Group bargaining in supply chains

Review of Economic Design - We consider a vertical supply chain in which a monopoly retailer produces a good by assembling a number of essential components each of which is owned by a monopoly....     

Sustainable supply chains: An introduction

Consideration is given to the convergence of supply chains and sustainability. In doing so, the focus on environmental management and operations is moved from local optimization of environmental factors to consideration of the entire supply chain during the production, consumption, customer service and post-disposal disposition of products. This is a critical and timely topic that captures increasing concerns over sustainability, whether driven by current legislation, public interest, or competitive opportunity. As such, sustainable development is a rich area for academic research that is still in its infancy and has the potential to affect future government policy, current production operations, and identify new business models. This paper provides a background to better understand current trends in this multidisciplinary field that intersect with operations management, and the research opportunities and challenges it presents.     

Perspectives on risk management in supply chains

Managing risk in supply chains is an important topic in supply chain management. The topic's importance is due to several industry trends currently in place: increase in strategic outsourcing by firms, globalizations of markets, increasing reliance on suppliers for specialized capabilities and innovation, reliance on supply networks for competitive advantage, and emergence of information technologies that make it possible to control and coordinate extended supply chains. This article identifies some important aspects of risk management in supply chains and summarizes the four articles that are in this special issue. This emerging area of research interest deserves considerable attention and it is our hope that the articles in this special issue would spur additional research on this important topic.     

The frontiers of eBusiness technology and supply chains

This article is an Introduction to this Special Issue on “eBusiness and Supply Chain Management.” It also provides a vision for eBusiness and supply chain for the future.     

Government subsidy provision in biomass energy supply chains

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates the government’s optimal subsidy provision strategy for a biomass energy supply chain that consists of the power plant, the villagers’ committee and farmer. We examine three possible subsidy provision strategies depending on which party (the power plant, the villagers’ committee or the farmer) the government chooses to subsidise, and compare how it can influence the government’s target by assuming that the subsidy price is exogenously given. We also extend our findings when the government can endogenously determine the subsidy price. Moreover, our analyses reveal the optimal stakeholder selection strategy for each party to maximise its payoff.     

Theoretical perspectives on the coordination of supply chains

Supply-chain coordination relies on the availability of prompt and accurate information that is visible to all actors in the supply chain. However, new demands on the supply-chain system require changes to information flow and exchange. We undertake a case study of three automotive supply chains that face such new demands resulting from the introduction of an order-driven supply-chain strategy. We use our case study findings to evaluate the applicability of three different theoretical lenses on the multi-faceted interactions between information, physical flow, and the complex rationales driving supply-chain evolution: the resource-based view (RBV), the concept of complex adaptive systems (CAS), and adaptive structuration theory (AST). We find that each theory has a separate realm of applicability and while complimentary in nature, provides distinct insight on the structural shift in the supply-chain system. More specifically, we find that AST, a theory prominent in the social sciences, provides novel insights to supply-chain research at the firm level, particularly with respect to the difficulties in using IT systems to drive systemic change. It complements both the system-level perspective offered by the complex adaptive systems theory, as well as the concept of dynamic capabilities originating in the resourced-based view. The paper concludes with wider implications for future research in supply and value chain management.     

Proactive planning for catastrophic events in supply chains

Supply chains are increasingly vulnerable to catastrophic events such as hurricanes or terrorist attacks. This is not only true because firms are more exposed to catastrophes, but also the result of investments made in recent years to operate supply chains with fewer human and capital resources, especially inventory. Consequently, there is today less “slack” available in supply chains to deal with catastrophic events. Thus, proactively planning for these types of events should be a priority for supply chain managers. A catastrophic event has a very low probability of occurrence but has significant consequences if it does occur. The goal of this research is to develop a process to proactively plan for catastrophic risk events through an integration of diverse research streams related to the management of risk. In particular, the proposed process builds upon an existing risk analysis framework by incorporating an innovative methodology used by the insurance industry to quantify the risk of multiple types of catastrophic events on key supply chain locations.     

Market competition and pricing strategies in retail supply chains

This study provides a better explanation for the continued prevalence of high–low (Hi–Lo) pricing strategy. We investigate the impact of market competition on adopting two different pricing strategies in the retail industry: everyday low price (EDLP) strategy and Hi–Lo strategy. We developed two analytic models using a game-theoretic modeling approach: the profit maximization model and the sales revenue maximization model. We then conducted an econometric analysis based on retail store-level dataset. The result shows that an EDLP player's equilibrium price depends highly on the cost level rather than competitor's price whereas the Hi–Lo player's equilibrium price depends mainly on the range of promotional basket as well as the cost level.     

Antecedents of supply chain visibility in retail supply chains: A resource-based theory perspective

Although visibility has become a popular buzzword in the supply chain literature it remains an ill-defined and poorly understood concept. It is assumed that if companies across supply chains have visibility of demand, inventory levels, processes, etc., that organizational performance improves. This research explores the antecedents of high levels of supply chain visibility from a resource-based theory perspective across five different external supply chain linkages. We find that the level of visibility across these linkages differs considerably based on various contributing factors which are both technology and non-technology based. Using resource-based theory, we identify those factors that can give a sustainable competitive advantage to a supply chain linkage through a “distinctive” or high level of visibility.     

Contrasting FOR and WITH factor chains: The case of material supply chains and human factor chains in Guatemalan nongovernmental organizations

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have varied success in meeting the challenges of disasters in Antigua, Guatemala. This research uses the TO–FOR–WITH model based on nine criteria that separate surviving NGOs from transient NGOs. Two Guatemalan NGOs, Corazon de los Nino and Sonidos para la Vida, are used to validate the model. The two NGOs differ on three of the nine criteria in the TO–FOR–WITH model. Corazon meets all nine criteria and is considered a WITH organization using local sources for employment, supplies, and logistics. Sonidos is a FOR organization because it falls short in the three categories of bilateral communication, residual intelligence, and post hoc deployment. The criteria were found to distinguish the two NGOs in meaningful ways. However, two cases are not sufficient for theory building. We distinguish between factor chains and material supply chains, a distinction that is especially salient for humanitarian services, which are the primary offerings of many NGOs. No prior studies have tested this recent model and no previous studies have addressed the distinction between material supply chains and factor chains. Additional research is needed including expanding to other NGOs, other countries, and other settings.     

Optimal strategic alliance in multi-echelon supply chains with open innovation

We propose a game-theoretic approach to examine several possible coalition strategies in a four-echelon supply chain consisting of a supplier, manufacturer, wholesaler, and retailer. A solitude model is used to probe the role of learning in quality improvements, and experimental design is conducted to evaluate all possible supply chain coalition strategies between echelons. The novelty of this study is the comprehensive evaluation of knowledge-sharing strategies in collaborative supply chains. The results confirm that the Delta model with a coalition among a supplier, manufacturer, and retailer is the best strategy.     

基于系统分析方法的供应链风险管理

通过对供应链定义、供应链系统化特点以及供应链稳定性的考虑,提出基于系统分析方法的供应链风险管理,其中包括基于多角度分析法的供应链风险分类,基于因果分析法的企业行为审核,基于流程图法、定性等级评价法等方法的供应链风险应对体制建立。最终通过多种系统分析方法在供应链风险管理中的应用,提升了供应链系统的稳定性,有效地避免了可能发生的风险对供应链的危害。     

Investigating the value of information sharing in multi-echelon supply chains

Under the structure of multiple business entities, supply chain management (SCM) offers the external and internal integration of business processes in enterprises. The most important objective of SCM is to enhance the supply chain performance such as reinforcing the service level and increasing profit as well as reducing order cycle time and inventory. In recent years, due to the advancement of information technology, enterprises can manage the product flow and the information flow via economical and efficient mechanisms. The well-organized information sharing can enhance the supply chain performance and allow enterprises to refine their strategies of supply chain in order to maximize their profits. The previous studies pointed out the positive effect of information sharing on the efficiency of supply chain. However, relatively little literature focuses on the performance analysis for multi-echelon supply chain with various information sharing scenarios. By using the simulation technique, this paper models different scenarios of information sharing, and further analyzes the impacts of information quality on multi-echelon supply chain performance. In addition, this paper employs Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to integrate multiple performance measures to ensure the information sharing scenarios with enhanced performance.     

Closed-loop supply chains: a guide to theory and practice

During the last decades, attention to the environment has grown substantially. A remarkable and significant trend has been the recognition of the strategic importance of reverse logistics and closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) as a consequence of the Directive on Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment. In this paper, we analyse the transformation from an ‘open-loop supply chain’ to a ‘closed-loop supply chain’. Our aim is to guide the reader through the main aspects of both theory and practice in CLSCs: starting from the existing literature, we adopt a broader approach and define the guidelines for managers to follow in the supply chain decision process. Assuming a producer responsibility perspective, we pay a special attention to some of the most important sustainable strategic decisions that a company has to face in order to implement and effectively manage the CLSC: (i) location–allocation, (ii) returns collection, (iii) inventory control of returns, (iv) returns grading and (v) performance management of CLSC. We describe each typology of problems, their mathematical formulations and the implications through both an environment and business perspective. We highlight the managerial implication and then underline the limits of the current literature, and define future directions for research to explore.     

Spillover effects within supply chains: Evidence from Chinese-listed firms

There is increasing attention on information transfers along supply chain partners for firm (extreme) events. This growing literature finds spillover effects following certain types of firm events. Using data from credit rating actions of Chinese-listed firms over the period between March 2007 and May 2020, we examine the spillover effects of supply chains by focusing on the market reactions of event firms to the action announcements. We find strong evidence of spillover effects driven by the market reactions of event firms, which are enhanced through information diffusion channels as supply chain partners receive more investor attention. Moreover, the effects are stronger when event firms' market reactions are negative, event firms are non-stated-owned, the industry concentration of event firms is higher, or the supplier-customer business relationship is closer. Overall, these findings highlight the role of investor attention and network characteristics in supply chain spillovers.     

Reshoring: a strategic renewal of luxury clothing supply chains

This paper contributes to the emerging literature on reshoring by taking a value-driven enquiry into the renewal of supply chain strategy. It enhances the understanding of the use of reshoring in generating the value demanded by a changing business model. An iconic British high-end clothing brand, Burberry, is the chosen case study to explore the recent move towards reshoring because its changes of leadership, business model and evolving supply chain strategy from 1997 to early 2016 provide a timely and pertinent context. Burberry has continued to realign its business towards a brand-led and customer-centric model along with restoring its corporate heritage and core brand values. The changes in Burberry’s business model triggered the need to renew and realign its supply chain strategy through consolidating and rebuilding manufacturing activities back in the UK, in order to support its brand repositioning as quintessentially British and the company’s refocus on heritage products. The increased managerial control in the supply chain together with the close proximity of design and manufacture enables the promise of quality and brand provenance to be fulfilled. The renewal of Burberry’s supply chain strategy has contributed to an increase in revenues and brand values. These findings suggest that the renewal of supply chain strategy through reshoring and increasing control in supply chain operations can enhance value and firm competitiveness.     

Joint coordination contract for capital-constrained supply chains under asymmetric information

A two-echelon supply chain considering capital constraints and asymmetric information is established. The supplier provides credit guarantees for the capital-constrained retailer to loan from the bank, and its information about the retailer's capital type is asymmetric. The equilibrium decisions of supply chain participants are analyzed by using the Stackelberg game theory and principal–agent theory. Then, a joint contract is designed to eliminate the double marginalization effect. The results show that the supplier and the bank make different decisions for different types of retailers to avoid adverse selection. The joint contract of revenue-sharing and transfer payment can coordinate the supply chain.     

Sustainable reverse supply chains and circular economy in multichannel retail returns

The percentage of products being returned in multichannel retail are high and further increasing, yet many retailers and manufacturers are unaware of the importance and scale of this issue. They consider dealing with returns as a cost of doing business and are oblivious of the potential for conflicts between their corporate social responsibility commitments and their returns practices. This article investigates how far sustainable practices and circular economy concepts have been implemented in retail returns systems; it identifies vulnerabilities, barriers, and challenges to the implementation of sustainable, circular practices and suggests ways to overcome them, as sustainability, loss prevention, and profit optimisation can go hand in hand with the right approach to the organisation of the reverse supply chain. Implications of this research on strategic management are outlined. The research was conducted using in‐depth interviews and observations with four major retailers in the United Kingdom, 17 structured interviews, 100 retailer website reviews, and three retail community workshops, all with British and other European retailers.     

Greening supply chains: the case of The Body Shop International

The management of the supply chain is an important element in attempts by business to lower its environmental impact. The Body Shop International (BSI) has acquired significant experience in this area, starting with the launch of its supplier environmental star‐rating scheme in 1992. This paper reports on an interview survey of 20 BSI suppliers regarding the potential for improving the environmental performance of the BSI supply chain. BSI was generally seen as a company with a clear and consistent commitment to the environmental cause and good relationships with its suppliers, both of which are critical facilitators of the process of greening their supply chain. However, some barriers were perceived by the suppliers, including the confidentiality of ideas for improvement that might offer commercial advantage, a perception that increased costs could result and the fact that very few customers other than BSI were really interested in ‘green’ products. The paper concludes with a review of the prospects for BSI working with its suppliers to improve their overall environmental impact. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Practices and strategies for sustainability-related risk management in multi-tier supply chains

This study investigates how sustainability-related risks are managed in multi-tier supply chains. It focuses on the strategies and practices that companies use to manage sustainability-related risks and how these differ between supply chains and supply chain tiers. We use a multiple-case study with 25 companies forming 5 multi-tier supply chains. As a result of this study, we present a conceptual framework for sustainability-related risk management practices in multi-tier supply chains and apply it empirically by defining sustainability-related risk management profiles for the case supply chains. We show that in multi-tier supply chains, companies need direct and indirect collaboration and direct and indirect monitoring practices for managing sustainability-related risks emanating from not only their first-tier suppliers but also lower-tier suppliers. Our framework helps purchasing and supply chain managers understand the dimensions of sustainability-related risk management in a multi-tier setting and develop strategies and practices for mitigating and managing those risks. We also empirically show the challenge of extending sustainability-related risk management practices beyond first-tier suppliers due to the different practices in different supply chain tiers.