Supply Chain Visibility Research Articles

Developing Fair Investment Plans to Enhance Supply Chain Visibility Using Cooperative Games

As supply chains become more complex and globalized, the individual participants of the supply chains should invest in systems based on information communication technologies (ICT) such as the remote frequency identification device (RFID) with tags that secure the visibility of the entire supply chain. In addition, the level of visibility, such as the container, pallet, carton, and box, should be determined for each participant to optimize its own profit function. By using a collaborative game scheme, the present study illustrates the relationships among participants who invest to a certain level of visibility, and then how much value each participant gets. To find feasible solutions, a genetic algorithm-based mechanism is devised for modeling various fitness functions considering the total profit and benefit to cost (B/C) ratio. The proposed framework considers the relationship among participants, as well as the impact from the enhanced visibility, and it may be possible to make fair and rational decisions for all participants based on the quantitative metrics such as the B/C ratio. In this paper, we propose a novel method based on the game-theoretic approach where the enhanced visibility prevents a certain participant from taking most of the benefit. It seems possible to establish a long-term sustainable supply chain visibility by distributing profit fairly to all participants in the supply chain.

PERCEPTUS: Predictive complex event processing and reasoning for IoT-enabled supply chain

Internet of Things (IoT) is an emerging paradigm that connects various physical sensor devices spread across different locations. IoT-enabled supply chain provides a natural combination to achieve supply chain visibility (SCV) which refers to ability of supply chain partners to collect and analyse distributed supply chain data for the planning and decision support. This data is normally collected and analysed in real-time by a specialized software known as Complex Event Processing (CEP) engines. However, current CEP engines have two well-known limitations. Firstly, current CEP engines are job specific and fail to combine multiple related sensor data streams coming from distributed sources, thereby, supply chain partners are exposed to manage the underlying information heterogeneity. Secondly, these CEP systems do not provide decision support to the supply chain planners when the information about the potential disruptive event is incomplete and/or uncertain. In this paper, a PERCEPTUS framework is proposed to address the above mentioned issues. It, firstly, utilizes semantic annotation process to integrate and annotate events coming from heterogeneous data streams. Secondly, it performs complex event processing to process and correctly interpret annotated complex events. Thirdly, it provides complex event reasoning (by combining logical and probabilistic reasoning) to predict disruption events (such as process failure) under incomplete and/or uncertain information. Finally, the proposed framework is validated using the dataset of a semi-conductor manufacturing process to demonstrate its superiority in terms of accuracy in predicting disruptive events as compared to the baseline approach.

Developing model to analyze factors affecting firms’ agility and competitive capability

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to investigate and explain the factors contributing to supply chain agility in service-oriented firms and therein to enhance competitive capabilities of the organization. The study has identified various variables from past studies that support firms in developing agile supply chain operations. Factors identified from prior studies are supply chain flexibility, supply chain visibility, supply chain responsiveness, supply chain speed and learning orientation, which were then empirically tested for further understanding.Design/methodology/approachUsing purposive sampling, a sample of 217 valid responses was gathered through structured questionnaire from supply chain practitioners working in various service industries of Pakistan. Partial least square-structural equation modeling was used for data analysis.FindingsThe results of the study show that learning orientation and flexibility of the service firm highly complement the goal of achieving agility in their operations. Speed and visibility also have a major impact on developing agile supply chain. Moreover, supply chain agility has a significantly positive impact on competitive capabilities.Originality/valueThis research is about investigating the operational agility of services sector, which is a one-off study especially in the context of developing and competitive market. This research will provide important insights into the context of dynamic capabilities view for policymakers and decision-makers who aim to develop their competitive strategies based on their operational agility.

Does supply chain visibility affect operating performance? Evidence from conflict minerals disclosures

AbstractFirms are increasingly held accountable for their suppliers' transgressions. Consequently, firms need to develop upstream visibility to exercise control over their supply chains. An emerging body of work has recognized the importance of supply chain visibility and has examined it using analytical models, behavioral methods, and case studies. Still, large‐sample empirical evidence on the benefits of supply chain visibility remains elusive. We seek to bridge this gap by examining conflict minerals disclosures (mandated by the 2010 Dodd‐Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act) and financial reports to evaluate whether firms with greater visibility into their conflict minerals supply chains achieve improved operating and market performance. We use the data from conflict minerals disclosures (Form SD) to distinguish between firms that have high or low visibility into their conflict minerals sources. Then, we use event study methods to analyze differences in operating and market performance between firms with high visibility and firms with low visibility. We find that firms with high visibility into their conflict minerals supply chains achieve higher profitability than comparable firms with less visibility. In addition, we find that firms with high visibility into their conflict minerals supply chains realize improved sales performance and stock market valuations. Our results are relevant to managers because they show that firms can attain operational and market benefits by improving visibility in their supply chains.

Extending the Enterprise Using Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) Technologies for the Cloud

It is widely understood that Information Technology (IT) and Information Systems (IS) provide great benefits in improving visibility of supply and value chains within and across organizations. One method to achieve this has been to integrate Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems with web-based and other technologies using EAI technologies. This article seeks to study EAI technologies with reference to the SaaS model of cloud computing. It also gives an example of how EAI can be made functional across the enterprise even with applications having different platforms, technologies and programming languages. The advantages, disadvantages and issues of EAI applications are listed.

Collaboration in reverse: a conceptual framework for reverse logistics operations

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present the research carried out on the development of a conceptual framework termed as the reverse collaboration framework (RCF) to provide supply chain (SC) visibility and information sharing to practitioners in a reverse logistics (RL) operations.Design/methodology/approachThe research methodology used in this research is a combination of concept mapping, and the extension of the work of other researchers (deductive approach) to develop a RCF that connects tools, techniques, systems and RL processes.FindingsThis research shows that by integrating tools, systems, tools and techniques with RL processes by means of the RCF will increase performance and productivity of a RL operations. This is demonstrated by applying the RCF to a consumer electronics business that proves that the time taken for the end to end RL operations is reduced by 20%.Research limitations/implicationsThe RCF has been demonstrated with the data from a consumer electronics organisation. Literature points out that there are many different mathematical models for RL across a number of industries. Thus, at this stage, it is not clear if the RCF developed in this research will work in other industries, such as the newspaper, plastic bottles and online retailers industry where product returns are high. This research work can be extended in developing an IT solution by future researchers that can be linked to the main ERP system of an organisation.Practical implicationsSC managers can use the RCF in the extended form of an IT solution to manage the RL operations of their organisations.Originality/valueThere is a lack of research in the space of reverse collaboration in the broader field of SC management. This paper has fulfilled that gap.

Food Traceability System: Current State and Future Needs of the Nigerian Poultry and Poultry Product Supply Chain

The study revealed a thriving Nigerian food industry and policymakers toward understanding food traceability systems in three ways. Firstly, a realistic strategy toward supply chain visibility. Secondly, verify the concept relating to the implementation of documentation and technological innovations. Thirdly, emphasized the significance of food safety and food recall taking into account current status and future needs and how a traceability system would be realized in the poultry sector by giving a clear roadmap for technology. Also the work explained the current state of the two most practiced method of poultry production; backyard and commercial scale was also investigated.

Blockchain Technology as a Risk Mitigation Tool in Supply Chain

The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the research development in supply chain risk management (SCRM) and to connect the new emerging digital technology Blockchain that could help to mitigate risks in any supply chain. Emerging literature, case studies, citations are used to fulfil this the task. The study will explore Blockchain and supply chain risks in details and will compare, how Blockchain based supply chain can mitigate these risks. There are many risks associated to supply chains but we will limit our study to only supply risk and study different areas of Blockchain application in supply chain with supply risk. Blockchain technologies have a potential to upgrade current supply chains. This will not only increase its performance in terms of speedy flow of raw material, finished goods, information and money flow but also help to mitigate current risk in supply chain by increasing visibility and transparency of supply chain. Smart contracts, IoT and Blockchain can serve together to achieve maximum efficiency and effectiveness in SCM. This research contributes to explore further research fields of Blockchain technology in different areas of supply chain risk management.

Supply chain visibility : From analogue to aggregation — a brief history and guide to implementation

Supply chain visibility (SCV) is the ability to track an order step-by-step to see real-time status updates across the supply chain from origin to final destination. Visibility enables a company to know exactly where their product is in the shipment process and can be a significant driver for a company’s improved profitability and relationships with its trading partners. While SCV is a standard expectation for e-commerce orders, adoption of visibility capabilities for non-e-commerce companies is surprisingly low. Improved visibility provides companies numerous benefits by lowering costs and reducing inventory while increasing efficiency and accountability. Business investment in new technology, increased collaboration and higher maturity levels lead to full visibility for all trading partners, while utilisation of data aggregation technology provides a single version of the truth. This paper analyses the substantial value derived through supply chain visibility, and discusses how more companies could benefit from implementing SCV capabilities.

Value of inventory information in allocating a limited supply of influenza vaccine during a pandemic.

ObjectiveTo understand the value of information on vaccine inventory levels during an influenza pandemic, we propose a simulation study to compare vaccine allocation strategies using: (i) only population information (pro-rata, or population-based, PB), (ii) both population and vaccine inventory information (population and inventory-based, PIB).MethodsWe adapt an agent-based simulation model to predict the spread of the disease both geographically and temporally. We study PB and PIB when uptake rates vary geographically. The simulation study is done from 2015 to 2017, using population and commuting data from the state of Georgia from the United States census.FindingsCompared to PB under reasonable scenarios, PIB reduces the infection attack rate from 23.4% to 22.4%, decreases the amount of leftover inventory from 827 to 152 thousand, and maintains or increases the percentage of vaccinated population.ConclusionsOur results indicate the need for greater vaccine inventory visibility in public health supply chains, especially when supply is limited, and uptake rates vary geographically. Such visibility has a potential to decrease the number of infections, help identify locations with low uptake rates and to motivate public awareness efforts.

Behind the runway: Extending sustainability in luxury fashion supply chains

From a resource-based view, this paper investigates sustainability integration across multiple tiers in two Italian luxury supply chains producing fashion and leather footwear, a complex and fragmented industry sector that is highly dependent upon raw materials and a human skills base. Qualitative in-depth interview data were collected from senior industry informants within 10 businesses, spanning multiple supply chain tiers. Industry practices are systematically decomposed into product, process and supply chain levels to analyse supply chain sustainability. Findings reveal that product-level practices focused on raw materials more than design initiatives, with operational benefits of cost reduction and market benefits of consumer value-add. Process-level practices in water and energy reduction were motivated by cost reduction benefits more than environmental concerns. At supply chain level, traceability projects and supplier audits were limited by a lack of end-to-end supply chain visibility, despite the criticality of raw materials and evidence of close and long-term trading relationships. Supply chain transparency and supplier engagement are critical areas for development. Both technical and relational resources must be developed across supply networks. Current practices are geared towards reducing negative impacts associated with current operations, falling short of the radical strategies needed to address root causes and embrace sustainability at large.

Framework for successful supply chain implementation in healthcare area from provider’s prospective

Purpose This paper aims to explore avenue where suppliers and manufacturers are aligned with health-care providers to improve supply chain visibility. Supply chain finance is explored to link suppliers/manufacturers with health-care providers. Design/methodology/approach Existing literature on supply chain visibility in health care forms a basis to achieve the study purpose. Alignment calls also for financial health where supply chain partners’ working capital is readily available to execute joint supply chain plan. Findings There is a disjoint in supply chain alliance between suppliers/manufacturers and providers where providers are unable to trace the origin of supplies. Quality care suffers and cost of care rises as providers search for supplies on an emergency basis. This paper provides a framework where solution can be formulated. Research limitations/implications Suppliers/manufactures form a direct strategic alliance with providers where product visibility enables health-care providers with a better patient management with lower cost of supplies. Inventory management and logistics cost will be lowered as better planning/forecasting is in place. This paper does not call for testing any hypothesis. Perhaps, next move along this line will be to investigate financial health of supply chain partners based on supplier relationship management practices. Originality/value This paper proposes health-care supply chain as an alternative solution to achieve the following twin purposes: controlling the cost while improving quality of care through supply chain finance. As far as we know, this study is the first attempt to achieve the goals.

Supply Chain Visibility and Social Responsibility: Investigating Consumers’ Behaviors and Motives

Consumers increasingly want to know more about where and how the products they purchase are being made. To create transparency requires a company to both gain visibility into its supply chain and disclose information to consumers. In this paper, we focus on the dimension of visibility and investigate when companies can benefit from greater supply chain visibility. To do so, we design an incentivized human–subject experiment to study two key questions: (i) How does supply chain visibility impact consumers’ valuations of a company’s social responsibility (SR) practices in its upstream supply chain? (ii) What roles do indirect reciprocity and consumers’ prosociality play in affecting their valuations under different levels of visibility? In our design, greater visibility is represented by lower uncertainty in the outcomes of a company’s SR efforts. Our results show that consumers value greater visibility regarding a company’s SR practices in the upstream supply chain. This is especially true if consumers exhibit a self-serving bias and use uncertainty as an excuse not to pay for SR. We also observe that high prosocial consumers do not exhibit strong indirect reciprocity. Conversely, indirect reciprocity significantly increases low prosocial consumers’ valuations under High visibility. Our work adds to the experimental literature focusing on transparency and SR (which has primarily studied disclosure) by examining the equally important but understudied dimension of visibility. Furthermore, our results on consumer heterogeneity offer insights into what SR information resonates with a company’s target consumers. The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/msom.2017.0685 .

Analytical foundations for development of real-time supply chain capabilities

The emergence of real-time supply chain visibility technologies has raised challenges for organisations in developing the required management capabilities required to exploit enhanced visibility. The convergence of cloud computing, mobile technology, distributed computing, and data integration technologies has enabled managers for the first time to have real-time visibility of material flows in end to end supply chains, enhancing their ability to identify bottlenecks and disruptions of material flows anywhere in their network. To effectively harness these technologies, a new set of managerial decision-making capabilities as well as enhanced data governance disciplines will be required. In this research, we employ organisational information processing theory to explore the relationship of analytical capabilities, data quality, reporting quality, and real-time data capabilities on supply chain performance. Our research model suggests that the benefits of real-time information technologies are dependent on quality reporting and managerial analytical strengths to derive supply chain benefits. The implications for managerial applications and research are further described based on these findings.

Supplier transparency: scale development and validation

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to create an instrument for conducting future supply chain transparency research by developing and validating a measure of supplier transparency. Specifically, the research develops a two-dimensional measure of supplier transparency that builds on previous studies that independently examine visibility and traceability in supply chain management (SCM)/logistics.Design/methodology/approachThe scale development process is carried out over three stages (item generation, scale purification, scale validation). Survey methods are used with two separate data collection phases involving a total of 358 managers from multiple and diverse industries.FindingsThe new supplier transparency measure is a concise, two-dimensional scale that has the potential for significant usage in the development and testing of SCM theory.Research limitations/implicationsThis study implemented a purposefully general sampling procedure. However, different industries may have additional, specific constraints regarding what it means to be a transparent supplier. Additional opportunities for future research include applying the new supplier transparency measure to examine supply chain frameworks, regulatory compliance, supply chain relationships and the implementation of information technology.Practical implicationsFirms are under increasing pressure to be transparent about partner sourcing, resource utilization and other transactional issues related to the products and processes in their supply chains. The new measure may be utilized to address these issues as well as the interaction between supply chain operations and stakeholders by facilitating a quantitative assessment of supplier transparency.Originality/valueDrawing on the established constructs of supply chain visibility and traceability, a measure of supplier transparency is developed, supported by a review of the literature, input from subject matter experts and interviews with supply chain managers. Suggestions are made for future validation of supplier transparency within established supply chain frameworks.

Digital inventory powered by drones and robots

Ask any manufacturer, distributor or retailer what its biggest supply chain challenges are right now and national labour shortage and changes in consumer behaviour and expectations will probably be on the top of the list. Following on labour’s heels will be issues such as e-commerce, high volumes of single-item orders and a lack of end-to-end supply chain visibility. Cumulatively, these issues are making life difficult for supply chain and logistics managers that at the same time are being asked to do more with less. Currently there is also a lot going on ‘under the covers’ of the typical logistics operation. Innovative technology, Industry 4.0, and overall digital transformation are all working to change the way supply chains are designed and utilised. While some leading-edge companies are investing in and benefitting from these innovations, many more are using antiquated methods and dated strategies (eg manual systems, spreadsheets and manual processes in the warehouse and yard), to run their supply chains. ‘As markets demand not only efficiency but agility and flexibility from supply chains, next-generation models are successfully combining automation and digital technologies to drive superior performance’, MHI reports ‘While this digital ecosystem is creating cost savings, innovation, and win-win opportunities along supply chains, it is also accelerating the pace of change, creating disruption and raising competitive pressures’.2 In this paper, we explore the use and applicability of autonomous vehicles and drones — computer-guided vehicles that can move without the need for human control, either on the ground, in a vehicle or in the air — to more effectively and efficiently manage digital inventory; show how one retailer is using drones to improve its digital inventory management; and explain how such technologies are being used to improve operational efficiencies, reallocate resources and improve employee safety in warehouses, yards, and stores.

Digital solutions transform the forest-based bioeconomy into a digital platform industry - A suggestion for a disruptive business model in the digital economy

With the notion that the transformation of the forest-based bioeconomy in recent years provides insightful suggestions not only on the bioeconomy, but on business innovation, this paper conducts an empirical analysis of the transformation and attempts to extract suggestions for a digital-solution-driven, disruptive business model in the digital economy.Notwithstanding the potential broad cross-sectoral benefits, the natural environment, locality constraints, and incessant challenge of distance have impeded the balanced development of the bioeconomy.However, driven by digital solutions, the bioeconomy has taken big steps forward in recent years. Digitalization has enabled real-time, end-to-end supply chain visibility, improved delivery accuracy as well as stock level optimization and alignment with demand planning. The advancement of e-commerce has also led to the elimination of distance between both the upstream and the downstream of the chain.This paper demonstrates a transformative stream observed at the forefront of the forest-based bioeconomy chain. An empirical analysis focusing on the core business activities at the forefront, both upstream and downstream of the chain, is conducted.A new insight common to all industries in the digital economy is thus explored for constructing a creative disruption platform by embracing digital solutions.

A Credible Food Traceability System Based on Domain Name System Security Extensions

Food safety has drawn worldwide attention because of its enormous impact on human health and social stability. Although traceability systems based on Internet of Things (IoT) can improve the visibility of the food supply chain, the trust service is necessary to ensure the data origin and data integrity. This paper proposes a food traceability system supported by a trust service based on Domain Name System Security Extensions(DNSSEC). A DNSSEC-enabled traceability system is implemented for food safety in China. In the traceability system, the master data and event data of the products is stored in distributed databases owned and managed by the enterprises respectively in the supply chain. Enterprise oriented Internet of Things Information Service (iotIS) is an important component of the distributed traceability system. A trust service for the Internet of Things, iotTS, is proposed to guarantee the data integrity. With this service, it can be ensured that the information stored in the enterprise database is original and has never been manipulated. Lightweight public keys are distributed based on the DNSSEC in this solution. Compared with the existing solutions, the proposed solution has better scalability and credibility.

Trazabilidad en la Cadena de Suministro Alimentaría: Revisión de la literatura desde una perspectiva tecnológica

Una industria alimentaria, cada vez más orientada al cliente, necesita tiempos de respuesta más rápidos para conseguir cadenas de suministro dinámicas y colaborativas. Los sistemas de trazabilidad ayudan a minimizar problemas por la producción y distribución de productos inseguros o de baja calidad. Por lo tanto, la trazabilidad se presenta como una herramienta para ayudar a garantizar la seguridad y la calidad de los alimentos, así como para lograr la confianza del consumidor. En el presente trabajo se realiza una revisión bibliográfica sobre la implementación de la industria 4.0 en la trazabilidad de la cadena de suministro alimentaria.

Monitoring and controlling of supply chain processes: Supply Chain Control Tower conception and application in retail company

Nowadays, when the market is developing itself dynamically and the customer requirements are higher and higher, traditional way of supply chain management is not enough. Complexity of supply chain is still increasing, because of globalization - companies spread their geographical range in order to find better sources of raw materials, half finished products and finished products. What is more they also want to gain access to new markets and acquire new customers. And last but not least, companies want to strengthen their competitive position and increase income. All these challenges make that companies are forced to change way of functioning and management of supply chain. Supply chain visibility is a key to success, which provides speed, reliability and flexibility. In the response for all these needs more and more often Supply Chain Control Towers are launched. It is kind of center of supply chain management. Thanks to appropriate technology company has an access to all important data in real time - it guarantee visibility, which is such important. What is more, it also help to make all crucial decision, both short and long term. This article present Supply Chain Control Tower conception and show opportunities, how to apply this idea in retail company.