Supply Chain Quality Management Research Articles

Forging Pathways to Circular Economy Excellence: Integrating Industry 4.0 with Quality Management

The convergence of industry 4.0 technologies with supply chain operations and sustainability initiatives has sparked interest in integrating supply chain quality management with these advancements, termed SCQM 4.0. A comprehensive literature review spanning 1998 to 2023, analyzing 232 papers, unveiled key trends, identified research gaps, and outlined a future research agenda for SCQM 4.0. The review culminated in the development of a comprehensive theoretical framework for SCQM 4.0 geared towards fostering sustainability within a circular economy framework, encompassing economic, social, and environmental dimensions. Notably, the study implies a rising enthusiasm for leveraging industry 4.0 tools such as the internet of things, blockchain, traceability systems, and smart packaging to enhance quality management within circular supply chain operations. Additionally, it proposes SCQM 4.0 strategies aimed at achieving holistic sustainability objectives in circular economies, underscoring implications for further scholarly inquiry in this dynamic field. To promote supply chain quality management digitalization, supply chain stakeholders should analyze research gaps and develop practical implementation plans using the SCQM 4.0 framework. Additionally, exploratory qualitative investigations among organizations and industries should be conducted to identify essential components in sustainable SCQM 4.0.

Quality control of agricultural product supply chain: A case study of Mengniu supply chain

With the increasingly serious food safety problem and more and more attention from all walks of life today, the safety of agricultural products as the source of food raw materials should also receive more attention. Therefore, focusing on quality control in the agricultural supply chain is important in this context. This paper explores the progress of research on quality control of agricultural products supply chain from different directions: including product quality traceability system, a combination of quality supervision and new technology, and risk factor analytical methods based on mathematical algorithms; then, there is an analysis based on the specific case of Mengniu’s product supply chain. These studies and case analyses jointly demonstrate the importance of building a complete quality management system for agricultural supply chains and improving industry-related standards. Meanwhile, supply chain quality and safety management must keep pace with the times.

Supply Chain Resilience Meets Quality Management

Purpose: This study is aimed at supply chain resilience and quality management, which are critical in today's volatile global economy marked by various disruptions. The focus is on how these traditionally separate disciplines can be combined to enhance organizational performance.
 
 Theoretical framework: The theoretical framework revolves around the concepts of supply chain resilience, which includes elements like proactive risk assessment, adaptability, collaborative networks, strategic redundancies, and quality management principles. The research scrutinizes their interplay, revealing significant overlap and implications for organizational outcomes.
 
 Design/Methodology/Approach: An exploratory case study approach forms the core methodology, primarily utilizing secondary data to gain insights into real-world scenarios. This approach enables a deep understanding of the critical factors influencing supply chain resilience and the impact of quality management concepts on customer satisfaction and product/service quality in supply chain processes. The questionnaire is distributed to get insights into the company's practices.
 
 Findings: The findings indicate that integrating supply chain resilience with quality management leads to more sustained and improved organizational outcomes. A resilient supply chain is quicker to recover from disruptions, minimizing financial impacts. Concurrently, a steadfast focus on quality ensures customer satisfaction and loyalty. This integration offers synergistic benefits, contributing to operational efficiency, market competitiveness, and a more substantial brand reputation.
 
 Research, Practical & Social implications: The study provides insights into critical factors of supply chain resilience and their interconnections with quality management concepts. These insights can inform strategies for enhancing resilience and quality management in supply chains. Practically, the study offers a guide for organizations to adopt a unified approach that optimizes supply chain resilience and quality management. This approach is particularly relevant for organizations seeking to improve operational efficiency and customer satisfaction through better risk management and quality assurance processes. Socially, the study highlights the importance of resilient and high-quality supply chains in today’s business landscape by maintaining Sustainable Developmental Goals.
 
 Originality/Value: This research highlights how resilience, characterized by adaptability and robust recovery in disruptive scenarios, and stringent quality management, crucial for meeting customer expectations, are fundamental in modern supply chains. The study emphasizes the importance of a risk management culture and the role of digital technologies in enhancing supply chain resilience, underscoring their vital contributions during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, this work offers valuable insights into achieving more resilient and high-quality supply chains in today's challenging business environment through the integration of Quality Management Tools.

Heterogeneous hybrid governance mechanisms of information technology and contract in supply chain quality management

AbstractThis study scrutinizes the heterogeneous hybrid governance mechanisms of information technology and contact in supply chain quality management. Drawing on governance theory and features of information technology, a conceptual model is proposed. Based on the survey data obtained from 154 manufacturing firms' managers, we use the structural equation modeling method to test our conceptual model. The method of partial least squares is used to analyze the structural equation model. We find that Information transparency and contract completeness are substitutes, and information traceability and contract completeness are complements.

Navigating Environmental Challenges through Supply Chain Quality Management 4.0 in Circular Economy: A Comprehensive Review

The infusion of circular economy (CE) principles into supply chain management has garnered significant attention from both scholars and industry professionals. Quality management and Industry 4.0 (SCQM 4.0) have emerged as central themes due to their potential to elevate supply chain efficiency and sustainability. In pursuit of this goal, a thorough literature review is conducted, with a specific focus on quality management within circular supply chains, placing a significant emphasis on Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies. By analyzing 126 papers spanning from 1998 to 2023, this systematic review discerns prevailing trends, identifies research gaps, and charts future avenues for investigation. These results highlight the growing academic interest in utilizing I4.0 technology to improve quality control in circular supply chains. SCQM 4.0 is thus proposed to aid in a better comprehension of Supply Chain Quality Management 4.0, which incorporates infrastructure practices rooted in various disruptive technologies and supply chain operations that link with sustainable performance with three key metrics of input management, waste handling, and preservation concentrating solely on the environmental aspect. Based on this research, we offer a four-tiered SCQM 4.0 practice path to achieve a CE.

Guanxi and information sharing in supply chain quality management: a multi-method investigation

Companies are facing increasing challenges in managing product quality in their supply chains. To address the question of how to effectively mitigate quality issues by conducting quality management practices in the supply chain, the present study seeks to explore the relationship between Guanxi, information sharing (IS) and four important dimensions of supply chain quality management (SCQM). Our empirical investigation follows a mixed-methods approach using survey data from 468 managers working in Chinese companies and by applying structural equation modelling, outcomes suggest that separately applying Guanxi and IS can improve the performance of SCQM activities. Considering the interdependencies between different SCQM processes, we apply a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) method to demonstrate different combinations of core elements in their attainment of high levels of SCQM dimensions. Three case studies are also conducted to determine how these factors, as well as other crucial enablers or inhibitors, emerge, interact, and impact each SCQM stage. The outcomes of case studies reinforce and refine the findings of the fsQCA analysis and highlight the synergy effects between four SCQM dimensions and how Guanxi and IS can be applied when orchestrating these dimensions.

Pendekatan Model Supply Chain Quality Management Terhadap Daya Saing Perusahaan Gula

The sugar industry has a vital role in Indonesia. However, faces several challenges such as low quality, low productivity and inability to fulfil domestic demand. Certain corrective actions are necessary to make the industry more competitive. The supply chain quality management (SCQM) approach is expected to increase the productivity and competitiveness of sugar industry. This research aimed to formulate an SCQM approach on company competitiveness which suitable for sugar companies and analyze the effect of SCQM to company competitiveness using the structural equation modelling. By using Smart-PLS 4.0, the results showed that 49.1% of company competitiveness is influenced by organizational quality, Organizational quality is influenced by customer focus, supplier quality management, the effectiveness of the IT system, and leadership which are variables of SCQM. The SCQM approach significantly influences the competitiveness of sugar companies in being able to lead the competition, improve product quality, adapt to changes, reduce production costs, and gain loyal customers. Process integration shows a positive influence on organizational quality, which enhances future company competitiveness. Keywords: Competitiveness, quality, structural equation modeling, sugar, supply chain

The effect of relational investments on supply chain quality integration: protection or constraint of legal bonds?

PurposeThis study examines the effect of relational investments (e.g. supplier involvement and commitment, customer involvement and commitment) on supply chain quality integration (e.g. supplier and customer quality integration), which leads to financial performance. Moreover, the authors explore the moderating effects of legal bonds on the relationship between relational investments and supply chain quality integration.Design/methodology/approachA survey study of manufacturing firms is presented to illustrate the conceptual model. The authors use the data from 213 manufacturing firms to test the hypotheses by structural equation modeling.FindingsThe results show that supplier and customer quality integration are positively related to financial performance. Supplier involvement and commitment are positively related to supplier quality integration. Customer involvement is positively related to customer quality integration, but customer commitment is not significantly related to customer quality integration. Additionally, on the supplier side, legal bonds negatively moderate the relationship between supplier involvement and supplier quality integration but positively moderate the relationship between supplier commitment and supplier quality integration. On the customer side, legal bonds do not moderate the relationship between customer involvement and customer quality integration, but negatively moderate the relationship between customer commitment and customer quality integration.Originality/valueThis study provides novel insights into supply chain quality management from relational perspectives, as well as the contingent role of legal bonds between them.

Dynamic quality management of live streaming e-commerce supply chain considering streamer type

The study aims to analyze the impact of top streamers and ordinary streamers on the quality decision of live streaming e-commerce supply chains. A differential game model is constructed to explore the theoretical conditions for optimizing the trajectory of live streaming product quality under the two types of streamers. The research findings suggest that multiple factors influence the quality decision of the live-streaming supply chain and are not directly related to the streamer types. The level of supply chain quality decision in the situation of the top streamer is higher only when their influence is greater than a certain threshold. Revenue is a key factor that influences the quality improvement and product quality superiority of manufacturers, and only when the profit efficiency of manufacturers under the two types of streamers is higher than the threshold can the live streaming product quality trajectory be optimized over time. The study also identifies that the advantage of the quality decision of the ordinary streamer is in the initial period or when the commission rate of the top streamer is high. In such cases, the ordinary streamer should take the initiative to improve the quality inspection technology, reduce the quality inspection cost, and break the monopoly of the top streamer. However, when the top streamer is in the development period or its commission rate is low, it becomes a disadvantageous area for the quality decision of the ordinary streamer, and thus, a conservative strategy should be adopted. In conclusion, the study provides insights for live streaming e-commerce supply chains to make effective quality decisions under different streamer types and their characteristics.

Exploring the impact of supply chain quality management on market performance: the mediating roles of supply chain integration and operational performance

PurposeThis study examines the impact of supply chain quality management (SCQM) on supply chain integration (SCI), operational performance (OP) and market performance (MP). The mediating impacts of SCI and OP on the SCQM–MP relationship are also explored and the indirect impact of SCQM on OP via SCI is investigated.Design/methodology/approachThe study population included all Jordanian manufacturing firms. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires filled out by a randomly selected sample of 267 participants from various industries. The model of this study was assessed for validity and reliability, which were found to be satisfactory. Research hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM) with Analysis of a Moment Structures (AMOS) software.FindingsThe findings have important implications for the direct and indirect impacts of SCQM on MP. While the direct impact was found to be insignificant, SCI and OP were found to fully mediate the SCQM–MP relationship. The findings also demonstrated that the impact of SCI on OP was insignificant; likewise, the mediating impact of SCI on SCQM–OP was insignificant.Originality/valueThis study fills a knowledge gap regarding the impact of SCQM on MP. This study is one of the first studies to explore the mediating impacts of SC and operational capabilities in terms of SCI and OP on the SCQM–MP relationship. This study is also one of the first to explore the indirect impact of SCQM on OP via SCI. This study conceptualizes SCQM as collaborative quality management (OP) practices that are externally focused to include upstream and downstream members of the SC.

Proposal to improve access to the maternal and perinatal care route (ramp) through supply chain quality management and digital health interventions for dispersed rural territories

Proposal to improve access to the maternal and perinatal care route (ramp) through supply chain quality management and digital health interventions for dispersed rural territories

Methodology for diagnosis of the current state of supply chain quality management in the maternal perinatal care route in disparate rural territories

Methodology for diagnosis of the current state of supply chain quality management in the maternal perinatal care route in disparate rural territories

E-Nose Technology for Mycotoxin Detection in Feed: Ready for a Real Context in Field Application or Still an Emerging Technology?

Mycotoxin risk in the feed supply chain poses a concern to animal and human health, economy, and international trade of agri-food commodities. Mycotoxin contamination in feed and food is unavoidable and unpredictable. Therefore, monitoring and control are the critical points. Effective and rapid methods for mycotoxin detection, at the levels set by the regulations, are needed for an efficient mycotoxin management. This review provides an overview of the use of the electronic nose (e-nose) as an effective tool for rapid mycotoxin detection and management of the mycotoxin risk at feed business level. E-nose has a high discrimination accuracy between non-contaminated and single-mycotoxin-contaminated grain. However, the predictive accuracy of e-nose is still limited and unsuitable for in-field application, where mycotoxin co-contamination occurs. Further research needs to be focused on the sensor materials, data analysis, pattern recognition systems, and a better understanding of the needs of the feed industry for a safety and quality management of the feed supply chain. A universal e-nose for mycotoxin detection is not realistic; a unique e-nose must be designed for each specific application. Robust and suitable e-nose method and advancements in signal processing algorithms must be validated for specific needs.

An Evolutionary Game Model for Quality Control of Agricultural Supermarket Matched Supply Chain with Government Participation

Based on the basic problems such as the motivation of the quality and safety management and control of the agricultural supermarket docking supply chain, this paper studies the game behavior of the three parties involved in the agricultural professional cooperatives, large chain supermarkets and government regulatory departments in the agricultural supermarket docking supply chain under the influence of government participation. To build a three-party evolutionary game model for the quality and safety management and control of agricultural supermarket docking supply chain with the participation of the government, the goal is to find a stable strategy for the game parties to maintain cooperation, so as to ensure the safety of agricultural supermarket docking supply chains.

Exploring the relationship between quality management and risks in closed-loop supply chains

Exploring the relationship between quality management and risks in closed-loop supply chains

Blockchain-Based Process Quality Data Sharing Platform for Aviation Suppliers

Given the challenge of manufacturing data silos and information credibility issues in traditional aviation suppliers’ result-oriented management approach, this paper proposes a blockchain-based aviation supplier manufacturing process quality data-sharing platform. Firstly, the paper introduces the possibility of integrating manufacturing supply chain quality management with blockchain technology. Secondly, the quality and data sharing platform architecture of the production process of new aviation suppliers is presented based on quality state and island kinds of aviation suppliers. Then, a detailed method for the implementation of quality and data security sharing is proposed to support the sharing platform’s real-time and orderly operation. Build critical technologies such as manufacturing quality data block packaging models, data storage security sharing, and supplier assessment models on this foundation. Finally, depending on data collection of supplier product production processes to shared application practices based on a specific aircraft industrial park under the supervision of the platform architecture and technology. The application platform integrates the data supply and request components, providing practical and intelligent sharing solutions for airlines’ product quality data.

Contribution of supply chain quality management on operations performance of manufacturing companies in Vietnam

An organization's ability to operate efficiently and effectively in a competitive environment is heavily reliant on the operations performance. Therefore, the important objective from companies is enhancing and optimizing the operations with several procedures. Within the context of manufacturing industry, supply chain quality should be considered as an effective strategy to achieve the success. This article examines how organizational operations performance can be impacted by supply chain quality strategy It is first suggested a conceptual framework to characterize these connections, after which a regression model is used to examine them. Data are gathered through surveys of Vietnam manufacturing companies in order to test this model. The following are several of our key empirical findings: employee training provides the largest impact, supplier relationship creates a considerable effect and process management is the smallest-impacted determinant

Product Innovation & Performance in Supply Chain Quality Management of SMEs within Pakistan

Product Innovation & Performance in Supply Chain Quality Management of SMEs within Pakistan

The mediating role of supply chain quality management for traceability and performance improvement: Evidence among Chinese food firms

With the frequent outbreak of food safety issues, supply chain traceability (SCT), using industry 4.0 technologies such as blockchain, Internet of Things, and cloud computing for end-to-end quality monitoring, has attracted increasing attention from academia and practitioners. However, whether and how supply chain focal firms can improve both quality and economic performance through SCT practices is still unclear and lacks studies. Built on the value of SCT and from the resource dependence theory (RDT) perspective, this study hypothesizes that supply chain quality management (SCQM) practices, including supply chain-based quality strategy and leadership (SCQSL), supply chain-based process integration and management (SCPIM), and quality-oriented supply chain relationship management (QSCRM), are necessary for focal firms to improve quality and gain economic benefit through SCT. Using survey data collected from 337 food firms in China, our structural equation modeling results reveal that SCT can bring quality performance while SCQSL and SCPIM are necessarily required. SCT can improve economic performance while SCPIM is essential and SCQSL is partially necessary. Moreover, SCRM is partially needed for firms to gain both types of performances. This study contributes new theoretical insights for food firms to highlight SCQM practices in support of their traceback investigation for associated performance gains.

Antecedents of IoT adoption in food supply chain quality management: an integrative model

PurposeThe introduction of quality management Internet of things (QM IoT) can help food supply chain members to enhance real-time visibility, quality, safety and efficiency of products and processes. Current literature indicates three main research gaps, including a lack of studies in QM IoT in the food supply chain, the vagueness of integrative adoption of new technology framework and deficient research covering both adoption attitude and intention in the same model. This study aims to propose an analysis model based on the technological–organizational–environmental (TOE) framework and reinforced by the collaborative structure to capture the importance of the supply chain network.Design/methodology/approachThe partial least square-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was applied to test the impacts of the adoption factors on QM IoT adoption attitude and intention among 197 respondents in food manufacturing in Thailand.FindingsThe results indicated that compatibility, trialability, adaptive capacity, innovative capability, executive support, value chain partner pressure, presence of service provider and information sharing significantly impacted the attitude toward QM IoT adoption, while adaptive capability, innovative capability and information sharing directly influenced the QM IoT adoption intention. Furthermore, the attitude toward QM IoT adoption positively impacted the QM IoT adoption intention.Practical implicationsThis study contributed to academicians by proposing a more solid adoption framework for QM IoT area. In addition, the business practitioners could actively prepare themselves for the QM IoT adoption, whereas the service providers could provide better and suitable service.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the building of a more solid framework and indicates significant factors that impact the attitude toward QM IoT adoption and adoption intention.