Supply Chain Initiatives Research Articles

Drivers of Green Supply Chain Initiatives and their Impact on Economic Performance of Firms: Evidence from Pakistan’s Manufacturing Sector

Drivers of Green Supply Chain Initiatives and their Impact on Economic Performance of Firms: Evidence from Pakistan’s Manufacturing Sector

The effect of the client–contractor relationship on project performance

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is first to examine the effect of client-led and contractor-led supply chain initiatives on project performance in the Indian construction industry and second to assess how the client-led supply chain initiatives complement the contractor-led supply chain initiatives.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, the effects of the client-led supply chain initiatives (reward power and competence trust of the construction clients) and the contractor-led supply chain initiatives (contractor integration and calculative commitment of the contractor) on project performance in construction projects are examined. The data were collected from 346 construction professionals working in Indian construction projects using purposive sampling. The proposed hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling.FindingsThe contractor-led supply chain initiatives, in the form of contractor integration and the calculative relationship commitment of a contractor, were found to be strong mediators, indirectly affecting the project performance. On the other hand, the client-led supply chain initiatives, in the form of the reward power of the client and the competence trust of the client, directly influence the project performance.Research limitations/implicationsThis study reports the inevitable bias on the part of participants, who responded to the survey either in the capacity of client or contractor, although they might have executed projects in both capacities. Future studies could benefit from the use of objective data instead of behavioral data.Practical implicationsThis study helps construction firms understand how to demarcate the client and contractor roles in the construction supply chain to improve the project performance.Originality/valueThe originality of this study lies in its investigation of the influence of client-led supply chain initiatives and contractor-led supply chain initiatives on project performance.

Collaborative mechanisms for sustainability-oriented supply chain initiatives: state of the art, role assessment and research opportunities

Whether from government policies, customer expectations or personal beliefs, there is increasing pressure on firms and their supply chains to adopt sustainable practices. Manufacturing companies are particularly targeted, for example, to reduce CO2 emissions, offer sustainable products, etc. Research in this field has significantly increased in recent years. Most research states the importance of collaboration with upstream and downstream entities as a critical success factor when aiming for a sustainable supply chain and proposes various collaborative mechanisms (CMs) to enable firms in the implementation of a sustainability-oriented initiative. The goal of this paper is to investigate the role of collaboration in these initiatives and explore the proposed CMs via a systematic literature review method. A total of 404 articles were reviewed and the multitude of CMs proposed in the literature were classified into seven categories: relationship management, contractual and economic practices, joint practices, technological and information sharing practices, governance practices, assessment practices, and supply chain design. This systematic mapping of the field provides an in-depth view of the current state of research as well as research gaps. It also intends to help practitioners by highlighting the role played by these mechanisms in four phases of sustainable supply chain deployment.

Leading from all levels: building supply chain leadership capacity in Equateur Province, Democratic Republic of Congo

A well-functioning supply chain is a critical component of the health system to ensure high-quality medicines and health products are available when and where they are needed. However, because supply...

An empirical assessment of relational contracting model for supply chain of construction projects

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how the client–contractor relationship affects the project performance in light the theory of relational contracting. The empirical study evaluates the effect of project trust (PT) mediating through the dyadic factors and procurement-specific factors (PSFs) on the project performance.Design/methodology/approachResearch design is carried out in three phases. The first phase of review of literature has identified the key constructs of the study and the conceptual model is formulated. Subsequently, the constructs of the study are validated through expert opinion and pilot study. In the third phase, the questionnaire of the study is administered on 320 samples in various cities of India. The exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis is carried out on the two different sample sizes. The structural equation model is finally tested with satisfactory fit.FindingsPT not only improves the dyad factors in construction supply chain (CSC), but also influences the project performance. However, project risk and relationship commitment are not associated with enhancing project performance directly. PSFs and dyad factors are the two mediators in transforming PT into relationship commitment and project performance. Client-led supply chain initiatives and contractor-led supply chain initiatives differ in the CSC.Research limitations/implicationsThe present research has employed behavioral data to understand the effect of project procurement on project performance. Nevertheless, future studies should use objective data to support the constructs of the study. This study outlines the common and socially rooted relational governance of the project. This study is useful to the clients, contractors and policy makers in understanding the interplay of various control mechanisms to ease the procurement of large and complex construction projects. Future studies should focus on separating client-led control mechanisms and contractor-led control mechanisms of the relational contracting and its effect on project performance.Originality/valueThe research study contributes in formalizing the governance structure of supply chain in dealing with the complex construction projects. The study has contributed in understanding the client-led initiatives and contractor-led supply initiatives of establishing the supply chain of construction projects. It has demonstrated the mediating role of dyadic factors and PSFs in improving the project performance.

Barriers to green supply chain management: An emerging economy context

Green supply chain management is attracting increasing attention as a way to decrease the adverse environmental effects of industries worldwide. However, considering the context of an emerging economy like Bangladesh, green supply chain management is still in its inception and has not been widely embraced in the textile industry, and therefore barriers hindering its adoption in emerging economy context demand a comprehensive investigation. This research reviews the viewpoints and hurdles in adopting green supply chain management practices in the context of the Bangladeshi textile industry. A questionnaire survey of Bangladeshi textile practitioners of operations and supply chain management division, having a sample size of thirty, was undertaken to identify the barriers, and a hierarchical cluster analysis technique was used in the detailed analysis of this data. Opinions were sought from experts on the significance of the resulting clusters, considering the relative importance of the barriers. Fifteen barriers to the adoption of green supply chain management were identified in the review of the literature, with these barriers then analyzed by using the data collected from Bangladeshi textile industry practitioners. The research indicates that the most important barrier is that there is low demand from customers and financial constraint resulting from short term little financial benefit to businesses, with lack of government regulations also a commonly faced barrier in adopting green supply chain initiatives. This study will provide valuables insights to practitioners and relevant policy makers about the barriers prevailing in the emerging economies towards the adoption of green supply chain management practices, which, in turn, can guide to undertake appropriate steps for alleviating those barriers.

Uma perspectiva colaborativa da cadeia de suprimentos para apoiar a indústria 4.0

A necessidade de fornecimento de insumos para a Indústria 4.0, que está permeada pelo avanço tecnológico dos dispositivos sensoriais, virtualização de ativos, IoT, Big Data Analytics, CPS, Data Mining, RFID, IoS e computação em nuvem, requisita avaliação das iniciativas da cadeia de suprimentos que podem ser colaborativas para atender as demandas dos recursos. O artigo apresenta revisão da literatura sobre a Indústria 4.0 e a cadeia de suprimentos, e ainda uma análise bibliométrica para responder a seguinte questão: como a cadeia de suprimentos poder colaborar com a Indústria 4.0? Um questionário autoaplicável envolvendo liderança especializada em suas áreas é desenvolvido para obter informações sobre critérios estratégicos, organizacionais, tecnológicos e de segurança da informação, que posteriormente, é utilizado no método AHP para priorização das alternativas colaborativas. Os resultados demonstram que a falta de conhecimento tecnológico, segurança da informação e problemas de transparência na comunicação estão entre as ações prioritárias da cadeia de suprimentos para antever soluções colaborativas que possam reduzir ameaças futuras e acompanhar os avanços tecnológicos da quarta revolução industrial.

Low-Carbon Initiatives of Logistics Service Providers: The Perspective of Supply Chain Integration

Logistics service providers (LSPs) are under tremendous pressure in the fight against global climate change. While existing research has examined the operational importance of LSPs in decarbonizing supply chains, the strategic perspective of LSPs on low carbon supply chains has not received enough attention. Motivated by the evolving role of LSPs from a service provider to a resource integrator in the supply chain, drawing on the relational view of inter-organizational competitive advantage, this paper focuses on LSPs’ low-carbon supply chain integration (SCI) and empirically investigates its drivers and outcomes. Data from 124 Chinese LSPs shows that LSPs’ corporate environmental responsibility and customer environmental requirement have positive relationships with LSPs’ low-carbon SCI, and that LSPs’ low-carbon SCI is positively related to LSPs’ environmental and financial performance. In addition, LSPs’ environmental performance is found to have a positive relationship with LSPs’ financial performance. These findings not only provide new insights for LSPs’ low-carbon supply chain initiatives, but also highlight the importance of SCI as a strategic approach in low-carbon supply chain management.

Sustainability gridlock in a global agricultural commodity chain: Reframing the soy–meat food system

Market governance is viewed as a potentially effective mechanism to achieve more sustainable global production-to-consumption systems when state regulation between production and consumption regions is uncoordinated. Through examining a key global food sector, the soy–meat value chain, we assess how effective market governance is. In this sector, numerous supply chain approaches have proliferated ranging from the first deforestation-free supply chain sectoral standard, to eco-labelling, and collective actions on various topics.To assess how effective these policy instruments are, we examine the choices in sustainability made by lead companies in the sector and then analyse how coordinated these initiatives are across the supply chain. We then assess, via a litereture review, which actors are creating ‘rules of the game’ for sustainability, and the impacts of these on coordination and on-the-ground impacts.We show that companies along the soy–meat value chain have made different sustainability commitments probably because they are facing very different risk factors: those upstream such as soy traders are concerned mainly with international pressures associated with deforestation, whilst those further downstream in the supply chain have from very loose to very ambitious sustainability objectives on various topics associated with the sector including animal welfare, climate change and human-health.We found that these supply chain initiatives are not addressing sufficiently the cause and effect of key drivers of sectoral impacts such as land appreciation and the global demand for cheap meat. Further, because the soy–meat sector is vertically integrated both upstream and downstream, this may result in comparable bargaining power among business actors such that none of these actors may be able to impose sustainability norms without inferring cost onto themselves or causing perverse outcomes.A lack of coordination in market governance is translating into a lack of uptake in various instruments (e.g. certification) or transference of cost and responsibilities onto soy producers (e.g. deforestation free standard such as the Soy Moratorium). A perverse outcome of the latter is the displacement of impacts onto other regions and commodities. In light of these challenges in market governance, we encourage more emphasis on network governance, which involves more social interactions that build trust, vision and exchanges of information and resources (e.g. between Brazil and China and Europe), these being more important in early phases of transitions for systems facing sustainability gridlock.

Influence of Green Initiatives on Environmental, Economic and Operational Outcomes: The Case of the Brazilian Packaging Supply Chain

The adoption of green initiatives in supply chains is fundamental in the relationship among companies that have the obligation to assume the principles of environmental management. Packages take part in this scenario and they are fundamental in guaranteeing the quality of the products and their commercialization, bringing about the concern with their final destination and impacts caused to the environment. The aim of this research was to verify if the adoption of green initiatives in the packaging supply chain affects the environmental, economic and operational outcomes of companies participating in this chain, according to the perception of professionals who work in these companies. The study was conducted by means of a survey directed to professionals of various hierarchical levels working in Brazilian industries of the packaging supply chain. It is a quantitative study, and responses were analyzed through statistical techniques. The results have pointed out that only the environmental outcomes of companies in this supply chain were influenced by the adoption of green initiatives.

How Green Can the Lettuce Be? A Case Study on Greening Initiatives in Supply Chains and Sustainable ERP Systems

More and more organizations are heading to maximize the efficiency of their resources and enhancing their energy and waste management policies and practices. The extant literature argues that enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, or what is known as sustainable ERP systems, can aid organization in their “greening” efforts. This paper builds upon the existing body of knowledge on sustainable ERP and supply chain greening domains and presents a qualitative case study conducted at an organization that is active within the agriculture sector. The case organization was assessed on its expectancy towards implementing a new ERP system and the paper explores how this system can potentially support the company’s initiatives within sustainability and innovation. This research shows that (sustainable) ERP systems are expected to improve time-management and efficiency and are not necessarily viewed as a solution that can aid organizations to become more sustainable.

A theoretical framework to adopt collaborative initiatives in supply chains

Abstract Collaborative initiatives emerged in the 1980s as a means to increase inter-organizational cooperation, thereby achieving performance improvements in supply chains. Despite this, no consensus exists among researchers with respect to which collaborative initiatives should be deployed along a supply chain. This study analyzes five collaborative initiatives—Quick Response (QR), Efficient Consumer Response (ECR), Continuous Replenishment Program (CRP), Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) and Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR)—by conducting a systematic literature review, aiming to develop a theoretical framework to guide the decision-making process of adopting and implementing these initiatives. Based on the characteristics of the collaborative initiatives, expected benefits, reasons for adopting, and possible barriers found in the literature review, a theoretical framework was developed as a flowchart, clearly indicating to decision-makers the main aspects of concern when adopting one or more collaborative initiatives and highlighting the need to constantly monitor the chosen initiative’s performance.

A Review of Sustainable Supply Chain Initiatives

There are three dimensions of sustainability: Financial, Social and Economic. The companies who are working in area of sustainability must include these facets. The performance of any company can’t be measured just on the basis of financial performance but also we need to focus on the social and environmental performance. The organisations now need to take initiatives in the era of sustainability which include all three components of 3BL.This article is the review article and provides the literature review of sustainable supply chain management and also drivers of sustainability are also introduced. This study elaborate the literature on sustainable strategies in relation to environmental and social concerns. This study introduces a process view of Sustainable Supply Chain Management and identifies 10 sustainable supply chain processes (SSCPs) from literature. Further, a tabular view is proposed considering significance of various SSCPs and their sustainability objectives with the issues faced by them. This study introduces an approach to enhance sustainability of supply chain basis on theoretical lenses of stakeholder theory and resourced based view.

Shell Picks a Digital Platform To Build Its AI Future Upon

Alisa Choong, the chief information officer at Shell, recently told several hundred oil and gas professionals that “digitization is about making the right choices.” Speaking on a panel at SPE’s Annual Technology Conference and Exhibition in Dallas in September, Choong shared that Shell has made one of those choices by signing a 3-year deal to use the enterprisewide analytics platform developed by Silicon Valley-based C3 IOT on Microsoft’s Azure cloud service. The development comes on the heels of BP’s September announcement that is expanding the use of a competing analytics platform. Taken together, these cases reveal how large operating companies plan to manage and put into action their growing arsenals of machine-learning and artificial-intelligence (AI) programs. For the past few years, the industry’s first movers have been assembling data science teams. As these teams and their capabilities mature, it has become clearer that they need a new kind of digital infrastructure that runs independent of the IT department. “That’s fundamentally why Shell decided to standardize on the C3 IOT platform,” said Ed Abbo, chief technology officer and cofounder of C3 IOT. Seeing his firm’s platform as a “catalyst,” he added that Shell now has “a jumpstart on the market to operationalize these AI algorithms.” After raising $100 million in equity funding earlier this year, C3 IOT has become one of the fastest-growing industrial analytics players. Its leadership also includes the billionaire entrepreneur Tom Siebel, who serves as chief executive officer and is most known for selling his previous software company, Siebel Systems, to Oracle for $5.8 billion in 2005. Abbo was involved in software development at both Siebel Systems and Oracle prior to starting C3 IOT with Siebel. Scaling Up Shell’s AI Shell began its trials with the C3 IOT platform by using it to automatically predict maintenance needs on dozens of gas compressors, which was successful in identifying failure risks up to 48 hours in advance. The plan is now to expand this use case to hundreds of thousands of machines across the world—both on the company’s offshore facilities and onshore refineries. Additionally, Shell’s ambitions include using C3 IOT’s platform to support its supply chain and other digital initiatives involving computer vision and natural-language processing. The ability to scale up this diverse set of applications is seen as the chief driver behind the adoption of enterprise-wide platforms. Founded in 2009, C3 IOT is among the earliest entrants into the platform space and is joined by a growing cast of competitors that include Arundo and GE Predix. These companies are vying for their slice of the upstream market because most oil and gas companies of size store their data in hundreds or thousands of locations. The developers say that without an analytics platform, the job of ingesting, correlating, and keeping all these data sources updated in real time will keep industrial firms from launching algorithms across large bases of equipment and production systems.

When risks need attention: adoption of green supply chain initiatives in the pharmaceutical industry

The pharmaceutical industry is very important in delivering life-saving products/services to society. There are many ways for materials/products/services concerned with pharmaceuticals to influence the environment; these include improper disposal of pills/tablets by patients, expired and unused medications, improper release of drugs by pharmacies or household sewage mixed with surplus drugs. In view of this, the present work seeks to integrate green supply chain (GSC) concepts in the pharmaceutical sector in a developing economy Indian context. In so doing, managers need to determine the potential risks in adopting GSC initiatives to achieve sustainability in operational perspectives. In this sense, this work seeks to distinguish the potential risks in adopting GSC initiatives within the pharmaceutical industry. This work uses a literature review and fuzzy Delphi approach in finalising the risks. This research also uses fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) for prioritisation of the risks under vague and unclear surroundings. According to the findings, cold chain technology and supply risks categories are highly prioritised. This work can assist practising managers and government authorities in effectively developing and managing GSC initiatives in line with sustainable development goals in the context of the pharmaceutical industry. Finally, a sensitivity test is applied to evaluate the stability of ranking of risks.

Critical Perspective on Agribusiness Supply Chain Management (ASCM) in Developing Nations: What are the Policy and Institutional Lessons for Developing Economies?

This paper seeks to explore and assess literature on Supply chain management. The overarching aim is to derive institutional and policy lessons for the agribusiness sector, especially among the least developed economies. The focus is to better understand the range of supply chain initiatives prevalent in literature and how they fit into the developing nations contexts. Unpacking what supply chain initiatives exist in scholarly publications is relevant since scholarly ideas often shape institutional and policy directions and negotiations in the agricultural sector interventions. Using subjective criteria, sourcing, screening and selection of documents, and conducting qualitative analysis and validation were done. In exploring this discourse, we observe the emergence of a variety of overarching initiatives – development of short food supply chains, supply chain partnership, and supply chain integration. Findings from the study suggest that there is a need for some level of coordination of processes and activities within and between agribusiness firms in the supply chain, in order to build a stronger agribusiness subsector.

Critical Perspective on Agribusiness Supply Chain Management (ASCM) in Developing Nations: What are the Policy and Institutional Lessons for Developing Economies?

This paper seeks to explore and assess literature on Supply chain management. The overarching aim is to derive institutional and policy lessons for the agribusiness sector, especially among the least developed economies. The focus is to better understand the range of supply chain initiatives prevalent in literature and how they fit into the developing nations contexts. Unpacking what supply chain initiatives exist in scholarly publications is relevant since scholarly ideas often shape institutional and policy directions and negotiations in the agricultural sector interventions. Using subjective criteria, sourcing, screening and selection of documents, and conducting qualitative analysis and validation were done. In exploring this discourse, we observe the emergence of a variety of overarching initiatives – development of short food supply chains, supply chain partnership, and supply chain integration. Findings from the study suggest that there is a need for some level of coordination of processes and activities within and between agribusiness firms in the supply chain, in order to build a stronger agribusiness subsector.

Regulating the old game of smuggling? Coltan mining, trade and reforms in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

AbstractThis article examines the smuggling of coltan into and out of artisanal mining areas in northern Katanga where the ITRI Tin Supply Chain Initiative (iTSCi), a policy on conflict minerals, tries to improve transparency in trading tin, tantalum (coltan) and tungsten. The article approaches smuggling from a sociology of economic life perspective, closely examining how and why artisanal miners and mine-based middlemen (négociants) helped smugglers (hiboux) in the trafficking of coltan. The findings indicate that the social networks in which miners and mine-basednégociantsare embedded allow the miners,négociantsand smugglers to maintain close relationships and to breach official regulations, but miners and mine-basednégociantsalso rely on the same networks to cheat in their dealings with the smugglers. This article concludes that, rather than considering coltan mining areas to be ‘enclaves of regulations’, understanding and addressing smuggling at both local and broader contexts call for a comprehensive, more contextualised approach.

Sustainable supply chain initiatives in reducing greenhouse gas emission within the road freight industry

Background: Global supply chains have evolved from a traditional simple supply chain to one that is filled with complexities and uncertainties. The increase in road freight transportation has resulted in an escalation in the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) into the atmosphere, impacting climate change.Objectives: The purpose of this article was to investigate the implementation of sustainable supply chain initiatives in reducing GHG emissions within the South African road freight transport industry.Method: This research utilised a case study approach and used primary data, obtained through self-administered questionnaires, to explore the adopting sustainable transport management practices.Results: The main drivers for implementing sustainable initiatives are pressure from consumer and brand protection, pressure from top management, and cost saving and revenue. Eco-driving, eco-routing and increasing vehicle carrying capacity are the most adopted sustainable supply chain initiatives implemented. The key benefits resulting from implementing sustainable initiatives were operational cost savings, improved competitive advantage and enhanced supplier relationships. Also, the lack of government support, lack of understanding of the cost and insufficient manpower were identified as the foremost challenges associated with the implementation of these sustainable initiatives.Conclusion: The results reveal that organisations are placed under enormous pressure to implement sustainable practices. This study identifies various sustainable initiatives to reduce GHG emissions and addresses the associated benefits and challenges when implementing these initiatives.

Enablers to implement sustainable initiatives in agri-food supply chains

Due to rapid agricultural industrialization, increased global food demand, and, increasing concerns related to food quality and safety, the concepts of sustainability and supply chain transparency are becoming critically important to the agriculture and agri-food sector. The new focus on sustainability performance objectives emphasizes the effective utilization and consumption of natural resources to balance ecological, economic and societal aspects of agri-food businesses. The management of sustainability adds a new demand on business managers who often have small profits and receive stringent requirements from large powerful customers and retailers. In this paper, we recognize and analyze the key enablers in implementing sustainable initiatives for Agri-Food Supply Chains (A-FSCs). Ten important sustainability driven enablers were considered from a rigorous literature review and phase of expert consultation. The identified enablers were then analyzed using a combined Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) - fuzzy Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) based framework. The ISM approach enabled an appreciation of the contextual relationships among the enablers and to classify the enablers based on their driving and dependence potential. The fuzzy DEMATEL technique supported the determination of the influential and influenced enablers and also to categorize them into cause and effect groups. An empirical case study, drawn from a vegetable and fruit retail supply chain in India, is used to focus and test the applicability of the proposed research framework. The paper facilitates professional management practice and researchers to uncover and explore the enablers for the real execution of sustainability oriented initiatives in the agri-food business sector.