Supply Chain Policies Research Articles

Market Failure, State Failure: The Political Economy of Supply Chain Strengthening to Ensure Equitable Access to Vaccines and Medicines in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Context: Much of the existing work on the political economy of vaccine access has focused on how intellectual property rights agreements contribute to inequitable COVID-19 vaccine access between high-income and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The two solutions that emerged to scale up access in LMICs involved either voluntary arrangements under COVAX or a waiver of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) to allow immediate access to intellectual property. However, an additional constraint on access is weak and ineffective supply chains within LMICs that have eroded over several decades of health-sector reform. Methods: This article reviews the literature on the political economy of supply chain strengthening in LMICs and identifies key challenges to equitable access to emergent vaccines and other medicines emanating from market and state failures in internal supply chains. Findings: Over the past century, supply chain policies in LMICs have alternated among an emphasis on addressing market failures contributing to unaffordability of vaccines/medicines, an emphasis on state failures contributing to unavailability of vaccines/medicines, and a more recent move toward public-private hybrid arrangements to strengthen supply chains. Conclusions: In addition to reshoring production capacity through a TRIPs waiver, the international community must address chronic weakness in internal supply chains in LMICs to ensure access to novel vaccines/medicines.

Optimisation of multi‐tier supply chain distribution networks with corporate social responsibility concerns in fast‐fashion retail

AbstractThis study analyses the problem of multi‐tier supply chains, including suppliers, producers, wholesalers, and retailers. Decision‐makers should analyse the social, environmental, and economic constraints in a multi‐dimensional business context. We analyse these issues by considering the corporate social responsibility (CSR) concerns. A scorecard‐based mathematical model, consisting of mixed‐integer linear programming, is developed to assist fast‐fashion decision‐makers in supply chain policy formulation. The model is validated through a practical case study using IBM CPLEX Optimizer. The results indicate that involving the social aspect can increase the profit compared to considering only the economic impact, under high environmental costs with low return on investment. Furthermore, the mathematical model is able for the case study to optimise the distribution network of the entire multi‐tier supply chain, considering CSR concerns, in less than 5 s. This research has implications for the advancement of multi‐tier supply chain optimisation and provides a basis for future distribution decisions for firm stakeholders.

Strategic selling agreement and information management under leakage in an e-commerce supply chain

Nowadays, numerous manufacturers sell products through both an online e-tailer and an offline retailer. The e-tailer can use its rich sales data to predict the demand information and thus has the information advantage. This study develops a game-theoretic model to study the e-tailer’s selling agreement selection and information sharing policy in this multi-channel supply chain. The reselling agreement is adopted by offline retailer, while the reselling or the agency selling agreement can be prepared by the online e-tailer. Our analysis shows that the e-tailer’s information sharing strategy are quite different under these two agreements. That is, the e-tailer has an incentive to share information with the manufacturer voluntarily in the agency selling agreement whereas sharing information hurts the e-tailer in the reselling agreement. Interestingly, under an agency selling agreement, information sharing can make the manufacturer, the offline retailer, and the e-tailer becomes better than the non-information sharing scenario (i.e., Pareto-improvement). However, the reselling e-tailer only shares information with the manufacturer by virtue of information sharing contracting and the all-win outcomes are achieved if the demand uncertainty is high and the competition between the e-tailer and retailer is moderate. Furthermore, the interaction between the large commission rate and the less demand uncertainty drive the e-tailer to adopt the agency selling agreement; otherwise, the reselling agreement is the best choice for the e-tailer. Finally, we demonstrate that, when the e-tailer shares information with the manufacturer, the competing offline retailer always becomes better off due to the information leakage effect.

An adaptive product changeover policy for a capacitated two-product supply chain in a non-stationary demand environment

ABSTRACT The present paper investigates the effectiveness, in terms of fill rate, of a new adaptive production control policy for a two-product, two-echelon (i.e. factory and retailer) supply chain subject to a non-stationary customer demand. To model the capacity constraints more realistically, the factory node consists of an unbuffered production line subject to failures, and non-negligible changeover times. To cope with the disruptive events, we propose a new production control strategy named Adaptive Hedging Corridor Policy. A simulation model based on discrete-time difference equations is developed, and a two-step experimental campaign is conducted to compare the proposed control policy with two well-known alternatives proposed in the literature. The analysis of the results demonstrates the effectiveness of the new adaptive strategy in maximising the fill rate of supply chains subject to a non-stationary demand.

Predictive value of supply chain sustainability initiatives for ESG performance: a study of large multinationals

PurposeAlthough the integration of sustainability into business strategies and operations has received considerable scholarly attention, little is known about how sustainability initiatives across the extended value chain affect this integration. This study aims to analyze the impact of multinational corporations’ supply chain sustainability initiatives on their environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) performance and the moderating role of the key country-level factors of the multinational’s headquarters.Design/methodology/approachThis study analyzes data published by the top 201 multinationals among Fortune Global 500 companies over the period 2011–2021 on their attempts to integrate sustainability measures in extended supply chains and the resultant impact on their ESG scores. A fixed-effect model is used in the primary empirical study.FindingsResults indicate that managerial interventions through a more robust supply chain policy framework, monitoring mechanisms, corrective actions and training initiatives lead to better ESG-environment pillar performance for multinationals. Additionally, the ESG-environment pillar performance is influenced by the socioeconomic model and country-level ESG risks of the nation where the multinational is headquartered.Originality/valueThe implications of this study are vital for understanding the criticality of sustainability initiatives in the supply chain for a firm’s overall ESG performance. To attain better levels of sustainable performance, multinationals must assume a stewardship position and deploy sustainability initiatives in their extended supply chain.

Pollution Potential of Imported Used Vehicles and Law: Towards a Working Policy for Green Supply Chain in Imported Used Vehicles to Cameroon

Pollution Potential of Imported Used Vehicles and Law: Towards a Working Policy for Green Supply Chain in Imported Used Vehicles to Cameroon

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon could be halved by scaling up the implementation of zero-deforestation cattle commitments

Deforestation for agriculture is a key threat to global carbon stocks, biodiversity, and indigenous ways of life. In the absence of strong territorial governance, zero-deforestation commitments (ZDCs), corporate policies to decouple food production from deforestation, remain a central tool to combat this issue. Yet evidence on their effectiveness remains mixed and the mechanisms limiting effectiveness are poorly understood. To advance understanding of ZDCs’ potential at reducing deforestation, we developed the first spatially explicit estimates of farmers’ exposure to ZDC companies in the Brazilian Amazon cattle sector. Exposure was measured by determining the market share of ZDC firms from the first full year of ZDC adoption in 2010 until 2018. Our analysis evaluated how variation in this exposure influenced deforestation. We found the G4 Agreement, the most widespread and strongly implemented cattle ZDC, reduced cattle-driven deforestation by 7,000 ± 4,000 km2 (15 ± 8%) between 2010 and 2018. Additionally, had all firms adopted and implemented an effective ZDC, cattle-driven deforestation could have dropped by 24,000 ± 13,000 km2 (51 ± 28%). These results for the world’s principal deforestation hotspot suggests supply chain policies can substantially reduce deforestation. However, their effectiveness is contingent on widespread adoption and rigorous implementation, both of which are currently insufficient to prevent large scale deforestation. Increased adoption and implementation could be incentivized through greater pressure from the Brazilian government and import countries.

Unleashing the power of supply chain learning: an empirical investigation

PurposeOrganisational learning plays a critical role for firms to keep abreast of a supply chain environment filled with volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA). This study investigates the extent to which supply chain learning (SCL) affects operational resilience under such circumstances.Design/methodology/approachThis study developed a research framework and underlying hypotheses based on SCL and information processing theory (IPT). An empirical test was carried out using secondary data derived from the “Supply Chain Policy” launched by the Chinese government and two large related conferences.FindingsSCL positively relates to operational resilience, and several moderators influence the relationship between them. The authors argue that digital-technological diversity could weaken the role of SCL in operational resilience, whereas customer concentration, and participating in a pilot programme could enhance the effect of SCL.Practical implicationsFirms should embrace the power of SCL in building resilience in the VUCA era. Meanwhile, they should be cautious of a digital-technological diversification strategy, appraise the customer base profile and proactively engage in pilot programmes.Originality/valueThis research develops the SCL construct further in the context of China and empirically measures its power on operational resilience using a unique dataset. This contributes to the theorisation of SCL.

Multi-echelon supply chain coordination: Contract sequence and cut-off policies

The influence of contract sequence and interaction between different contract mechanisms on profit allocation among supply chain agents and cutoff policies of a multi-echelon supply chain have received scarce consideration in the literature. In this study, we try to fill this gap and examine a serial decentralized three-echelon supply chain using a dynamic game of incomplete information where the supplier and the manufacturer can choose either a short-term contract or a long-term contract. Using two sequential bilateral monopoly settings we analyze four scenarios of contract sequence for calculating the payoffs of supply chain agents. Based on these payoffs, we calculate the Bayesian Nash equilibrium of the game. This study shows the importance of contract sequence in profit allocation among different stakeholders of a decentralized multi-echelon supply chain. We further demonstrate that the upstream agent does not necessarily hold higher bargaining power among all the agents. Our key findings are as follows: first, optimal profit levels, as well as cutoff policies, are influenced by marginal costs and reservation profits of supply chain agents along with contract sequence; second, supply chain coordination is dependent on contract sequence; third, supply chain agents do not naturally choose channel coordinating contract sequence; fourth, the supplier needs to devise incentive scheme for the manufacturer to coordinate the overall supply chain; fifth a myopic supplier prefers short-term agreement and a foresighted supplier prefers long-term agreement.

Opportunities to Strengthen Fish Supply Chain Policy to Improve External Food Environments for Nutrition in the Solomon Islands

Malnutrition and food insecurity have significant social and economic impacts in small island developing states, such as the Solomon Islands. Enhancing the domestic supply of fish, the main source of local protein, can contribute to improved nutrition and food security. This research aimed to improve understanding of the policy interface between the fisheries and health sectors and identify opportunities to strengthen fish supply chain policy to improve domestic (particularly urban) access to fish in the Solomon Islands. The study design drew on theories of policy learning and policy change and analysed policies using a consumption-oriented supply chain approach. Interviews were conducted with 12 key informants in the Solomon Islands, and 15 policy documents were analysed. Analysis of policy documents and interview data indicated that there were strengths as well as opportunities in the existing policy context. In particular, community-based fisheries management approaches and explicit recognition of the links between fisheries and nutrition were key strengths. Challenges included gaps in implementation, variations in capacities across government actors and communities, and limited attention to domestic monitoring and enforcement. Improving the effectiveness of resource management efforts may result in sustainable outcomes for both livelihoods and health, which will accomplish priorities at the national and sub-national levels and support the achievement of the Solomon Islands' commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals.

A Review of Blood Delivery for Sustainable Supply Chain Management (BSCM)

The management and supply of blood are critical yet considered a challenging exercise within the healthcare industry. The inventory managers within the sector concerned with blood storage and transportation always focus on their consumers’ effective and timely responses. A lack of blood during emergencies significantly impacts patients’ lives needing a blood transfusion. On the other hand, blood transfusion to needy patients must be effective and timely, requiring adequate transportation and supply chain policies. A weak transportation system could lead to blood shortages, delivery inefficiencies, and even contamination during the process. There are few blood donors globally; therefore, any wastage due to a poor delivery solution is ineffective. The current review aims to offer a comparative study of blood delivery within crowded cities, specifically using cars and motorcycles as the leading delivery solutions. Based on the systematic literature review, the most effective and responsive blood delivery system in a congested city may be identified considering SC costs, time availability, and emergency severity. The present research provides a comparative analysis of the available blood delivery systems in a congested city. It also helps the stakeholders to take quick and responsive decisions quickly.

An Application of Machine Learning to Logistics Performance Prediction: An Economics Attribute-Based of Collective Instance.

In this work, a machine learning application was constructed to predict the logistics performance index based on economic attributes. The prediction procedure employs both linear and non-linear machine learning algorithms. The macroeconomic panel dataset is used in this investigation. Furthermore, it was combined with the microeconomic panel dataset obtained through the data envelopment analysis method for evaluating financial efficiency. The procedure was implemented in six ASEAN member countries. The non-linear algorithm of an artificial neural network performed best on the complex pattern of a collective instance of these six countries, followed by the penalized linear of the Ridge regression method. Due to the limited amount of training data for each country, the artificial neural network prediction procedure is only applicable to the datasets of Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Ridge regression fits the Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam datasets. The results provide precise trend forecasting. Macroeconomic factors are driving up the logistics performance index in Vietnam in 2020. Malaysia logistics performance is influenced by the logistics business's financial efficiency. The results at the country level can be used to track, improve, and reform the country's short-term logistics and supply chain policies. This can bring significant gains in national logistics and supply chain capabilities, as well as support for global trade collaboration, all for the long-term development of the region.

Horizontal collaboration in the wine supply chain planning: A Chilean case study

The wine industry faces a highly competitive environment, making cost-effective management of the wine supply chain essential. Literature has shown that this objective can be achieved with the implementation of horizontal collaboration strategies in logistics. In this strategy, firms located at the same level of the supply chain cooperate to reduce costs, improve quality of service and mitigate environmental externalities. This paper analyses the implementation impacts of a horizontal collaboration policy in the wine supply chain. To do so, we propose a cooperative game with transferable costs, in which the characteristic function is obtained by solving a novel linear programming formulation that models the joint planning of the wine supply chain. To evaluate the benefits of collaboration, we conduct a case study involving three of Chile’s largest wineries. The results show that the use of collaborative frameworks leads to significant reductions in the logistics costs of the wine supply chain. Furthermore, we find that the grand coalition reduces the costs by 10.17% compared to the non-collaborative case. This reduction comes mainly from a decrease in the bulk wine inventory cost. We also analyse the impact of coordination costs on the savings and conduct a sensitivity analysis.

Assessment of environmental sustainability of nickel required for mobility transition

Nickel (Ni) in batteries (e.g., nickel-metal hydride battery (NiMH), lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide (NCA) and lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC)) aim to ensure higher energy density and greater storage capacity. Two typical layered nickel-rich ternary cathode materials, NCA and NMC, are commercialized as advanced lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) for electric vehicles (EVs). The technology of those batteries has been improving by steadily increasing the nickel content in each cathode generation. In this study, we consider two types of batteries having a composite cathode made of Li [Ni0.80Co0.1Al0.1]O2, and Li [Ni0.33Mn0.33Co0.33]O2, which are the most common cathode materials for LiBs in EVs since 2010 and their functional recycling is performed. The increasing use of nickel in battery technologies has resulted in the continuous growth of demand for nickel over recent years. Nickel was added to the list of critical materials by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) already in 2021. Unfortunately now, the sustainable supply of nickel is even at higher risk due to the sanctions-related disruption of supplies from Russia. Therefore, enhancing the circularity of nickel starts to be vital for many economies. Demand for recycled nickel is growing, however, a systematic analysis of the sustainability of its recycling is still missing. Therefore, we provide a comprehensive assessment of the sustainability of the global primary and secondary production of nickel. Using system dynamics modelling integrated with geometallurgy principles and by analyzing the processing routes (pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical processes), we quantify the key environmental concerns across the life cycle of primary and secondary nickel required for sustainable mobility transition. Energy consumption, water use, and related emissions are assessed for all stages of the nickel supply chain, from mining to recycling. Our analysis shows the possibility of reducing the emissions by around 4.7 mt for GHG, 6.9 kt for PM2.5, 34.3 t for BC, 2.8 kt for CH4, 7.5 kt for CO, 3.3 mt for CO2, 169.9 t for N2O, 3.8 kt for NOx, 11.8 kt for PM10, 104.8 t for POC, 1.6 mt for SOx, and 232.5 t for VOC by engaging in the secondary production of nickel through the recycling of batteries. However, identical growth rate of energy consumption and water use compared to nickel mass flows means no technical progress has been achieved in different stages of the nickel supply chain towards sustainability over the period 2010–2030. Therefore, an improvement in technology is needed to save energy and water in nickel production processes. The results and findings of this study contribute to a better understanding of the necessity for improving closed-loop supply chain policies for nickel.

Developing model of logistics capability, supply chain policy on logistics integration and competitive advantage of SMEs

This study aims to analyze the influence of supply chain policies, logistical capabilities, on logistical integration and competitive advantage in SMEs in Indonesia. The measurement method uses structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis using SmartPLS 4.0 software to analyze the influence of supply chain policies, logistical capabilities, on logistics integration and competitive advantage. The research data was obtained from distributing online questionnaires via social media. The questionnaire was designed using a Likert scale of 7. The respondents used in this study were SMEs owners who were determined through simple random sampling. The online questionnaire was distributed to 490 UKM owners. The stages of data analysis are validity test, reliability test and significance test or hypothesis test. Based on the results of data processing carried out, it was found that supply chain policy has a positive effect on logistical integration, logistics capability has a positive effect on logistics integration, supply chain policy has a positive effect on competitive advantage, logistics capability has a positive effect on competitive advantage, logistics integration has a positive effect on competitive advantage competitive. The novelty of this research is the relationship model of logistics capability and supply chain policy on logistics integration and competitive advantage in SMEs organizations. The theoretical implication of this research is to support previous theories that logistics capability and supply chain policy play a role in encouraging increased logistics integration and encouraging increased competitive advantage in SMEs organizations. The practical implication of this research is the management of SMEs to implement logistics capability and create and implement supply chain policies to encourage increased logistics integration so that it will increase competitive advantage.

Climate Policies in Supply Chains

Climate Policies in Supply Chains

Retailer's channel policy and two-part tariff contract in green supply chain: An optimization analysis considering channel purchasing cost

<p style='text-indent:20px;'>In launching new green product or responding to market environment change, supply chain firms need to pour attention to best retailer's channel structure policy and coordination conditions. We consider a retailer-led green supply chain, and investigate optimal retailer's channel structure policy and supply chain coordination considering the impact of channel purchasing cost. First, we analyze three potential channel structures of green supply chain: offline channel structure (F), online channel structure (N), and dual-channel structure (D), and provide three functions to describe market demands for potential channel structures by analyzing the impacts of price, channel purchasing cost, and product greening level. Then, we develop profit functions and construct three joint pricing and product greening level optimization models to determine optimal joint optimization policies for structures F, N, and D, respectively. Furthermore, we conduct the theoretical analysis of retailer's channel structure selection, and provide numerical studies to illustrate and testify the theoretical results. Finally, we use a two-part tariff (TPT) contract to realize green supply chain coordination for structures F, N, and D, and show coordination conditions. Our research results indicate that, the optimal retailer's channel structure from each perspective is generally not uniquely determined, and optimal retailer's channel structures from three perspectives of manufacturer, retailer, and supply chain can be affected by channel purchasing cost, greening cost sensitivity, and preference degree of consumer to online channel.</p>

Optimal environment design and revenue allocation: Under cap-and-trade policy in the cooperation supply chain

Since the supply chains of the world’s 2500 largest companies alone emit more than 20% of global greenhouse gases, how to achieve optimal cooperative supply chain emission reduction effects in supply chain optimal emission reduction efforts and effectively distribute revenue in cooperative supply chains is a difficult complex problem. In this paper, a green supply chain model of joint production is constructed based on the framework of the Stackelberg model and with carbon trading under three quota methods being taken into account. First, from the perspective of a supply chain leader, we obtain the optimal efforts to reduce emissions, the optimal price, and the yield of the products. Then, from the perspective of carbon market regulators, we obtain the environment that is most conducive to reducing emissions in the supply chain. Finally, we offer a profit distribution method based on the modified Shapley value, which maximizes fairness and stability. The data calculation example analysis further verifies the results of the theoretical analysis.

Cross-national public acceptance of sustainable global supply chain policy instruments

Cross-national public acceptance of sustainable global supply chain policy instruments

Vaccine Supply Chain Management: Implications for Reforming Supply Chain Policy and Practice in Pandemic Times

Vaccination is one of the most powerful weapons to prevent and control the outbreak of pandemics. The adoption of a supply chain, anchored on the proponents of the network theory and practice posits with a potential to deliver scale and speed in vaccination effort during pandemics but it’s not holistically explored. Based on a literature review, this study proposes the adoption of a holistic approach that involves private actor partnerships and involvement to improve scale and speed of vaccination during pandemic times. The study has also revealed that social actors like religious and community leaders need to be involved in order to support communication that is necessary for reducing misinformation and development of trust for citizens to go ahead and vaccinate. The outcome of the study is important since it provides for an extended framework for vaccine supply chains while providing ways to manage misinformation that tends to fail immunization effort during pandemics. Keywords: COVID-19, Vaccine, Supply Chain, Network Theory, Vaccine Hesitancy, Herd Immunity