a policy on integrated community case management (iCCM), challenges in implementation and low public sector health service utilization persist. There are critical gaps to access and quality of community health systems throughout the country. An integrated facility- and community-based initiative, the Integrated Community-Based Health Systems Strengthening (ICBHSS) initiative, seeks to address these gaps while strengthening the public sector health system in northern Togo. This study aims to evaluate the effect and implementation strategy of the ICBHSS initiative over 48 months in the catchment areas of 21 public sector health facilities.MethodsThe ICBHSS model comprises a bundle of evidence-based interventions targeting children under five, women of reproductive age, and people living with HIV through (1) community engagement and feedback; (2) elimination of point-of-care costs; (3) proactive community-based IMCI using community health workers (CHWs) with additional services including family planning, HIV testing, and referrals; (4) clinical mentoring and enhanced supervision; and (5) improved supply chain management and facility structures. Using a pragmatic type II hybrid effectiveness-implementation study, we will evaluate the ICBHSS initiative with two primary aims: (1) determine effectiveness through changes in under-five mortality rates and (2) assess the implementation strategy through measures of reach, adoption, implementation, and maintenance. We will conduct a mixed-methods assessment using the RE-AIM (reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, maintenance) framework. This assessment consists of four components: (1) a stepped-wedge cluster randomized control trial using a community-based household survey, (2) annual health facility assessments, (3) key informant interviews, and (4) costing and return-on-investment assessments for each randomized cluster.DiscussionOur research is expected to contribute to continuous quality improvement initiatives, optimize implementation factors, provide knowledge regarding health service delivery, and accelerate health systems improvements in Togo and more broadly.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03694366, registered 3 October 2018

Associations Between Practices and Behaviors at the Health Facility Level and Supply Chain Management for Antiretrovirals: Evidence from Cameroon, Namibia, and Swaziland.

While measuring, monitoring, and improving supply chain management (SCM) for antiretrovirals (ARVs) is understood at many levels of health systems, a gap remains in the identification and measurement of facility-level practices and behaviors that affect SCM. This study identifies practices and behaviors that are associated with SCM of ARVs at the hospital level and proposes new indicators for measurement. We performed an in-depth literature review to identify facility-level practices and behaviors and existing indicators that are associated with SCM. We used the United States Agency for International Development's 2013 National Supply Chain Assessment Toolkit to define 7 supply chain function areas to frame the study. Qualitative, semistructured key informant and focus group interviews were conducted in hospitals with health professionals from Cameroon, Namibia, and Swaziland to understand facility-level practices and behaviors. Using the results from 54 key informant and focus group interviews from 12 hospitals, we identified 30 practices and behaviors that may affect ARV SCM at the facility level. The following practice areas were particularly associated with SCM: order verification, actions taken when ARV stock is received, changes in prescription and dispensing due to ARV stock-out, actions to ensure patient adherence, and communication with other affiliated facilities and higher-level SCM. We subsequently developed measurable indicators for future research. This study characterizes facility-level practices and behaviors that can affect ARV SCM. It also identifies gaps in their measurement. While this study uses ARVs as a tracer medicine to understand gaps in practices at the facility level, many of the findings are more broadly applicable to other medicines in an integrated setting. This study provides real-world evidence and the groundwork for further research to characterize the link between 30 facility-level practices and behaviors and ARV SCM at the facility and central levels.

Improving supply chain management process using design structure matrix based cross‐functional analysis

AbstractThis paper introduces a process improvement study for a supply chain management (SCM) system of an aircraft manufacturer by using the design structure matrix (DSM). A high‐level model for the overall SCM process has been set up. Information and operation interfacing between critical tasks (CTs) belonging to adjacent steps of the high‐level models are expressed and analyzed using the DSM. The interface values (IVs), which represent the extent of risk exposure of the interfaces, are computed. The IVs associated with DSM cells are used to identify high‐impact cross‐functional areas of the system. The gray areas, which present opportunities for improvements in the system performance, are found after an in‐depth gap analysis of the identified high‐impact areas. Finally, the measures that can address the gaps in the gray areas and improve the system process are developed. The results and insights obtained from a process improvement case study on SCM of the Boeing Company are discussed.

Relationship between customer collaboration in supply chain management and operational performance of manufacturing companies

This paper presents the results of empirical analysis on the relationship between customer collaboration practices in supply chain management and operational performance of manufacturing companies. Data were collected between 2013 and 2015 from 304 manufacturing companies in 13 countries across the world in the framework of high-performance manufacturing project. The results of statistical descriptive analysis, correlation analysis and regression analysis indicate that customer collaboration practices have positive relationship with operational performance in terms of quality, cost, delivery speed, on-time delivery and flexibility. This study suggests the researchers and managers to develop and implement a set of customer collaboration practices to improve supply chain management effectiveness.

Interaction effects between supply chain capabilities and information technology on firm performance

Information technology (IT) has been viewed as a source of strategic and tactic forces that improve supply chain management. Previous studies, however, do not necessarily agree on effects of IT-driven supply chain capabilities on firm performance. To better evaluate the contribution of supply chain and IT toward firm performance, we propose a research model that emphasizes the interaction effects between supply chain and IT on firm performance. It is because we conjecture the existence of the synergy effects between supply chain management and IT functions. The proposed model is tested with survey data collected from manufacturing firms’ supply chain managers. The results verify significant moderation effects of IT characteristics on the relationship between supply chain capabilities and firm performance.

Institutional challenges for corporate participation in payments for ecosystem services (PES): insights from Southeast Asia

Environmental sustainability relies on the adequate financing of biodiversity conservation—increasingly from the private sector. Meanwhile, corporate sustainability relies on the effective management of natural capital and ecosystem services used in production. Payments for ecosystem services (PES) offers an important practical mechanism for addressing these issues. However, the uptake of corporate-financed PES has been underwhelming, implying that companies may face institutional and motivational challenges to participate in PES. This article presents an assessment framework to determine the conduciveness of PES to real-world corporate environmental strategies and actions, be they (a) voluntary or compliance-based, (b) reactive or proactive, (c) requiring low or high amounts of data, (d) seeking a direct or indirect return on investment (ROI), (e) conducted proximal to or far from the operation site, (f) short-term or long-term, and (g) utilising internal or external resources. Interview data elicited from public, private, and civil sector actors in Thailand and the Philippines highlights key barriers to corporate-financed PES. Results imply companies may be: (1) hesitant to get involved with unknown or uncertain concepts such as ecosystem services; (2) reluctant to fund the technical studies and repeat payments that PES requires; (3) disinterested in direct ROI—instead content with philanthropic projects that can boost public relations; and (4) bound by protocols that restrict the spatial and temporal scales at which PES can operate. To overcome these challenges, policy makers could devise reputational and economic incentives, and incorporate ecosystem services into existing institutions such as environmental impact assessments (EIAs) and ISO 14001. Meanwhile, PES practitioners (government agencies and NGOs) should use quick and simple metrics to quantify ecosystem services, and tolerate buyer willingness-to-pay. Increasing corporate ecosystem service demand, and participation in PES, will likely require firm-level institutional change, and business strategies to improve supply chain management and mitigate the negative effects of environmental and climate change.

THE PERFORMANCE OF APPLE CHIPS SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT AT SMALL INDUSTRY IN BATU CITY

Batu City is one of well known cities in East Java Province which is as center of tourism destination and also as center of apple production. There is growing small scale industry related to apple processed products, such as apple chips. In an effort to support the supply of raw materials and production planning, it is necessary to know the achievement of supply chain performance in a small industry of apples chips in Batu City. The method used is qualitative analysis to know the system of raw material inventory control and production planning system applied and analyze the performance of supply chain management, supply chain mapping with SCOR (Supply Chain Operations Reference) method, measurement of supply chain performance by using measured performance attribute that is Supply Chain Reliability, Supply Chain Responsiveness and Supply Chain Agility with performance metrics of Perfect Order Fulfillment (POF), Order Fulfillment Cycle Time (OFCT), Upside Supply Chain Flexibility, Upside Supply Chain Adaptability and Downside Supply Chain Adaptability. The results of this study indicate that the system of raw material inventory control and production planning system have been applied. Supply chain mapping, performance measurement of supply chain management need to be developed more to improve supply chain management performance in the small industry apple chips in Batu City.

Role Of Digitalization In Improving Supply Chain Management: A Quantitative Investigation

Innovations pique people's interest, inspire them, and enhance their quality of life. The majority are constant adjustments used to keep ahead of the competition, but digital innovation redefines the market. The idea of digital management of supply chains will be crucial in the future. Digitalization has affected every facet of businesses, including operating styles and supply chains. Today's enterprises can change their supply chain structures from a hybrid of printed and IT-supported procedures to more adaptable, open, quick-moving, and participatory digital models thanks to Technology like RFID, GPS, and sensors. Different from hybrid supply chain approaches, which have led to rigid organizational structures, unavailability of data, and fragmented connections with partners, digital supply chains enable the automation of business operations and the digital management of firm assets. In the future supply chain networks, threat management will require an electronic supply chain risk monitoring system. Digitalizing the entire supply chain will make a considerable quantity of current information available, enabling speedier detection and response to any issues.