Supply Chain In Terms Research Articles

Set up a supply chain observatory through the comparison of multi-criteria parsimonious methods

PurposeThis study presents the development of a supply chain (SC) observatory, which is a benchmarking solution to support companies within the same industry in understanding their positioning in terms of SC performance.Design/methodology/approachA case study is used to demonstrate the set-up of the observatory. Twelve experts on automatic equipment for the wrapping and packaging industry were asked to select a set of performance criteria taken from the literature and evaluate their importance for the chosen industry using multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques. To handle the high number of criteria without requiring a high amount of time-consuming effort from decision-makers (DMs), five subjective, parsimonious methods for criteria weighting are applied and compared.FindingsA benchmarking methodology is presented and discussed, aimed at DMs in the considered industry. Ten companies were ranked with regard to SC performance. The ranking solution of the companies was on average robust since the general structure of the ranking was very similar for all five weighting methodologies, though simplified-analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was the method with the greatest ability to discriminate between the criteria of importance and was considered faster to carry out and more quickly understood by the decision-makers.Originality/valueDeveloping an SC observatory usually requires managing a large number of alternatives and criteria. The developed methodology uses parsimonious weighting methods, providing DMs with an easy-to-use and time-saving tool. A future research step will be to complete the methodology by defining the minimum variation required for one or more criteria to reach a specific position in the ranking through the implementation of a post-fact analysis.

Assessment of coal supply chain under carbon trade policy by extended exergy accounting method.

Within an uncertain environment and following carbon trade policies, this study uses the Extended Exergy Accounting (EEA) method for coal supply chains (SCs) in eight of the world's most significant coal consuming countries. The purpose is to improve the sustainability of coal SCs in terms of Joules rather than money while considering economic, environmental, and social aspects. This model is a multi-product economic production quantity (EPQ) with a single-vendor multi-buyer with shortage as a backorder. Within the SC, there are some real constraints, such as inventory turnover ratio, waste disposal to the environment, carbon dioxide emissions, and available budgets for customers. For optimization purposes, three recent metaheuristic algorithms, including Ant Lion Optimizer, Lion Optimization Algorithm, and Whale Optimization Algorithm, are suggested to determine a near-optimum solution to an "exergy fuzzy nonlinear integer-programming (EFNIP)." Moreover, an exact method (GAMS) is employed to validate the results of the suggested algorithms. Additionally, sensitivity analyses with different percentages of exergy parameters, such as capital, labor, and environmental remediation, are done to gain a deeper understanding of sustainability improvement in coal SCs. The results showed that sustainable coal SC in the USA has the lowest fuzzy total exergy, while Poland and China have the highest.

Ambidexterity in Indonesian SMEs: A systematic review and synthesis for future research

The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic has caused problems for Indonesian SMEs, in terms of supply chain and changes in their markets’ demand. SMEs cannot survive only by exploiting their existing businesses, but also by trying to explore new opportunities and ways of doing business. SMEs will have better performance if they can balance exploration and exploitation, hereinafter referred to as ambidexterity. Demand for ambidexterity is difficult because SMEs usually have limited resources and capabilities. Based on the literature review, the resource-based view (RBV) is the most frequently used perspective to discuss ambidexterity. This shows that the SMEs only focus on their internal resources so they experience a lack of resources. Based on this gap, the resource dependence theory (RDT) and social network theory are integrated with the RBV to broaden the discussion of ambidexterity in SMEs, to solve their resource-related problems.

Artisanal and Small‐Scale Mining and the Sustainable Development Goals: Why Nobody Cares

This paper reflects broadly on how artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) can contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is argued that overall, the sector will not contribute in any meaningful way towards the SDGs by 2030. Moreover, it is also maintained that ASM will not contribute towards sustainable development more widely in the future. This is because nobody really cares enough about the sector for a number of reasons which the paper outlines. In respect of global policymaking priorities, the impacts of ASM pale in comparison in terms of size and impacts to other much more immediate global social and environmental concerns. Moreover, ASM is a symptom of limited socioeconomic development and not an activity that has proven itself likely to contribute to improved socioeconomic conditions. This makes it an unappealing prospect for global, longer term sustainable development approaches. These higher-level issues percolate down to the national level, where the sector’s negative associations, the complexities of attempting to manage it, and a notable bias towards the easy funds from large-scale extractive industries, combine to make it an easy issue to overlook or avoid altogether. In terms of supply chains that link ASM with the rest of the world, the vast percentage of those buying metals and minerals extracted by artisanal operators have repeatedly proven that they have next to no qualms about the conditions under which they were produced.

Applications of MCDM approach (ANP-TOPSIS) to evaluate supply chain solutions in the context of COVID-19

COVID-19 has impacted various aspects of life and business. The economic panic and effects caused by the pandemic have led to disruptions in most supply chains (SCs) worldwide. Our research aims to analyse the impact of COVID-19 on SCs and enable organisations to prioritise solutions based on their relative importance. The research consists of two main phases. Phase I analyses the impact of the pandemic on SCs in terms of challenges, concerns, steps, and solutions with the goal of SC resilience. The second phase proposes a merged Analytic Network Process-Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution framework (ANP-TOPSIS) to prioritise the solutions that considers the complicated interrelationships between the factors involved in decision-making. The proposed model increases the efficiency of the decision-making process and helps decision makers effectively select solutions based on their importance and impact on business. The results indicate that SCs should continuously utilise technology to withstand future competition and crises.

Գյուղատնտեսության մրցունակություն. Վայոց ձորի եվ Արարատի մարզերի էմպիրիկ տվյալների վերլուծություն/Competitiveness of Agriculture. Analysis of Empirical Data for Vayots Dzor and Ararat Regions

The process of sustainable development of rural areas is used in terms of socialeconomic changes and economic development for rural communities. It is no secret that the opportunities for investment and employment in the rural areas of Armenia are limited; as a result, the main challenges in those areas are the aging population, the emigration of young people to urban areas, and other countries. Infrastructure in rural areas is underdeveloped, and opportunities for improving the quality of life of people are much smaller. Increasing the competitiveness of the agricultural sector, the gradual improvement of the living standards of the rural population, the establishment of social justice, the establishment of public solidarity are based on the national security strategy of the country. ensuring the balanced territorial development of the country. With the development of the agricultural sector in the country, with the implementation of a targeted policy to create a favorable business environment and create a level playing field, the necessary preconditions will be created to ensure the country's food independence, meet the needs of consumers, create new jobs, improve the socio-economic situation of the rural population. in terms of supply chain, sustainable development, increasing rural incomes and strengthening rural areas. Therefore, from this point of view, the research is topical and urgent.

Distribution planning problem of a supply chain of perishable products under disruptions and demand stochasticity

PurposeThe emergence of risk in today's business environment is affecting every managerial decision, majorly due to globalization, disruptions, poor infrastructure, forecasting errors and different uncertainties. The impact of such disruptive events is significantly high for perishable items due to their susceptibility toward economic loss. This paper aims to design and address an operational planning problem of a perishable food supply chain (SC).Design/methodology/approachThe proposed model considers the simultaneous effect of disruption, random demand and deterioration of food items on business objectives under constrained conditions. The study describes this situation using a mixed-integer nonlinear program with a piecewise approximation algorithm. The proposed algorithm is easy to implement and competitive to handle stationary as well as nonstationary random variables in place of scenario techniques. The mathematical model includes a real-life case study from a kiwi fruit distribution industry.FindingsThe study quantifies the performance of SC in terms of SC cost and fill rate. Additionally, it investigates the effects of disruption due to suppliers, transport losses, product perishability and demand stochasticity. The model incorporates an incentive-based strategy to provide cost-cutting in the existing business plan considering the effect of deterioration. The study performs sensitivity analysis to show various “what-if” situations and derives implications for managerial insights.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the scant literature of quantitative modeling of food SC. The research work is original as it integrates a stochastic (uncertain) nature of SC simultaneously coupled with the effect of disruption, transport losses and product perishability. It incorporates proactive planning strategies to minimize the disruption impact and the concept of incremental quantity discounts on lot sizes at a destination node.

Improving vegetable supply chain collaboration: a case study in Vietnam

PurposeWhile various aspects of the vegetable supply chain (SC) have been increasingly studied, most studies tend to investigate the downstream part of the SC in terms of customer demand and product quality. Relatively fewer studies have focused on upstream suppliers/farmers. This study aims to understand upstream farmers’ positions in different types of vegetable SCs and identify ways of enhancing sustainable vegetable SC collaboration.Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on an in-depth case study of a cooperative SC in Vietnam from the perspectives of both the cooperative and its farmers.FindingsThe study found that cooperative SCs are the most appropriate for Vietnamese farmers. It also identified the key activities needed to engage farmers with cooperative SCs and the mechanisms that the cooperative needs to develop. Cooperative SCs can be enhanced only when farmers are motivated to engage in SC activities and when the cooperative implements a robust management mechanism.Originality/valueThis study provides new, insightful results on how to engage with small fragmented farmers for SC collaboration and how to enhance the roles of cooperative SCs in the vegetable industry in Vietnam. It also provides information for policymakers to support sustainable vegetable SC development and maintain its sustainability.

I-support soft arm for assistance tasks: a new manufacturing approach based on 3D printing and characterization

Soft robotics is an emerging scientific field well known for being widespread employed in several applications where dexterity and safe interaction are of major importance. In particular, a very challenging scenario in which it is involved concerns bio-medical field. In the last few years, several soft robotic devices have been developed to assist elderly people in daily tasks. In this paper, the authors present a new manufacturing approach for the fabrication of I-SUPPORT, a soft arm used to help needful people during shower activities. The proposed I-SUPPORT version, based on pneumatic and cable-driven actuation, is manufactured using Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF), the most common and inexpensive Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology. The advantages offered by FFF technology compared to traditional manufacturing methods regard: (i) the possibility to increase the automation degree of the process by reducing manual tasks, (ii) the decrease of assembly operations and (iii) an improvement in terms of supply chain. Moreover, the constitutive I-SUPPORT elements have been printed separately to save time, reduce materials and optimize the waste in case of failure. Afterwards, the proposed soft robotic arm has been tested to evaluate the performances and of the chambers, module and the whole I-SUPPORT manipulator.

Tackling pass-on in cartel cases: a comparative analysis of the interplay between damages law and economic insights

ABSTRACT Thinking in terms of supply chains, a crux with a view to antitrust damages is the fact that calculations (of market participants and hence also within legal proceedings) do not stop at the bilateral trader relation but go beyond this two-sided interaction. More often than not victims of antitrust violations pass-on part or all of the harm, to the next level in the supply chain. Under certain conditions this is beneficial for the victim and has to be subtracted from the original amount of damage. Legal benchmarks apply and economics knowledge is of the essence. Focussing on damage stemming from a cartel agreement this paper will first sketch the economic conditions for passing-on. Next, a comparative analysis of recent jurisprudence on passing-on in three jurisdictions (Germany, the Netherlands and Spain) is carried out. It can overall be shown that to successfully tackle cartel cases involving passing-on the potential of an interdisciplinary approach between law and economics needs to be exploited far more than it is currently done.

Going Green Inside and Out: Corporate Environmental Responsibility and Financial Performance under Regulatory Stringency

While researchers have long examined the relationship between corporate environmental responsibility (CER) and financial performance, the evidence remains inconclusive. Moreover, whether sustainable supply chain management plays a role in enhancing the financial performance of focal firms has yet to be fully investigated. As firms’ investment in CER often pays off in the long-term, applying multiple time horizons, short- to long-term considerations, is needed to determine the effects of CER. This study examined the role of CER in improving financial performance based on multiple time horizons. In particular, the effects of CER on financial performance were explored in terms of internal operations and supply chains. The moderating effects of regulatory stringency on the relationship between CER and a firm’s short- or long-term financial performance were also investigated. Firms’ CER was studied using carbon data from Trucost. Carbon footprint can be an appropriate proxy for CER, as it provides information on supply partners’ environmental concerns. A unique dataset of the carbon footprint of 714 North American firms in 19 industry sectors in 2003–2010 was used. The results indicated that firms benefit from CER not only in their internal operations but also in their supply chains in both the short and long-terms. The moderating effects of regulatory stringency were significant for CER only in terms of the supply chain but not for internal operations. In industries with a high level of regulatory stringency, the positive effects of CER on short-term financial performance in the supply chain become weaker, but the same effects on long-term financial performance become stronger. By investigating the effects of two distinct carbon footprint aspects on financial performance at different time horizons, this study sheds light on the importance of CER in firms’ internal operations and supply chains.

STRATEGIC EVALUATION IN OPTIMIZING THE INTERNAL SUPPLY CHAIN USING TOPSIS: EVIDENCE IN A COIL-WINDING MACHINE MANUFACTURER

Most of manufacturing firm aims to optimize their Supply Chain in-terms of improved profitability of their products through value Addition. This study takes a critical look into the factors that affect the Performance of internal supply chain with respect to specific criteria’s. Accordingly, ranking these factors to get the critical dimensions of supply chain performance in the manufacturing industry. A semi-structured interview with the pre-defined set of questions used to collect the responses from decision makers of the firm. Multi criteria decision-making tool called TOPSIS is used to evaluate the responses and rank the factors. The results of this indicate that supplier relationship and inventory planning were most principal factors positively influencing on-time delivery of the product, production flexibility, cost savings, additional costs. This study helps to identify and optimize the process parameters using objective and subjective evaluation approach. The combined influence of thought process of manager to optimize the internal supply chain is extracted in this work

Перспективи розвитку глобальних ланцюгів поставок контейнерними суднами

The article proves that sea transportation is considered to be the most important vehicle in the world that can promote international trade. It is emphasized that the basic principle of container work has not changed, despite the increase in the size of ships and terminals and the gradual increase in the productivity of container handling. The imbalance in trade flows, capacity constraints make it difficult to realize all the benefits of tariffing. The purpose of the work is to consider the prospects for the development of linear shipments by container vessels and the problems arising in the course of their activity. It is emphasized that the container system is slowly reaching maturity in market conditions, when freight has become the most volatile and costly component of many supply networks and logistics operations. It has been proven that logistics managers have to deal with risks in terms of supply chains, so the issue of reliability and capacity building has become a critical factor along with cost studies. It has been found that terminal capacity shortages can open up prospects for new cargo routing models. The basic tendencies of development of linear container transportations are established and the problems that require the solution are identified. It has been established that prudent management of the container system is a prerequisite for the sustainable deployment of container concepts in global supply chains over the long term. Coexistence of different types of networks in one trade route has been proven to provide flexibility in routing options, and is likely to reduce network synchronization problems and address vulnerabilities in an era of increased graph unreliability. It has been found that the growth of environmental and social problems related to the development of terminals has led to great delays in bringing new capacity to the market. The continued development of gateway regions with many ports will become an increasingly important element in both the flexibility and speed of serving global supply networks. It is emphasized that regionally the process of integration between maritime and inland transport systems will lead to the emergence of a number of penetration and modal shift strategies (rail or barge), where each mode of transport is used most efficiently in cost and time. Port regionalization has been identified as a key concept for managing the interconnection between ports and inland freight distribution centers. Although significant geographical variations may develop worldwide, the regionalization phase will in all cases bring the prospect of port development beyond the perimeter of the port.

Sustainable Development of Supply Chain in Footwear Industry – Take Nike as the Case

Rapid growth in demand for designer shoes, rising per capita incomes in developed and developing economies, and the growing popularity of high-end customers and athletic shoes among men have led to a growing global demand for fashionable and comfortable footwear of all ages (FELTON, 2018). The market share of footwear industry has expanded rapidly which attracted more and more new entrants. However, the competition of shoe industry more incline to the competition of the supply chain, so, it is essential to maintain a certain competitiveness in terms of supply chain. Sustainable development is an emerging but important topic. Some processes of the supply chain of the sportswear industry have been accused of restricting its development, such as the use of polluting raw materials and sweatshops. Supply chain development should not only focus on the economic level, but also pay more attention to the environmental and social aspects of sustainable development. Therefore, this paper will take Nike, the most representative company in the footwear industry, as the analysis target to reflect the development of the supply chain of the footwear industry.This paper will start with the general analysis of the footwear industry, followed by considering the industry change; then, analyse Nike’s core product – Nike Flyknit. Further, before making the conclusion, this paper will explore the impact of external factors, i.e. Nike’s cooperation with the US government and footwear related associations, on its supply chain development.

An exploratory study of risk aversion in supply chain dynamics via human experiment and agent-based simulation

The literature on the impact of risk aversion on supply chains (SCs) is relatively limited and, in particular, there is a dearth of theory and a lack of empirical evidence concerning: (1) the impact of individual risk aversion on the generation and dynamics of the order policy (e.g. order patterns and inventory holding costs); (2) the impact of several combinations of risk-averse members in each stage of a multi-echelon SC. We explore these gaps through a multi-method approach (i.e. human experiments and agent-based simulation), thus using both empirical and simulated data. Specifically, based on results from a human experiment, we develop the conjecture that risk aversion is positively correlated to the desired stock level and consequently to the safety stock factor of inventory order policies. Building on this finding, we perform a simulation study to infer the impact of individual risk aversion in a multi-echelon SC. Results show that alternative compositions of the SC in terms of risk aversion levels of the echelons significantly influence inventory holdings and SC dynamics. The study implies that a company facing problems of high inventory days-on-hand should favour low-risk aversion managers, as instrumental to lowering stock and improving net working capital.

Technology and complexities of the Inner Asian frontier reflected in crossbow bolts

The Inner Asian frontier along the Gobi Desert was an arena for competition between the Xiongnu (ca. 209BCE–100/150CE) and Han (206BCE–220CE) empires. A number of crossbow bolts from two military outposts there were examined to infer technological and political environments of this region. The analytical results reveal evidence of an established bolt-manufacturing technology based on the Cu-Sn-Pb system typical of the Han dynasty. It was also found that alloys within a specific composition range were most frequently selected as a preferred material. In many cases, however, the tin and lead contents were significantly away from this standard formula. Moreover, the dependency on non-standard methods showed notable variation between the outposts under consideration. The above results demonstrate that these sites shared in a common tradition based on a Han dynasty standardized model, but differed significantly in the implementation of these standards. The non-standard technologies likely represented manufacturing away from well-supplied production centers and reflected shifting frontier environments that often imposed restrictions on transport, communications, and access to material or technological resources. The occurrence of such alloys, therefore, may be indicative of the nature of supporting systems available to these peripheral sites. This observation suggests that crossbow bolts might serve as a medium for clarifying complex and dynamic border situations in terms of supply chains, interaction networks, and political affiliations.

The company-customer transfer of logistics activities

PurposeThe starting point of the paper is the fact that customers participate in the logistics activities of the supply chain (SC) (Johnston, 1989; Granzin and Bahn, 1989). Having established that customers can and do participate in logistics, firms can consider transferring some of their logistics activities to/from their customer. The transfer can take two contrasting forms: outsourcing by the company of some logistics activities to its customers or insourcing by the company of some logistics activities from its customers. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to a theoretical understanding of these company/customer transfers.Design/methodology/approachTo address this emerging issue, the authors build on the service management literature and on the study of two contrasting cases of transfer. The first (IKEA) examines the outsourcing of some logistics activities to the consumer. The second (AuchanDrive) examines the reverse process of insourcing.FindingsBased on the service management literature and the two case studies, the authors develop a theoretical model for the transfer of logistics activities between a firm and its customers. The findings confirm several elements, such as the importance of managing customer participation and adapting service production during a transfer. Most importantly, the findings show that a key issue for a firm during a transfer is the need to redesign its SC in terms of transport, warehousing and production. The main contribution of the research therefore is showing that customer participation in logistics is a key variable in SC design.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is based on the analysis of two cases. To generalise these results, further research needs to be conducted.Practical implicationsThis research proposes recommendations to help managers and organisations to transfer some logistics activities to or from their customers.Originality/valueThe originality of the framework is that it considers both the company and its customers. This comprehensive approach establishes a link between supply chain management research and marketing.

Re-design of an Interoperable Buyer-seller Automotive Relationship Aided by Computer Simulation

Business Interoperability has become an indisputable reality for companies who cooperate and strive for competitiveness. Supply chain management is one kind of industrial cooperation that relies on large integration and coordination by interoperability factors, which until now is missing a tool to identify and solve its problems. The present article presents a systematic methodology applying axiomatic design theory and computer simulation to: study the impact of interoperability problems on dyad performance in terms of supply chain and interoperability; and the re-design of cooperation from the findings of the performance impact study. A case study applied in an automotive supply chain is presented to demonstrate the application of this method, mapping from the actual interoperability conditions (“as-is”) to a scenario that guarantees higher levels of business interoperability (“to-be”).

Study of collaborative management of supply chain in an IT environment

Purpose: This paper identifies collaborative management of supply chain in an IT environment as the object of study. It offers discussion on the current situation and future development of supply chain management, the basic theories of supply chain management, and the comparison between the features of centralized management and collaborative management in an IT environment. It also points out the features and advantages of collaborative management of supply chain in an IT environment. Methodology: By way of analyzing the future development of supply chain management, this paper analyzes the advantages of collaborative management over centralized management. It also explores its implications and its requirements of interaction between onstage and backstage platforms. Findings: This paper lists the seven prominent features of collaborative management of supply chain in an IT environment, including being Internet-based, virtual, interrelated, and so on. In addition, it points out its advantages, such as collaborative decision-making, system-orientation, the establishment of a new cooperative relationship, etc. Application and limitations: This paper is an attempt to call on enterprises to update their current supply management system to collaborative management of supply chain in an IT environment. In this way, they can be more competitive in terms of supply chain. But this paper focuses only on its advantages and does not offer suggestions as to how to establish such a system.

WOOLWORTHS AUSTRALIA AND WALMART US: BEST PRACTICES IN SUPPLY CHAIN COLLABORATION

This study analyses retail industries with the efforts of their supply chain collaboration (SCC) frommanufacturers to consumers. It also describes the ways of identifying collaboration partners and buildingpartnership for sharing information, thus representing the best practices in such efforts. The successof building the collaboration in terms of supply chain is described through the observation and analyseson the journey undertaken by both Walmart US, and Woolworths Australia. This is said to have enabledthe retailers to achieve greater organizational performance through driving common objectives in partnershipwith their supply network. For examples there some empirical successes as achieved by Woolworthssuch as saving of approximately AUD$75M within the first two years of project commencement,reduction in lead time of getting point-of-sale information from two weeks to every Monday morning forthe previous week, integration of information technology into supply chain management, and improvementin sales by AUD$7 billion. It can be generalized that through the sharing of knowledge, resources,information, profits and risks, the companies are able to position themselves in an advantageous spot,where operational efficiencies and financial cost savings are paramount.