Supply Chain Research Articles

Research on retailer’s pricing and stocking strategy in two-stage green supply chain considering bounded rationality and non-green product

Due to the bounded rationality of decision-makers and the substitution effect of non-green products, retailers are not always profitable when selling green products. To assist retailers who may be disadvantaged in the game, this study constructs a two-stage green supply chain game model, considering the bounded rationality of decision-makers and the substitution effect of non-green products, and analyzes the impacts of two operational strategies that retailers can adopt—price-cutting strategy and early replenishment strategy. The research reveals that retailers tend to lower prices in the second stage when price reductions stimulate consumer purchases, enhancing their profitability. However, strategic retailers may raise prices in the first stage to create room for discounts later, potentially harming consumer interests. Contrary to expectations, anticipating future demand does not always improve supply chain profitability in the early replenishment strategy, which mainly depends on the market environment. Early replenishment deprives retailers of negotiation leverage in the second stage, and bulk orders may lead manufacturers to over-invest in green innovation. Therefore, this strategy is effective only when green innovation costs are low, consumer environmental awareness is high, or price sensitivity is low.

Information sharing in a green supply chain: a bane or a boon?

Information sharing in a green supply chain: a bane or a boon?

Analisis Pengaruh Kebijakan Moneter terhadap Perdagangan Internasional Indonesia

This study aims to analyze the impact of monetary policy on Indonesia's international trade using a literature review approach. The monetary policy implemented by Bank Indonesia, particularly concerning interest rates, inflation, and the exchange rate of the rupiah, significantly affects the performance of international trade. This study collects, evaluates, and synthesizes information from various relevant literature sources, including scholarly journal articles, books, research reports, and policy documents. The findings indicate that interest rates influence the competitiveness of export products through production costs, controlled inflation boosts foreign direct investment flows, and exchange rate stability supports long-term business planning and investment. Effective monetary policy can help create a stable trade environment, enhance the competitiveness of Indonesian products in the global market, and strengthen the country's economic position in the global supply chain.

Assessment of robustness attributes in electronic products supply chains

To facilitate the shift to circular models, supply chains urgently need to be strengthened and made more resilient and robust. The COVID-19 pandemic generated problems in logistics activities, disrupting supply chains, including electronic products flows. In this context, based on the need to keep supply chains reliable in the face of the risks inherent in their processes, this work aims to identify the attributes for a robust supply chain and analyze the interrelationship among them using DEMATEL technique. As a result, it was observed that the agility factor, risk-oriented management, and flexibility are the most important factors, and that Information Technology and Human Resources are the most influential (causal factors) for the design of a robust supply chain in the context of electronic products.

Supply chain resilience in the tourism and hospitality industry: A comprehensive examination of driving and restraining forces

Supply chain disruptions and a lack of resilient supply chains have adverse impact on the global economy. Particularly, complex nature of the tourism and hospitality industry makes it even more susceptible to failure when supply chain resiliency is rather low or does not exist. However, despite its significance, a comprehensive and systematic examination of building resilience in tourism and hospitality supply chains (THSCs) is lacking in the extant literature. The purpose of this study is to develop a comprehensive framework that outlines the driving and restraining forces for building resilient THSCs. The decision framework proposed in this study integrates rough interval valued neutrosophic (RIVN) force field theory of change with RIVN-ISM-MICMAC methodology. The results showed that the restraining forces, such as lack of effective regulations and incentives and effective organizational and supply chain policies are the primary factors that constrain improving resilience in THSCs. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Blockchain implementation for food safety in supply chain: A review.

Food safety has emerged as the topmost priority in the current fast-paced food industry era. According to the World Health Organization, around 600 million people, approximately 1 in 10 individuals worldwide, experience illness due to contaminated food consumption, resulting in nearly 0.42 million fatalities annually. The recent development in software and hardware sectors has created opportunities to improve the safety concerns in the food supply chain. The objective of this review is to explain the fundamentals of blockchain and its integration into the supply chain of various food commodities to enhance food safety. This paper presents the analysis of 31 conceptual works, 10 implementation works, 39 case studies, and other investigations in blockchain-based food supply chain from a total of 80 published papers. In this paper, the significance of adapting conceptual ideas into practical applications for effectively tracing food commodities throughout the supply chain has been discussed. This paper also describes the transformative role of blockchain platforms in the food industry, providing a decentralized and transparent ledger to access real-time and immutable records of a product's journey. In addition, both the positive impacts and challenges associated with implementing blockchain technology in the food supply chain have been evaluated. In summary, the blockchain-based food supply chains offer greater transparency, traceability, and trust, ultimately resulting in higher standards of food safety and quality.

Fervo Showed Fractured Geothermal Works, Now Must Do It Bigger, Cheaper, and Soon

Earlier this year, one of the founders of Fervo Energy announced that the geothermal innovator had reached its “Mitchell moment.” Jack Norbeck, chief technology officer for Fervo, likened a test where it used a pair of fractured wells to create water hot enough to generate electricity to the time when Mitchell Energy adopted slickwater fracturing to economically extract large amounts of gas from the ultratight rock in the Barnett Formation. “We have derisked all those core challenges, we reached the Mitchell Energy moment for geothermal,” Norbeck said. By doing all that and supplying 3.5 MW of electricity to the local grid that powers Google facilities, he announced that the firm’s enhanced geothermal system (EGS), had reached the highest level of technical readiness. Now comes the hard part—proving that technical triumph can be turned into something really big. The Mitchell moment in 1997 is remembered because it led to a series of innovations that allowed hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling to add enough oil and gas production to move global markets. What has been learned about fracturing in the decades since allowed oil industry veterans at Fervo to effectively use those tools to do what others had failed to accomplish—create high-volume EGS capable of generating power. One big difference between the moments is that Houston-based Fervo’s next step looks like a leap compared to Mitchell’s. After Mitchell’s moment, no innovation was required to sell shale gas from the Barnett or find the oilfield services needed to develop and produce it. Plus, it could learn from the many other companies working in tight rock plays. Its moment was the culmination of years of innovations by oil and service companies who continued finding ways to build on that advance. The endless arguments over who can claim credit for the innovations behind the Mitchell moment are evidence of the size of that support network. Today, Fervo’s efforts are also supported by the oil industry’s service sector and supply chain. Oil company Devon Energy, drilling contractor Helmerich & Payne, and pressure-pumping specialist Liberty Energy are among its early backers. And Fervo is benefiting from the government-funded research and site-evaluation work at the Utah Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE) site, which is the key site for geothermal testing funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE). But unlike Mitchell, the path to commercial success will require Fervo and others to show they can create large operations to convert the heat they harvest into a cost-competitive commodity in a fast-changing, highly competitive industry. Sage Geosystems recently was added to the short list of geothermal startups with big projects, signing a deal with Meta to build a 150-MW plant somewhere east of the Rockies. Also high on the list is Eavor whose first commercial project will use its closed-loop heating technology for home heating and electric generation in Germany.

Water, water, everywhere and not a drop to drink: Responding to water disruptions in two coastal healthcare facilities

Having a consistent and readily available clean water supply is essential, not only for convenience but also to safeguard public health. While disruptions to the supply of clean water can impact communities of all kinds, some infrastructures and healthcare facilities are more vulnerable than others, such as those located in remote areas or within First Nations communities. This paper presents a case study of water disruption events within Sechelt and the First Nations community of Bella Bella, describing also the associated response efforts and lessons learned. Both events shared similar response activities, requiring the curtailing of normal water usage, the establishment of emergency operations centres, the sourcing of resources via supply chain or transportation partners, implementation of infection prevention and public health considerations, and collaboration with internal and external agencies. The learnings highlight a need for greater focus on building resiliency within healthcare facilities, especially those that serve remote or First Nations communities. The study also presents recommendations for water disruption response planning at the site and community level, and the establishment of non-centralised backup water systems.

Offshore Geotechnical Challenges of the Energy Transition

Offshore wind is the most mature of the offshore renewable energy technologies and has a significant role to play in the energy transition. 2000 GW of offshore wind capacity is anticipated globally by 2050 in order meet the targets of the Paris Agreement; 35 times the current installed capacity. The pace and scale of offshore wind ambitions to support the energy transition present a range of challenges for the offshore geotechnical sector and the broader offshore wind sector. Challenges extend across the life-cycle of projects from marine spatial planning, site investigation, design, manufacturing, installation, operation and decommissioning, and across the supply chain regarding availability of raw materials for foundations, anchors and mooring systems, vessels and equipment for site investigation and installation, and trained geotechnical personnel. This paper identifies five key challenges and sets out the necessary shifts in technology, culture and practice in geotechnical engineering to achieve the ambitious targets to deliver offshore wind at the pace and scale required for the energy transition. The paper closes with a reflection on the consequence of delaying or not meeting net-zero targets, and thus identifying the urgency for these shifts in technology, culture and practice to be developed and adopted.

Low-carbon strategy analysis in a construction supply chain considering government subsidies and contract design

This study establishes a low-carbon construction supply chain (CSC) composed of a developer and a contractor. The developer invests in low-carbon promotion (LCP) to give consumers more accurate information about the project's low-carbon aspects. The contractor invests in low-carbon construction technology (LCT) with the intention of reducing carbon emissions. This paper explores the investment strategies and cooperative behaviors of developers and contractors from the perspective of government subsidies and further studies the conditions that affect the successful implementation of cost-sharing contracts between the developer and contractor. This study considers four decision-making scenarios: decentralized decision-making without government subsidies, decentralized decision-making with government subsidies, unilateral cost-sharing contract (UCC) with government subsidies, and bilateral cost-sharing contract (BCC) with government subsidies. The findings indicate that: (1) The contractor's LCT investment has a better optimization effect on CSC than the developer's LCP investment. (2) When only government subsidies are implemented, subsidizing contractors is more conducive to the optimization of CSC. When UCC and BCC are further introduced, subsidizing developers becomes more beneficial. Moreover, excessively high subsidy standards are not conducive to the sustainable development of CSC. (3) UCC and BCC both hold the potential for Pareto improvements within CSC, with success contingent upon specific conditions, and BCC tends to achieve better optimization than UCC. (4) The marginal profits of developers and contractors primarily drive the effectiveness of contracts. CSC's sustainability is jeopardized by cost-sharing ratios that are either excessively high or too low. This study provides a robust theoretical foundation for promoting low-carbon cooperation among members of CSC and formulating government subsidy policies.

Battery recycling and coordination in information leakage prevention under blockchain technology in a new energy vehicles supply chain

Battery recycling and coordination in information leakage prevention under blockchain technology in a new energy vehicles supply chain

Technology Focus: Offshore Facilities (September 2024)

Offshore wind power involves generating electricity from wind farms located at sea. Because wind speeds are generally higher offshore than on land, these farms produce more electricity for the same amount of installed capacity. Both wind and solar energy are renewable and do not emit carbon, which helps reduce dependence on fossil fuels such as oil and gas. The papers synopsized in this year’s Offshore Facilities feature cover a breadth of related subjects that will be critical to the future of the industry. Automation in the offshore oil and gas industry makes production safer, faster, and more efficient. It reduces human error, improves quality control, and allows real-time monitoring of operations. Machine learning improves offshore industries by enhancing safety, efficiency, and sustainability It tracks and predicts environmental changes, such as oil spills or marine life patterns, aiding in better environmental management and response. Remotely operated vehicles are used in offshore operations to inspect, maintain, and repair underwater infrastructure; the offshore industry uses 3D video imaging technology to provide detailed real-time images of the underwater environment. Corrosion in offshore environments occurs because of factors such as seawater, sea salts, temperature, salinity, and moisture. It is crucial to monitor corrosion because it can lead to major structural failures. Hydrogen can be produced offshore using renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, which do not emit greenhouse gases and help combat climate change. Supply-chain logistics boost efficiency by cutting costs, removing unnecessary steps, and speeding up product delivery. An efficient supply chain can lead to higher revenue, lower operational costs, and better overall performance. Decommissioning is the final stage of an oil or gas project and involves significant technical, economic, social, and environmental challenges. It is a lengthy, costly, and complex process that must be carefully planned and managed to avoid serious problems. Several ideas have come to the surface that show innovative ways to repurpose a decommissioned platform or ways to cut the cost of decommissioning. Recommended additional reading at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org. SPE 217706 Dynamic Simulation of Riser-Gas Handling With a Fixed-Choke Constant Outflow by Zhaoguang Yuan, SLB, et al. OTC 35092 Reducing Carbon Footprint by Using Fiber-Reinforced Polymers in FPSOs by S. Eves, NOV, et al. OTC 35393 Challenges and Approaches to Solutions for Green Decommissioning and Recycling of Offshore Facilities by Carlos Alberto Machado, American Bureau of Shipping, et al.

Navigating barriers to reverse logistics adoption in circular economy: An integrated approach for sustainable development

Achievement of sustainability goals is an epic task for developing economies that still strive to fulfil their basic needs. The availability of limited resources in the developing world vis-à-vis the ever-increasing demand poses further challenges to developing economies willing to transition into circular economies. Reverse logistics (RL) can facilitate this transition towards a circular economy (CE) by maximising resource utilisation and minimising waste, contributing to sustainability goals. This paper contributes to emerging literature by analysing the development and comprehensive potential of reverse logistics as a sustainability tool. It explores the significant barriers to the adoption of reverse logistics towards a circular economy, considering long-term sustainability. In the first phase, thirteen barriers have been identified from the past academic literature. Three barriers with a defuzzification number less than the threshold limit are excluded, and the final ten barriers are then prioritised using the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method. The findings suggest that a lack of strategic plans for returns is crucial for RL adoption towards a circular economy, followed by a lack of visibility for recycling/reuse. Organisations can increase customer satisfaction, promote environmental sustainability, and gain a competitive edge in the market by creating a strategic plan for reverse logistics. Organisations may lower costs and contribute to a more sustainable and ecologically responsible supply chain by improving visibility across the reverse logistics process. The results serve as a framework for decision-making in RL towards sustainable development. Managers and policymakers can formulate more robust and realistic decisions that align with “maximising profits,” “saving the planet,” “social concerns,” and, most importantly, “consumer concerns” in the circular economy ecosystem. Several implications are derived, leading to increased competitiveness and resilient business strategies. The novelty of this work lies in the identification of barriers to reverse logistics adoption towards a circular economy using an integrated fuzzy Delphi-DEMATEL approach, considering long-term sustainability. This approach is studied for the first time in a developing economy context, proposing social economic, and environmental effects and actions to be taken by organisations for sustainable development.

Renewable Energy-Powered Water Desalination and Treatment Network under Wind Power and Water Demand Uncertainty: a possibilistic chance-constrained programming

Given the scarcity of freshwater resources, the growing significance of desalination is undeniable. It holds immense potential, particularly in regions grappling with severe water shortages. However, desalination's Achilles heel lies in its voracious energy appetite, requiring roughly ten times more energy than wastewater treatment. Moreover, the prevalent use of fossil fuels in desalination plants poses concerning issues like environmental pollution, fossil fuel depletion, and rising costs. The present study has designed an integrated Water desalination and treatment Network that includes a number of desalination facilities, storage centers, wind farms, and wastewater treatment facilities. The water desalination and treatment network has been structured using a Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model, considering uncertainties in wind power and water demand. Employing a chance constraint probabilistic programming approach, this model ensures robustness and balances conservatism with investment attractiveness. It aims to enhance resilience against fluctuations in wind energy and water demand within the water and energy supply chain network. The study applied this model to optimize the locations of desalination plants, treatment centers, and storage facilities. This integrated model ensures autonomy, eliminating the need for external water and energy sources while reliably meeting regional demands. In the context of the Makran coasts case study, our comprehensive mathematical model demonstrates an optimal allocation with 96.67% attributed to fixed costs and only 3.33% to variable costs. Moreover, this model precisely optimizes the locations of two desalination centers, two storage facilities, and ten water treatment centers, effectively managing the need for external water resources. Ultimately, through a rigorous sensitivity analysis, we unveiled that the chance constraint parameters have a significant impact on the variable costs.

Risk management and collaboration on firms’ sustainability for supply chain resilience

Risk management and collaboration on firms’ sustainability for supply chain resilience

NFTs for 3D Models: Sustaining Ownership in Industry 4.0

Digital manufacturing (DM) is actively adopted to the production lifecycles of a variety of critical industries, and this rapid growth has resulted in exponential increase of 3D computer-aided design (CAD) models. Unfortunately, counterfeiting of intellectual property becomes a prominent threat as many 3D designs are accessible online, combined with the proliferation of cheap consumer 3D printers that enable malicious actors to produce non-authentic parts. State-of-the-art techniques to secure manufacturing processes mostly rely on watermarking, which embeds hidden information inside CAD models to prove ownership and authenticity. Nevertheless, such techniques tamper with the model itself, while existing attacks allow removing such watermarks altogether. To address these shortcomings, we integrate signal processing and cryptographic techniques and describe a tailored solution for CAD model ownership and supply chain management. Our approach generates unique identifiers for 3D designs using frequency-domain transforms and employs non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that persist on public distributed ledgers. Our NFTs are implemented on the Ethereum blockchain using smart contracts and their functionality is twofold: (a) authenticate the owner of a CAD model, and (b) enable ownership transfer. To validate our technique, we deployed our smart contract on Ethereum's proof-of-work Ropsten network and demonstrated the applicability of our methodology.

Investigating the Ochratoxin Production Potential of Aspergillus spp in Indian Rice: A Comprehensive Study

Rice (Oryza sativa), world’s second most important cereal crop and most commonly consumed grains in the world. Though more than 100,000 species of fungi are known to exist, majority of mycotoxigenic fungi belong to the species of Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Fusarium. Among Aspergillus spp, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus ochraceus are known to produce Ochratoxin A (OTA), a notable mycotoxin having adverse effects due to ubiquitous presence, renal toxicity and lengthy persistence. Totally eighty-one samples including unpolished (n = 36) and polished rice samples (n = 45) were collected in various districts of Tamil Nadu to identify ochratoxigenic fungi particularly Aspergillus spp. Out of 81 samples, 62 % (50/81) of samples including unpolished (n = 24) and polished rice (n = 26) documented the occurrence of ochratoxigenic fungi. Extraction of OTA was carried out by agar plug method and the ability of fungus to produce OTA was quantified by RP HPLC-FLD analysis. Among the fungal genera, Aspergillus spp (80 %) recorded the predominant fungus in rice. Molecular confirmation of ochratoxigenic fungi A. niger and A. ochraceus isolates was performed by 18s rDNA analysis. OTA producing ability by RP HPLC-FLD analysis revealed A. ochraceus of section Circumdati recorded the highest OTA production than A. niger isolates of section Nigri. The concentration range of OTA by A. ochraceus vary between 12.33 - 196.84 ng/g and 0.18 - 2.82 ng/g respectively in A. niger isolates. Among the A. ochraceus isolates, potent isolate AO 9 documented the highest OTA production (196.84 ng/g) followed by AO 6 (104.74 ng/g). Similarly, in A. niger AN 1 showed highest production of 2.82 ng/g followed by AN 5 isolate (1.25 ng/g) respectively. The objective of the study is to determine and quantify the ochratoxin production potential of Aspergillus spp in Indian rice by RP HPLC-FLD analysis. The occurrence of Aspergillus spp in rice and the subsequent ochratoxin production raise concern about possible health risk to animal and human environment upon consumption. Hence there is need for improved storage practices and regular monitoring to prevent the prevalence of Aspergillus fungus and OTA contamination in rice supply chain.

Neighboring capital imports and non-importer productivity: Evidence from geocoded manufacturing firms in China

This article examines the spillover effects of neighboring firms’ imports on the productivity of non-importers. By analyzing geocoded manufacturing firms in China, we find that capital goods imports by neighboring firms within 10 km positively impact non-importer productivity; intermediate goods imports show no clear spillover. These results hold when using imports from distant firms as instruments. Spillovers from capital imports mainly come from neighbors in upstream and downstream industries, which indicate potential supply chain effects. Learning effects from neighboring imported products are not significant. Quantitatively, neighboring capital imports raised non-importers’ average productivity by 0.99% from 2000 to 2006, surpassing gains from their own R&D participation by more than sixfold. Overall, our findings demonstrate substantial societal benefits of capital imports for non-importers connected spatially.

Unveiling the emerging trends of egg components-based biodegradable food packaging development: A comprehensive review.

Food packaging plays a crucial role in the food supply chain by aiding in food preservation and reducing food losses throughout the distribution process. The extensive, unregulated utilization, and waste mismanagement of food packaging materials made up of conventional petroleum-based plastics has led to a significant environmental crisis. Egg components-based food packaging has attracted considerable attention from the global packaging industry as a viable alternative to synthetic polymers due to its biodegradability, sustainability, and health-related benefits. This comprehensive review explores the composition and properties of egg components (eggshell, eggshell membrane, egg white, and egg yolk), and recent advancements in biodegradable packaging films derived from them. Additionally, it introduces the characteristics of these films and their applications in food, highlighting their biodegradability, sustainability, and suitable mechanical, barrier, thermal, optical, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties as substitutes for traditional synthetic polymers. The utilization of various egg components in the packaging industry is a safe, non-toxic, cost-effective, and economical approach. However, it was found that incorporating active compounds from natural sources into packaging films, as well as composite films composed of egg components combined with other biopolymers, resulted in superior properties, compared to single component films. Moreover, the application of novel technologies in film development has proven to be more effective than conventional methods. These innovative egg components-based packaging films can be optimized and commercialized for use as packaging materials for food products.

Potential challenges of collaborative robot implementation in Vietnamese garment manufacturing

Collaborative robots (cobots) are a new significant technology in the integration of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) and Industry 5.0 (I5.0). Working alongside humans in open environments, cobots can boost safety and productivity. However, manufacturers are facing some potential challenges in adopting cobots, such as technological challenges, social problems, cost barriers, and labor issues. Vietnam has a great potential for outsourcing in the top supply chains for many famous fashion brands globally, with thousands of textile and garment factories. The purpose of this study was to explore potential challenges of cobot implementations in the context of Vietnam’s garment factories from factory employees’ perspectives. Data were collected from 29 garment factory managers in Vietnam. Findings revealed a rapid change in fashion trends and many unskilled workers may limit cobots’ flexibility, precision, and innovation. Furthermore, cobot implementation is affected by the cost of cobots, infrastructure upgrades, and risks of possible failure in deployment. Cobot firms, application partners, technology programmers, and manufacturers need to discuss how to maximize cobots’ benefits in diverse aspects of the garment manufacturing setting. These insights could boost the industry’s economy and sustainability.