Supply Chain Investment Research Articles

The Impact of Supply Chain Finance on the Investment Efficiency of Publicly Listed Companies in China Based on Sustainable Development

The development and utilization of supply chain finance play a pivotal role in both enhancing financial structures and delivering substantial support for the sustainable progress of the real economy. This assistance is essential for promoting high-quality economic growth and ensuring stable, long-term development. This study empirically examines the effects of supply chain finance on investment efficiency, exploring the underlying mechanisms involved. Additionally, it assesses whether financing constraints and information asymmetry serve as mediating variables in the relationship between supply chain finance and investment efficiency among enterprises. The analysis is based on data from publicly listed companies in China covering the period from 2013 to 2022. The results indicate that supply chain finance effectively addresses both overinvestment and underinvestment issues, leading to a notable improvement in overall investment efficiency. Utilizing a two-way fixed effects model to analyze the role of financing constraints and information asymmetry as mediating variables, the study demonstrates that both factors significantly mediate the relationship between supply chain finance and investment efficiency within enterprises. Supply chain finance improves investment efficiency by mitigating financing constraints and lessening information asymmetry between enterprises and external stakeholders. The heterogeneity analysis reveals that the positive impact of supply chain finance on investment efficiency is notably greater in non-state-owned enterprises and in regions with more advanced development.

Supply chain network, digital transformation, and investment efficiency

ABSTRACT In the modern digital era, firms’ position in the supply chain networks significantly impacts their investment decision-making. As businesses undergo digital transformation to enhance collaboration and supply chain efficiency, a research gap exists in understanding their combined influence on investment efficiency. Using Chinese public firms from 2008 to 2021 as a sample, we construct a supply chain network and analyse how supply chain network structures affect investment efficiency. Our results show that both supply chain network centrality and structural holes enhance firms’ investment efficiency. Mechanism analysis shows that corporate digital transformation moderates this relationship by mitigating financing constraints and agency costs. In addition, further results reveal that the effect of supply chain networks is stronger for non-state-owned firms, firms in low-marketization region, and firms in closer geographic proximity to their customer base. This study contributes to understanding the roles of supply chain networks and digital transformation in firms’ investment efficiency.

Health system lessons from the global fund-supported procurement and supply chain investments in Zimbabwe: a mixed methods study.

The Global Fund partnered with the Zimbabwean government to provide end-to-end support to strengthen the procurement and supply chain within the health system. This was accomplished through a series of strategic investments that included infrastructure and fleet improvement, training of personnel, modern equipment acquisition and warehouse optimisation. This assessment sought to determine the effects of the project on the health system. This study employed a mixed methods design combining quantitative and qualitative research methods. The quantitative part entailed a descriptive analysis of procurement and supply chain data from the Zimbabwe healthcare system covering 2018 - 2021. The qualitative part comprised key informant interviews using a structured interview guide. Informants included health system stakeholders privy to the Global Fund-supported initiatives in Zimbabwe. The data collected through the interviews were transcribed in full and subjected to thematic content analysis. Approximately 90% of public health facilities were covered by the procurement and distribution system. Timeliness of order fulfillment (within 90 days) at the facility level improved from an average of 42% to over 90% within the 4-year implementation period. Stockout rates for HIV drugs and test kits declined by 14% and 49% respectively. Population coverage for HIV treatment for both adults and children remained consistently high despite the increasing prevalence of people living with HIV. The value of expired commodities was reduced by 93% over the 4-year period. Majority of the system stakeholders interviewed agreed that support from Global Fund was instrumental in improving the country's procurement and supply chain capacity. Key areas include improved infrastructure and equipment, data and information systems, health workforce and financing. Many of the participants also cited the Global Fund-supported warehouse optimization as critical to improving inventory management practices. It is imperative for governments and donors keen to strengthen health systems to pay close attention to the procurement and distribution of medicines and health commodities. There is need to collaborate through joint planning and implementation to optimize the available resources. Organizational autonomy and sharing of best practices in management while strengthening accountability systems are fundamentally important in the efforts to build institutional capacity.

Interaction between service investment and store-brand introduction in a dual-channel supply chain

This study examines service investment decisions in the context of two store brand introduction modes and the mode selection of a retailer. The research focuses on a supply chain comprised of a national brand manufacturer (NBM), an external store brand supplier (SBS), and a retailer. A national brand product (NB) is distributed to the market through both direct and retail channels. The retailer consistently offers service efforts within the retail channel and has two options for launching a store brand product (SB): producing the SB or procuring it from an external source. The findings indicate that, when the retailer has a low fixed cost and a substantial market size for one-stop consumers, the retailer internally producing its own SB is more profitable. However, when the market size for one-stop consumers and the fixed cost of producing the SB are both low, or when the retailer possesses a relatively high fixed cost, it is advisable for the retailer to procure a lower-quality SB from the SBS. Alternatively, the retailer could establish its own production facilities to launch a higher-quality SB. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that the NBM consistently favors the retailer outsourcing the SB production to an external SBS. This implies that both the NBM and the retailer can achieve a “win-win” outcome when the retailer procures the SB.

Differential game theoretic analysis of the blockchain technology investment and carbon reduction strategy in digital supply chain with government intervention

In the context of a low-carbon environment and the prevalence design digital supply chain (DSC), the interaction between digital and green has received much attention in supply chain low-carbon practices and academic research. The rising consumer environmental awareness (CEA) and transparency perception (CTP) of green product information have stimulated investments in blockchain technology and green production. However, the improved digital operation level resulting from blockchain technology investment further reduces carbon emissions. Considering these emerging features of DSC, the differential game is employed to investigate blockchain technology investment and green production investment strategies of DSC members from a long-run and dynamic standpoint. This study analyzes and compares DSC equilibrium strategies under four different scenarios. Theoretical results are verified through numerical experiments, and sensitivity analysis is conducted to unlock further insights. The results demonstrate that the digital operation level follows a monotonic trajectory, while the carbon reduction level exhibits no more than one change over time. In addition, CEA stimulates investment in green production and blockchain technology simultaneously. Both CEA and CTP improve the digital operation level, carbon reduction level and overall profit of the DSC. The improved synergic mechanism with bilateral participation is most effective in improving the economic efficiency and environmental benefit of the DSC. The economic advantage of the bilateral synergic mechanism over other mechanisms can be enhanced as CEA and CTP rise. The cost factor of blockchain technology investment and the manufacturer’s marginal benefit more significantly affect the demand and profit of green product. This study offers a solid theoretical foundation for the long-run operation and synergy of DSC in sustainable development.

METAL ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING IN SPACE AND AEROSPACE EXPLORATION: CURRENT PROCESSES, MATERIAL SELECTION AND CHALLENGES

Space and aerospace exploration have the highest regulations regarding design and manufacturing processing. As a result, an immense multi-tier manufacturing system has been developed because of the tooling and machinery associated with the production of high-grade spacecraft and aircraft. Furthermore, the nature of the supply chain and hefty capital investments further complicate spacecraft and aircraft manufacturing. Metal additive manufacturing (AM) offers the best solution to produce complex parts from digital information without the need for large amounts of tooling and machinery. MAM represents a promising aspect of innovations to revolutionize the way manufacturing is designed and constructed for many applications. Moreover, various research activities are being carried out in the aerospace industry for MAM process, which produces parts that would be impossible to create using conventional manufacturing (CM) methods. MAM has gained popularity in recent years from its initial stages of development in the research phase to providing a wide range of functional applications in the aerospace industry to manufacture and repair a wide range of components used in spacecraft and aircraft. The significant growth in MAM process can be attributed to its commercial and performance advantages within the aerospace industry. In this paper, a detailed assessment of existing MEM processes is presented, emphasizing the ability to manufacture and repair metal parts for the aerospace industry, providing information about the materials currently in use, as well as identifying possible future applications and challenges. There is no doubt that the information provided in this study will support exploring MAM’s new opportunities for future needs in space and aerospace exploration.

Achieving rapid value and ROI from supply chain visibility while building long-term capabilities

With the recent rapid advances in digital supply chain technologies, companies are investing significant capital in these solutions. So far, however, the results and benefits are falling short of expectations. The current authors have discovered through multiple post-implementation assessments and a detailed survey of senior operations leaders that only 20 per cent of digital supply chain investments return the expected result. By looking deeper into the root causes of these value traps, this paper describes how the authors uncovered ways to improve the probability of successful digital transformation. The paper also examines which technologies are being implemented by companies and discuss how those technologies can help improve supply chain management. In our experience, companies can enhance returns on supply chain investments by adhering to four crucial mantras as part of their digital transformations: 1) quantify the benefit opportunity; 2) build a sustainable digital-focused operating model; 3) align across the enterprise and partners; and 4) prepare the organisation for the needed change. The paper also provides examples of how PwC uses these steps to help increase probability of success and return on investment.

A Lagrangian heuristic for integrated production planning, material ordering and investment multi-project scheduling in a project-driven supply chain

Effective decision making in large project planning presents a significant challenge. Despite progress in developing mathematical models, few studies comprehensively address project and supply-chain management aspects in an integrated framework. This article presents an integrated approach for multi-project resource investment, material ordering and production planning in a project-driven supply chain. A mixed-integer programming model is developed to optimize the total cost of renewable resource investment, production, transportation, and material ordering and holding, with an opportunity to share mobile renewable resources across multiple projects. A Lagrangian relaxation heuristic algorithm is proposed to determine the upper and lower bounds for the objective function, with an additional set of valid cuts to reduce the distance between bounds. The results of numerical experiments demonstrate the favourable performance of the proposed algorithm compared to the GAMS solver. This article provides insights into supply-chain participant expenses and activity scheduling based on these findings.

Application of fuzzy analytic hierarchy process – multi-layer fuzzy inference system in product design evaluation

To enhance profitability of production cycle, any manufacturer needs effective product design and evaluation procedures. This study proposed a novel approach combining fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) and multi-layer fuzzy inference system (MFIS). It is based on consumer online comments to improve product design. This method possesses several advantages over traditional design evaluation methods. It can quickly acquire consumer preferences, effectively handle multi-criteria decision problems and integrate uncertain and fuzzy information. The Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process–Multi-layer Fuzzy Inference System (FAHP-MFIS) involves the following steps: screening of factors, hierarchical modeling, quantification of qualitative factors, and conversion of these factors into quantitative values. It is a knowledge-based system that uses logical rules. The quantity and levels of input variables directly correlates with the quantity of logical rules. However, with multi-factor and multi-level inference, the establishment of a rule base becomes impractical due to the overwhelming number of rules. To address this issue, the Taguchi orthogonal table is applied to reduce the number of logical rules. Taking a household oxygen generator for medical devices as an example, the proposed model is applied in real-time. In the first stage, web crawlers are used to collect user reviews of the household oxygen generators on large e-commerce platforms. Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) models are used to screen for principal and sub-factors in the second stage. Then, sub-factors of the FAHP screening are used as inputs, and the principal factors are used as outputs. In the third stage, priority indicators are established based on principal factors such as Appearance, Basic Function, and Advanced Function. Established evaluation models are then used to rank the selected designs. The results show that the higher the priority index value of the product design scheme, the better the scheme, and vice versa. This study holds significant reference value in aiding enterprises to enhance the efficiency of their manufacturing cycle and determining the direction of product design and innovation with improved pace and accuracy. Moreover, it can be applied to other fields such as supply chain management, risk assessment, and investment decisions.

Sustainable Development in Europe: A Review of the Forestry Sector's Social, Environmental, and Economic Dynamics

Despite their resilience, forest ecosystems become increasingly impacted by extreme climatic events, fires, and pathogen outbursts, which have considerable economic repercussions. How forest management solves these difficulties will affect human health, environmental variety, productivity, and forest ecosystem recuperation from exogenic distresses. Assuming forests provide ecosystem services essential to society and humanity along with wood, a better understanding of forest ecosystems seems essential to defining a development policy that meets ecological safeguard and energy and climate goals. According to the UN 2030 Agenda's Sustainable Development Goals, European forest management practices still don't provide a clear picture of ecological conditions, monetary estimate, and biodiversity. In light of the existing research, this article reviews and discusses recent European forestry industry trends and the environmental-economic nexus' complexity. Wood use has social consequences for regions adapting to ecological change, from rising temperatures to landscape modifications. This paper confirms that the technical-economic dimensions of forestry affect short-term economic dynamics, sector growth prospects, supply chain organization, company interconnections, and investment strategies. Forestry practices conserve species and habitats while boosting sustainable timber production. The European Commission's policy direction is to gradually encourage public and private entities to embark on worthy circular economy pathways, which will result in more jobs, material recycling, minimized carbon emissions, and community-added value. Forestry should contribute more holistically to sustainable development at diverse spatial dimensions. This includes focusing on environmental and economic aims in light of the recognition of relevant features that may guide forthcoming research and policy action while enhancing cooperation among member nations and local experts.

Suggestions for Lawsons Entry into the Global Market: Evidence from Operations and Strategy of Lawson Convenience Stores in China

Convenience store as a retail format meets urban populations demand of a more efficient and expedient lifestyle. This retail model originated in Japan, and Lawson, as the second largest Japanese convenience store chain, has reached saturation in the domestic market and is now looking to expand internationally for future growth. This essay examines Lawsons development in China and provides suggestions for its future growth in the global market based on its operations and strategies in China. Through the analysis of literature research, market data and Lawsons official annual reports, this paper gives a comprehensive analysis of Lawsons successful experience in the Chinese market and offers advice on the firms global development, emphasizing detailed market research and entry mode, a well-structured supply chain and technological investment, and targeted marketing strategies.

Interconnectedness between Supply Chain Resilience, Industry 4.0, and Investment

Background: As industry and society move towards the second decade of the deluge of advanced technologies of the Industry 4.0 (I4.0) age, introduced circa 2012, it is evident that the global economy continues to grapple with a plethora of ever-intensifying disruptions and vulnerabilities that inflict unexpected and uncontrolled damages on multiple organizational processes. These circumstances demand significant paradigm shifts, placing supply chain resilience (SCR) in the foreground of boardrooms and agendas of executive meetings. Method: This paper presents a bibliometric analysis of selected articles that examine the intricate interplay of I4.0 and SCR under investment constraints. Employing a funnel approach, this study delves deeper into about a hundred papers that were initially selected from a pool of approximately four thousand publications on SCR. The study thoroughly analyzes the interconnection between SCR, I4.0, and investment (INV) while classifying these articles in a structured manner, based on industry type and focus. Results: The primary aim of the paper is to identify trends, gaps, and potential opportunities for future research on the SCR-I4.0-INV interplays. Conclusions: The findings reveal that industries are converging towards the implementation of digital technologies as a strategic move to tackle unexpected, unplanned, and undesired situations. This research illuminates the needs for organizations to prioritize supply chain resilience in the face of disruptions and vulnerabilities while highlighting the potential of digital technologies to enhance their resilience, therefore ensuring sustainable growth.

Supply Chain Resilience, Industry 4.0, and Investment Interplays: A Review

ABSTRACT Today’s global supply chain (SC) is grappling with unprecedented challenges, which rendered conventional SC resilience (SCR) inadequate. In the wake of the Industry 4.0 (I4.0) age, investment in digital SCR (DSCR) relying on I4.0 technologies can potentially enhance organizations abilities to detect, avoid, respond to, and recover from disruptions promptly and efficiently. Literature most focuses on traditional SCR, while DSCR remains incipient. From this, this paper conducts a comprehensive literature review on the SCR, I4.0, and investment (INV) interplays to identify potential research gaps and avenues. It is revealed the integration of SCR-I4.0-INV as a complex and multifaceted process that requires holistic approaches. Some research gaps include the need for empirical studies on DSCR impacts, the role of organizational culture in supporting digital transformation, and investment and resilience trade-offs. This research provides insights for decision-makers and policymakers seeking to develop strategies for promoting resilient SCs in the digital transformation era.

Firms’ cooperation on recycling investments in a three-echelon reverse supply chain

Design-for-recycling and recycling technology choices are significant to improve the environmental and economic benefits of recycling systems. Consider a three-echelon reverse supply chain consisting of one collector, one producer, and one recycler, wherein the collector collects used products from consumers, and the producer and recycler invest in design-for-recycling and recycling technology, respectively. Using stylized game-theoretic methods, we investigate firms’ cooperation behavior regarding recycling investment. With non-cooperative mode as the benchmark, we discuss four cooperative modes: Collector–Producer cooperation mode (Mode CP), Collector–Recycler cooperation mode (Mode CR), Producer–Recycler cooperation mode (Mode PR), and Integrated mode (Mode I). We find that cooperation improves the optimal design-for-recycling level, recycling technology level, and collection quantities, and cooperation always benefits the chain and the collector but may be detrimental to the producer or recycler. We also analyze cooperation mode preferences from the perspective of the chain and each firm and find that Mode I is always optimal for the chain and the collector; Modes CR, PR, or I can be the producer’s favorable mode, depending on the recycler’s recycling investment efficiency; Modes CP, PR, or I can be the recycler’s best mode, contingent on the producer’s recycling investment efficiency. Additionally, counter-intuitive results are found that under cooperative modes the profit of the producer or recycler may decline with the enhancement of their recycling investment efficiency, rather than always increasing as it does under the non-cooperative mode. Finally, we extend our model and uncover that the main derived conclusion remains true.

Supply chain cybersecurity investments with interdependent risks under different information exchange modes

Cybersecurity presents non-negligible challenges for firm collaboration and supply chain viability, as information exchange among nodes introduces potential interdependent risks. How to make appropriate decisions on security investments and information exchange modes is a significant issue for supply chain members. Considering two information exchange modes: system interconnection and system independence, this study develops two game models to investigate the cybersecurity investments in a vertical supply chain composed of a retailer and n suppliers. Initial analysis shows that although firms learn investment decisions mutually in the face of a changing cybersecurity environment, suppliers always take a free ride on the efforts of retailer in two cases and the increased interdependent risks will damp nodes enthusiasm for security investments. Next, to compare the two cases, we introduce information exchange efficiency as the mediate parameter to link degree of system interconnection and proportion of information shared. We found that under the system independence mode, firms with high information-exchanging demand in the large-scale supply chain are more motivated to invest in cybersecurity. Furthermore, we extend our models to a centralised decision-making scenario. We find that security investment efficiency is greatly improved, and the free-riding behaviour of supplier is significantly reduced when systems are interconnected.

Algae-Based Two-Stage Supply Chain with Co-Products

The last years have seen the emergence of the bioeconomy. Assessment of these new technologies is a significant challenge. We develop a unique dynamic programming framework to assess the value of the investment in a multi-stage supply chain with the production of bio-feedstock and its processing into multiple outputs. The system allows for adaptive learning in all supply chain stages, which creates a positive learning effect of co-outputs. We apply the framework to macroalgae (seaweed) farming and biorefinery processing into proteins and sugars for the Philippines and Ireland as representatives of developing and developed economies with emerging supply chains. We run Monte Carlo simulations to analyze the uncertainty of learning and prices. The key results indicate that the macroalgae sector that builds on traditional technologies is quite viable. Developing a new algae industry that generates proteins and other high-value products requires significant investment and depends on the dynamics of learning and prices. Even though the production of high-value chemicals is not yet viable, it gains profitability potential from learning of feedstock farming that is currently produced for the lower value application. The learning is much more valuable in feedstock production and processing into proteins than low-value chemicals currently produced (carrageenan).

Safeguarding Proprietary Information in the Supply Chain and Relationship Specific Investments

Safeguarding Proprietary Information in the Supply Chain and Relationship Specific Investments

The Importance of Disney’s Supply Chain Investment Program in Overcoming the Dark World of Disney”

Child labor is an unsolved global problem. Multinational corporations, such as the Walt Disney Company, seek to address this problem through various social policies and programs, such as supply chain investment programs and operational codes of conduct. The purpose of this study is to see how the Walt Disney Company responds to labor injustice in its efforts to abolish The Dark World of Disney and compare its progress with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Matrix 2030 criteria for the 8th pillar. This study focuses on the theory of global strategy by Richard Lynch and then the concept and criteria of Environment, Social, Governance (ESG) and the criteria of the 8th pillar of the SDGs Matrix Industry 2030. This research uses qualitative methods with case studies and supply chain ideas to assess the impact and changes that occur because of the actions of companies and stakeholders in the supply chain. Sources of research data are secondary data in the form of journal articles, books, news from Disney's official website on the issue of child labor. The findings of this study are the Supply chain Investment program as a form of program that funds or supports activities and training to improve the supply chain to eliminate the issue of child labor, forced labor, and other worker injustices and its alignment at the ESG criteria and the SDGs Matrix 2030 criteria for the 8th pillar.

Key supply chain strategies for post-COVID-19 recovery: evidence from an Indian smart furniture industry

PurposeSmart furniture is an essential part of research that has been designed to best complement easy and safe human interaction. The purpose of smart furniture is to save the space of the house and make the products unique, awesome and safe, functional, strong and also make it works better so the people can live better with it. This research aims to explore the key supply chain strategies implemented by the Indian smart furniture industry to reduce the impact of a post-COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThis work utilized a case study and conducted semi-structured interviews with the top leadership of the smart furniture manufacturing industry to explore key supply chain strategies to reduce the influence of the post-COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, key supply chain strategies have been analyzed using a multi-criteria decision-making technique known as grey relational analysis (GRA) to determine their ranking significance in the smart furniture industry.FindingsThe results of this study discovered that “Inventory-Categorization” is essential in ensuring business continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic and helps reduce the amount of stock they have on hand. It enhanced the opportunity for employees to properly focus on their work and an opportunity for better work-life balance. The results of the study can also help supply chain stakeholders in their establishment of critical strategies.Research limitations/implicationsThe implications of this research work help the Indian furniture industry to make supply chain investment decisions that benefit the organization to sustain itself.Originality/valueThis is the first study to explore key supply chain strategies for the post-COVID-19 era. This work will assist managers and practitioners in helping the organization decide which supply chain strategies are more critical to the betterment of the organization.

To Share or Not to Share? The Optimal Technology Investment in a Virtual Product Supply Chain

With the rapid rise of the virtual economy, the “brand + platform” virtual product distribution model led by virtual technology platforms has emerged, bringing a series of new virtual experiences to consumers. Considering that consumers have heterogeneous preferences for virtual technologies, we investigate a virtual product supply chain consisting of a brand owner, a virtual technology platform, and consumers (where the virtual technology platform has superior information about consumer preferences). We develop a signaling game model with preference information signaled by the virtual technology investment to study the optimal information-sharing strategy for the virtual product supply chain. We find that the virtual technology platform always prefers information sharing without paying any signaling cost. Moreover, we also observe that the brand owner and the platform can achieve alignment, that is, when consumers are more likely to prefer virtual technology, both the brand owner and the virtual technology platform are better off if the virtual technology platform chooses to share information with the brand owner. Finally, we analyze the consumer welfare and find that when consumers are moderately likely to prefer virtual technology, consumers can gain more benefits in the information-sharing scenario.