A model for supply management of agile manufacturing supply chains

This paper addresses the configuration problem of Manufacturing Supply Chains (MSC) with reference to the supply planning issue. Assuming that the manufacturing system is composed of different stages, we present a technique for the strategic management of the chain addressing supply planning and allowing the improvement of the MSC agility in terms of ability in reconfiguration to meet performance. More in detail, we enhance a previous design method by some of the authors that employs digraph modeling and integer linear programming to optimally design the MSC. The original approach avoids supply chain disruption and stock out and, at the same time, can manage spare parts distribution. In order to take into account the level of demands and maximum production capacities with single/multiple sourcing, in this new formulation we introduce supplier capacity constraints. A case study is presented describing the optimal MSC configuration of an Italian manufacturing firm. The obtained results show that the design method provides managers with key answers to issues related to the supply chain strategic configuration and agility, e.g., choosing the right location for distributors and retailers for enhanced MSC flexibility and performance.     

Linking product modularity and innovativeness to supply chain management in the Italian furniture industry

Much of the literature on modularity assumes that firms with modular products adopt modular organization. In the realm of supply chain management, no consensus has been reached on the effects of product modularity on supply chains (SC). This paper investigates whether SC choices depend on product modularity and innovativeness, and how SC choices can be aligned to these product features to maximize performance. A medium scale survey has been performed in the Italian furniture industry. By means of factor and cluster analyses, the SC of firms that introduced products with different levels of modularity and innovativeness have been compared. The results show that both product features must be considered when designing the SC.     

A causal analysis of the impact of information systems and supply chain management practices on operational performance: Evidence from manufacturing SMEs in Turkey

This study has empirically tested a framework identifying the causal links among supply chain management (SCM) and information systems (IS) practices, SCM–IS related inhibiting factors and operational performance based on a sample of 203 manufacturing SMEs operating in the manufacture of fabricated metal products and general purpose machinery within the greater metropolitan area of Istanbul in Turkey. Moderating effect of SCM and IS related enabling factors on the above mentioned relationships is also investigated in this study. Tests of hypotheses indicate that both SCM and IS practices positively and significantly influence the operational performance of sample firms. The results of the structural model also indicate a strong support for negative relationships between SCM–IS related inhibitors and the implementation levels of both SCM and IS practices. Similarly, a strong support was found for the hypothesized negative relationship between SCM–IS inhibitors and operational performance of SMEs. Finally, we verified the moderating impact of SCM–IS enablers on the link between SCM practices and operational performance. A similar moderating impact was also found with regard to the relationship between IS practices and operational performance.     

Examining sustainability performance in the supply chain: The case of the Greek dairy sector

This paper evaluates the sustainability performance of the Greek dairy chain and the performance of its individual members by using key indicators in relation to efficiency, flexibility, responsiveness and product quality. We assessed the importance of these indicators based on the relevant perceptions of key members of this chain. A structured questionnaire was developed where nineteen sustainability-related issues were examined. Two hundred and fifty three members of the Greek dairy supply chain responded including breeders, manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and catering companies. Our findings illustrate the immediate need for improvement in many key sustainability performance indicators. They also show the critical role of large dairy manufacturers who are the “sustainability performance champions” in this chain and are the driving force for the implementation of many sustainability initiatives.     

Strategic marketing in global supply chains: Four challenges

Supply chain management has emerged as a critical arena in which firms can find significant cost reduction opportunities, giving them a cost advantage over competitors. When supply chain management orientations are adopted by several firms in a supply chain, together they can significantly reduce supply chain costs pitting supply chain against supply chain. However, the pursuit of cost savings opportunities is not the only objective of supply chain management. Superior supply chain management can facilitate marketing strategy and lead to the creation of superior customer value, satisfaction, and loyalty, which in turn lead to improved product profit margins, overall firm profitability, and overall corporate growth. However, marketing strategy is problematic in global supply chains. Specifically, four significant strategic marketing challenges exist that relate to the development and execution of marketing strategy in global supply chains. This article draws attention to these challenges to stimulate managerial and research efforts that will move marketing strategy through the 21st century.     

The selected determinants of manufacturing postponement within supply chain context: An international study

Modern supply chains focus on an ultimate consumer satisfaction and often require essential dynamic reconfiguration. Manufacturing companies constitute important central nodes in supply chains, where almost all physical flows are concentrated.Postponement is the operating concept, which aims at delaying activities until a customer’s order has been received. The growth of interest in the postponement concept partially results from the increased demand for customized products.Data for the analysis has been collected through the survey carried out by researchers in several countries. The main research instrument used for this research was a questionnaire developed by the Global Manufacturing Research Group (GMRG). The conclusions formulated on the basis of data analysis proved that market and demand characteristics do not seem to be important for the choice between postponement and speculation strategy. The research showed that assembly postponement depends mostly on managerial decisions about the goals of company and the level of acceptance of an assembly postponement strategy on the market. Full postponement strategy is dictated mainly by the level of product customization and capacities of manufacturing and logistics systems. Production postponement has to be accepted on the market and should be associated with excellent forecasting techniques.     

Environmental sustainability in fashion supply chains: An exploratory case based research

In recent years, both researchers and practitioners have devoted attention to environmental sustainability issues in the fashion industry, but, despite the topic's relevance, a structured analysis of the problem is missing.This paper presents the results of exploratory case-based research aimed at identifying three factors: the drivers that push companies to adopt “green” practices, the different practices that can be used to improve environmental sustainability, and the environmental KPIs measured by fashion companies. Results include a comparison of two approaches pursued by established international companies with green-positioned brands with the efforts of small firms that have adopted alternative supply chain models.     

Outsourcing, performance, and the role of e-commerce: A dynamic perspective

In a highly competitive global environment, many manufacturers respond by setting up outsourcing relations for components and finished products with lower-cost producers on a contractual OEM (original equipment manufacture) basis. In the last decade, we have witnessed a spectacular growth in outsourcing activities led primarily by U.S. and Japanese companies, although their approaches to outsourcing strategy and supplier relations are different. However, outsourcing strategy is not without drawbacks. We offer a dynamic perspective of outsourcing strategy and its performance implications, in which we argue that there is an optimal degree of outsourcing. The outsourcing-performance relationship takes on an inverted-U shape, implying that as firms deviate further from their optimal degree of outsourcing, by either insourcing or outsourcing too much, their performance will suffer disproportionately. We then discuss how e-commerce affects where the optimal point of any particular firm is located, hence explicitly linking developments in e-commerce to changing outsourcing levels. We provide implications for the practice and study of outsourcing and e-commerce.     

Knowledge and information flows in supply chains: A study on pharmaceutical companies

A great deal of attention in the supply chain management literature is devoted to study material and demand information flows and their coordination. But in many situations, supply chains may convey information from different nature, they may be an important channel companies have to deliver knowledge, or specifically, technical information to the market. This paper studies the technical flow and highlights its particular requirements. Drawing upon a qualitative field research, it studies pharmaceutical companies, since those companies face a very specific challenge: consumers do not have discretion over their choices, ethical drugs must be prescribed by physicians to be bought and used by final consumers. Technical information flow is rich, and must be redundant and early delivered at multiple points. Thus, apart from the regular material channel where products and order information flow, those companies build a specialized information channel, developed to communicate to those who need it to create demand. Conclusions can be extended to supply chains where products and services are complex and decision makers must be clearly informed about technology-related information.     

The effects of management inertia on the supply chain performance of produce-to-stock firms

This article examines the impact of inertia on the management of the firm's supply chain operations and the effects it can have on a produce-to-stock firm's ability to respond to external market pressure and develop corrective strategies. The research methodology used is based on earlier Catastrophe Modeling that looked at inertia in organizational design, competitive pressure, and competitive response. The model demonstrates how latent variables, such as customer pressure and supply chain inertia can influence a finished goods supply chain management's response under various conditions. The model was tested and validated using questionnaire data gathered from a sample of members of the Council of Logistics Management. The model was used to estimate individual finished goods firm inertia response estimates. We incorporate these estimates in a brief examination of three produce-to-stock firms from the sample to give readers an idea of the usefulness of the approach in examining supply chain inertia.     

Leadership, the buying center, and supply chain performance: A study of linked users, buyers, and suppliers

With conceptual foundations taken from leadership theory and the resource-based view (RBV), this study examines the influence of transactional and transformational leadership on the relationship between the value of the corporate buying center and performance in supply chains. The sample consists of 58 directly linked and matched supply chains, each composed of one user (internal customer), one corporate buyer, and one external supplier. The results indicate that transformational leadership has a positive moderating effect on the relationship between the value of the corporate buying center and performance, while transactional leadership negatively moderates this relationship. Two “localness” dimensions (formalization and centralization) and two “openness” dimensions (participative and reflective) were included as controls in the analysis.     

The impact of information technology on supply chain capabilities and firm performance: A resource-based view

Organizations increasingly rely on information technology (IT) to improve the supply chain process. Yet, past evidence suggests that the investment in IT per se does not guarantee enhanced organizational performance. Drawing from the resource-based view, this study proposes that IT-enabled supply chain capabilities are firm-specific, and hard-to-copy across organizations. These capabilities can serve as a catalyst in transforming IT-related resources into higher value for a firm. Based on data collected from surveying supply chain and logistics managers in various industries, the present study sheds light on these issues. The findings provide a new perspective in evaluating IT investment in the supply chain process.     

Understanding types of organizational networking behaviors in the UK manufacturing sector

This research is aimed at understanding firms' different types of ‘networking behaviors’, i.e., how and why firms affect their strategic network position by activities/routines/practices aimed not just at their business partners, but beyond such direct relationships. Thus, we adopt a network perspective to examine how firms exploit their webs of direct and indirect business relationships in order to assess and embrace the potential opportunities and constraints in the network. Based on the industrial network approach (INA), this exploratory research specifically focuses on networking behaviors in the UK manufacturing sector. Thirty-one semi-structured interviews with executive managers from fifteen firms were conducted. We identify four types of organizational networking behaviors by the way in which firms utilize their web of relationships to achieve certain goals. By using the concept of networking behaviors based on the INA as well as the strong-and-weak-tie argument in economic sociology, purposeful networking behaviors can be categorized into the following: information acquisition, opportunity enabling, strong-tie resource mobilization and weak-tie resource mobilization. These four ‘types’ of organizational networking behaviors provide a deeper understanding of how firms operating in business-to-business exchanges relate to and exploit their webs of direct and indirect relationships, taking into consideration the embeddedness and interconnectedness of the network context.     

Supply chain integration and performance: The effects of long-term relationships, information technology and sharing, and logistics integration

Supply chain integration is widely considered by both practitioners and researchers a vital contributor to supply chain performance. The two key flows in such relationships are material and information. Previous studies have addressed information integration and material (logistics) integration in separate studies. In this paper, we investigate the integrations of both information and material flows between supply chain partners and their effect on operational performance. Specifically, we examine the role of long-term supplier relationship as the driver of the integration. Using data from 232 Australian firms, we find that logistics integration has a significant effect on operations performance. Information technology capabilities and information sharing both have significant effects on logistics integration. Furthermore, long-term supplier relationships have both direct and indirect significant effects on performance; the indirect effect via the effect on information integration and logistics integration.     

Towards a sustainable fashion retail supply chain in Europe: Organisation and performance

Sustainability issues are particularly sensitive to the fashion supply chain, given current fierce competition, intensive resource use, and the exposure of penurious labour conditions in some regions.In this paper, we discuss how the sustainability movement is impacting the fashion retail supply chain organisation and its performance. We carried out a study with stakeholders of the fashion industry and we report on their views. We elaborate on the challenges and conflicts of the different dimensions of sustainability, and we discuss how to leverage both the internal and external organisations in the European supply chain.     

Evaluation of postponement in the soluble coffee supply chain: A case study

This paper, through a case study, evaluates postponement as an option to improve supply chain performances in a soluble coffee manufacturer. The main focus of the paper is on the development of a numerical data-driven methodology for quantifying the benefits of postponement obtained from the total inventory reduction. Our study shows that significant cost savings are achievable by delaying the labelling and packaging processes until actual orders from retailers are known. These savings include the reduction of the cycle stock, safety stock, and obsolete stock unsold from promotional events. We also discuss the cost implications of the proposed configuration that may offset the estimated potential benefits. The methodology presented in this paper can also be used in many other supply chains, particularly in the food industry with similar environments. This paper contributes to the literature in extending the very short list of published work presenting a systematic methodology of characterising the postponement benefits in real world settings and driven by numerical data.     

Aligning the sustainable supply chain to green marketing needs: A case study

The research explores the challenges facing organisations in aligning sustainable procurement requirements and marketing needs and the attendant shifts in supply chain management practices. Whilst external influences are readily understood (e.g. regulation and customer demand), less is understood about the implications for suppliers trying to meet sustainable procurement requirements and the organisational challenges of aligning marketing with sustainable supply chain management. An exploratory case study of a UK University catering department has been undertaken, to explore the strategies, processes and relationships associated with synthesising sustainable supply chain and green marketing needs. The empirical findings illustrate the divergence between organisational perspectives on sustainability and procuring sustainable products with marketing demands. Thus, the findings extend the theoretical discussion on sustainable supply chains by providing empirical data based on real-life implementation and from this an emergent aligned supply chain model is proposed, which confirms two drivers for alignment, ‘lean and resource efficient’ and ‘local and seasonal’ — contingent on market demand. The findings emphasise the benefits of a reverse information flow, the importance of intermediaries, and relationships in its fulfilment, while indicating the resurgence of a supply ‘push’ of sustainable products into core markets. Future research directions are also posited.     

Contract costing in outsourcing enterprises: Exploring the benefits of discrete-event simulation

Outsourcing is a business strategy that has received much attention. An increase in outsourcing has a direct influence on the complexity of supply chain networks and on the number of contracts required to manage a supply chain. Outsourcing contracts may be entered into relatively quickly without a full understanding of the true cost implications. The research described here aims to develop tools based on discrete-event simulation to aid outsourcing companies when costing contracts. Currently available software for this type of application is reviewed. A field study is presented from the electronics sector, describing companies’ needs with respect to contract costing and how simulation could be used in the contract costing process. Simulation approaches are described for different contract costing scenarios. The paper concludes with a case study of a preliminary simulation model that has been developed to test the concept with a specific outsourcing scenario.     

Assessing the relational benefits of logistics services perceived by manufacturers in supply chain

The growing importance of logistics activities that span the boundaries of supply chain firms has put an emphasis on supply chain relationship management. Based on the existing marketing concept on relational benefits and the supply chain management literature on consumer satisfaction, this research evaluates logistics service performance from the eyes of manufacturers. Using data collected from US manufacturing firms, the study has identified the factors that influence manufacturer's satisfaction, as well as the key to understanding the benefits-satisfaction-loyalty triads in supply chain relationships. The contribution of the paper includes developing a conceptual model, adding new theoretical insights into benefits-satisfaction-loyalty triad that has been applied by manufacturers and LSPs, and providing some meaningful perspective on how to strategically assess the use of logistics providers so as to transform a logistics firm from a tactical service provider to a hand-in-glove strategic partner.