Supplier Engagement Research Articles

Formal Governance for Supplier Engagement in Sustainability Initiatives: A Field Experiment

Highly formalized, compliance-focused supply chain sustainability initiatives often yield disappointing results and risk damage to interorganizational relationships. Instead of categorically reject...

Briefing: Design for manufacture and off-site construction at Woolston Wastewater Treatment Works (UK)

Due to numerous site physical constraints and a tight construction programme at Woolston Wastewater Treatment Works, UK, conventional design and construction practices are being challenged to deliver the project using off-site manufacturing wherever possible. Through early supplier engagement and collaboration, the team has developed design solutions to suit off-site fabrication: most of the permanent civil elements are to be supplied in precast concrete; larger mechanical elements are being designed in a modular arrangement; and mechanical and platform suppliers are developing these elements in factory conditions and delivering to the site with pipework and electrical elements pre-installed. By working within a building information modelling environment, the team manages supplier three-dimensional model sharing within a common data area, ensuring governance and version control. This enhances integration between suppliers, enabling early clash detection and providing confidence in the production of off-site elements. The adoption of an off-site manufacturing strategy has accelerated construction delivery, providing programme and cost savings, and improved the level of safety on-site through reduced working at height, temporary works requirements, lifting operations and plant and vehicle movements.

Palm oil supply chain complexity impedes implementation of corporate no-deforestation commitments

In recent years, many palm oil companies have committed to eliminating deforestation activities from their operations. NGO reports and companies’ self-identified challenges indicate that barriers exist that impede the implementation of these commitments. Here we show that complexity across the extent of the palm oil supply chain poses a major barrier that hinders companies from being able to secure guaranteed no-deforestation commitments. Other barriers include the lack of consensus on definitions of deforestation, inadequate government support and persisting markets for unsustainably-produced palm oil in China and India, which undermine companies’ efforts to achieve supplier engagement and compliance. Current certification standards, meanwhile, require amendment to help overcome barriers posed by supply chain complexity. In conclusion, the existing model used to address palm oil-driven deforestation, based on NGO shaming campaigns and unilateral adoption of commitments by individual companies, is unlikely to achieve no deforestation in the current context of palm oil production and trade. Instead, a broader set of complementary mechanisms is required to overcome supply chain complexity and ensure that no-deforestation commitments can be implemented successfully.

Supplier Social Engagement and Performance in Supply Chains: An Exploratory Study

This study focusses on investigating organizational determinants of supplier engagement in relation to socially responsible practices. It is proposed that supplier social engagement is a firm-level capability that reflects an organization’s expertise in deploying resources and routines to achieve desired social performance as an outcome. We further argue that supplier social engagement consists of four complementary dimensions: cultural astuteness, operational astuteness, communication capability, and social cognizance. Engaging suppliers to influence their social behavior has rarely been discussed in the operations management literature. This research uses data from a survey and archival sources from a sample of large U.S. firms to empirically validate the proposed research model. Findings indicate that supplier social engagement is a higher-order capability affecting firm social and operations performance. Findings provide important implications for supply chain executives and opportunities for future research are also identified.

Can payments for ecosystem services schemes mimic markets?

A Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) scheme can be understood as a mechanism that performs the role of a ‘market’ for Ecosystem Services (ES) in circumstances where such a market would otherwise fail to develop. We investigate the potential for and limits of PES schemes to act in lieu of competitive markets and propose a PES scheme design that mimics markets. This is achieved by applying their underpinning concepts of demand and supply to the determination of ‘market clearing’ prices, while reducing transaction costs of buyer and supplier engagement through the involvement of agents. The proposed design combines economic valuation techniques to estimate ES demand with a novel tendering process that allows the estimation of individual marginal cost curves of potential ES suppliers. Supply actions and ES are linked through ‘conversion factors’ derived from bio-physical models that act as environmental production functions. Demand and supply so estimated enable the determination of a ‘market clearing’ price which, when offered to suppliers, provides static and dynamic incentives for cost-effective supply. Mutually beneficial exchange between buyers and suppliers, as is facilitated under the PES scheme design, improves resource use efficiency while allowing both the buyers and the suppliers to secure surpluses.

The role of suppliers in establishing buyer-supplier relationship towards better supplier performance

The multinational companies (MNCs) functioning globally have more than hundreds of suppliers and they geometrically grow towards their organisational performance both in terms of financial and non-financial areas. The individual supplier performance is also essential to support MNCs on the holistic supply chain management. Although the significance of the buyer-supplier relationship has long been focused on literature of business and management, little has been studied for its mediating role in supplier engagement, supplier infrastructure, supplier quality and supplier commitment each on supplier performance in an organisation. This study tries to address this gap in the literature by examining the impacts of buyer-supplier relationship in its mediating role to supplier performance instead of firm performance in manufacturing industries. A conceptual research model has been developed to investigate the relationship of these variables and hypotheses are tested for predictive inference. The findings reveal that supplier quality and supplier commitment could influence supplier performance with a help from the mediating role of buyer-supplier relationship.

The role of Supplier Relationship Management in reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions from food supply chains: supplier engagement in the UK supermarket sector

Food supply chain operations contribute significantly to Greenhouse Gas emissions. In the United Kingdom (UK), supermarkets are leading operators in the food retailing sector. With 75–90% of a typical food product's “carbon footprint” occurring in the supply chain upstream of the point of sale, socially responsible retailers need to influence supplier behaviour to reduce emissions. This paper aims to examine the role of Supplier Relationship Management, including the use of formal Supplier Engagement Programmes, in the UK supermarket sector towards this end. We use secondary data analysis techniques to examine their Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability reports. This analysis finds that progress is being made in Sustainable Supply Chain Management, but the use of Supplier Relationship Management for emissions reduction is variable in application. Some Supplier Engagement Programmes operated by UK supermarkets could, nevertheless, act as exemplars of best practice, demonstrating how to achieve emissions reduction alongside other sustainability objectives.

The effect of early supplier engagement on social sustainability outcomes in project-based supply chains

This work uses a mixed methods research design to explore how social sustainability outcomes are impacted by early supplier integration and associated strategies for successfully implementing this integration. Much of the literature in the area focuses on environmental factors, while social sustainability factors such as worker and consumer safety have been underrepresented. The results quantitatively illustrate the positive effects on sustainable outcomes of making environmental, health, and safety (EHS) a decision factor earlier in the product lifecycle and of using early supplier involvement as an implementation strategy to accomplish this goal. More importantly, the results show that the suppliers that are being involved early are not always strategic suppliers as one would expect, but are often what are traditionally categorized as leverage suppliers. These results are relevant because they not only align with recent research in sustainable sourcing management, but also have practical implications for organizations trying to be successful in a triple bottom line environment.

Sustainable Supply Chain Engagement in a Retail Environment

Sustainability is a key requirement for business success and is often regarded a competitive advantage if strategically managed. Sustainability-mature organisations look to their value chains where the retailer-supplier collaboration becomes critical in embedding sustainability. With this in mind, it is important to monitor retailer-supplier collaboration to determine whether it is effective. To facilitate this monitoring, the UN Global Compact Supply Chain Sustainability: A Guide for Continuous Improvement was consulted. The research question aimed to determine the progress of a prominent South African retailer regarding their sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) and collaboration with suppliers. Therefore, this study attempts to apply the Supplier Engagement Continuum, extracted from the UN Global Compact Supply Chain Sustainability: A Guide for Continuous Improvement, in order to determine how the retailer is progressing in sustainable supply chain management. The qualitative and exploratory nature of the study necessitated a case study research design, while the technique of purposive sampling was used to select the sample of three suppliers. Data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews facilitated by an interview guide, and data analysis was conducted with Atlas.ti software. It was found that the retailer’s sustainable supply chain management can only be located on level one of the continuum. Supply chain sustainability in organisations lack the theoretical foundation of what sustainability really is. Therefore, the model was amended and an additional level was added to incorporate the education of sustainability.

Drivers of Supplier Sustainability: Moving Beyond Compliance to Commitment

Mounting pressure for sustainable business practices has led to a greatly increased focus on highlighting sustainability drivers throughout the supply chain. While the literature has concentrated on why downstream original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and retailers become “sustainable,” much less is known regarding why and how upstream suppliers implement sustainability practices. Based on findings from a cross‐case analysis of eight first‐tier (FT) suppliers and an integration of resource dependency theory (RDT), this study explores the drivers and mechanisms of FT supplier engagement in sustainable supply chain management. Suppliers need to understand the sustainability priorities of customers and stakeholders to derive the effective focus and depth of further upstream integration with subsuppliers. Therefore, the integration between the two functions that manage the relevant external interfaces, namely marketing (downstream and stakeholder communication) and procurement (upstream), appears to be the essential cornerstone to move beyond FT supplier compliance to actual commitment to sustainability practices. We present findings on how (1) stakeholder‐related, (2) process‐related, and (3) product‐related drivers influence the choice and effectiveness of the procurement–marketing integration (PM integration) mechanisms. Stakeholder pressures are considered to be the principal drivers of sustainability efforts. However, on their own, they rarely provide sufficient grounds for permanent and embedded PM integration initiatives at FT suppliers. Evidence suggests that suppliers' commitment to PM integration is motivated by the opportunity to leverage sustainability initiatives in their product offerings and sustainability certificates recognizable by customers and secondary stakeholders.

Public buying decisions: a framework for buyers and small firms

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to explore the factors that influence buyer decision-making in public procurement. The objective is to better understand the processes and conditions that support different supply arrangements, which maximise SME participation. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses case study evidence of contract awards across multiple organisational contexts including: a local authority, commercial semi-state, police force, and a tourist agency. Findings – National policy and the role of procurement exerted mixed effects upon the cases. The procurement processes were broadly similar and included cross-functional teams, consideration of trade-offs and market research. Research limitations/implications – The paper highlights the transition of public organisations toward strategic procurement including supplier engagement. Practical implications – This offers buyers a decision support tool that promotes equal opportunities for SME participation, a key goal of EU procurement. The implications for suppliers of each buying decision are also outlined. The concept of practical rationality is used to support the framework. Originality/value – A normative framework of public procurement decision-making is generated from the cases. Buying complexity and supplier engagement are two conditions that support a 2×2 decision framework. The framework extends efficient and central-buying decisions to include adapted and balanced decisions. This range offers buyers a decision support tool that promotes equal opportunities for SME participation, a key goal of EU procurement. The implications for suppliers of each buying decision are discussed.

A New Tradeoff Model for Fuzzy Supply Chain Network Design and Optimization

ABSTRACT This article proposes a novel mixed integer linear programming model for solving a fuzzy supply chain network (SCN) design problem. This problem includes fuzzy parameters, choosing suppliers according to their quality of raw materials, and the supplier's engagement contracts. There is a tradeoff between raw material quality, and its purchasing and reprocessing costs. If a decision-maker (DM) wishes to work with a supplier that supplies a low-quality raw material, this raw material may be in need of reprocessing. To avoid the reprocessing costs, a supplier that provides a high-quality raw material can be chosen, but in this case the DM faces a high purchasing cost. An integrated fuzzy SCN system that consists of multiple suppliers, manufacturers, distribution centers, and retailers is considered in order to address problems under the aforementioned tradeoffs. Finally, concluding remarks and suggestions for future work are presented.

Assessing the Level of Supplier Engagement in an Odl Context; Case of the Zimbabwe Open University

This study evaluated the level of supplier engagement at the Distance Learning University. Supplier engagement has been defined by Benton, et al., (2005) and Fram, (1995) as the discipline of strategically planning for, and managing all interactions with organizations that supply goods and services to an organization in order to maximize the value of those interactions. Supplier engagement is of paramount importance in an Open and Distance Learning context as it results in the creation of sustainable relationships with suppliers which assists in timely and economical availing of goods and services to the University. Generally it improves the institution's overall efficiency. The qualitative research methodology was adopted in the study where questionnaires were administered to a sample of 30 suppliers selected using the convenience sampling technique. Findings of the study revealed that there was a relatively high level of supplier engagement at the university. The suppliers acknowledged that they understood the university's procurement policy but not wholesomely, they were also receiving necessary feedback from the University. However more concern was raised on the issue of payments. Suppliers highlighted that they were not being paid on time hence there was need to address the issue. It is recommended that the university design a supplier guide for the suppliers to obtain necessary information for the university and also the procurement personnel must take advantage of technology and actively participate on social networks to improve its engagement with the university.

Engaging suppliers in CRM: The role of justice in buyer–supplier relationships

Given the crucial role of suppliers in collaborative supply chains, it is surprising that little attention has been paid to the nature and management of supplier relationships in the implementation of a retailer's Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategy. To address this gap in the extant literature, the theory of organizational justice is used to explore the extent to which perceived fairness in buyer–supplier relationships supports or inhibits supplier engagement with the CRM process. The rationale is that suppliers who feel fairly treated by key retail customers are more likely to invest resources in the acquisition and use of data central to the retailer's CRM strategy. By empirically testing a conceptual model linking downstream CRM to upstream SRM, the results provide evidence to indicate that customer data use is significantly influenced by perceptions of fairness, particularly with respect to the distribution of rewards, and the transparency of decision-making processes. As a key criticism of CRM centers upon the failure of organizations to exploit the full potential of customer data, the results highlight the usefulness of understanding the relational linkages between buyers and suppliers and the consequential behavior of suppliers in terms of engagement with customer data vital to the success of retailers’ CRM strategies.

Exploring the influence of national cultural context on CSR implementation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine how national cultural context may be harnessed to support corporate social responsibility (CSR) implementation when sourcing fashion garments from developing country manufacturers.Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative case study approach was adopted, using purposive sampling to select seven export garment manufacturers of varying size and business model in Sri Lanka. Primary data were collected through on‐site, face‐to‐face interviews with managerial level and operational level informants within each company and through non‐participant observation within factory environments.Findings – It was found that harnessing the local cultural context can support and progress CSR implementation at the factory level: in Sri Lanka, the Buddhist philosophy provided the moral underpinning and hence facilitated supplier engagement with CSR implementation. The presence of governmental support reduces the likelihood of CSR transgressions by adding an extra level of ...

Transferability of Research on Persistent Risks in Supplier Engagement and Contract Administration

Drawing on Self-Determination and Work Characteristics theories, we hypothesized that job autonomy and intrinsic motivation were key exogenous variables positively related to affective commitment, which in turn is negatively related to turnover intention, by performing a mediating role. A sample of 442 nurses has been involved in this research. Through the cross-validation technique, the results showed that the hypotheses of this study were supported and affective commitment completely mediated the relationships between job autonomy, intrinsic work motivation and turnover intention. These findings have important implications for healthcare organizations by helping to promote effective work environments and major opportunities of responsibility to workers to develop their own activity. Conclusions were examined considering practical implications for organizations, employees and the need for further researches.