Software Supply Chain Research Articles

Advancing Software Assurance with Public-Private Collaboration

The Department of Homeland Security National Cyber Security Division's Software Assurance Program promotes the collaborative development of reliable measurement instruments and standards, opportunities for the exchange and dissemination of knowledge, a skilled workforce, and a secure software supply chain.

On the variance of intermittent demand estimates

Intermittent demand occurs at random with many time periods showing no demand at all. Forecasting such demand patterns constitutes a challenging exercise because of the associated dual source of variation (demand intervals and demand sizes). Research in this area has developed rapidly in recent years with new results implemented into supply chain software solutions because of its practical implications. In an inventory context, both the accuracy of the forecasts and their variability (sampling error of the mean) have equal importance in terms of service level achievement and/or inventory cost minimisation. Although the former issue has been studied extensively (mainly building upon Croston’s model, 1972) the latter has been largely ignored. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the most well-cited intermittent demand estimation procedures in terms of the variance of their estimates. Detailed derivations are offered along with a discussion of the underlying assumptions. As such, we hope that our contribution may constitute a point of reference for further analytical work in this area as well as facilitate a better understanding of issues related to modelling intermittent demands.

A decision support system for managing inventory at GlaxoSmithKline

Firms often turn to supply chain software to streamline and standardize operations. A challenge is how to best utilize the data provided by the software. One approach is to import the data into Decision Support Systems (DSS) to build special-purposed decision aids. This paper presents an effective inventory management model for GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). The DSS effectively determines the safety stock level and the number of weeks forward coverage (WFC) for each SKU (Stock Keeping Unit). We discuss GSK's experiences relative to the literature on DSS design, implementation, and usage. This research shows implementing the proposed decision support system would provide GSK a distinct competitive advantage. However, careful implementation is necessary to fully realize the potential of the DSS.

A combined financial and physical flows evaluation for logistic process and tactical production planning: Application in a company supply chain

This paper proposes an approach to evaluate tactical production planning in supply chains. The production panning evaluation is usually based on physical parameters (stock level, demand satisfaction, etc.). Adding financial evaluation to classical evaluation could be relevant. This paper proposes to implement Activity Based Costing (ABC), cost drivers, and payment terms in order to estimate cash flow created by supply chain tactical production planning. Links between financial and physical flow are done by the evaluation of production planning impact on indirect cost. This evaluation is made using logistic process activities. This kind of cost model could be integrated in supply chain software like advanced planning and scheduling (APS) tools. An application of this type of evaluation is done on a real industrial case study.

Managing stock‐outs effectively with order fulfilment systems

PurposeWhen approaching a stock‐out situation, a company should be able to actively manage the allocation of available products on the basis of customer requirements and priorities as well as contractual relationships. The purpose of this paper is to describe different order promising mechanisms and analyze how well they can contribute to the effective management of stock‐out situations.Design/methodology/approachThe paper provides a formal description and analysis of alternative order promising mechanism applicable in make to stock systems. Numerical analysis is conducted based on the data of a pharmaceutical company.FindingsThe paper clearly points out the potential of alternative order promising mechanisms to alleviate the negative consequences associated with a temporary stock‐out situation.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper does not consider implications of inventory pre‐allocation to customer classes. Further research should address the interplay between pre‐allocation and different order allocation mechanisms.Practical implicationsThe results obtained from this analysis provide guidelines for manufacturers, retailers, and vendors of supply chain software on how to design and utilize order promising systems.Originality/valueThe paper provides a consistent formal approach to modelling order promising mechanisms, introduce new and innovative order promising mechanisms and provide valuable insight into their performance through numerical analysis.

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE FOR A SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Business intelligence is becoming more necessary for supply chain managers to make good decisions. Because software tools are becoming less expensive, it is more practical to set up analysis capabilities for supply chain information, but there is little available guidance on how to design these capabilities. Therefore we present an example based on real supply chain software that illustrates a worthwhile approach.

Corporate Portals for Supply Chain Collaboration

ABSTRACT This article reviews the technological capabilities offered by the portal industry's key software vendors to support inter-firm design collaboration and supply chain integration. An analysis of the technology coverage and gaps is presented, with a focus on the opportunities available for portal software improvement. Challenges for collaboration and supply chain software, including security, external access and capabilities, bandwidth and communication standards are discussed, particularly in context with the demands of portal software users. As well, a picture of the current and future state of the marketplace is developed from an analysis of the market position and product direction of a selection of eight enterprise portal vendors.

Supply chain software implementations: getting it right

PurposeTo highlight key success factors in supply chain projects.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents insights from a number of supply chain projects in which IT has played an important part in the business solution.FindingsSuccessful supply chain projects have four things in common: the right leadership, the right focus, the right approach and effective communication of KPIs to all stakeholders engaged in the project.Research limitations/implicationsThe focus of the paper is on supply chain projects with a significant IT component, but the key success factors identified are common to the majority of supply chain projects.Practical implicationsCompanies must not assume that investment in IT is, by itself, a solution to their supply chain solutions. A lack of leadership, focus and communication will invariably result in sub‐optimal outcomes which are all too frequently attributed to the complex nature of the project or the inflexibility of the software when in most cases the problems are internal to the businesses involved and the project management process.Originality/valueThis paper provides practical tips for improving the likelihood of getting the most out of IT‐based supply chain projects.

Database Schema Design for a Web Services Supply Chain Manager: Requirements and Proposed Infrastructure

Web services enable the commoditization of computer code components for distributed system execution in cross-organizational platforms via the Internet. At any point in time, the state of a set of composite applications and the web services they are consuming constitutes an instance of a new type of dynamic software supply chain. Proper management of what we refer to as this "web services supply chain" requires seamlessly integrated and automated B2B relationships with responsibilities for procurement, performance monitoring, benchmarking, cost allocation and ongoing relationship maintenance requiring new hybrid organizational infrastructure constructs. To cope with the increased complexity of managing this dynamic supply chain, we elaborate requirements and propose an exemplar database schema design with web-scripts as a means for pre-specifying and monitoring organizationally approved patterns of web service invocations. The database research challenges associated with long-running transactions are discussed in our schema design, including reflections of the realities associated with web-script failure, variable quality-of-service (QoS) levels, the share-ability of web-scripts between organizational business processes, the need for continuous updating of web-scripts by agents (human or automated), and the scalability of designs to accommodate evolutionary change.

Can Supply Chain Software Really Deliver More Nurses? St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto Knows IT Can

Can Supply Chain Software Really Deliver More Nurses? St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto Knows IT Can

Collaboration and Teaming in the Software Supply Chain

Knowledge-based, nonphysical (or intangible) products such as software and information and financial services present a different set of supply chain management challenges than those encountered by manufacturers of tangible products. Yet as intangible product manufacturers have developed more complex service and quality characteristics in their product-service bundles, they have adopted the supply chain practices of physical product manufacturers. One of the most salient differences between the two types of manufacturing is the reliance of intangible producers on collaboration and partnering with customers and suppliers created as a result of the reexamination of make-versus-buy decisions for nearly all components and services. This study focuses on software firms to identify and understand how these changes affect firm behavior. Contrary to our expectations, software firms do not fully exploit risk-sharing (teaming) alliances. We attempt to explain this via the lenses of trust and asset specialization between supply chain partners.

Logistics information systems

PurposeTo review the development of software applications and their functionalities/benefits in relation to supply chain management and present scenarios on future development.Design/methodology/approachA range of recently published academic and non‐academic pieces of work that can be classified as pertinent to the area in question. These sources employ both theoretical and practical views on the topic of supply chain co‐ordination software and related functionalities and resulted benefits.FindingsThere is a significant overlap regarding the functionalities of software applications and the trend of convergence is about to intensify. At the same time the need for real time information will become crucial, putting emphasis on flexible IT‐systems that can deal with large amounts of data and are easy to interconnect. In turn this will lead to the growing importance of system integration software and the process of creating standards.Research limitations/implicationsAs a result of continuous development and convergence of IT‐solutions and turbulent business environment more applied research will be needed in the area of product configuration, RFID‐technology, standards in relation to interoperability of software applications (EAI technologies). This scrutiny is based only on written resources and no consultants or manager interviews were employed. Therefore the views of companies are not presented on the issues covered.Practical implicationsThe selection of the appropriate software solutions for a company will need more time, expertise and money and the role of suppliers of software packages will become more significant.Originality/valueThis scrutiny stipulates the way the functionalities of software applications evolve with overlap one another and thus helps both researchers and companies to gain a clearer view on the development of supply chain software applications.

Balancing the logistics cost-of-service equation in an increasingly uncertain business environment

The emphasis in the press, trade publications, and even academic publications is increasingly on supply chain operations, collaboration, and software. There is no argument that these are important considerations as companies struggle to compete in highly competitive markets and an economically difficult environment. This emphasis on “lean” or “JIT” operations presupposes the ability of the firm to operate on a minimum level of inventory and deliver a high level of service. Too often, the basic and vital interdependency between transportation and inventory, necessary to support this objective, is forgotten in the emphasis on the total picture as embodied by the supply chain. It has been said that “the devil is in the details.” It may be time for many firms to take another look at inventory, transportation and the cost of service.

Making sense of the e-supply chain landscape: an implementation framework

Firms are increasingly embracing integrated Web-based or e-supply chains because such chains are believed to enhance efficiency and competitiveness. The e-supply chain movement has received a boost from a variety of off-the-shelf supply chain software solutions that have appeared on the market. However, in the excitement about these software solutions, it is often overlooked that creation and implementation of integrated supply chains requires tremendous resources, a great deal of management time and energy, large organization-wide changes, huge commitment from suppliers/partners, and sophisticated technical infrastructure. Further, a standard solution cannot fit all types of supply chains because different chains have different requirements. Then, many firms may not want to use such off-the-shelf software solutions because they already have some components of an e-supply chain in place. Therefore, before embracing e-supply chains, firms need to understand different options for creating supply chains from among which they can pick the option they can successfully implement, keeping in view their resources and their ability to handle associated challenges. In this paper we develop a framework that captures various approaches to supply chain implementation for different supply chain requirements. To develop the framework, we draw on research in a wide variety of areas, discussions with professionals who were involved in creating e-supply chain systems, and a detailed study of two companies that recently installed e-supply chain systems.

Poisoning the software supply chain

To the indiscriminate and opportunistic attacker, breaking into a software package's development and distribution site and waiting until unsuspecting users install it is more efficient than locating and hacking into users' systems individually. Starting in 2002 and continuing in to 2003, we've seen new emphasis on this type of attack. All the recent activity has showcased the trend that attacks against open-source software distribution sites are increasing. The author looks at how softwares distribution-both open source and proprietary-can invite attacks.

Transfer function analysis of forecasting induced bullwhip in supply chains

The present paper analyses the bullwhip problem generated by exponential smoothing algorithms in both “stand alone” passing-on-orders mode, and within inventory controlled feedback systems. Results are predicted from transfer function analysis, and then confirmed by simulation via the Bullwhip Explorer supply chain software. A novel feature of the paper is the introduction of the “matched filter” concept into the exponential smoothing algorithm. This adjusts the value of the smoothing constant depending on whether the Constant, Linear, or Quadratic forecasting model is used. It is shown that matching the filter via noise bandwidth equalises the output variance when the demand is a random signal. Hence some of the unwanted effects of using the Linear and Quadratic forecasting models are attenuated. However, there is little benefit obtained by using sophisticated forecasting methods within inventory controlled feedback systems as their tracking ability is reduced.

Supply-Chain Optimisation

This paper starts by describing a study that was undertaken to assess the state of the art in supply chain optimisation tools and software available. Our goals were to evaluate industry trends as well as academic trends in this dynamic and quickly growing field. Our conclusions for industry trends are that industry leaders would rather purchase technology than go through the development process. Also, flexibility is on the rise in industry, leading to easier integration. Academic research, on the other hand, is likely to address limitations of the basic and optimisation-based ERP systems, the integration of the different phases of a product life cycle, and focus in the area of interconnected industrial supply chain networks. After familiarising the reader with the tools and players in the supply-chain optimisation area, we focus on a potential growth area in this field that simultaneously addresses inventory and transportation logistic issues. We motivate the need to study this area with the help of a simple example and then briefly list a set of issues that would need to be addressed to effectively research this sub-field.

EXPERIENCES WITH THE USE OF SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE IN EDUCATION

This paper discusses four experiments and experiences with the use of supply chain management software, in this case the CAPS Logistics software, at different levels of undergraduate and graduate education at the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. We hope that the readers will get an idea of the commitment and resources necessary to integrate supply chain software into the classroom as well as the potential rewards.

Fulfilling IT Needs in Small Businesses; A Recursive Learning Model

TED FULLER IS DIRECTOR OF THE Knowledge Systems Research Centre at Durham University Business School, United Kingdom. This paper addresses the need for a clearer understanding of the problems associated with the adoption of computers by small firms. From the catalogue of empirical research evidence already available, the key issues in the adoption of information technology by SMEs are identified. A model of the overall process of designing, developing, supplying, adopting and absorbing small business information technology is developed to identify inefficiencies in the fulfilment of small business needs. Underlying the dynamics of this model is a theory of software as contributor to enterprise development and learning. Specific abilities required by those involved in the software supply chain, i.e. software developers, IT consultants and vendors, business advisors, owner managers and small business employees are identified from a consideration of the dynamics of the model. It is suggested that enterprise development facilitators, such as trainers, consultants and counsellors, could contribute more more significantly to the design and use of software as a vehicle for enterprise development. It is argued that the effectiveness of the dynamics of this model in practice is a crucial policy issue in respect of the competitive aplication of IT by SMEs.

... Then There Was One

Subtitle: JDA follows Manugistics purchase with $346 million offer for supply chain software rival i2 Technologies.