Supply Chain Quality Research Articles

Research on Food Safety Control Based on Evolutionary Game Method from the Perspective of the Food Supply Chain

Food safety is related to people’s health and the sustainable development of the food supply chain, so it is of crucial practical significance to study food supply chain quality management. This paper employs the evolutionary game method to develop a tripartite evolutionary game model that reflects the interaction of interests among food raw material suppliers, food manufacturers, and consumers. It identifies the key factors that influence the decision-making of each game participant and attempts to use these factors to guide the behavior of the food supply chain members scientifically. The study results demonstrate that sustainable management of food supply chains can be improved by strengthening the intensity of government supervision, narrowing the production cost gap between high-quality and poor-quality food raw materials, improving the inspection ability of the food manufacturer, increasing complaint incentives of consumers, etc. Finally, this paper puts forward suggestions and countermeasures for the government to improve the supervision mechanism of food safety, thereby achieving sustainable management of the food supply chain.

Relationship between Green Supply Chain Management, Supply Chain Quality Integration, and Environmental Performance

This study aims to investigate the relationship between green supply chain management and supply chain quality integration on environmental performance. A quantitative approach was adopted for this study; a multi-item measurement scale was adapted from previous studies to collect primary data—the total number of 212 responses from supply chain professionals were collected. Descriptive analysis along with the correlation examination was utilized to test the hypothesis. It was observed that all the hypotheses (H1, H2, H3, and H4) were supported. Customer green purchasing, green customer cooperation, supplier quality integration, and customer quality integration were found significantly related to the environmental performance. So the study concluded that implementing green supply chain management practices in the firm is beneficial and it enhances the firm's environmental performance. This detailed research analysis will play an active role for the supply chain executives in taking effective decisions that will ultimately enhance environmental performance. This research study will facilitate the managers and all decision makers by providing directions and guidance for improving the level of performance of the environment.

Influence of governance instruments on supply chain quality: a qualitative investigation in the dairy industry

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the formal (i.e. contracts, standards, processes, and structure) and informal (i.e. social structure, norms, information sharing, and value system and culture) governance instruments used in supply networks and their influence on quality.Design/methodology/approachThis research is qualitative-exploratory in nature, involving semi-structured interviews with 20 managers from three essential layers in the dairy industry's supply chain: companies that supply essential inputs to milk producers; milk producers; and milk cooperatives.FindingsAnalysis of the generated data show that formal governance instruments have a strong and/or weak influence on products' and operations' quality in the dairy industry context; informal instruments have a strong and/or weak influence on quality, as a counterpart to formal instruments; and the integration of verified governance instruments positively influences the quality of products and operations.Practical implicationsThis paper offers several managerial and practical implications. The first is to encourage suppliers of primary inputs and milk producers to invest in the formal structure, primarily in formal contracts with each other. The second implication suggests the relevance of creating different training and qualification courses with members from all organizational levels. Third, there is a need for cooperatives, encompassing all industries, to consider several informal instruments, complementary to contracts and standards currently used for processes.Originality/valueGovernance instruments can lead to desired supply chain outcomes, including those related to quality. Although previous supply chain studies have investigated the relationship between governance instruments and the supply chain, and quality management and the supply chain, studies on governance instruments' influence on supply chain quality are limited.

Supply chain quality management 4.0: conceptual and maturity frameworks

PurposeThe research objective is rooted in the principle of providing new insights and a collective perspective regarded as Supply Chain Quality Management 4.0 (SCQM4.0), an integration of all three concepts – Industrie 4.0, quality management and supply chain management.Design/methodology/approachA thorough review of historical developments and existing integration trends among Industrie 4.0, quality and supply chain approaches along with future research directions outlined in the main literature, was conducted. This work establishes a knowledge base on research topics, issues of integration and synergies with a concentration on the potential for deeper integration with supply chain operations.FindingsThis article not only introduced the term SCQM4.0 and proposed a definition for it, but also contributed a novel conceptual SCQM4.0 framework and evolutionary perspective through the SCQM4.0 maturation model. Stemming from the gaps, opportunities and benefits identified in the literature, the conceptual SCQM4.0 framework builds on the high potential of the SCQM4.0 constructs to achieve successful governance and implementation. Under the SCQM4.0 maturity framework, it provides a clear evolutionary path underpinned by the SCQM4.0 constructs.Research limitations/implicationsIn the effort toward a successful SCQM4.0 implementation, the proposed SCQM4.0 maturity frameworks will be a “road map” for businesses to develop fully and actively in supply chain operations, bringing quality products and services for the company. Industry practitioners are encouraged to perform gap analysis and direct the implementation of the strategy to establish an excellent SCQM4.0.Originality/valueThis is one of the pioneering studies integrating all three concepts (Industrie 4.0, quality management and supply chain management), connecting the link and discovering more synergies to support the future development of more holistic management models. SCQM4.0 is expected to expand on the strengths, synergies and established relationships between technologies 4.0, quality and supply chain, contributing toward a pioneering and quality supply chain.

Enhancement of resilience and quality of cold supply chain under the disruptions caused by COVID-19: A case of a developing country

Cold supply chain (CSC) comprises temperature-sensitive processes, starting from the supply of raw materials, manufacturing, and finally the delivery of finished goods to the end consumers via transport services. Pandemics such as COVID-19 pose threats to its overall functioning and to cater to this issue, the study will ensure the sustainable functioning of CSC by recommending resilience strategies. To do so, the COVID-19 disruptions in the CSC and the resilient sustainability strategies were collected via a vigorous literature review and were analyzed via a Fuzzy QFD technique. The results concluded “crisis simulation,” “identification and securing of logistics,” and “digitalization of cold supply chain” as the top three strategies to ensure the resilience of CSC under disruptions caused by COVID-19. The study recommends necessary steps to the policymakers to ensure a resilient and quality effective CSC. The application of the study proves to be the first of its kind in a developing country such as Pakistan. JEL Classification: C54, D81, H12

The impact of supply chain quality leadership on supply chain quality integration and quality performance

PurposeAs quality issues become more prominent in supply chain (SC) management, understanding the factors driving SC quality integration (SCIQ) and quality performance has become increasingly important, shifting the focus of quality management to firms in SCs. This study aims to examine the role of SC quality leadership (SCQL) in facilitating SCIQ and its direct and indirect relationship with quality performance.Design/methodology/approachData on 400 Chinese manufacturing firms were collected using survey questionnaires. The hypothesised relationships between SCQL, SCIQ and quality performance were tested using structural equation modeling in AMOS 22.0.FindingsEmpirical results show that SCQL has a positive and significant effect on quality performance and all three dimensions of SCIQ: supplier quality integration, internal quality integration and customer quality integration. The results also show that SCIQ mediates the relationship between SCQL and quality performance.Practical implicationsExecutives should develop SCQL to improve SCIQ in their SCs and ultimately improve quality performance. In particular, nurturing SQI can potentially lead to unique capabilities, relative to competitors. They should be aware of their important role in integrating and coordinating between functional units within the firm and between SC members.Originality/valueThis study enriches the SCM literature by identifying SCQL as a new and significant antecedent of SCIQ in manufacturing firms. It contributes to the SC leadership literature by conceptualizing both the quality and social responsibility aspects of SC leadership, conceptualizing SCQL at the firm level and positioning SCIQ as a mediator between SCQL and quality performance.

Differentiation of Livestock Internal Organs Using Visible and Short-Wave Infrared Hyperspectral Imaging Sensors.

Automatic identification and sorting of livestock organs in the meat processing industry could reduce costs and improve efficiency. Two hyperspectral sensors encompassing the visible (400–900 nm) and short-wave infrared (900–1700 nm) spectra were used to identify the organs by type. A total of 104 parenchymatous organs of cattle and sheep (heart, kidney, liver, and lung) were scanned in a multi-sensory system that encompassed both sensors along a conveyor belt. Spectral data were obtained and averaged following manual markup of three to eight regions of interest of each organ. Two methods were evaluated to classify organs: partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and random forest (RF). In addition, classification models were obtained with the smoothed reflectance and absorbance and the first and second derivatives of the spectra to assess if one was superior to the rest. The in-sample accuracy for the visible, short-wave infrared, and combination of both sensors was higher for PLS-DA compared to RF. The accuracy of the classification models was not significantly different between data pre-processing methods or between visible and short-wave infrared sensors. Hyperspectral sensors, particularly those in the visible spectrum, seem promising to identify organs from slaughtered animals which could be useful for the automation of quality and process control in the food supply chain, such as in abattoirs.

Supply chain quality performance (SCQM) and quality performance

The purpose of this study is to investigate the practises on the quality performance impact toward supply chain quality management (SCQM). The study applies quantitative approach, and the questionnaire as a primary data to collect the information. A total of 30 questionnaires were collected from poultry farm owner in the state of Selangor. The descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and multi-regression analysis are used to test the relationship between the independent variable with dependent variable. The results of the finding shows that supply chain integration, customer focus, supplier focus and quality leadership have no relationship toward quality performance. Only employee involvement have relationship with quality performance. The results of this study will help to encourage managers to give the high priority on both inter-firm and intra-firm relationships as a ways to achieve the superior quality performance. The results provide the managers with guidance on effective management to the upstream and downstream of supply chain networks and help to create awareness on the potential synergies that keep arise from the combinations effects of SCQM practices that could bring about desired quality performance outcomes across the whole supply chain network.

An integrated model of supply chain quality management, Industry 3.5 and innovation to improve manufacturers' performance – a case study of Vietnam

ABSTRACT Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play an inviolable role in social and economic growth in developing countries. Although SMEs are flexible in operation, they bear disadvantages such as accessing financial resources, recruiting talents, and limited managerial capacities. Digitalisation is, therefore, more challenging for these companies. Following an open-end approach for theory development, the paper generalises empirical evidence of a medium-sized manufacturer to a conceptual model and an implementation pathway to fast-track digital transformation. The company successfully adopted multiple SCQM systems and Industry 3.5 in a relatively short period. Knowledge management is the key to optimise knowledge flow and facilitate digital transformation. The paper contributes to the supply chain management literature by proposing an SCQM and Industry 3.5 integration model and proposes a pathway for such integration in developing markets. This approach has been proved to be an efficient way to fast-track integration and provide significant organisational benefits to the companies.

Using blockchain to signal quality in the food supply chain: The impact on consumer purchase intentions and the moderating effect of brand familiarity

Food safety is a public health issue of paramount importance. In this regard, blockchain has emerged as a promising technology that allows users to effectively and efficiently record the origin and flow of products and eliminate or reduce harmful food fraud. Consumers can benefit from this development by receiving up-to-date and verifiable information about the origins and delivery routes of their purchases. Drawing on signaling theory and the results of two experimental studies with 151 and 152 participants, respectively, we investigate how the use of blockchain to trace food products impacts consumers’ perception of product quality as a mediating variable and subsequently their purchase intention. Our framework further considers brand familiarity as a moderating variable. The findings from the two experiments show that blockchain labels as a signaling mechanism in food supply chains help to strengthen consumers’ perceived quality of food products, which, in turn, increases their purchase intention. This effect is more pronounced for less familiar brands, which is valuable information for managers who want to build a brand’s reputation. From an academic perspective, we highlight the applicability of signaling theory to identify blockchain-based traceability systems as important drivers of perceived product quality and consequently purchase intention.

Importance of Supplier Quality and Supplier Relationship Quality in Supply Chain

The lack of awareness of companies to choose quality suppliers often leads to changing suppliers. In addition, another thing that contributes to the change of suppliers is the lack of awareness of the company to manage good relationships with suppliers. The impact of changing suppliers is that there are changes in the goods or services offered to customers, such as quality, specifications, and others. Furthermore, this will affect customer satisfaction and if the quality decreases, it can result in losses for the company. The purpose of this article is to determine the urgency of supplier quality and supplier relationship quality. The method used in data collection is Literature Review (LR). Supplier quality and supplier relationship quality play an important role in the supply chain. Then one of the important factors that must be developed to improve the quality of the relationship is the communication factor.

Categorization and comparisons of drug recalls for manufacturers and compounders

BackgroundEnsuring the quality and safety of the pharmaceutical supply chain is a key policy focus vital to protecting the public from harmful or potentially harmful medications. Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reports the number of recalled products per fiscal year and categorizes recalls based on product type and recall classification, these reports do not distinguish between manufactured and compounded products. ObjectivesThis research aims to categorize drug recalls based on the reason for recall and then to compare this reason between manufacturers and compounders. MethodsAll publicly available drug recall data were downloaded from the FDA Data Dashboard website on January 24, 2021. Two reviewers independently categorized the recalling firm, distribution pattern, and reason for recall, and a third reviewer resolved all conflicts. Descriptive statistics were reported for recall event classification, distribution, and recall reason for the full sample. Chi-square test of independence was used to assess categorical variables by facility type (manufacturer or compounder) as well as by event classification (class I, II, or III). A subgroup analysis was performed focusing on class I level recalls only, representing the most serious recall, and similar statistical procedures were performed. ResultsFrom June 8, 2012, to January 24, 2021, there were 12,343 drug products recalled; 6771 were from a manufacturer, and 5572 were from a compounder. Most recalls from both compounders and manufacturers were class II recalls with products being distributed to multiple states. Sterility assurance was the predominant reason for recall among compounders, whereas product quality was the most frequent recall reason for manufacturers. There were statistically significant differences in class I recalls between compounders and manufacturers and recall reason compared across recall classification. ConclusionThere was a statistically significant difference in the reason for a drug to be recalled, the distribution level, and the product class for manufactured and compounded products.

Intelligent Wheat Types Classification Model Using New Voting Classifier

When assessing the quality of the grain supply chain's quality, it is essential to identify and authenticate wheat types, as this is where the process begins with the examination of seeds. Manual inspection by eye is used for both grain identification and confirmation. High-speed, low-effort options became available thanks to automatic classification methods based on machine learning and computer vision. To this day, classifying at the varietal level is still challenging. Classification of wheat seeds was performed using machine learning techniques in this work. Wheat area, wheat perimeter, compactness, kernel length, kernel width, asymmetry coefficient, and kernel groove length are the 7 physical parameters used to categorize the seeds. The dataset includes 210 separate instances of wheat kernels, and was compiled from the UCI library. The 70 components of the dataset were selected randomly and included wheat kernels from three different varieties: Kama, Rosa, and Canadian. In the first stage, we use single machine learning models for classification, including multilayer neural networks, decision trees, and support vector machines. Each algorithm's output is measured against that of the machine learning ensemble method, which is optimized using the whale optimization and stochastic fractal search algorithms. In the end, the findings show that the proposed optimized ensemble is achieving promising results when compared to single machine learning models.

Blockchain Enabled Quality Management in Short Food Supply Chains

Food system (re)localisation involves moving food systems back to local areas and a result are the short food supply chains. Food system (re)localisation is occurring to offset the perceived negative impacts of global food systems. Short food supply chains may face challenges in terms of quality set at national and international levels. Short food supply chains will benefit from technologies that can be developed to meet specific requirements which can be significantly different from those in conventional level food supply chains. One such digital technology is blockchain. This paper aims to present a blockchain based quality management architecture developed for short food supply chains. Requirements for the blockchain architecture are based on existing literature on quality management in food supply chains, with an emphasis on the specifics of quality and re-localisation in short food supply chains. Also considered in the architecture are the characteristic features of blockchain, with some emphasis on trust management and smart contracts. The adoption considerations regarding the resulting architecture are highlighted. It is concluded that the architecture has features relevant to the short food supply chain that differs from conventional food supply chains. Future work regarding implementation and validation of the architecture developed is suggested.

The effect of supply chain quality perception and country of origin on Smartphones purchase intention of Indonesian consumers

The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between Role of Country of Origin and Quality Perception of Smartphones Purchase Intention. The approach in the research used is a quantitative approach using PLS-SEM SmartPLS software as a data processing tool. In this study, data collection technique was carried out using either a questionnaire or online questionnaire which was distributed to 120 respondents of Millennial Smartphone Consumers. Sampling system was a snowball sampling method. Based on the results of hypothesis testing, it was found that there was a positive and significant relationship between Country of origin and perceived quality of the product. There was also a positive and insignificant relationship between Country of origin and purchase intentions. Finally, there was a positive and significant relationship between perceived quality and consumer purchase intentions.

Agri-fresh Food Supply Chain Quality (AFSCQ) and Organizational Sustainability (OS): An empirical investigation

Agri-fresh Food Supply Chain Quality (AFSCQ) and Organizational Sustainability (OS): An empirical investigation

A Dynamic Source Tracing Method for Food Supply Chain Quality and Safety Based on Big Data

The data of food quality tracing information have a few features, such as wide coverage range, many circulation links, complex data sources, low authenticity, and difficult information sharing. The continuous development of big data technology provides infinite possibilities for the construction of food quality source tracing systems. Currently, there are many studies on the application of food quality source tracing systems; however, most of them are in the field of food quality databases, and few have concerned about its application in the field of big data. Therefore, to fill in this research gap, this paper aimed to study a dynamic source tracing method for food supply chain quality and safety based on big data. At first, this paper summarized the variables of food supply chain quality and safety, constructed a Petri net model and a Bayesian network model for food quality prediction and source tracing, and realized the prediction of food quality features. Then, this paper applied two data analysis and processing methods—the density‐based clustering algorithm and the cosine similarity algorithm—to preliminarily process the collected quality tracing information of each link in the food supply chain and analyzed the influencing factors of food quality. Finally, experimental results proved the effectiveness of the constructed model. Relying on the real‐timeliness and authenticity of big data, this paper guarantees the credibility of the traceable information in the tracking process and improves the accuracy through real‐time stream processing of the updated data, providing unlimited possibilities for the comprehensive tracking of food sources.

Using a Fuzzy-Bayesian Approach for Predictive Analysis of Delivery Delay Risk

Although one of the major roles of delivery logistics activities is to ensure a good quality of customer service, certain risks such as damage, delay, return of transported goods occur quite often. This makes risk control and prevention one of the requirements of transport supply chain quality. The article focuses on the analysis of the risk of delay, which is often considered fundamental for the quality of service and as a center of additional costs related to the violation of time windows. Such a risk can harm the image of a supplier, which can even lead to the loss of customers in case of recurrence. The aim of the following case study is the development of a fuzzy-bayesian approach that anticipates, by predictive analysis combining Bayesian networks (BNs) and Fuzzy logic, the possible delays affecting the smooth running of a delivery operation. The results of the implementation of the late delivery risk prediction model are validated by verifying three axioms. In addition, a sensitivity and scenario analysis is performed to validate the model and identify the parameters that have the most adverse impact on the occurrence of such a risk. These results can help carriers/transport providers to minimize potential late deliveries. In addition, the developed model can be used as a basis for different types of predictions in the field of freight transport as well as in other research areas.

A systematic literature review of supply chain management practices and performance

The study is a systematic literature review of current state of research on the dyadic relationship of supply chain management practices with supply chain performance measures published in empirical research articles in literature. Forty-three empirical research papers published in high quality Scopus and WoS indexed Journals between 2018 and 2022 were selected for this study through systematic approach for categorization and synthesis of findings on the subject. The findings were categorized within the themes of operational, environmental, economic, firm and supply chain performance and evaluated within the structure-conduct-performance paradigm. “Benchmarking an International Journal” is the leading channel for publishing on this topic and partial least square structural equation modeling methods are the most employed statistical technique for analysis of data. Organizational theories like resource based view; institutional theory and stakeholder’s theory are the dominant theoretical perspective adopted by the selected art. Studies are geographically concentrated in South Asia, Europe, USA and some countries of Africa and Middle East. Most studies are focused on manufacturing industries and very few service industries like food or grocery retailers have been researched. Internal and external Specific supply chain (SCM) practices affect different measures of supply chain performance through various pathways. Green supply chain management practices, supply chain quality practices, innovative management, lean management practices and industry 4.0 technologies are gaining prominence while market and financial performance outcomes of SCM practices have not been adequately researched..Conclusions followed by theoretical and practical implications are drawn and future research directions identified.

Uncertainty Modeling of Sourcing Performance in Supply Chain Quality Management

Uncertainty Modeling of Sourcing Performance in Supply Chain Quality Management