Outbound Supply Chain Research Articles

The role of digital knowledge servitization in supply chain management

PurposeThis paper aims to contribute to overcoming the gap existing in the supply chain literature related to digital servitization by bridging digital servitization with knowledge management and identifying the rise of digital knowledge servitization as a driver for changes in the supply chain business model towards open innovation.Design/methodology/approachThe study follows an inductive grounded theory approach for theory building. To analyse the impact of digital knowledge servitization, in-depth interviews of managers in the main business units of the Volvo Group supply chain ecosystem were carried out.FindingsThe results show how the digital servitization process affects the supply chain business model, highlighting the central role of knowledge in the service ecosystem and the rise of the theoretical concept of digital knowledge servitization. In particular, through the Innovation Lab (Volvo Group) study, the paper contributes to bringing together the theoretical knowledge-based view of servitization with the digital servitization concept, which demonstrates the role of this combined perspective in the transformation of the supply chain; this is carried out by introducing a new business model based on open innovation in inbound and outbound processes.Practical implicationsThe research offers interesting insights from a managerial perspective, as increasingly advanced and complex digital solutions require shorter times in supply chain management (SCM). Companies need to be able to quickly manage information and knowledge flows deriving from internal and external interactions and involvement with external actors upstream and downstream of the supply chain ecosystem. Therefore, the digital knowledge servitization of the supply chain also highlights implications for managers in terms of human resources management.Originality/valueThe novel research goal is to contribute to the supply chain literature by integrating the digital servitization with the knowledge view and analysing the impact on the inbound and outbound supply chain through the introduction of an open innovation business model.

Supply chain engineering: Considering parameters for sustainable overseas intermodal transport of small consignments

An increasingly environmentally conscious global economy is placing new demands on supply chain engineering, with a focus on sustainable approaches to modelling transport chain. In addition to the price and time efficiencies that characterize agile and lean supply chains, strategies for low-carbon and energy-efficient external transport must also be incorporated. This research therefore focuses on the challenges of organizing the supply of small overseas shipments to define how the relationship between land and sea transport in the selected intermodal chain affects environmental and energy performance. Understanding the input parameters and their impacts is a prerequisite for planning CO2, NOx, SO2 and NMHC emissions, as well as energy efficiency (EE) of overseas transportation. The number of individual transport legs and their characteristics are crucial parameters for sustainable transport chains. The applicability of the proposed research framework is carried out on the example of outbound supply chains of the southern part of the Baltic-Adriatic Corridor using intermodal transport chains of small shipments via the ports of Koper and Genoa. The results of the case study show that an additional transport leg representing only 2 % longer land transport to the port of Genoa significantly affects the carbon footprint of the whole supply chain's compared to chains via the port of Koper. Moreover, other results also require special attention in supply chain modeling. The study enriches the field of supply chain engineering, as there is a lack of such studies. The study is part of the project "Green port - Developing a sustainable model for the growth of the green port", co-founded by the Slovenian Research Agency.

SELECTION OF SUSTAINABLE SUPPLIER(S) IN A PAINT MANUFACTURING COMPANY USING HYBRID META-HEURISTIC ALGORITHM

Supplier selection in a manufacturing system is highly complex owing to the nature and structure of organisations, necessitating a paradigm shift from the rule-of-thumb and classical methods of supplier selection to a reliable technique that uses a hybrid algorithm to provide greater accuracy in the selection process. This study proposes the use of a hybrid computational intelligence technique — an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system — for the effective identification and selection of sustainable suppliers. This hybrid modelling configuration was applied in a paint manufacturing company to select the best possible supplier. Information obtained from the company within the period of investigation was fed into the model. The result obtained shows a faster and more reliable prediction by the creative model. Professionals and business managers will benefit greatly from the selection of sustainable suppliers in an in-bound and out-bound supply chain system.

Relevance of Adopting Emerging Technologies in Outbound Supply Chain: New Paradigm for Cement Industry

Relevance of Adopting Emerging Technologies in Outbound Supply Chain: New Paradigm for Cement Industry

Sustainable supplier selection in the retail industry: A TOPSIS- and ANFIS-based evaluating methodology

In this study, a hybrid model based on ANFIS (Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference Systems), a predictive intelligent-based technique, and TOPSIS (Technique for Order Performance by Similarity to Ideal Solution) was implemented for sustainable supplier selection. Selection of supplier is a crucial task for companies to achieve the objectives of inbound and outbound supply chain system. This selection process may be complex due to the inclusion of diverse subjective and objective factors. There is, therefore, the need for a reliable methodology to provide higher accuracy in predictions of anticipated supplier performance, and this article makes contributions in that direction. The model was applied in the retail end of a fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry to select the best possible suppliers using the sustainability criteria of the triple-bottom-line. Available data from the FMCG retail sector was fed into the TOPSIS and ANFIS model to rank the suppliers. Results indicated that the most dominant sustainability factors in the Nigerian FMCG retail sector are advanced technology, cost, reliability, on-time delivery, and environmental competencies. The finding should encourage companies in the retail sector to explore sustainability opportunities in order to improve their competitiveness for selection during bidding processes. The novelty of this study is the application of ANFIS to sustainable supplier selection problem in the context of a developing economy like Nigeria. It should also assist managers in the FMCG retail sector to highlight areas of possible sustainability improvements.

Adoption of green practices throughout the supply chain: an empirical investigation

PurposeThere is a dichotomy in the actual and expected environmental performances of the Indian enterprises even though the Indian enterprises have aligned their businesses with intended nationally determined contributions (INDC) targets. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the supply chain of Indian enterprises to understand influences to adopt green practices throughout the supply chains, and how these green practices influence economic, operational and environmental performances to reveal the underlying currents explaining difference in actual and expected performance.Design/methodology/approachFive research propositions are developed based on the existing literature. Data are collected from 233 ceramic enterprises in India. Exploratory factor analysis has been done to test construct validity and correlation. Confirmatory factor analysis is used to check unidimensionality of constructs. Structural equation modeling is used to test the strength and direction of the relations between the constructs and to develop the model.FindingsThe findings of the study suggest that the Indian companies have aligned their businesses with INDC targets but they have not adopted the green practices in inbound and outbound supply chains; therefore, the actual environmental performance is not as expected. Other major finding is that the enterprise and government are not focusing on the informative pressure and instead the focus is on coercive techniques which are not yielding positive results. The statistical results show that the adoption of green practices led to the improvements in environmental and operational performances but reduction in economic performance.Originality/valueThis paper has analyzed green supply chain management pressure, practice and performance measure for Indian ceramic enterprises and proposed a structural model with their interrelation.

The use of Postponement Decisions in Determining Supply Chain Strategies of Light Vehicle Manufacturers in South Africa

This article investigates the use of postponement decisions in determining the supply chain strategies of light vehicle manufacturers in South Africa. The article is exploratory and descriptive in nature. A survey was conducted among light vehicle manufacturers and the findings analysed by means of descriptive statistics. The results revealed that postponement decisions could be used to determine the supply chain architecture used by light vehicle manufacturers in South Africa. With regard to postponement decisions, the study found that all the light vehicle manufacturers made use of a lean supply chain strategy, while a few made use of an agile supply chain strategy. The results also revealed that all the production lines engaged in full speculation based on projected forecasting, and therefore employed a lean supply chain strategy. In terms of the postponement decisions made in line with the parent company of origin, European manufacturers 1 and 2 kept a work-in-progress inventory of stock to be customised for a particular customer. These manufacturers thus employed a lean and agile supply chain strategy, while most of the manufacturers adopted a lean supply chain strategy. All the manufacturers, except Asian manufacturer 1 and the American manufacturer, employed both lean and agile supply chain strategies. Therefore, the majority of the light vehicle manufacturers employed lean supply chain strategies in their inbound and outbound supply chain, while a few employed an agile supply chain strategy in their outbound supply chain, there by indicating leaglity. The article provides evidence of some form of postponement practice being followed by light vehicle manufacturers.

The use of Postponement Decisions in Determining Supply Chain Strategies of Light Vehicle Manufacturers in South Africa

This article investigates the use of postponement decisions in determining the supply chain strategies of light vehicle manufacturers in South Africa. The article is exploratory and descriptive in nature. A survey was conducted among light vehicle manufacturers and the findings analysed by means of descriptive statistics. The results revealed that postponement decisions could be used to determine the supply chain architecture used by light vehicle manufacturers in South Africa. With regard to postponement decisions, the study found that all the light vehicle manufacturers made use of a lean supply chain strategy, while a few made use of an agile supply chain strategy. The results also revealed that all the production lines engaged in full speculation based on projected forecasting, and therefore employed a lean supply chain strategy. In terms of the postponement decisions made in line with the parent company of origin, European manufacturers 1 and 2 kept a work-in-progress inventory of stock to be customised for a particular customer. These manufacturers thus employed a lean and agile supply chain strategy, while most of the manufacturers adopted a lean supply chain strategy. All the manufacturers, except Asian manufacturer 1 and the American manufacturer, employed both lean and agile supply chain strategies. Therefore, the majority of the light vehicle manufacturers employed lean supply chain strategies in their inbound and outbound supply chain, while a few employed an agile supply chain strategy in their outbound supply chain, there by indicating leaglity. The article provides evidence of some form of postponement practice being followed by light vehicle manufacturers.

The Determinants of Logistics Efficiency in Malaysia

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to study the determinants of logistical efficiency in Malaysia. To achieve logistic efficiency, trust between supplier firms and buyer firms can be done through three supply chain collaboration dimension which are joint decision making, information sharing, and benefit/risk sharing.Design/methodology/approach - For this study, the data are collected from Malaysian firms through a mail survey. The survey was answered by the logistics/supply chain managers who are responsible for outbound supply chain supplier and buyer firms from various work function. The data gain then will be tested and analysed using statistical software or SPSS and regression.Findings - Joint decision making and information sharing has a significant influence on the logistics efficiency with positive relationship, whereas benefit/risk sharing also have a significant influence on the logistics efficiency but negative relationship.Originality/value - This paper is unique as it is the first research paper that study on logistics efficiency between 100 Malaysia’s firms. This paper also analyses the causal effect of joint decision making, information sharing and benefit/risk sharing on the logistical efficiency.Practical Implications - For supply chain practitioners, the results indicate that firms benefit greatly if they consider supply chain collaboration in their supply chain and that such a matching yield to improve the logistical efficiency.

An Integrated Load-Planning Algorithm for Outbound Logistics at Webb Wheel

We present an integrated model for simultaneous optimization of the loading and routing decisions associated with an automotive supplier’s outbound supply chain. The supplier, Webb Wheel (WW), is a manufacturer of brake drums, rotors, hubs, and spoke wheels. WW accepts new orders from customers each day. Given sufficient inventory, it combines these orders into loads, releases them based on various dispatch criteria (e.g., truck-utilization, route-utilization, or penalty-based dispatch policies) and due-date considerations, and ships them in truckloads, less-than-truckloads, and containers. Dynamically changing demand information, inventory rationing, inventory interactions among orders, and lead-time considerations are some of the challenging aspects of the problem. Our optimization model is based on the decomposition of the problem into assignment and routing subproblems. The assignment subproblem determines the transportation mode and carrier choices, while considering total transportation costs. These costs depend on a variety of factors, including destination, number of drop locations on the route, and needs of customers on the route. Given the customer clusters and transportation modes from the assignment subproblem, the routing subproblem determines the sequence of drops and the true cost of the shipment using a modified traveling salesman problem. A scalable database with a graphical user interface supports the optimization model. We test our algorithm using four months of WW data and compare these data to the company’s practice. Our results demonstrate the impact of transportation mode-specific capacities, customer locations, inventory availabilities, and due-date restrictions on outbound logistics costs. Since implementing our load-planning algorithm, WW has achieved cost savings of 4.4 percent over its previous load-planning process.

Alignment Of Supply Chain Strategies And Practices Of Locally Made Vehicles In South Africa

This paper sought to investigate the alignment between supply chain strategies and practices of local manufacturers of locally made light vehicles in South Africa. The research design employed was a combination of exploratory and descriptive research design using a qualitative approach. A face-to-face, semi-structured interview questionnaire was used, based on purposive sampling. Descriptive statistics using SPSS software was used for the data analysis and interpretation. The findings of the research revealed that across the supply chains of locally made models, all the manufacturers followed a lean strategy for their inbound supply chain and some had a lean supply chain strategy for their outbound supply chain. A number of them also had an agile supply chain strategy in the outbound supply chain, which suggests a leagile supply chain strategy. It was also found that in some instances there was a mismatch between strategies and practices in the area of product characteristics, manufacturing characteristics, and the decision drivers of the supply chain. Local manufacturers of locally made light vehicle models in South Africa do not always make decisions and implement practices in line with their chosen supply chain strategies.

Mapping supply chain strategy: an industry analysis

Purpose – In manufacturing industries, the levels of inventories at all stages (i.e. raw material, work-in-process and finished goods inventories) indicate the firm's competitive positioning, strategies, internal processes and relationships with suppliers and downstream customers. The authors identify patterns of manufacturing industries based on levels of raw material and finished goods inventories to classify inbound and outbound supply chain strategies. Design/methodology/approach – The authors review literature on supply chain inventory strategy and perform cluster analysis to analyze patterns of manufacturing industries based on manufacturing industry data collected from US Census of Bureau. Following Porter's Five Forces Model, the authors perform in-depth case studies of four representative industries to analyze factors driving supply chain strategies, including industry intensity of rivalry, threat of new entrants, threat of substitutes, bargaining power of suppliers, and bargaining power of buyers. Findings – This study identifies three streams of research on supply chain strategy: Fisher's model and its variations, lean and agile paradigms, and push/pull systems. It finds that whether an industry shows low or high raw materials or finished goods inventories depending on its products, processes, and the dynamics of all forces described in the Five Forces Model. Research limitations/implications – This study is not able to include supplier selection, production strategies, warehousing and distribution, and even product design into the analysis of supply chain strategy due to data limitation. This study classifies industries based on average inventory levels of raw materials and finished goods, while inventory levels and supply chain strategies for specific firms may vary significantly within each industry. Originality/value – This study contributes to the supply chain management literature by providing a parsimonious framework of mapping inbound and outbound supply chain inventory strategies, and the results based on the analyses of all US manufacturing industries provide a baseline picture for supply chain management professionals with manufacturing firms.

Measuring supply chain visibility in the apparel industry

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to propose an innovative quantitative approach to measure visibility in outbound supply chains and to implement it in order to evaluate the current degree of visibility that focal companies operating in the apparel industry have on their supply chains.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on an in‐depth literature review on supply chain visibility and on 11 case studies in the apparel industry.FindingsThe outcome of the paper is twofold. First, it proposes a metric for measuring visibility in complex outbound supply chains. Second, it analyses the quantity and quality of visible information in eleven companies belonging to the apparel industry, comparing visibility on outbound supply chains vs inbound supply chains.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the paper shows the usefulness of the proposed metrics in supporting value assessment, a structured tool is still to be developed. Moreover, the visibility metric is suitable for benchmarking analyses, but the sample presented in the study is still limited and should be enlarged by further studies, also considering other industries.Originality/valueThe metrics so far proposed by researchers to assess the level of visibility in complex supply networks are mainly focused on the upstream supply chain; this paper fills the gap by proposing a quantitative metric for assessing the degree of visibility on the outbound supply chain. Moreover, some interesting insights about visibility in the apparel industry have been found on the basis of 11 case studies.

Are internal manufacturing and external supply chain flexibilities complementary capabilities?

Manufacturing flexibility is often viewed as a strategic capability that enables firms to more effectively meet heterogeneous market demands arising, in part, from increased product proliferation. However, recent studies suggest that the operational challenges associated with meeting this objective may be heavily dependent not only upon a firm's internal modification, mix, and new product flexibilities, but also upon the flexibility of its inbound and outbound supply chain partners. Drawing upon the theory of Complementarity, we examine if simultaneous utilization of both internal and external flexibilities does in fact create synergies that can improve a firm's delivery performance. Based on a sample of 158 U.S. manufacturing plants, we find that the extent to which performance enhancing synergies are generated is primarily dependent upon the type of internal flexibility that is paired with supply chain flexibilities. Additionally, we find that when synergies do exist, external supplier and logistics flexibilities generally tend to enhance the scope of flexible response, while internal flexibilities generally tend to enhance the achievability of a flexible response. Taken together, our findings suggest that the ability of firms to actually reap the synergistic benefits of an integrated system of supply chain flexibility is much more complex and nuanced than previously believed or expected.

Managing Supply Chain Risks and Risk Mitigation Strategies

IntroductionGlobal supply chain management is exposed to a variety of risks such as demand fluctuations, exchange-rate fluctuations, price fluctuations, supply disruption, and supply delays.2 In addition, because of business activities and growth, management often has created conflicts among risks. Thus, business firms must develop mitigation strategies that effectively manage these risks in the supply chain.3 Supply chain risk management (SCRM) takes a proactive approach to the development of mitigation strategies for supply chain risks, giving important strategic alternatives and insights while overcoming challenges presented by the information and knowledge age.4The purpose of this paper is threefold: 1) to identify, assess, and prioritize supply chain risks; 2) to use the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) technique to support the strategic planning in supply chain management (SCM) decision-making; and 3) to provide business decision makers with a model to identify risk mitigation strategies. Using a business firm (BF) in the Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC), the study focuses on exploring supply chain risks' characteristics in order to implement risk mitigation strategies that will improve the BF's and the KIC's decision-making planning process and managerial policy.5 The study will suggest risk mitigation strategies that will enable the BF to respond to innovation and new growth, while reinforcing overall ongoing business planning strategies to meet defined requirements in the KIC business setting.Supply Chain Risk ManagementSupply chain management (SCM) is defined as an integrated business philosophy for managing information, materials, and monetary flows among different facilities, suppliers, customers, and logistic levels. SCM includes both internal customers, such as all cross-functional decision-makers within an organization that have direct and/or indirect impact, and external customers such as suppliers, distributors, transporters, warehouses, retailers, and even end users. Because of the many qualitative and quantitative factors which must be included in SCM, planning is a complicated decision-making problem in business.6 Given the complexity of SCM, especially in cross-border supply chains, many studies have applied different business methodologies to real world situations.7Supply chain risk is defined as any risk associated with the flow of materials, information, and monetary transaction in a supply chain process. An effective supply chain risk management (SCRM) strategy embeds risk management into all supply chain functions, from inbound to outbound supply chain streams. Conventional risk management identifies and evaluates the various supply chain risk factors and their potential effects in areas such as purchasing and procurement, manufacturing and production, resources and real estate, outsourcing, logistics and warehousing, inventory, and legal matters. Risk factors can be identified in terms of sources, places, and relationships, or from a managerial function perspective, such as financial risk, operational risk, human resources risk, and information risk.8 Table 1 on page 36 presents categories and drivers of supply chain risks.A more comprehensive SCRM strategy may need proactive participants in the overall SCM planning processes.9 Although managing supply chain risk is a primary business activity, an even more important activity is the identification of proper risk mitigation strategies that will make the business more sustainable and profitable. By identifying risks and developing a pertinent strategy in a supply chain, business firms can align risks to the related strategies. In manufacturing-business firms, four major strategies are cost, quality, delivery, and flexibility.The existence of numerous risk factors makes supply chain decision-making more difficult to plan and implement. It is complicated because many tangible and intangible risk factors must be included in the decision-making process of a supply chain planning process. …

Estimation of claims in an outbound automotive supply chain using capture–recapture methodology

Vehicle inspection in an outbound automotive supply chain is a manual process performed in challenging conditions at various nodes along the transportation network. This paper describes the application of a statistical technique called ‘capture–recapture (CR) modelling’ (traditionally used in animal ecology estimation) to estimate the dealer claims based on the vehicle defects detected during inspection. Current industry practice in the USA permits the dealers to file the claims up to nine months after receiving the vehicles. The outcome of this research can be used to estimate the dealer claims at a one-month delay. Hence, the output of this model can be used to evaluate the progress made in the quality of the service in a finished vehicle supply chain without having to wait for the claims to be filed. On applying the CR technique to two assembly plants of a leading automotive manufacturer in the USA, the results were found to be statistically similar. Hence, the principles outlined in this paper can be used to estimate the claims in automotive supply chains more generally.

Measuring visibility to improve supply chain performance: a quantitative approach

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe a quantitative approach to assess the degree of visibility that a focal company has of its supply chain, addressing specifically complex networks and ecosystems.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on an in‐depth literature review concerning the measurement of supply chain visibility and the assessment of its value. An extensive, six‐month discussion and refinement process with the supply chain managers of nine leading companies was conducted to validate the proposed approach and to conduct real case studies.FindingsThe main outcome of this paper is a model to measure the visibility level in complex supply networks. Such a measure can be used for benchmarking and as a diagnostic tool for practitioners to find more easily the areas where a visibility improvement is more urgent.Research limitations/implicationsThe model provides a measure of the visibility across the inbound supply chain. Further research will extend the approach to the internal and outbound supply chains. Moreover, limited empirical evidence is presented in this paper, which mainly aims to validate the proposed approach. A wider application of the model could offer interesting opportunities in terms of managerial practice and provide a more extensive basis for benchmarking.Originality/valueVarious authors have attempted to quantify visibility across a supply chain, but they either calculate it only for simplistic, two‐tier or linear supply chains, or they fail to provide a comprehensive visibility metric.

Flexible strategic framework for managing forces of continuity and change – study of outbound automotive supply chain management in India

Continuity and change are key paradigms of strategic thinking. Most of the literature has focused on strategic change and gradual transformation. Dealing with flexibility, continuity and change has been an area of growing interest to researchers and business organisations to cope with the uncertainty. Outbound automotive supply chain, involving large dealer network, third party logistics and multimode transportation, has become very complex. Vehicle recall, hence, reverse supply chain, has now become common and needs to be included in any strategy for outbound supply chain. This research work focuses on study of outbound supply chain of the largest automotive company in India and understanding how they are coping up with the forces of continuity and change. Based on this research, the aim is to develop a flexible strategic framework for effectively managing forces of continuity and change in outbound supply chains, which can be applied to other similar organisations.

An Integrated Outbound Logistics Model for Frito-Lay: Coordinating Aggregate-Level Production and Distribution Decisions

In this paper, we describe research to improve Frito-Lay's outbound supply chain activities by simultaneously optimizing its inventory and transportation decisions. Motivated by Frito-Lay's practice, we first develop a mixed-integer programming formulation from which we develop a large-scale, integrated multiproduct inventory lot-sizing and vehicle-routing model with explicit (1) inventory holding costs, truck loading and dispatch costs, and mileage costs; (2) production, storage, and truck capacity limitations; and (3) direct (plant-to-store) and interplant (plant-to-plant) delivery considerations. Second, we present an iterative solution approach in which we decompose the problem into inventory and routing components. The results demonstrate the impact of direct deliveries on distribution costs and show that direct deliveries and efficient inventory and routing decisions can provide significant savings opportunities over two benchmark models, one of which represents the existing Frito-Lay system. We implemented our models using an application that allows strategy evaluation, analysis of output files, and technology transfer. This application was particularly useful in evaluating potential direct-delivery locations and inventory reductions throughout the supply chain.

Interrelationship Between Operations and Marketing in Reducing Demand Risk

Organizations today have a daunting task of managing varied demand needs of customers to be delivered at doorstep and also at a competitive price. Researchers have suggested different ways to counter the bullwhip effect in the supply chain through factoring for safety stock, countering behavioral forecasting inefficiencies through coordination stock, and setting up a single view of the global supply chain with the aid of technology, to name a few. However, the lack of a well-defined and organized, process-driven approach in managing the demand and supply planning process leads to demand–supply imbalance. In this article we discuss the practices followed by the best-in-class organizations in managing the critical link between the marketing and operations departments in reducing demand risk. We conclude that through a process-driven approach, organizations could enhance efficiency of the outbound supply chain by interlinking the marketing and operations departments and at the same time meet the long-term strategic goals and maximize customer value. The scope of this article has been restricted to the outbound supply chain only.