Managing returnable transport items in a vendor managed inventory system

This paper addresses a closed-loop inventory routing problem with demand uncertainty, which manages the delivery operations to customers and pick-up operations of empty returnable transport items (RTIs) from customers. The problem involves decisions regarding forward and backward vehicle routes, the delivery and collection quantities, the amount of production in terms of the number of filled RTIs, and the number of RTIs produced/ bought by the vendor during the defined planning horizon. The problem considers the holding costs, fixed cost of operating vehicles, fuel consumption cost, producing/buying costs, cleaning costs of RTIs, and loading and unloading costs. We formulate the problem as a mixed integer linear programming model and propose a Relax and Fix based solution approach to solve large instances. We conduct extensive analyses on a case study derived from a fruit and vegetable distribution network and several hypothetical instances. Our analyses investigate the effects of several problem parameter changes (i.e., average collection rate, customer service level, cost of buying crate and handling cost) on the total logistics cost. Additional numerical analyses are performed to demonstrate the usage of the model for evaluating the cost of being more green and environmental-friendly. Moreover, experiments on relatively large-scaled problems allow us to demonstrate the potential benefits of the proposed heuristic     

供应商管理库存模式实施中的优化研究

供应商管理库存是以制造商和供应商双方都获得最低成本为目的,在一个共同的协议下由供应商管理库存的合作性策略。但是目前多数企业在实施的过程中往往未能达到预期的目标,本文通过对现有实施过程中出现的问题进行分析,进而提出实践性较强的优化方案,使得VMI模式双方均能实现其目标。     

Extending the supply chain: Integrating operations and marketing in the online grocery industry

This study reports results from case studies of four Internet-ordering and home-delivery grocers and 2440 of their customers. Each grocer follows a different operations strategy as determined by choice of where to fulfill customer orders (from existing stores or from a dedicated DC) and by choice of delivery method (direct to the customer's home/office or indirect via customer pickup or third-party logistics provider). The survey data from customers are used to assess the degree of integration between marketing and operations and the relationship with customer behavioral intentions. The results indicate that eBusiness-, product-, and service-quality, all have a significant direct effect on customer behavioral intentions to purchase again. There is limited support for technology as a moderating factor. Finally, the relationships between the predictor variables and customer behavioral intentions differ across grocers. This supports the idea that grocers utilizing different operational strategies should focus attention on different facets of their business and provides insight as to where efforts should be directed.     

Economic impact of enhanced forest inventory information and merchandizing yards in the forest product industry supply chain

Forest products industry should maximize the value of timber harvested and associated products in order to be competitive in global markets. Enhanced forest inventories and merchandizing yards can help in maximizing value recovery in the forest products supply chain. This study develops an optimization model to analyze the economic impact of enhanced forest inventory information and merchandizing yard operations in the forest products supply chain. The application of the model is demonstrated by using a case study of a hypothetical forest industry in northwestern Ontario, which obtains four log assortment grades from the surrounding eight forest management units. The model analyzes five different scenarios with 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% certainty of tree quality in forest inventory information. The results of the study show that with full certainty of tree quality information, it is possible to gain 49% in gross profit in comparison with a scenario with no certainty. The usefulness of enhanced forest inventory and merchandizing yard in the entire supply chain of forest products industry is recognized by maximizing total value of wood fiber (by allocating right log to the right product), reducing fluctuations in raw wood fiber supply, and minimizing inventory carrying costs and lost sales.     

Critical challenges of inventory management in service parts supply: A Delphi study

The primary purpose of the study is to determine the critical challenges facing service parts managers and to help bridge the gap between research and practice. In order to accomplish this, a series of semi-structured interviews with 18 senior service parts managers from a variety of industries frequently dealing with service parts inventory issues was used as the basis of input for a web-based Delphi study. The results of the study include 18 commonly identified potential service parts inventory issues and ten key challenges for the service parts supply industry. The identified challenges should serve as a guide for both researchers seeking to contribute to the service parts body of knowledge and practitioners who are regularly faced with service parts inventory issues.     

Building long-term orientation in buyer–supplier relationships: The moderating role of culture

This research investigates buyer–supplier relationships in international markets. Research and practice have shown that buyer–supplier relationships benefit when partners to the relationship exhibit a long-term orientation. The extant literature suggests that a buyer's trust of a supplier and the supplier's performance affect the buyer's long-term orientation toward the relationship. We propose that the relative effects of trust and performance on long-term orientation are moderated by culture – specifically the individualism/collectivism dimension. Hypotheses are tested on data from two individualist and two collectivist cultures, using responses from over 600 purchasing professionals in the United States, Anglophone Canada, Francophone Canada and Mexico. Taken together, empirical findings suggest that cultural differences warrant consideration in developing successful purchasing strategies.     

Lean production and supplier relations: a survey of practices in the Aragonese automotive industry

This paper analyzes the main results of a survey to 28 automotive suppliers in the Spanish region of Aragón. It has been found in a regression analysis that the rotation of tasks and teamworking are positively correlated with the training and the use of modular components. Nearly half of the companies cooperate with customers, suppliers, and technological centers to improve their production processes but only two companies cooperate with their customers in component development and design which indicates an underinvolvement of the surveyed companies with the automotive manufacturers. The companies are much more integrated with the automakers in the delivery process, since more than half of the companies have daily deliveries and directly to the assembly line of the automaker.     

Category management initiatives from the retailer perspective: a study in the Brazilian grocery retail industry

This paper aims to bridge a gap in the literature concerning implementation processes and outcomes of category management initiatives in a developing country context. It presents the results of a study into initiatives of adoption of this tool in the Brazilian grocery retail industry, based on three in-depth case studies with retailers covering both pre-implementation, implementation and post-implementation issues. There is indication of satisfaction on the part of retailers with the business outcomes and learning effects of the initiatives. However, there seems to be the need for a better definition of medium and long-term actions as well as planning of investments in resources and technology.     

Cyber supply chain risk management: Revolutionizing the strategic control of critical IT systems

Cyber supply chain risk management (CSCRM) is a new discipline designed to help IT executives address the challenges of the rapid globalization and outsourced diffusion of hardware and software systems. CSCRM is an integrative discipline combining elements of cybersecurity, supply chain management, and enterprise risk management into a new and powerful concept to exert strategic control over the end-to-end processes of the focal organization and its extended enterprise partners. This article provides a survey of the field, as well as a detailed analysis of the results of a four-year research project on CSCRM, conducted by the Robert H. Smith School of Business Supply Chain Management Center for the National Institute of Standards and Technology, that focused on the development of organizational assessment tools and a capability/maturity model for this emerging discipline.     

Shaping buyer–supplier relationships in manufacturing contexts: Design and test of a contingency model

Although the idea that buyer–supplier partnerships can yield considerable benefits to firms is largely diffused among researchers and practitioners, the approach adopted in this paper is that no “one best way” exists in buyer–supplier relationships, but rather a “best way” for each specific exchange context. Hence, this paper proposes a contingency model for shaping and managing buyer–supplier relationships in manufacturing contexts. In order to test the model, an empirical study was performed on a sample of 45 buyer–supplier relationships within the Italian white goods industry. A three-dimensional performance indicator was computed to compare supplier performance achieved within relations matching the model's suggestions with those set differently. The results strongly suggest that suppliers involved in relationships set accordingly to the contingency model are likely to enjoy superior performance.     

Determining an optimal hierarchical forecasting model based on the characteristics of the data set: Technical note

The efficient flow of goods and services involves addressing multilevel forecast questions, and careful consideration when aggregating or disaggregating hierarchical estimates. Assessing all possible aggregation alternatives helps to determine the statistically most accurate way of consolidating multilevel forecasts. However, doing so in a multilevel and multiproduct supply chain may prove to be a very computationally intensive and time-consuming task. In this paper, we present a new, two-level oblique linear discriminant tree model, which identifies the optimal hierarchical forecast technique for a given hierarchical database in a very time-efficient manner. We induced our model from a real-world dataset, and it separates all historical time series into the four aggregation mechanisms considered. The separation process is a function of both the positive and negative correlation groups' variances at the lowest level of the hierarchical datasets. Our primary contributions are: (1) establishing a clear-cut relationship between the correlation metrics at the lowest level of the hierarchy and the optimal aggregation mechanism for a product/service hierarchy, and (2) developing an analytical model for personalized forecast aggregation decisions, based on characteristics of a hierarchical dataset.     

Evidence of the impacts of public e-procurement: The Portuguese experience

This paper analyses public e-procurement implementation and emphasizes its main difficulties and impacts in relation to the type of public organizations. The primary impacts and changes in the Portuguese public sector are analyzed within the new legal framework, which adopts mandatory e-procurement for any open, restricted or negotiated procedure. In this sense, two surveys carried out in consecutive years were conducted to assess the implementation difficulties and impact of e-procurement in the Portuguese public sector.The major value of this research is that it presents and discusses, for the first time, evidences about difficulties and impacts on the mandatory adoption of public e-procurement, based on the case of Portugal. The results show that the entities’ administrative level influences the e-procurement implementation, which is influenced by the innovation adoption process.     

Managing business processes across supply networks: the role of coordination mechanisms

The theory of network coordination provides a theoretical basis to explain how companies can overcome organizational boundaries and constraints to jointly manage business processes across supply networks. In particular, this paper focuses on Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR), a collaboration process whereby supply chain trading partners activate inter-firm coordination mechanisms to jointly plan key supply chain activities, from production and delivery of raw materials to production and delivery of final products to end customers.By discussing three case studies of CPFR implementation in supply networks of different industries–i.e. pharmaceutical, automotive and mechanical–the paper provides a theoretical framework that contributes to explaining the relations between inter-firm coordination mechanisms and the characteristics of interdependence among the actors involved in CPFR implementation.     

建筑供应链库存控制模式与优化方法研究——基于CPFR理论

一直以来,库存管理就是建筑供应链管理的重难点问题。本文基于CPFR理论研究了建筑供应链库存控制模式与优化方法,并得出了最终结论。     

Creating a competitive advantage in the global flight catering supply chain: a case study using SCOR model

Flight catering is a complex food service industry that caters to a wide range of airlines. Meals provided to passengers are a measure of in-flight service on an airplane. In the case of the airline industry, flight catering companies are responsible for preparing the meal that flight crews serve it at a voyaging altitude. This case study examines Emirates Kitchen Flight Catering (EKFC), a jointly owned entity of Dubai Civil Aviation (10%) and the Emirates Group (90%). Based on existing literature, international archival reports, company publications and participant observations of EKFC, the paper examines how EKFC reached the top of the catering supply chain by offering the best-in-class quality services and food to its passengers. The paper addresses the persistent growth of EKFC’s operations and investigates relevant strategies that reinforce EKFC’s fundamental competencies through the application of Supply Chain Operations Reference framework. Offering a combination of on-board excellence, quality, and fresh and delicious food while controlling costs across the supply chain is an important differentiator of EKFC’s flight catering business, thereby setting a benchmark for other businesses.     

Stakeholder management in sustainable supply chains: A case study of the bioenergy industry

Engaging with stakeholders and managing their issues when striving for a sustainable supply chain (SC) is a significant challenge. Although most studies on sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) consider stakeholder management necessary, little is known about related stakeholder management practices in SSCM. Thus, this paper seeks to enrich the theoretical debate on stakeholder management practices in SSCM through a case study approach to bioenergy SCs in Chile. Based on 28 interviews with SC actors and representatives from the surrounding stakeholder environment, the deductive–inductive analysis reveals that stakeholder management combines different practices to discuss stakeholder concerns, address them, and evaluate the process at the SC's external and internal levels. We propose structuring these practices based on two dimensions: “practices to address stakeholder requirements” and “practices whereby stakeholders are integrated.” The analysis' results indicate that although two-way communication with stakeholders can be seen as the core of stakeholder management, a certain willingness to learn and transform SC design is a prerequisite for true orientation toward stakeholder management in SSCM. Additionally, linkage development and local anchoring are practices used to obtain further legitimacy at the external level. Building on these findings, this study can guide practitioners in engaging with stakeholders and managing their issues across the SC.     

Impact of eBusiness technologies on operational performance: The role of production information integration in the supply chain

While the information technology (IT) literature is mixed regarding the direct benefits of eBusiness technologies on performance, the impact of such technologies on supply chain practices remains largely an unexplored area of research. We hypothesize that while there may be no direct benefit of eBusiness technologies on performance, these technologies might support customer integration and supplier integration in the supply chain, which in turn might impact operating performance.To examine our hypotheses, we collected data from respondents who focused their responses to a single major product the process that manufactures it, a significant customer, and an important supplier. Our analyses showed that there was no direct benefit of eBusiness technologies on performance; however these technologies supported customer integration and supplier integration. Further, supplier integration was found to positively impact cost, quality, flexibility, and delivery performance; however there was no relationship between customer integration and performance. Consequently, there is a relationship between eBusiness technologies and supplier integration that leads to better performance. Further, there is an interactive effect between customer integration and supplier integration that supports the notion that firms that have both forms of integration, supported by eBusiness technologies, significantly outperform the others.     

Distancing flexibility in the hotel industry: the role of employment agencies as labour suppliers

Two interrelated aspects of the debate on the nature of labour supply chain in the hotel industry form the focus of this research article. First, the notion of a shift to some forms of human resources recruitment strategies which seeks to use agency staff as a means of generating economical benefits – as opposed to conventional permanent staffing; and, second, the paramount importance of using distancing flexibility through effective agency utilization with the consequence of controlling labour costs, satisfying firm's demand for labour, and to respond to possible fluctuations in manpower needs. To this end, the research advocates the use of qualitative methodology in the form of semi-structured and in-depth interviews with hotel housekeeping managers, their partner agency managers and their flexible workers. Based upon the interviewees' responses and other documentary sources, we find, among others, that pursuing labour flexibility appears to be inevitable in the hotel industry; that the three-tier flexible firm model (Atkinson 1984 Atkinson, J. 1984. Manpower Strategies for Flexible Organizations. Personnel Management, August, : 28–31.  [Google Scholar]) does not provide a full account of the supply chain relationship between hotels and employment agencies; and that employees are being relatively treated as a ‘cost’ – as opposed to a ‘resource’ (see Slack, Chambers and Johnston 2004 Slack, N., Chambers, S. and Johnston, R. 2004. Operations Management, (4th ed.),, London: FT Prentice Hall.  [Google Scholar]). To conclude, the research evidence is used, combined with previous literature, to discuss the implications of these results for broader debates on the utilization of flexible workers in the supply chain relationship between the client hotels and their partner agencies.     

Getting back into the swing of things: The adaptive path of purchasing and supply management in enhancing supply chain resilience

The COVID-19 crisis posed significant challenges to global supply chains (SCs) and exposed their vulnerability to disruption. As SCs have evolved into complex structures comprising a multitude of globally dispersed companies that collaborate closely with one another, purchasing and supply management (PSM) have played a key role in addressing the crisis. The existing PSM measures for increasing supply chain resilience (SCRES) were stress tested and it became evident that these methods are applicable only to a limited extent due to their static perspective and their lack of a network character. Thus, this paper examines the role of PSM by identifying implemented response measures. By conducting 40 semi-structured interviews with experts from original equipment manufacturers and first-tier suppliers in the German automotive industry, a comprehensive overview of the industry was obtained. To reflect the network nature of the industry and the adaptive path of PSM, the data analysis is framed by resource dependence theory and the adaptive cycle approach. The results of the study are 25 response measures of PSM to enhance SCRES, categorized into three waves of measures: initial measures upon the occurrence of the disruption, temporary measures during the disruption, and post-disruption measures. In this way, the study contributes to the existing literature by demonstrating that PSM takes on a major role in increasing resilience by implementing diverse response measures. In addition, the study shows that PSM follows the path of an adaptive cycle, and that after the disruption and the initial and temporary measures, PSM adapts, which is reflected in the post-disruption measures. For practitioners, the study provides a list of response measures to increase resilience that can be used to review existing measures or implement new ones.