Production Outsourcing Research Articles

A hybrid differential evolution algorithm for flexible job shop scheduling with outsourcing operations and job priority constraints

Owing to the increasing complexity of products and the specialization of enterprises, production outsourcing has become a common practice in industrial manufacturing. Moreover, different jobs feature various priorities in actual production. The previous research that aims to minimize the makespan may not be applicable in real scenarios. Therefore, this study investigates a flexible job shop scheduling problem with outsourcing operations and job priority constraints. We propose a sequence-based mathematical model aiming at minimizing weighted overdue days, which considers the outsourcing constraints and different overdue weights of jobs with different priorities. An efficient hybrid self-adaptive differential evolution algorithm with heuristic strategies (HSDE) is proposed to address this problem. In HSDE, a well-designed chromosome encoding and decoding method is presented. To eliminate individuals that do not satisfy the outsourcing constraints, we add a penalty term to improve the objective function. By considering heuristic strategies for initial chromosome generation, the proposed approach is able to achieve a high-quality initial population. Crossover and mutation operators with self-adaptive control of the parameters are established to enlarge the search range and accelerate the convergence speed. Finally, several experiments are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed model and algorithm. Experimental results confirm that the proposed algorithm outperforms other algorithms both in efficiency and accuracy.

Impact of smartphone use on production outsourcing: evidence from litchi farming in southern China

There is a great deal of evidence suggesting that information and communication technology (ICT) and agricultural production outsourcing can improve farm productivity and farmers’ welfare. However, less is known about the relationship between modern ICT use and agricultural production outsourcing. Drawing upon a survey of 855 litchi growers from southern China, this study estimates the effect of smartphone use on farmers’ decisions regarding agricultural production outsourcing. A novel genetic matching method is employed to mitigate the selection bias associated with self-selected smartphone use. Our result confirms the positive role of smartphone use in increasing the number of production tasks outsourced by litchi growers. Moreover, smartphone users are more likely to outsource both labor-intensive and technology-intensive tasks than nonusers. In addition, the treatment effect of smartphone use varies with each specific litchi production task. Our findings highlight the importance of improving smartphone adoption among farmers to promote agricultural production outsourcing.

Assessing the effectiveness of company transition to outsourcing

Aim. This study aims to present the types and methods of assessing the feasibility and effectiveness of outsourcing in industrial enterprises in a structured fashion and to substantiate the effectiveness of outsourcing some part of the business processes of an industrial enterprise.Tasks. The authors describe the specific types of outsourcing; investigate methods for assessing the feasibility and effectiveness of outsourcing in industrial enterprises; substantiate the results of analyzing the activities of an industrial enterprise in terms of the effectiveness of outsourcing some part of business processes.Methods. The study uses general scientific methods of cognition and assessment of the feasibility and effectiveness of outsourcing to analyze the activity of an industrial enterprise and determine the effectiveness of outsourcing some part of its business processes.Results. Production outsourcing is one of the most complex types of relations that involve transferring activities to a third-party firm, both from an organizational and legal perspective. This practice is particularly widespread in high-tech industries. At the present stage of development of the market economy, there are two major groups of methods for assessing the outsourcing of some part of the business processes of industrial enterprises. As part of a study of the activities of scientific and production enterprise OOO NPP ECVST, the feasibility of outsourcing basic and supporting processes is assessed, and the strategic and tactical results of partially outsourcing business processes are substantiated.Conclusions. The outsourcing of business processes of industrial enterprises is driven by the requirements of the modern market, which is highly competitive and dynamic. Such a transition is also associated with the need to implement complex financial, economic, and organizational measures aimed at increasing profitability and ensuring long-term competitive advantages.

Economic environmental imbalance in China — Inter-city air pollutant emission linkage in Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) urban agglomeration

Production fragmentation makes the air pollution policy no longer at the local scale but requires accounting more about embodied emissions cross-region through supply chains. Here, we map the consumption-driven NOx networks of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration (BTH) in China using the city-level multi-regional input-output model. The results show that the construction, service, and equipment manufacturing sectors in Beijing and Tianjin indirectly drive more than half of BTH NOx emissions (54%). Moreover, 75% of NOx flows in the supply chains are traded from cities with low efficiency (high intensity) to cities with high efficiency (low intensity), which reflects the economic environmental imbalance in BTH. Especially, for the metals smelting and pressing sector and nonmetal mineral products sector, there is a wider gap in emission intensity between production-oriented cities (1.03–4.43 Mt/million yuan) and consumer-oriented cities (0.08–0.45 Mt/million yuan), which leads to additional emissions of air pollutants to increase. At the same time, for the provinces in the south and north China, the role of BTH in the supply chain is different, which leads to an economic environmental imbalance between the north and the south. Synchronous outsourcing of production and technology is the key to solving the economic environmental imbalance. The consumption-oriented high-income cities are suggested to increase the financial and technical support to improve the efficiency of pollution control in production-oriented cities.

Production outsourcing, technological cooperation and E-business adoption by Spanish manufacturing firms

This paper studies the adoption of e-business by manufacturing firms. We augment the Technology–Organization–Environment (TOE) framework to consider two organizational features, namely, production outsourcing and technological cooperation. We test the model on a longitudinal sample of Spanish firms covering the period 2002–2014. The results reveal that firms that outsource production are more likely to adopt Supplier-to-Business (S2B) and Business-to-Business (B2B). Technological cooperation with customers and suppliers also has a positive impact on S2B and B2B adoption.

Проблематика розвитку виробничих аутсорсингових підприємств в Україні

Given the current challenges of exogenous and endogenous nature, the key task for the national economy of Ukraine is to ensure the competitiveness of Ukrainian small and medium-sized busines. A separate heavy burden is imposed by Russian armed aggression, which leads to the destruction of the production base of the national economy of Ukraine and the established ties between economic agents. The urgent need in this context is to develop the production capabilities of Ukrainian small and medium-sized businesses, in particular through the construction of a system of production outsourcing companies. The purpose of the article is to identify the features of the development of the system of production outsourcing companies and the formulation of the methodological grounds for its formation and functioning in Ukraine. The article describes the problems of work of Ukrainian small and medium-sized businesses in the context of their limited production capabilities. The problems of ensuring an adequate and balanced system of production outsourcing are allocated. The analysis of the prerequisites for the development of the system of production outsourcing companies in Ukraine was carried out. It is proposed to evolve the production outsourcing capabilities in the cluster paradigm. The key role of the cluster of production outsourcing companies in stimulating the economic development at the macro and macro levels is substantiated. The methodology of function of the cluster of production outsourcing companies is outlined. Potential ways of financing the cluster’s business model, consisting of various sources of funding from private and institutional investors, are proposed. A number of signs have been formulated that determine the degree of the company’s need for production outsourcing. The factors of making a managerial decision on the use of production outsourcing as a solution to business and operational problems are allocated. Prospects for future research are further study of the features of the business model of the cluster of production outsourcing companies and the formulation of the most appropriate format for Ukrainian realities. An additional direction of future research is the aligning of the regulatory framework of the cluster of production outsourcing companies in Ukraine in order to bring in conformity with the legislation of the EU countries and the best international practices

ІНТЕГРАЦІЯ УКРАЇНСЬКИХ ВИРОБНИКІВ ОДЯГУ ТА ВЗУТТЯ ДО ГЛОБАЛЬНИХ ЛАНЦЮГІВ ВАРТОСТІ: ВИКЛИКИ ТА МОЖЛИВОСТІ

The peculiarities of producer-driven global value chains as well as buyer-driven global value chains have been characterised. The most distinct peculiarities of buyer-driven global value chains are low entry barriers, outsource production, labour intensive sectors. In addition, giant brands, large retailers and wholesalers are at the top of the value chain and coordinate it. It is emphasised that the light industry belongs to the low-technology industry and is a common example of the buyer-driven global value chain. The light industry includes industries that produce goods for end consumers among the main ones are apparel and footwear. The article outlines the challenges and opportunities for integration of Ukrainian ready-made apparel and footwear manufacturers into global value chains. It has been concluded that the domestic light industry is integrated into global value chains through the export of the finished products made primarily from the toll-raw materials. An expert survey among manufacturers of apparel and footwear was conducted in 2020. 40 representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises from different regions of Ukraine took part in the survey. According to the results of the expert survey, Ukrainian apparel and footwear manufacturers are involved in various stages of the production cycle. At least half of the enterprises have used raw materials mainly of foreign origin. Turkey and China are the main countries of imported raw materials. Apparel and footwear manufacturers in Ukraine have sold their goods to foreign as well as domestic markets. Domestic manufacturers of ready-made clothing and footwear have faced the challenges during the last three years among which are Covid-19 pandemic, the agreement on a free trade area between Ukraine and Turkey, the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Among the opportunities that have been emerged are the use of online marketplaces to sell their goods, relocation to safe regions in Ukraine, strengthening cooperation with EURATEX. Apparel and footwear manufacturers have mentioned that only if government and local authorities support and promote the domestic producers at national and regional level the industry will be further developed.

Product outsourcing policy for a sustainable flexible manufacturing system with reworking and green investment.

Production of defective products is a very general phenomenon. But backorder and shortages occur due to this defective product, and it hampers the manufacturer's reputation along with customer satisfaction. That is why, these outsourced products supply, a portion of required products for in-line production. This study develops a flexible production model that reworks repairable defective products and outsources products to prevent backlogging. A percentage of total in-line production is defective products, which is random, and those defective products are repairable. A green investment helps the reworking process, which has a direct impact on the market demand for products. A classical optimization solves the profit maximization model, and a numerical method proves the global optimal solutions. Sensitivity analysis, managerial insights, and discussions provide the highlights and decision-making strategies for the applicability of this model.

Sustainable green production model considering variable demand, partial outsourcing, and rework

<abstract><p>Social activities, economic benefits, and environmental friendly approach are very much essential for a sustainable production system. This is widely observed during the Covid-19 pandemic situation. The demand for essential goods in the business sector is always changing due to different unavoidable situations. The proposed study introduces a variable demand for controlling the fluctuating demand. However, a reworking of produced imperfect products makes the production model more profitable. Partial outsourcing of the good quality products has made the production system more popular and profitable. Separate holding cost for the reworked and produced products are very helpful idea for the proposed model. Moreover, consumption of energy during various purpose are considered. Separate green investment make the model more sustainable and eco-friendly. The main focus of the model is to find the maximum profit through considering optimum value of lot size quantity, average selling price, and green investment. The classical optimization technique is utilized here for optimizing the solution theoretically. The use of concave 3D graphs, different examples, and sensitivity analyses are considered here. Furthermore, managerial insights from this study can be used for industry improvement.</p></abstract>

Production Outsourcing Analysis and Partner Selection Under Different Power Structures

Production Outsourcing Analysis and Partner Selection Under Different Power Structures

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Global Sourcing of Medical Supplies

We provide evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic has incentivized U.S. firms to rebalance the trade-off between manufacturing cost efficiency and supply chain resilience in their sourcing decisions. Over the past few decades, companies have been outsourcing production to low-cost countries such as China in pursuit of cost-efficiency. However, the risk of supply chain disruptions has been receiving heightened attention recently, as countries strive to prioritize scarce resources for domestic needs during the global pandemic. Our research shows that while China’s supply chain has proved resilient, U.S. companies have increased their access to medical supplies through domestic production. As a result, COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of local capacity and changed the traditional perception of outsourcing from a purely economic efficiency focus to one emphasizing the need to balance risks in global exposures.

The ties that bind us: Networks, projects and careers in British TV

The dominant view of careers is that they have been transformed by the emergence of ‘post-bureaucratic’ organizations. ‘Neo-bureaucratic’ structures have emerged, retaining centralized control over strategy and finance while outsourcing production, creating employment precarity. British television epitomizes a sector that has experienced long-run deregulation. Producing television content is risky and highly competitive. How do broadcasters minimize the risks of television production? Broadcasting neo-bureaucracies avoid relying on fragmented labour markets to hire technically self-disciplining crews. Control regimes are enacted through activating social networks by broadcast commissioners, green-lit to trusted creative teams who recruit key crew, through social networks that complement diffuse forms of normative control. Social networks and the self-discipline of crews are mutually constitutive, (re)producing patterns of labour market advantage/disadvantage. Younger freelancers prove vulnerable, exposed to precariousness inherent in freelance employment; to build a career they must access and sustain their social network membership. We locate individual decisions around career narratives in the context of specific social networks and industry structures. Careers are not boundaryless, individual constructs. We introduce the concept of ‘mosaic-career’, capturing the complexity of individual work histories, composed of fragmented employment in organizations/projects. How do neo-bureaucracies, then, intervene in labour markets? What are the consequences of those interventions?

A Literature Review of Taxes in Cross-Border Supply Chain Modeling: Themes, Tax Types and New Trade-Offs

The e-commerce platforms have facilitated the information flow of cross-border supply chain (CBSC) and attracted a wide range of companies and individuals to participate in cross-border businesses. The tax costs associated with cross-border commodity flow have received unprecedented attention. However, there is a lack of common platforms between international tax planners and CBSC optimizers, and the impact of various tax policies on CBSC operations is still unclear. To fill this gap, this study presents a literature review to elaborate on the interface between taxes and CBSC operations. First, a literature collection approach is constructed, and 71 pertinent publications are identified. Then, a four-dimensional categorization consisting of supply chain themes, research methodologies, tax types, and illustration types was designed to classify and summarize the research content of the selected articles. The results show that (1) there are six main supply chain-related themes, i.e., the supply chain network, the distribution channel structure, product quantity and quality, production outsourcing, the procurement mode, and supply chain emissions, that are significantly affected by taxes. (2) Four types of taxes, including the corporate income tax (CIT), tariffs, environmental taxes and the value-added tax (VAT), have obvious impacts on CBSC operations. (3) Four mainstream methodologies, i.e., mathematical models, empirical models, conceptual models and simulation models, have been applied to explore the tax effects in CBSC modeling. (4) The tax-saving opportunities in CBSC operations mainly come from the following five areas: CIT rate gaps in different regions, special tax regulations such as the tax cross-credit principle and arm’s length principle, regional trade agreements (RTAs), preferential tax policies and export VAT rebate policy. Finally, this research provides a framework to analyze the trade-offs between taxes and traditional CBSC modeling factors. The results can support enterprises in CBSC in dealing with the complex international tax policies.

The market of agricultural production services in Ukraine

The article defines the role of the market of agricultural production services in the process of agricultural production. The works of domestic scientists devoted to the efficiency of agricultural production, services sphere and the market of agricultural production services are analyzed. A number of methods have been selected for this study. The essence of the concepts of production service and the market of agricultural production services is defined. There are established that the volume of use of production services in the agricultural production process depends on the area under crops in crop production and the number of heads in animal husbandry. The dynamics of changes in sown areas and livestock in Ukraine are analyzed. It is determined that all production operations in agriculture are carried out in accordance with the technological maps. The definition of the concept of “technological map” is given. Information on the composition of agricultural production services in the field of crop production is given. It is established that agricultural production services in crop production can be carried out both manually and mechanized. The importance of technical equipment of the agricultural enterprise for the implementation of the production process was showed. The presence of the main types of agricultural machinery in agricultural enterprises of Ukraine and households is analyzed. The peculiarities inherent only in production services in the field of agriculture are highlighted. The dependence of the volumes of production services on the total volumes of sown areas in crop production and animals in animal husbandry were shown. The concept of production outsourcing is defined and its place in the activity of agricultural producers is defined. The results of a sociological survey of consumers of agricultural production services are shown and analyzed.

Kerangka Konsep Penentuan Outsourcing Produksi Dengan Dukungan Intelligence Decision Support System

Abstract: In general, every industry has the same goal, namely the achievement of maximum profit. In order to achieve this goal, every industry needs the right strategy. Outsourcing is a strategy that is widely used by industries in order to meet the needs of their limited resources. The development of outsourcing is currently increasing rapidly, both in nature and in focus. The right outsourcing decision and in accordance with the conditions of the assembly manufacturing industry is a strategic key to gaining a competitive advantage. In order for outsourcing decisions to meet the needs of the assembly manufacturing industry while minimizing operational costs, it is necessary to create a conceptual framework for determining the outsourcing of industrial production with the support of an intelligence decision support system. In this study, the author will discuss the conceptual framework of determining the outsourcing of production activities for the assembly manufacturing industry. This conceptual framework includes significant parameters that affect the determination of production outsourcing decisions which are then made a cost/cost segmentation to determine whether a component work in the assembly manufacturing industry needs to be outsourced or not. For this reason, a soft computing method is needed, namely the nave Bayes classifier, which will classify these parameters. Keywords: conceptual framework, production outsourcing, intelligence decision support system

Does a higher minimum wage accelerate labour division in agricultural production? Evidence from the main rice-planting area in China

Agricultural production outsourcing, a new means of agricultural production, can optimise the allocation of resources, reduce agricultural production costs, and improve agricultural productivity. However, farmers' outsourcing behaviours are strongly interfered with by many factors such as economics, technology and institutions. Using a farmer-level data set from 2014 to 2018 in China, we examine the effects of the minimum wage increase on rice farmers' production outsourcing behaviours. Our study relies on a Logit regression framework and uses the control function (C.F.) approach to address potential endogeneity concerns. Results show that the minimum wage increase significantly reduces the probability of farmers conducting production outsourcing. We also examine the heterogeneous effects of the minimum wage increase, and find that compared with other outsourcing services, the adverse effects on harvesting outsourcing are the strongest; the negative effects on production outsourcing are stronger for rice farmers with higher education. Our results provide new insights into understanding how labour regulation affects labour division in agricultural production.

‘No, YOU make it!’: Outsourcing production to fashion consumers to mediate labour

This practice-based article examines an attempt to reconnect fashion labour with value, after the fast fashion system increased the gap between the two. Developed by Norwegian fashion brand and collective platform HAiKw/ (Harald Lunde Helgesen and Ida Falck Øien), the Drop-in Factory was a fashion design experiment conducted at the non-profit art space Kunsthall Oslo in 2019. In this experiment, labour was outsourced to consumers-visitors, who by contract paid for equipment rental and training, earning ‘Factory Coins’ that could only be spent on the finished product. Inviting amateurs to make their own garment in a workshop setting has become a common strategy of design activism in fashion. However, instead of focusing on teaching individuals craft expertise, the Drop-in Factory explored collective making practices in an industrial-like environment, inspired by manufacturing and scientific management. Tensions arose over pay when some participants felt that their labour was unfairly compensated. As a response, roleplaying emerged from the experiment. Interviews of participants, conducted months later, incidentally echoed roleplay debriefing sessions. Their accounts show that they acquired labour literacy and embodied knowledge of fashion manufacturing, which extended to contracts and remuneration. While it remains unclear whether the Drop-in Factory led participants to revalue fashion labour, audience participation itself became the mediation of fashion labour.

Pollution Abatement and Production Outsourcing in India

Pollution Abatement and Production Outsourcing in India

Research on the Formation, Breakthrough and Countermeasures of the Captive Governance Mode of China’s Sporting Goods Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Companies

The integration of China’s sporting goods industry into the global value chain (GVC) has brought opportunities for the development of the industry. However, the both-ends-abroad OEM production mode is "locked" in the low value-added processing and production link in the GVC, which is located at the lowest end of the GVC. When international financial crisis breaks out, the orders of domestic OEM companies decrease significantly, which directly affects the development of the companies. Thus, it indicates that China's sporting goods OEM companies should not rely too much on international processing and export trade, but to rely on the local market to build a national value chain (NVC), integrate domestic and foreign sellers and suppliers and form an orderly product competition and certain market share ability through corporate mergers and acquisitions, product outsourcing, etc. Through the leverage of NVC, leading companies can achieve the expansion of the competitive advantages. Cultivate domestic multinational companies that can compete with international multinational companies in NVC, so that they can focus on the governance and control of the core links of the value chain, realize independent product research and development, brand and sales channel construction, support and help small and medium-sized domestic enterprises take the path of professional development in NVC, actively guide and encourage cooperation with the core to create value chain advantages, and achieve win-win cooperation and products’ functional upgrade.

Analysis on outsourcing service behavior of rice pest and disease control based on Heckman selection model-A case study of ten counties in Fujian Province.

Under the background of relatively slow agricultural labor transfer and land circulation, agricultural production outsourcing has become the main means of agricultural modernization. In order to provide a beneficial perspective for appropriately expanding the scale of rice control outsourcing services, we investigated the situation of rice control outsourcing in ten counties of Fujian Province, and analyzed the factors influencing rice farmers' decision-making and control degree by using Heckman model. First of all, the main factors affecting farmers' participation in outsourcing are agricultural labor force, whether family members are cooperative members, planting area, proportion of grain income, degree of organization of outsourcing team, region and so on. Secondly, agricultural labor force, cooperative members, planting area, part-time behavior, mechanical efficiency of prevention and control organization, and region are the main factors affecting the scale of control outsourcing. Thirdly, from a regional perspective, the rice farmers in northern and Western Fujian are more dependent on outsourcing services consumption compared with the rice farmers in Southern Fujian. These results have a clear impact on policymakers, indicating that policy and measures should encourage the prevention and control of the nature of cooperation, and improve the advanced nature of outsourcing facilities of plant protection equipment, thereby effectively improving the professional level of rice pest and disease control.