Competitive Supply Chain Research Articles

Supply chain integration and agile practices

Lead time is one of the main factors that has always significantly affected supply chain competitiveness. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has hurt lead time, and an exceptional increase in lead time has been experienced because of it. However, there are a few variables which can have a positive effect on the lead time. This research study was aimed at how variables like agile practices and supply chain integration may influence the lead time. Research data was collected from the respondents, who were supply chain executives and managers, through a closed-ended questionnaire, and the Statistical Package for Social Sciences was employed to drive the results. The findings of this study indicate that supply chain integration and agile practices contribute to the reduction of lead time. Findings also suggest that the lead time can be significantly reduced with supply chain integration and agile methods.

Do retailer competition and partial vertical shareholding contribute to carbon abatement and the social environment?

PurposeThis paper considers carbon abatement in a competitive supply chain that is composed of a manufacturer and two retailers under vertical shareholding. The authors emphasize the equilibrium decision problem of stakeholders under vertical shareholding and different power structures.Design/methodology/approachA game-theoretic approach was used to probe the influence of power structure and retailer competition on manufacturers' carbon abatement under vertical shareholding. The carbon abatement decisions, environmental imp4cacts (EIs) and social welfare (SW) of different scenarios under vertical shareholding are obtained.FindingsThe findings show that manufacturers are preferable to carbon abatement and capture optimal profits when shareholding is above a threshold under the retailer power equilibrium, but they may exert a worse negative impact on the environment. The dominant position of the held retailer is not always favorable to capturing the optimal SW and mitigating EIs. In addition, under the combined effect of competition level and shareholding, retailer power equilibrium scenarios are more favorable to improving SW and reducing EIs.Originality/valueThis paper inspects the combined influence of retailer competition and power structure on manufacturers' carbon abatement. Distinguishing from previous literature, the authors also consider the impact of vertical shareholding and consumer preferences. In addition, the authors analyze the SW and EIs in different scenarios.

The Impact of Trust and Relationship Quality on Agricultural Cooperative Competitiveness

In recent years, supply chains have received attention from researchers and business practitioners. Many studies have been conducted to identify what factors affect supply chain competitiveness. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of trust and relationship quality on the supply chain of agricultural cooperatives. This study used Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) as the analysis method and used primary data collected from dairy producers or farmers, management staff of Agricultural Cooperatives, and retailers involved in the dairy supply chain in Malang District. The conceptual model consisted of four hypotheses. The results show that the hypotheses are proven, which means that the variables of trust, communication quality, and relationship quality have a positive effect on the competitiveness of Agricultural Cooperatives. The results also show that the competitiveness of Agricultural Cooperatives simultaneously affects the trust of producers or farmers in Agricultural Cooperatives. This means that the higher the competitiveness of Agricultural Cooperatives, the higher the trust of producers or farmers towards Agricultural Cooperatives.

Development of intelligent tools for logistics: practice and prospects of use

The article examines SMART products (SMARTtechnologies, SMART- systems, SMART-objects) used by logisticians in the process of carrying out logistics activities for business structures and others. It is noted that today, without SMART-products, logistics will lose its position as an effective tool that helps market players effectively conduct business and work effectively in the conditions of the development of globalization and internationalization of the market space. The purpose of the article is a thorough review and analysis of modern SMART-products, which are advisable to use in the field of logistics in order to rationally organize the logistics activities of enterprises, based on the formation of competitive supply chains. It was established that digitalization is currently one of the key factors of increasing value not only for individual enterprises and industries, but also for states. It is argued that the digital transformation marked the beginning of a new stage in the development of logistics - digital logistics based on the development of SMART-products: SMART-technologies, SMART-systems, SMART-objects. The main intelligent products are characterized, namely: Internet of Things, robotics and cyber systems, artificial intelligence, big data, paperless technologies, additive technologies (3D printing), cloud and fog computing, unmanned and mobile technologies, biometric technologies, quantum technologies, identification technologies, blockchain. It is noted that the listed products are constantly supplemented, in accordance with the development of IT technologies and means of communication between digital devices. It is substantiated that SMART -products are an important factor in the growth of sales volumes and obtaining significant profits from logistics activities. A thorough analysis of the suitability for use by logisticians in the practical activities of software products, which became the basis for the digitalization of transport, blockchain, big data (BIG DATA), uberization, was carried out; SMART technologies – 3D printing, sensor technologies (ST), GRID - technologies; SMART-objects - augmented reality (ar - augmented reality), smart products, drones, unmanned transport, robotics, as well as SMART-systems - cyber-physical systems (CPS) used in production (CYBER-PHYSICAL PRODUCTION SYSTEM (CPPS), intelligent systems and the Internet of Things (INTERNET OF THINGS). It has been proven that SMART -products today are able to ensure a high level of competitiveness of business entities in various sectors of the economy: wholesale and retail trade, agriculture, industry, health care, postal services, etc. Key words: logistics, intelligent logistics tools, logistics activity, digital transformation, logistics efficiency, logistics effectiveness, competitiveness.

When and how to introduce upstream competition in an innovation supply chain

Considering an innovation supply chain with a primary supplier involvement in the new product development of a downstream manufacturer who sells to consumers, we address when and how to introduce a secondary supplier by applying order commitment besides innovation quality-dependent contract and revenue-sharing contract. Our results show that the secondary supplier should be invited after the new product development is achieved. The innovation quality-dependent order commitment contract can improve the innovation quality of the supply chain. The innovation quality-dependent wholesale price contract warrants the supplier's innovation quality to keep the same level as the single-supplier supply chain and improves the primary supplier's profit. The incentive effect of a revenue-sharing contract on the supplier's innovation quality is more substantial when introducing a secondary supplier after new product development than before. Furthermore, the negative effect of the supplier's competition on innovation quality and profit of the manufacturer can be alleviated by wholesale price decision-making power consignment. We also provide rich managerial insights into supplier involvement in new product development practices by analyzing the equilibrium behaviors and numerically simulating significant decision variables concerning the demand sensitivity to innovation quality.

Coordination contracts and numerical analysis of low-carbon competitive supply chains under the influence of low-carbon goodwill

Introduction: Under the dual opportunities of low-carbon consumption preference and online consumption platforms, vendors’ low-carbon advertising incursions provide opportunities for decarbonization and market position enhancement, as well as further research on the value of low-carbon advertising. This study aims to explore the contractual choices of green vendors’ online channels participating in low-carbon advertising competition under the low-carbon goodwill effect, and to simulate and evaluate the contractual choices of supply chain members.Methods: Using differential games, through the innovative application of the traditional low-carbon goodwill model and the introduction of the low-carbon advertising competition intensity coefficient, we design one-way and two-way cost-sharing contracts under low-carbon competition, coordinate the vicious competition in the supply chain, and provide contractual choices for supply chain participants.Results and discussion: Under the low-carbon advertising competition decision, the manufacturer has an absolute low-carbon market advantage, but the interests of all supply chain members are weakened, and interestingly, the manufacturer, who dominates the market, is the facilitator of the contractual agreement. Second, well-designed pacts can provide manufacturers and traders with more options for low-carbon strategies. Although both one-way and two-way cost-sharing pacts can generate Pareto gains for the supply chain and its members in advertising competition, two-way cost-sharing pacts are superior to one-way pacts in terms of coordination advantages. In addition, an important finding is that greater profit growth can be achieved through contractual cooperation in low-intensity advertising competition. Thus, moderate competition is desirable, while excessive competition can harm the supply chain system. Manufacturers should actively urge retailers to cooperate in order to optimize profits and establish long-term stable partnerships between upstream and downstream firms in green supply chains.

Revealing Factors Affecting Supply Chain Performance of Food and Beverage PT. Sriboga Marugame Indonesia

Studies related to SCM have been conducted, but the relationship between competitive advantage and supply chain performance remains to be determined today, and the explanation of to what extent information technology affects competitive advantage within the supply chain needs to be clarified. This study intends to research how supply chain performance influences the logistics performance and company performance of PT. Sriboga Marugame Indonesia as an F&B company. This study uses a quantitative approach with an explanatory design with PT Sriboga Marugame Indonesia employees as the population. The saturated sample technique was used as the population of 97 respondents was limited and could be reached by the researcher. The data analysis method uses PLS-SEM with Smart PLS program version 3.2.9. The research finds that both supply chain management and logistic performance have a significant effect on organizational performance. Moreover, information technology moderates the relationship between supply chain management and organizational performance. However, the impact of logistic performance on organizational performance was unaffected by information technology. The outcome of this study will help PT Sriboga Marugame Indonesia management to enlighten more about the benefit of Information Technology advancement, especially in supply chain management and logistics.

The encroachment strategy under eco-innovation collaboration with delayed realized efficiency information

PurposeEco-innovation products, which means achieving more efficient and responsible use of resources and reducing the detrimental impact on the environment, can win a competitive advantage for the enterprises. But it is not easy to implement due to the high cost of eco-innovative technologies development, the uncertainty of market needs and return risk of investment. Many enterprises seek collaborations from their upstream suppliers to jointly carry out eco-innovation, such as Apple, IBM and Nike. A unique feature of collaboration is that efforts by one party enhance the marginal value of the other party's efforts. However, the collaboration will make the partner know the eco-innovation technology and prompt the partner to encroach the market to sell competitive products by herself. Motivated by this observation, this paper considers the optimal collaboration strategy on eco-innovation between upstream and downstream supply chain member and the optimal encroachment strategy of upstream supplier in a supply chain.Design/methodology/approachThis paper models a supply chain wherein a supplier provides products or materials for her manufacturer and cooperates with her manufacturer in eco-innovation. Also, the supplier could encroach on the market to sell similar products by herself. Then this paper uses game theory and mathematical modeling to do relative analysis.FindingsThe analysis reveals several interesting insights. First, eco-innovation collaboration makes supplier encroachment no longer only rely on the encroachment cost. The delayed realized eco-innovation efficiency information also plays a vital role. Second, different from previous research, the authors find the manufacturer's preference for supplier encroachment depends on the uncertainty of eco-innovation efficiency and potential market demand. Third, both partial and full encroachment strategies of the supplier can effectively improve the eco-innovation level.Originality/valueThe paper is the first to take the interplay between collaboration and encroachment into account in a supply chain. The results caution enterprises and policymakers to take vertical collaboration and delayed realized information into account in the competitive supply chain before making any operational decisions. Furthermore, the authors propose that governmental intervention aimed at stimulating supplier encroachment in appropriate circumstances can contribute to the improved environmental performance of products.

Sales manipulation strategies of competitive firms on an e‐commerce platform: Beneficial or harmful?

AbstractConsumers are affected by the relative sizes of products’ sales volumes, which is regarded as consumers’ sales comparison behavior when purchasing online. Therefore, some firms manipulate their sales volumes to attract consumers. To shed light on firms’ sales manipulation, we develop game theoretical models to investigate sales manipulation strategies for a high‐quality firm and a low‐quality firm on a platform. We identify conditions for firms’ sales manipulation and investigate its impact on the platform. We find the following: (1) A small amount of sales manipulation volumes may harm each firm. (2) When only the high‐quality (low‐quality) firm manipulates its sales volume, the total market share shrinks (expands), and the profit of the low‐quality (high‐quality) firm is damaged. In this case, the platform can only benefit from the high‐quality firm's sales manipulation. When both firms manipulate sales volumes, each firm aims to claim a higher sales volume than its competitor. (3) At equilibrium, when the unit sales manipulation cost is intermediate, only the high‐quality firm manipulates its sales volume. When the unit sales manipulation cost is low, both firms manipulate sales volumes and consequently get trapped in a Prisoner's Dilemma. In this case, the platform's profit cannot be improved. This study then incorporates considerations of consumers’ sales comparison behavior, nonlinear cost structures for sales manipulation, firms’ long‐term vision, and sales manipulation strategy in competitive supply chains to reveal that most aforementioned results are qualitatively robust.

Coopetition relations, suppliers' effectuation, and manufacturers' green management: Evidence from China

AbstractThe coopetition perspective proposes that a firm's value creation relies on its ability to manage both cooperation and competition in supply chains. Recent theorizing in green supply chain management suggests that critical sustainability management practices may be affected by the coopetition relations between manufacturers and suppliers. We extend to study the coopetition perspective by verifying whether coopetition relations between manufacturers and suppliers, such as coopetition, cognitive, and affective conflict caused by competition, and the combination between cooperation and cognitive/affective conflict, impact a firm's ability and motivation to implement green management (GM). Furthermore, the coopetition perspective suggests that the effects of coopetition relations between two parties are enhanced when the coopetition relations match the salient partner's characteristics, a phenomenon regarded as coopetition fit. As a test of this idea, we prove how the role of coopetition relations is differently influenced by one such partner's characteristics, that is, the supplier's decision‐making logic. Our findings indicate that coopetition relations between manufacturers and suppliers have different effects on manufacturing firms' GM. We also have evidence that these relationships are moderated by effectuation.

Achieving A Competitive Advantage Supply Chain Management Practices and Responsiveness

Today's business environment is highly competitive and globalized, characterized by shorter product life cycles and demanding customers. As a result, supply chains must be responsive to changes in the marketplace to maintain and create a competitive advantage. While previous studies have acknowledged the advantages of effective supply chain management (SCM) in gaining a competitive edge, there remains a limited understanding of the implications of adopting various SCM practices. To address this gap, this conceptual study focuses on examining the relationship between SCM practices (strategic supplier partnership, customer relationship, information sharing, and postponement) and both supply chain responsiveness and competitive advantage within the Malaysian timber industry. The study integrates the Resources Based View (RBV), Dynamic Capabilities theory, and Natural Resource-Based View (NRBV) theory.

Critical success factors of additive manufacturing for higher sustainable competitive advantage in supply chains

The manufacturing economy of a nation has to be competent and sustainable to develop technology, generate employment opportunities, serve customers with innovative products at competitive prices, provide best quality and services, and participate in global trade to boost the world economy. Adoption of new technology is important for firms to remain successful and achieve sustainable competitive advantage in the production and distribution of goods/services. The purpose of this study is to explore the critical success factors (CSFs) affecting the adoption of Additive Manufacturing (AM) in mainstream manufacturing in enhancing supply chain competitiveness and sustainability. As a methodological contribution, this research uses a mixed methods' approach. An Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) derives five CSFs: 'customized production with speed'; 'sustainable production'; 'flexible manufacturing system (FMS) for complex products'; 'standardization in AM industry'; and 'digital skills & infrastructure’. The Analytical Hierarchic Process (AHP) shows the weights of factors. TOPSIS (Technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution) ranks the four manufacturing enterprises based on EFA factors. Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) establishes the cause-effect relationship among factors. This study finds that 'customized production with speed’ is the most influential causal factor and ‘sustainable production’ the main effect factor. AM adoption helps industrial sectors in advancing with new technologies, advanced materials, and organizational structures so as to enhance the competitiveness and sustainability of manufacturing supply chains. It has a great potential to reconfigure supply chain (SC) structures in such a way that sustainable competitive advantage is achieved with less lead time and negligible adverse impact on the environment.

Fast Corridors: innovative customs processes and technology to increase supply chain competitiveness. The case of IKEA Italy

Customs play a crucial role in facilitating and speeding up the international flow of goods, especially in logistic nodes such as seaports or dry ports. Burdensome customs procedures can significantly affect the competitiveness of supply chains by increasing times and costs. This paper describes the features and benefits of the so called “Fast Corridor”, an innovative customs process and technological procedure introduced in Italy in 2015. Compared to standard import processes, the Fast Corridor streamlines the flow of import containers from ports to their inland destinations, thanks to a transparent, more economical, secure and IT-integrated procedure, making supply chains more competitive. The Fast Corridor is based on the concept of the virtual long quay, according to which the hinterland becomes an extension of the port areas. Once unloaded from ships, goods are virtually considered to be in the inland node of final destination. Route assurance from port to the destination is provided by geofencing technology, a location-based service that uses truck-mounted GPS to trigger pre-programmed actions. IKEA was the first to adopt this new procedure. Company benefits amounted to −30% in terms of customs costs per TEU, and up to −35% in terms of port-inland node transit time and dwell time for all containers, including those not using the Fast Corridor. Based on the successful implementation by IKEA, other Italian Fast Corridors were activated. This paper provides a deeper understanding of new business models and technologies in freight transport and can outline useful best practices for practitioners in the field.

Enhancing Company Productivity through Information Sharing in Supply Chain Implementation

The lack of accuracy and slow information flow within the supply chain poses significant challenges to the sustainability of the manufacturing process. Effective information management is essential for enhancing supply chain competitiveness, encompassing increased product yield, improved product quality, cost reduction, and enhanced productivity for quicker product distribution. This research investigates the impact of information sharing on supply chain management to bolster company productivity. Additionally, it delves into the detrimental consequences of insufficient information sharing and offers solutions to ensure efficient information exchange within the organization. To achieve these research objectives, we employ a quantitative approach utilizing the Structural Equation Model (SEM)-Amos and six questionnaire variables: information sharing, information quality, information technology, supply chain management implementation, productivity, and customer satisfaction. Our findings underscore the adverse effects of limited information sharing on supply chain management performance, leading to reduced productivity. The enhancement of supply chain management hinges on effective and transparent information sharing, facilitated by disseminating clear and sustainable information throughout the company. Furthermore, ensuring employees understand supply chain management practices comprehensively is crucial. These measures are poised to contribute to increased productivity and the achievement of customer satisfaction goals.

The Role of Supply Chain Integration and Agile Practices In Improving Lead Time

Lead time is one of the main factors which always significantly affects supply chain competitiveness. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has harmed the lead time, and an exceptional increase in the lead time has been experienced because of it. However, there are a few variables which can have a positive effect on the lead time. Aim: This research study was aimed at how the variables like Agile Practices and Supply Chain Integration may influence lead time. Methods: Research data was collected from the respondents, who were supply chain executives and managers, through a closed-ended questionnaire, and the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was employed to drive the results. Results: The findings of this study indicates that Supply Chain Integration and Agile Practices contribute to the reduction of lead time. Conclusion: Findings also suggest that the lead time can be significantly reduced with the employment of Supply Chain Integration and Agile Practices.

Analysis of competitive manufacturers’ collection decisions given cross-shareholding and capital constraints

Entrusting a third party and implementing a trade-in program are two main ways for manufacturers to collect used products. By establishing two closed-loop supply chain competition models, this study analyses the co-existence conditions of third-party collection and trade-in collection adopted by competitive manufacturers M1 and M2 respectively. Then, based on an analysis of the impact of R&D improvement on the collection decision, the impacts of horizontal cross-shareholding and financing parameters on the collection decision and profit are explored, respectively. The results show that when consumers are low-value customers who prefer cash back over purchasing a new product, competitive manufacturers with different collection channels consider improving their R&D level. The R&D improvement of M1 reduces the trade-in price and the third-party collection price, and shrinks the collection market. However, the R&D improvement of M2 increases the trade-in price and the third-party collection price. In addition, the trade-in collection market shrinks and the third-party collection market increases. In the case of cross-shareholding, the increase of M1's share helps reduce the trade-in price and the third-party collection price, while the increase of M2's share helps increase the trade-in price and the third-party collection price. In factoring financing, the increase in the factoring rate reduces the total collection quantity in the collection market, but helps improve the earnings of M2 from the collection of used products. In the case of equity financing, the increase in equity not only increases the total amount of collection, but also the earning of M1 from the collection of used products.

Enabling emergency production shifting: The value of blockchain in supply chain resilience confronting COVID‐19

AbstractNowadays, factories located in COVID‐19 infected countries/regions are facing random outbreaks. If blockchain is adopted, then the outbreaks can be known immediately and emergency production shifting can be enabled, although high crash cost will be incurred. Otherwise, production delay will become inevitable. We therefore formulate the tradeoffs among the high crash cost, the benefit from quick production, and the efficiency loss because of supply chain decentralization in a global brand's blockchain adoption decisions. We show that, in the presence of supply chain competition, the global brand will be benefited from blockchain adoption when the competition intensity degree is high, the crash cost is low, and the probability of COVID‐19 outbreak is high. We then verify the robustness of the main findings by studying the impact of the global brand's risk attitude, its overestimation of production delay, and the unexpected production delay in the low‐risk areas. In addition, we examine the social welfare and find it can also benefit from the global brand's blockchain adoption but the consumer surplus cannot.

Inventory competition and quality improvement decisions in dual-channel supply chains with data-driven marketing

The digital dual-channel supply chain (DSC) is getting more and more difficult to ignore. This study develops a data-driven DSC, including an online manufacturer and an offline retailer with stochastic demand. Then it discusses the effects of the selling price, wholesale price, stock-out-based substitution rate, Data-Driven Marketing (DDM), and two channels’ sensitivity of product quality on the optimal decisions (quality improvement effort, online inventory level, and offline order quantity), and the optimal expected profits. It also analyzes the coordination of the manufacturer’s buyback contract. This work is mainly concluded as follows: (1) Increases in DDM quality can increase inventory levels in both channels and efforts to enhance quality, but they can also lower customer return rates, which makes sense. However, it is not always true that DDM quality positively affects the total supply chain expected profit. (2) The decline of one channel’s stock-out-based substitution rate can raise its inventory level but decrease the inventory level of the competitive channel. Contrarily, the selling price of one channel is adversely connected with the inventory level of the competitive channel, which extends some existing studies under a decentralized decision. (3) The increase of sensitivity of product quality can lead to the growth of quality improvement efforts (consistent with previous literature) and the reduction of consumer return rate. (4) The manufacturer’s buyback contract can well coordinate both members under stochastic demand for Pareto-optimality. Finally, this study proposes some managerial implications and further research directions.

Strategic Inventories in Competitive Supply Chains Under Bargaining

Problem definition: Strategic inventory refers to the inventory held by firms purely out of strategic considerations other than operational reasons (e.g., economies of scale). In this paper, we investigate the roles of strategic inventory in a system with two parallel supply chains under both full bargaining and partial bargaining, which differ in whether inventory is included in the bargaining terms. Methodology/results: (i) Under full bargaining, horizontal competition can induce an asymmetric equilibrium, whereby only one of the chains carries strategic inventory and benefits from it when the holding cost is small. The whole system, however, is worse off. (ii) Under partial bargaining, regardless of whether there is horizontal competition, the retailer in a supply chain always carries inventory when his bargaining power is small and the inventory holding cost is low. Furthermore, with horizontal competition, inventory hurts (improves) the system performance when the inventory holding cost is small (above a threshold and not too big). (iii) Full bargaining can be inferior to partial bargaining when there is horizontal competition. Managerial implications: The conventional wisdom about strategic inventory should be taken with caution. Specifically, the traditional role of strategic inventory empowering the retailer in a supply chain is completely dominated by the full bargaining framework, yet it is still present if inventory is not bargained. The inventory driven by horizontal competition plays a different strategic role of signaling to the competitor to avoid an otherwise adverse quantity competition if both retailers carried high inventory. Furthermore, despite the full cooperation nature of the full bargaining framework, it is not always in the retailer’s interest to give up the decision power on inventory (partial bargaining) and include it in the negotiation process (full bargaining). Funding: Q. Tang was supported by Nanyang Technological University [Start-Up Grant 020022-00001]. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/msom.2020.0223 .

Role of climate-smart agriculture in fighting against climate change in competitive supply chains

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is a United Nations-recommended approach to help farmer collectives (FCs) build crop resilience against climate-related yield uncertainty. In this study, we develop game-theoretical models to analyse the impact of CSA on the competitive agricultural marketplace. FCs can choose either a direct-to-consumer mode (i.e., selling to consumers directly without using CSA) or a CSA-enabled mode (i.e., selling to consumers through the e-platform with the use of CSA). We find that CSA adoption is preferable for FCs when the climate-related yield uncertainty is sufficiently high but unprofitable for FCs when the climate-related yield uncertainty is sufficiently low. Moreover, we identify how climate-related yield uncertainty and segmented agri-market selection (e.g., staple or side crop) affect yield competition. When FCs plant a crop with a low substitution rate (e.g., a staple crop), yield competition will be intensified if at least one FC does not adopt the CSA-enabled mode, whereas when FCs plant a crop with a high substitution rate (e.g., a side crop), yield competition will be intensified if all FCs adopt the CSA-enabled mode. We also find that the industrywide welfare improvement, total yield improvement, and FCs’ profit can benefit from inconsistent CSA modes, rather than consistent ones in supply chains. Our results provide guidelines to both FCs and policymakers on CSA adoption for alleviating the crop supply shortage and fighting against climate change.