Commodity Supply Chain Research Articles

Assessing the feasibility of establishing a centre of excellence in health logistics in the East African Community

Background The East African Community (EAC) seeks to address challenges of vaccine and other commodities supply chain management by addressing weaknesses in human resource capacity. To achieve this EAC seeks to establish a Center of Excellence (CoE) with the objective of professionalizing health and immunization and related commodity logistics management in the region. The proposed framework for the CoE will be modelled according to the existing LOGIVAC reference center for health logistics for West African countries, in Benin. To advance this work AMP provided technical assistance to EAC to conduct a feasibility assessment.

Analysis and findings from the Zimbabwe supply chain human resource assessment

Background Although progress has been made in growing Zimbabwe’s public sector health commodity supply chain, human resource challenges remain. To understand and address these challenges, the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare (MOHCW) Directorate of Pharmacy Services (DPS), with support from the USAID|DELIVER Project, conducted a human resources (HR) capacity assessment in March 2012 that: documented the state of supply chain HR capacity, identified opportunities to build HR capacity, documented professionalization efforts of supply chain personnel.

Uncertainties in Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Advanced Biomass Feedstock Logistics Supply Chains in Kansas

To meet Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) cellulosic biofuel mandates, the United States will require an annual domestic supply of about 242 million Mg of biomass by 2022. To improve the feedstock logistics of lignocellulosic biofuels in order to access available biomass resources from areas with varying yields, commodity systems have been proposed and designed to deliver quality-controlled biomass feedstocks at preprocessing “depots”. Preprocessing depots densify and stabilize the biomass prior to long-distance transport and delivery to centralized biorefineries. The logistics of biomass commodity supply chains could introduce spatially variable environmental impacts into the biofuel life cycle due to needing to harvest, move, and preprocess biomass from multiple distances that have variable spatial density. This study examines the uncertainty in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of corn stover logistics within a bio-ethanol supply chain in the state of Kansas, where sustainable biomass supply varies spatially. Two scenarios were evaluated each having a different number of depots of varying capacity and location within Kansas relative to a central commodity-receiving biorefinery to test GHG emissions uncertainty. The first scenario sited four preprocessing depots evenly across the state of Kansas but within the vicinity of counties having high biomass supply density. The second scenario located five depots based on the shortest depot-to-biorefinery rail distance and biomass availability. The logistics supply chain consists of corn stover harvest, collection and storage, feedstock transport from field to biomass preprocessing depot, preprocessing depot operations, and commodity transport from the biomass preprocessing depot to the biorefinery. Monte Carlo simulation was used to estimate the spatial uncertainty in the feedstock logistics gate-to-gate sequence. Within the logistics supply chain GHG emissions are most sensitive to the transport of the densified biomass, which introduces the highest variability (0.2–13 g CO2e/MJ) to life cycle GHG emissions. Moreover, depending upon the biomass availability and its spatial density and surrounding transportation infrastructure (road and rail), logistics can increase the variability in life cycle environmental impacts for lignocellulosic biofuels. Within Kansas, life cycle GHG emissions could range from 24 g CO2e/MJ to 41 g CO2e/MJ depending upon the location, size and number of preprocessing depots constructed. However, this range can be minimized through optimizing the siting of preprocessing depots where ample rail infrastructure exists to supply biomass commodity to a regional biorefinery supply system.

Using performance-based financing (PBF) to motivate health commodity supply chain improvement at a central medical store in Mozambique

Background The predominant model of public health commodity supply chains in developing countries is one dominated by a central medical store (CMS). In this model, the CMS plays the pivotal role of procurement, storage and warehousing of all health commodities before they are distributed to the next level in the supply chain. Challenges with technical and organization capacity at the CMS level has led to longstanding difficulties in creating sustainable performance improvements in several countries. In Mozambique, the central medical store (Central de Medicamentos e Artigos Medicos-CMAM) receives significant US government support (through USAID) for both health commodities and technical assistance. We tested the effectiveness of a PBF scheme between CMAM and USAID, to improve the functioning of the CMS in Mozambique.

Exploring agency, knowledge and power in an Australian bulk cereal supply chain

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how information sharing practices influenced inter-firm relationships. This was done specifically in relation to bulk commodity supply chains, due to the pre-existing power asymmetries in the system. Design/methodology/approach – This research was conducted using an interpretivist, inductive approach. The intention was to gather a wide range of data and then explore the data to see which themes emerged, rather than focusing on collecting data relevant only to specific themes. Findings – The key findings of this research focused around the difference between creating situations of compliance or collaboration in a supply chain context. This suggests that by understanding the relationships that exist between organisations, those in procurement and supply chain management roles will be able to better understand and manage the nuances of their supplier relationships. Research limitations/implications – The study is focused on a supply network specifically configured to facilitate sourcing and distribution of bulk grain. As such the findings need to be understood within the constraints of this context. Practical implications – Reliance on coercive power in an institutional change process is shown in our study to create a situation of compliance rather than of collaboration. Reliance on a different type of power, such as referent power, would be more successful in creating a situation of collaboration. Social implications – The sourcing and distribution of bulk grain is fundamental to food distribution in a developed economy. Our study provides a set of propositions indicating where managers can focus to more effectively manage these flows. Originality/value – The definition of the “agent” also provided an interesting point of comparison. This research found that the ultimate definition of the “agent” changes and can be linked to the institutional differences in ownership within a supply chain. This suggests the potential to redefine the way that Agency theory is discussed. The notion that the “agent” is dynamic and is likely to be the “agent”, “caretaker” and more at the same time suggests the potential for the traditional definition of the agent to be challenged.

Changes in the carbon footprint of Japanese households in an aging society.

As the aging and low birthrate trends continue in Japan, and as changes in the working population and consumption patterns occur, new factors are expected to have an impact on consumption-based greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We present the impacts of changes in the composition of Japanese households on GHG emission structures using current (2005) consumption-based accounting on the commodity sectors that are expected to require priority efforts for reducing emissions in 2035. This is done using the Global Link Input-Output model (GLIO) and domestic household consumption data and assuming that recent detailed consumption expenditures based on the Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) will continue into the future. The results show that consumption-based GHG emissions derived from Japanese household consumption in 2035 are estimated to be 1061 Mt-CO2eq (4.2% lower than in 2005). This study can be used to reveal more information and as a resource in developing policies to more meticulously and efficiently reduce emissions based on emission and import rates for each domestic and overseas commodity supply chain.

Assessing Transaction Cost to Describe Scope of the Firm in Emerging Farm Supply Chain in India: The Case of ITC E-Chaupal

This paper aims to describe the implication for transaction costs for agricultural marketing channel structure and outline a model of vertical coordination in agriculture. Considering new ways of assessing the true cost of conducting business is an important step towards improving system and reducing such costs. This is the question of appropriate scope of the corporation. The corporation should leverage its resources into every business in which it can create value. 262 The paper is based on recent work done by the author for the Indian agribusiness supply chain (Rakesh 2004). The rationale for undertaking work of this sort stems from two main objectives. First is a general dissatisfaction with the way economist have approached their study of vertical coordination in the broader framework of political economy (Sukhpal 2000) and others. The second perspective from which this work has emerged is the belief that a sensible coordination of the theories from the institutional economics, supply chain management and relationship marketing can be applied fruitfully to the study of agri food and agri commodity supply chains. When the emphasis within most agricultural system and most predominantly Indian agriculture is changing from policy dependence to more market orientation and when technological and structural changes suggest a need for a more analytical and dynamic approach. The objective of this paper is to illustrate the possibility of using a series of studies from Institutional economics as a basis of detailed diagnostic investigation of individual relationship within agricultural supply chain systems and to explore the implications for vertical coordination and integration. This study is a need to bridge the gap in the study of agricultural supply chains by concentrating on relationship between contractual organizational forms and their strategic viability. We will thus explore the scope of corporation in a strategic context. The rest of the paper concentrates closely on the nature of such contractual forms. It starts by considering recent antecedent research from the institutional economics and then discusses approaches to evaluate vertical coordination before applying one approach to the assessment of ITC e-choupal sourcing and rural retailing system. It studies the E-Chaupal experiment from transaction costs perspective and studies its scope within the context of the nature of it‘ corporate strategy.

Critical Systems of Learning and Innovation Competence for Addressing Complexity in Transformations to Agricultural Sustainability

Technological innovation is necessary but not sufficient to achieve food security. This article uses interlinked social, ecological and technical systems theory to investigate why agricultural biodiversity-rich developing countries fail to utilize “agroecological competence,” particularly natural resource-based competitive advantage, to achieve food security despite substantial investments in “technological competence” development. Empirical study involves a critical examination of two food security strategies: improving subsistence agriculture to contribute to Nepal's national food security strategies, and promoting high value agriculture integrating Indian farmers into global commodity supply chains. Findings from these countries at very different stages of economic agricultural development suggest that low and middle-income countries, irrespective of their economic growth, cannot succeed unless technological competences are complemented by critical systems of “learning competence.”

Added-Value Utility Formulation in Palm Oil Supply Chain Based on Risk, Investment and Technology

In palm oil supply chain (POSC) the operational risk, investment and technology levels between the actors may not be proportionately rewarded by the same levels of added value. Each actor will attempt to obtain the highest reward. However, each actor must consider the level of added-value obtained by other actors so as to maintain the fair balance in the overall supply chain profitability. Otherwise any of the least profitable actor will withdraw itself from the supply chain and the supply chain will collapse. In this study the authors proposed a formula to calculate the utility function based added-value for each of the actors in the POSC. The utility function is a formula based on the risk, investment and technology levels of each of the POSC actors. Permutation of the three factors was used while seeking their combination that give the highest utility function added-value. To optimize the added-value distribution between the agents the concept of stakeholder dialogue was used. This research is important because the developed models offer a workable algorithm to seek optimum weight level of underlying factors while calculating utility added-value that satisfy the POSC as a whole. Agent-based modeling approach was used for this purpose to facilitate the negotiation between all actors to reach the balanced added-values. Netlogo software was used in developing the models. The proposed utility function model provided the means to find the weight values, while the optimization model proved to be practical to calculate the expected negotiated prices between all the actors. Application of the models to other types of commodity and different supply chain model will need some adjustments in the calculation.

Globalization as the ‘Pulping’ of Landscapes: Forestry Capitalism's North–South Territorial Accumulation

The article presents the findings of a long-term incorporated comparison of forestry capitalism's globalization process. Primary data was collected by participant observation in pulp investment areas in Brazil between 2004 and 2011 and semi-structured interviews with key industry personnel, particularly in Finland. It is argued that the key cyclic change in industrial forestry from innovation–capitalization to material–territorial accumulation explains why and how the industry has globalized to the south via industrial tree plantations. The interlinked northern (Finnish) and southern (Brazilian) cases reveal that industry trajectories are influenced by who controls the supply chains of commodities. The findings are relevant for theorizing about the globalization of natural resource exploitation sectors. Changes in agrarian political economies and agency of state, business, and social movement actors—that is, socio-ecological relations and landscapes—help to explain how and why national and global capitalism and its developmental–environmental impacts are transformed.Este artículo presenta las conclusiones de una comparación incorporada a largo plazo sobre el proceso de la globalización de la silvicultura capitalista. Los datos primarios fueron recopilados mediante la observación participante en áreas de inversión de celulosa en el Brasil entre el 2004 y 2011 y entrevistas semiestructuradas con el personal clave de la industria, particularmente en Finlandia. Se sostiene que el cambio cíclico clave en la silvicultura industrial desde la innovación–capitalización a lo material–acumulación territorial, explica el porqué y cómo la industria se ha globalizado hacia el sur vía plantaciones de árboles industriales. La interconexión entre los casos del norte (finlandeses) y del sur (brasileño), revelan que las trayectorias de la industria están influenciadas por quien controla las cadenas de suministro de productos básicos. Las conclusiones son pertinentes para teorizar sobre la globalización de los sectores de explotación de los recursos naturales. Cambios en las economías políticas agrarias y los actores de las agencias de estado, negocios y movimientos sociales—es decir, relaciones y paisajes socioecológicos—ayudan a explicar cómo y por qué el capitalismo nacional y global y sus desarrollos—impactos medioambientales, están transformados.本文演示对森林资本主义的全球化过程的公司化比较研究的一些发现。在2004至2011期间在巴西的纸浆投资领域的原始数据通过研究人员的观察收集，并且，对相关工业界人士，尤其是在芬兰，进行半结构性的采访。在森林工业的从创新-资本化到物质的-领土的积累关键的周期变化解释了这一产业通过产业化的种植园为什么和如何在南方实现了全球化。南（巴西）北（芬兰）相互联系机制的案例说明，工业的发展趋势受制于谁控制商品的供应链。此项发现与关于自然资源开采部门的全球化的理论是相关的。在土地开发的政治经济的变化，以及国家机构、商业和社会运动的行动者——也就是社会-生态关系和风景——帮助解释了国家和全球资本主义以及其发展-环境影响如何与为什么受到转型的。تعرض هذه المقالة للنتائج التي تمخضت عن مقارنات على المدى الطويل لعملية عولمة النشاط الرأسمالي في مجال الغابات. وقد جُمعت البيانات الأولية من خلال الملاحظة المباشرة لمناطق الاستثمار في صناعة الورق من لب الشجر في البرازيل خلال الفترة من عام 2004 إلى عام 2011، وكذلك من خلال مقابلات مفتوحة شبه منظمة مع شخصيات أساسية في هذه الصناعة، وخاصة في فنلندا. وترى المقالة أن التغيِّر الدوري الأساسي للصناعة المرتبطة بالغابات من الابتكار والاستثمار الرأسمالي إلى تراكم المواد والأراضي يوضح كيف ولماذا انتقلت هذه الصناعة بشكل معولم إلى الجنوب من خلال عمليات زراعة الأشجار لأغراض صناعية. وتبين حالات الترابط المتبادل بين الشمال (فنلندا) والجنوب (البرازيل) أن مسارات تلك الصناعة تتأثر بالقوى التي تسيطر على سلاسل الإمداد بالسلع الأساسية. وتكتسب هذه النتائج أهميةً في استخلاص مفاهيم نظرية بشأن عولمة قطاعات استغلال الموارد الطبيعية. ومن شأن التغيرات في الاقتصاديات السياسية الزراعية ودور الدولة والشركات والحركات الاجتماعية-أي على مستوى العلاقات والملامح الاجتماعية البيئة- أن توضح طابع وسبب التحولات في الرأسمالية على المستوى القومي والعالمي وآثارها على البيئة وعلى عملية التطور.이 논문은 삼림 자본주의의 지구화 과정에 대한 장기적인 비교를 통한 발견을 보여준다. 1차적인 자료는 2004년부터 2011년 사이 브라질 펄프투자 지역에서 이루어진 참여관찰과 특히 핀란드의 핵심 산업계 인물들과의 반구조화된 인터뷰에 의해서 수집되었다. 혁신-자본화부터 물질적 영토적 축적까지 산업적 산림업에서 일어나는 핵심적인 주기적 변화가 왜 그리고 어떻게 산림업이 산업적 나무 플란테이션을 통해서 남반부를 세계화시켰는지를 설명한다. 북반구(핀란드)와 남반구(브라질)의 연계 사례는 산업 궤적이 상품의 공급 연쇄를 통제하는 자에 의해서 영향을 받는다는 것을 보여준다. 이러한 발견은 자연 자원의 착취가 이루어지는 산업 부문의 세계화를 이론화하는데 적합하다. 농업적 정치경제, 국가 기관, 기업과 사회운동 행위자들에서의 변화 즉 사회생태적 관계와 풍광의 변화는 국가적 그리고 지구적 자본주의와 그것의 발전적-환경적 영향이 어떻게 그리고 왜 변하는지를 설명하는데 도움을 준다.В статье представлены результаты долгосрочного объединенного сравнения процесса глобализации капитализма лесоводства. Первичные данные были собраны путем включенного наблюдения за целлюлозно - инвестиционным направлением в Бразилии с 2004 по 2011 год и частично структурированных интервью с ключевыми сотрудниками промышленности, в частности в Финляндии. Утверждается, что ключевое циклическое изменение в индустриальном лесоводстве от капитализации инноваций до материально-территориального накопления объясняет, почему и как промышленность глобализировалась на юг через индустриальные плантации деревьев. Взаимосвязанные северный (финский) и южный (бразильский) случаи показывают, что промышленные траектории находятся под влиянием того, кто управляет каналами поставок товаров потребления. Выводы важны для теоретического осмысления глобализации сектора эксплуатации природных ресурсов. Изменения в аграрной экономике и государственных органах, бизнесе и субъектах общественных движений, то есть в социально-экологических отношениях и ландшафтах, помогают объяснить, как и почему национальный и глобальный капитализм и связанные с их развитием последствия будут преобразованы.

Research on Fresh Agricultural Product Based on the Retailer's Overconfidence under Options and Spot Markets

In this article, we analyze the application of options contract in the special commodity supply chain such as fresh agricultural products. This problem is discussed from the point of the retailer. When spot market and future market are both available, we discuss how the retailer chooses the optimal production. Furthermore, overconfidence is introduced to the supply chain of the fresh agricultural products, which has not happened before. Then based on the overconfidence of the retailer, we explore how overconfidence affects the supply chain system under different circumstances. At last, we get the conclusion that different overconfidence level has different affection on retailer’s optimal ordering quantity and profit.

Enhancing the sustainability of commodity supply chains in tropical forest and agricultural landscapes

The rapid expansion of the production of agricultural commodities such as beef, cocoa, palm oil, rubber and soybean is associated with high rates of deforestation in tropical forest landscapes. Many state, civil society and market sector actors are engaged in developing and implementing innovative interventions that aim to enhance the sustainability of commodity supply chains by affecting where and how agricultural production occurs, particularly in relation to forests. These interventions – in the form of novel or moderated institutions and policies, incentives, or information and technology – can influence producers directly or achieve their impacts indirectly by influencing consumer, retailer and processor decisions. However, the evidence base for assessing the impacts of these interventions in reducing the negative impacts of commodity agriculture production in tropical forest landscapes remains limited, and there has been little comparative analysis across commodities, cases, and countries. Further, there is little consensus of the governance mechanisms and institutional arrangements that best support such interventions. We develop a framework for analyzing commodity supply chain interventions by different actors across multiple contexts. The framework can be used to comparatively analyze interventions and their impacts on commodity production with respect to the spatial and temporal scales over which they operate, the groups of supply chain actors they affect, and the combinations of mechanisms upon which they depend. We find that the roles of actors in influencing agricultural production depends on their position and influence within the supply chain; that complementary institutions, incentives and information are often combined; and that multi-stakeholder collaborations between different groups of actors are common. We discuss how the framework can be used to characterize different interventions using a common language and structure, to aid planning and analysis of interventions, and to facilitate the evaluation of interventions with respect to their structure and outcomes. Studying the collective experience of multiple interventions across commodities and spatial contexts is necessary to generate more systematic understandings of the impacts of commodity supply chain interventions in forest-agriculture landscapes.

REENGAGING WITH CUSTOMERS: PROXIMITY IS ESSENTIAL BUT NOT ENOUGH

The growing distrust of consumers in the safety of food is widely documented in both developed and transitional economies. This is related to the growing intensification and industrialisation of food production and processing, as well as the growing distance between food production and food consumption sites. Farmers commonly complain about the increasing marketing power of modern distribution, which often imposes unfavourable terms of exchange and discourages efforts to implement quality assurance systems. In the literature, proximity between producers and consumers be it geographical or relational is said to be advantageous in many respects. Geographical proximity is economically more efficient in perishable commodity supply chains compared to more distant supply areas. Regular interaction between producers and consumers and between buyers and sellers promotes trust, the sharing of information, joint investment and risk-taking, with a sense of responsibility on both sides. An alternative to proximity is standardisation and certification, but these processes generate costs that are difficult for smallholder farmers to bear. On the other hand, the literature is increasingly challenging the so-called superiority of proximity over distance as regards food chain sustainability. When distant supply areas are characterised by specialisation and large-scale production, this may result in economies of scale and lower costs in terms of production and transport. Trust cannot circumvent all risks of moral hazard. Regular interaction combined with some form of control and certification is desirable, even if based only on some minimal process of documentation. It is better to promote complementarities between personal trust and standards, and between short and long chains, rather than to consider them as opposites. (Resume d'auteur)

Mobile-based Verification in Anti-counterfeit Commodity Supply Chain Management Systems

This article describes a proposed system that integrates a mobile-based solution to fight counterfeit products and uses the supply chain system to illustrate the solution. The system, referred to as the anti-counterfeit commodity supply chain management system, provides a network which tracks movement of genuine products and allows the end user to authenticate their genuineness through a reward system. All the dealers in a particular line of products are networked from the manufacturer to the retailer. Upon purchase of a product from a networked retail outlet, the customer is issued with a receipt which bears a unique number that he will feed into his mobile phone system. This will prompt a response regarding the authenticity of both the retail outlet and the product either through an affirmative response or by discount rewarding using mobile money transfer. The redeeming of the discount serves both as a motivation to product verification while at the same time fetching the allowed discount. This will tremendously boost confidence in both the product quality and the dealers. It will go a long way in shutting out unscrupulous dealers bent on mere profiteering. The system is most suitable in regulated products like drugs in the pharmaceutical industry and petroleum products in the energy industry. This article describes how the proposed anti-counterfeit commodity supply chain management system would work and outlines its benefits. It also discusses how such a system can be funded, provides some challenges and gives some conclusions.

Trust and communication in European agri‐food chains

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess and explain the trust situation in EU agri‐food supply chains in the context of the assumption that the existence of well‐functioning trust‐based supplier‐buyer relationships enables a secure and safe food supply.Design/methodology/approach – Using structural equation modelling (SEM) and survey data (n=1,430) on supplier‐buyer relationships from six different countries, two commodity supply chains (meat and cereals) and two supply chain stages (farmer‐processor and processor‐retailer), main trust determinants are identified and discussed. By simultaneously covering two supply chain stages the analysis adopts a perspective beyond the dyad.Findings – The SEM results indicate that trust in supply chain partners can be significantly improved by effective communication and by positive past collaboration. The existence of personal bonds (ties) between partners does not seem to play a direct role in the retailer‐processor relationship but is important when dealing...

Framework for Understanding Fair Trade Disintermediation

Our research seeks to answer the question of how a conventional commodity supply chain can be transformed into a disintermediated commodity supply chain in the context of the fair trade (FT) movement. We present a normative framework for conceptualizing the disintermediation process, exploring the variables bearing on this process using the case of FT coffee to illustrate our insights. We highlight the motivational sources driving FT, suggesting that it is increasingly to the advantage of multinational enterprises to leverage their market power to circumvent intermediaries in the supply chain and, in so doing, shift a greater share of income and wealth to producing communities. A research agenda centered on building an FT supply-chain disintermediation index is proposed.

Integrated strategic and tactical planning in a supply chain network design with a heuristic solution method

In the current competitive business world, viable companies are those that have flexible strategies and long-term plans, by which they can appropriately respond to a dynamic environment. These strategies are used to find the optimum allocation of company income to the main sources of development, for the expansion of company activities and for service expansions.This paper presents a new mathematical model for multiple echelon, multiple commodity Supply Chain Network Design (SCND) and considers different time resolutions for tactical and strategic decisions. Expansions of the supply chain in the proposed model are planned according to cumulative net profits and fund supplied by external sources. Furthermore, some features, such as the minimum and maximum utilisation rates of facilities, public warehouses and potential sites for the establishment of private warehouses, are considered. To solve the model, an approach based on a Lagrangian Relaxation (LR) method has been developed, and some numerical analyses have been conducted to evaluate the performance of the designed approach.

Beyond the supply chains of technology and commodity

Purpose – Despite favourable agro-ecological conditions and being the largest international mango producer, India still struggles to build competence in sustainable mango production and post-harvest. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the literature on innovation capacity development, and to explore aspects of innovation systems ideas in the analysis of mango production and marketing by small-scale farmers in the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses case study research methods to an analysis of the sector ' s recent history combined with an empirical account of systems thinking on integrating technology supply chains and commodity supply chains. Findings – Findings suggest that the case of mango production and post-harvest in the Krishna district is a dismal one and the remedial actions to strengthen mango innovation systems in the district relate to aspects of capacity development to promote upward spiral of learning and innovation, and involve mu...

Early experiences on the feasibility, acceptability, and use of malaria rapid diagnostic tests at peripheral health centres in Uganda-insights into some barriers and facilitators

BackgroundWhile feasibility of new health technologies in well-resourced healthcare settings is extensively documented, it is largely unknown in low-resourced settings. Uganda's decision to deploy and scale up malaria rapid diagnostic tests (mRDTs) in public health facilities and at the community level provides a useful entry point for documenting field experience, acceptance, and predictive variables for technology acceptance and use. These findings are important in informing implementation of new health technologies, plans, and budgets in low-resourced national disease control programmes.MethodsA cross-sectional qualitative descriptive study at 21 health centres in Uganda was undertaken in 2007 to elucidate the barriers and facilitators in the introduction of mRDTs as a new diagnostic technology at lower-level health facilities. Pre-tested interview questionnaires were administered through pre-structured patient exit interviews and semi-structured health worker interviews to gain an understanding of the response to this implementation. A conceptual framework on technology acceptance and use was adapted for this study and used to prepare the questionnaires. Thematic analysis was used to generate themes from the data.ResultsA total of 52 of 57 health workers (92%) reported a belief that a positive mRDT result was true, although only 41 of 57 (64%) believed that treatment with anti-malarials was justified for every positive mRDT case. Of the same health workers, only 49% believed that a negative mRDT result was truly negative. Factors linked to these findings were related to mRDT acceptance and use, including the design and characteristics of the device, availability and quality of mRDT ancillary supplies, health worker capacity to investigate febrile cases testing negative with the device and provide appropriate treatment, availability of effective malaria treatments, reliability of the health commodity supply chain, existing national policy recommendations, individual health worker dynamism, and vitality of supervision.ConclusionsmRDTs were found to be acceptable to and used by the target users, provided clear policy guidelines exist, ancillary tools are easy to use and health supplies beyond the diagnostic tools are met. Based on our results, health workers' needs for comprehensive case management should be met, and specific guidance for managing febrile patients with negative test outcomes should be provided alongside the new health technology. The extent, to which the implementation process of mRDT-led, parasite-based diagnosis accommodates end user beliefs, attitudes, perceptions, and satisfaction, as well as technology learnability and suitability, influences the level of acceptance and use of mRDTs. The effectiveness of the health system in providing the enabling environment and the integration of the diagnostic tool into routine service delivery is critical.

An Integrated Framework for Commodity Supply Chain in Higher Educational Institutes (HEIs)

Collaborative commerce ensures adding value at every intermediate stage in the supply chain and now-a-days, it is recognized as a powerful source of competitive advantage. This concept of adding value can be applied to the educational scenario with higher educational institution's (HEIs) procuring multi-commodities. Rationale for the study has been to eliminate legacy procurement system and implement industry models in HEIs based on value and importance of multiple commodities. An attempt has been made to model commodity supply chain, which will add value to HEIs.. The approach to the study has been carried out using product categorization matrix, which helped to segregate the commodities as general, bulk purchase, critical and strategic commodities. Mathematical modeling of these items has been formulated using the economies of scale for general and bulk purchase category, uncertainty for critical category and product availability for strategic category. Frameworks for different category commodities have been constructed using spreadsheets. Lastly, assimilation of the proposed model has been validated by using MSRSAS data. Results showed significant savings in supply chain cost. Critical items have been evaluated in terms of cycle service level and fill rate. Finally, based on the demand pattern, suitable inventory levels for multi-commodities have been suggested.