Business strategy for sustainable development: Impact of life cycle inventory and life cycle impact assessment steps in supply chain design and planning

Sustainability reporting has become a central instrument in displaying a company's strategy and engagement with a more sustainable society. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is an important tool in this context as it is aimed to analyze the entire life cycle of the product/service, instead of focusing on one focal firm. However, the lack of standardized guidelines in its application raises questions regarding the usefulness and validity of results. This study contributes to the improvement of sustainability reporting through the identification of the uncertainty sources in life cycle methodologies that have the biggest impact in the definition of business and environmental strategies, exploring a supply chain‐oriented analysis. The focus is on life cycle inventory (LCI) and life cycle impact assessment (LCIA). A multiobjective optimization‐based methodology is applied to a supply chain case study in the pulp and paper industry. Environmental and economic objectives are considered. Results show that different LCIA methods and different normalization data sets result in significantly different business and environmental strategies. However, different system models and cultural perspectives at the LCI step and variations in the characterization factors tend to lead to the same decisions. Important insights are gained regarding the impact of nonstandardized analysis of the application of LCA in supply chain design and planning decisions and consequently on business strategy definition and sustainability reporting. Furthermore, the importance of operations research methods to improve LCA‐based studies and of bridging the gap between LCA and supply chain management bodies of knowledge is highlighted in this work.     

Green supply chain management in the automotive industry: A study in Brazil

The auto industry is experiencing a time of restlessness, which stems from several elements that currently threaten the stability and status quo of its supply chains. Among these elements are autonomous driving, connectivity, electrification, and trip sharing that has led to new forms of mobility. In this context, this article presents the results of a research, which had three main objectives: (1) to identify the green supply chain management (GSCM) practices most commonly implemented in all industrial sectors worldwide, (2) to evaluate how these practices are considered by professionals in the automotive industry and by researchers working on the subject in Brazil, and (3) to identify and evaluate which practices are most widely adopted within these companies and/or supply chains and influence their environmental performance. The research method combined a qualitative research step (Delphi) with another quantitative one (survey). The results show that most of the reality of the automotive industry in Brazil is in line with studies on GSCM practices worldwide, but some specific findings have also been identified and discussed.     

Operational excellence in a green supply chain for environmental management: A case study

Nowadays, organizations have started to become more conscious about the environment in their supply chain operations. The greening process has guided supply chain practices into new ways of thinking according to green standards. The assessment of the performance of green supply chain management (GSCM) requires a holistic view for the whole supply chain. In this context, given that becoming green in the operational side of activities is essential, the performance assessment of operational activities also requires a holistic view to be taken. In this paper, an attempt has been made to improve the performance of GSCM by examining and evaluating the green operational excellence of a hot dip galvanizing company. The framework includes several green operational excellence key criteria, namely, quality management, efficiency management, green production/manufacturing, eco‐packaging, and green design. First, the weights of the criteria and the respective measurements were found by fuzzy analytic network process. Then, the overall operational performance score was found by a weighted scoring method. Finally, both managerial and theoretical implications were suggested according to the outcomes and findings of the case study.     

Performance evaluation of reverse logistics in food supply chains in a circular economy using system dynamics

Supply chains are composed of multiple stakeholders who have complex interrelationships. In addition, the forward and reverse flow of materials, information, human resources, and finance occurs among different stakeholders in closing the loop of supply chains. Reverse logistics (RL) activities are gaining importance in terms of size and quantity due to both economic and environmental concerns. These flows in RL in supply chains are both dynamic and complex in nature. Further, the environmental impact of RL activities has barely been considered in holistic way in available literature. In this study, a system dynamics model has been developed to analyze and comprehend the green performance of RL activities by predicting the environmental impact of RL activities. The proposed model has been validated by a case study in the context of a food supply chain. In the company where the case study is carried out, the environmental effects of RL activities have been analyzed. These activities in a food supply chain in terms of CO₂ (carbon dioxide), NO_x (nitrogen oxide), SO₂ (sulfur dioxide), and PM (particulate matter) emissions have been predicted through a system dynamics model for the years 2020 to 2024. The proposed methodology is applied in a food supply context, a major player in retail business, especially in emerging economies. According to our findings, the RL activities in a food supply chain can significantly contribute to green performance management by minimizing food waste and loss; hence, the environmental impacts of such activities should be closely examined from a managerial perspective.     

Integrating sustainable development in the supply chain: The case of life cycle assessment in oil and gas and agricultural biotechnology

It is widely accepted that firms play an important stewardship role in addressing sustainable development concerns. A key challenge in this role is to balance the often conflicting pressures created by sustainable development—firm-level economic performance versus environmental degradation and social disruption. Drawing on complexity theory, risk management, stakeholder theory and the innovation dynamics literature, we discuss the problems of integrating sustainable development concerns in the supply chain, specifically the applicability of life cycle assessment (LCA). Many authors have emphasized the importance of the “cradle to grave” approach of LCA in optimizing closed-loop supply chains, improving product design and stewardship. Based on two case studies (an agricultural biotechnology and an oil and gas company) with supporting data collected from key stakeholders, we argue that sustainable development pressures have increased complexities and presented ambiguous challenges that many current environmental management techniques cannot adequately address. We provide a framework that addresses these deficiencies and discuss implications for practitioners and management theory.     

钢结构住宅全生命周期环境影响评价

钢结构住宅是建筑业发展的重要趋势,其环境性能评价还有待深入。文章以全生命周期评价技术为基础,从资源消耗、能源消耗和污染排放三方面,对钢结构住宅的环境影响评价进行了探索,以明确钢结构住宅的环境性能,推动钢结构住宅更好推广,促进钢结构住宅产业的可持续发展。     

A model of integrated regional logistics hub in supply chain

ABSTRACT

A regional logistics hub is a constellation of multiple logistics facilities in a region of several provinces or states. This research models an integrated regional logistics hub with consideration of time-phased demand in a multi-echelon, multi-period, and capacitated logistics network. The integrated logistics hub considers three phases based on the characteristics of China’s five-year planning policy. By applying mixed integer linear programming, the greedy heuristics approach, the particle swarm optimization algorithm, and the Hungarian method, the location of logistics facilities at different echelons of a supply chain is identified and the needs for facility expansion or closing during different time periods are determined.     

Gaining from disorder: Making the case for antifragility in purchasing and supply chain management

The purchasing and supply chain management (P&SCM) discipline assumes that supply chains are fragile systems, hence taking a “negative” approach toward disorder. Building on Taleb’s concept of antifragility—the ability to gain from disorder rather than avoiding it—, we challenge this traditional assumption. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed that some companies were indeed able to gain from disorder, whereas some of those that focused too much on robustness and resilience lost ground. Building robust and resilient supply chains may no longer be enough to thrive in today’s highly volatile business world. This article sparks a new debate by introducing antifragility to the P&SCM literature and provides new directions for future research.     

Using integrated information systems in supply chain management

The aim of this paper is to empirically test not only the direct effects of information and communication technology (ICT) capabilities and integrated information systems (IS) on firm performance, but also the moderating role of IS integration along the supply chain in the relationship between ICT external and capabilities and business performance. Data collected from 102 large Iberian firms from Spain and Portugal are used to test the research model. The hierarchical multiple regression analysis is employed to test the direct effects and the moderating relationships proposed. Results show that external and internal ICT capabilities are important drivers of firm performance, while merely having integrated IS do not lead to better firm performance. In addition, a moderating effect of IS integration in the relationship between ICT capabilities and business performance is found, although this integration only contributes to firm performance when it is directed to connect with suppliers or customers rather than when integrating the whole supply chain.     

供应链构建的博弈分析

文章在供应链吸纳新成员的博弈分析中,建立了一个支付博弈矩阵,根据纳什均衡的必要条件,确定了目标企业的范围,并从中选择最优企业。在供应链整合期,应用负激励模型约束成员企业的违约行为,同时指出,供应链企业在重复博弈中,运用可信承诺、触发策略可限制企业的机会主义行为,从而供应链企业可以形成长期的合作关系。     

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.     

中国汽车企业整合对供应链影响的思考

由于美国次贷危机引起全球经济变革后,中国政府鼓励国内汽车行业实施联合重组,形成了几个大的企业集团。受此影响,汽车企业供应链的零件供应商、企业制造能力、管理水平、物流配送方式、产品设计、商品销售都将发生变化。文章还研究了如何利用这次重组趋利避害,完成供应链优化,实现汽车产业振兴。     

Integrating sustainability and resilience in the supply chain: A systematic literature review and a research agenda

Sustainability has emerged as an important industrial strategic outlook expanding beyond organizational boundaries to include the supply chain. Simultaneously, the industry has also been faced with supply chain resilience concerns. Research on the intersection of supply chain sustainability and resilience is nascent and is a consequence of their observed mutual influences. However, confusion about concepts, implementation methods, and measurements of sustainable and resilient supply chains remains. This study completes a systematic literature review that critically examines several major observations and directions. We find the concept of sustainable supply chains is more established, and general agreement on its theoretical foundations exists. Supply chain resilience is relatively less mature. The nexus and relationships between the two topics are often incoherent: there is confusion on sustainable and resilient supply chains establishment; there is no clarity on what practices could jointly advance both areas. A major conflict exists since sustainability generally focuses on efficiency, while resilience seeks effectiveness. We recommend studies to analyze implementation relationships and impact. We also observe that performance measurement systems should be developed to assess supply chain sustainability and resilience performance taking with explicit consideration time horizons considered in these measures.     

Rhetoric and reality of corporate greening: a view from the supply chain management function

The increasingly important economic role of supply chain management provides the backcloth against which this article examines what contribution the function can make to environmental protection. Theoretical perspectives on greener supply are developed and then tested against a sample of manufacturing companies. Environmental policy documents published by the sample companies seem to offer surface evidence for a proactive supply chain management role in environmental protection. Yet a more detailed examination of the three elements that constitute supply chain management – the management of the transformation of materials, the management of information flows and the management of supply chain relationships – finds a suboptimal situation for all three areas. In part this gap can be explained by limits in the technical capabilities of the supply chain. More important, however, are structural constraints that prevent the supply chain manager from actively searching for environmentally friendlier alternatives. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Enhancing hospital supply chain performance: A relational view and empirical test

Improving hospital supply chain performance has become increasingly important as healthcare organizations strive to improve operational efficiency and to reduce cost. In this study, we propose a research model based on a relational view, delineating the factors that influence hospital supply chain performance: trust, knowledge exchange, IT integration between the hospital and its suppliers, and hospital–supplier integration. Testing results of the research model based on data from a sample of 117 supply chain executives from U.S. hospitals show positive direct effects: (1) from trust and from IT integration to knowledge exchange respectively; (2) from knowledge exchange and from IT integration to hospital–supplier integration respectively; and (3) from hospital–supplier integration to hospital supply chain performance. The results also show the following indirect effects: (1) the influences of knowledge exchange and IT integration on hospital supply chain performance are partially and fully mediated by hospital–supplier integration, respectively and (2) the influences of trust and IT integration on hospital–supplier integration are fully and partially mediated by knowledge exchange, respectively. In addition, the results show the following moderating effects: (1) hospital system membership moderates the relationships between IT integration and knowledge exchange and between trust and knowledge exchange; (2) hospital environmental uncertainty moderates the relationship between trust and knowledge exchange; and (3) trust moderates the relationship between knowledge exchange and hospital–supplier integration. Implications of the study findings and directions for future research are discussed.     

Information technology for sustainable supply chain management: a literature survey

In supply chain management (SCM), two topics have gained importance over the last years. On the one hand, sustainable SCM (SSCM) has become increasingly relevant and many publications have contributed to the topic. On the other hand, information technology (IT) is being progressively considered as a key enabler for efficiency in supply chains. Several research efforts have contributed to the field of IT for SSCM. However, this paper is the first recent attempt to summarise the current state of the art of how IT can affect SSCM in any structured way and to compare it with IT for ‘general’ SCM to give guidance for future research. This paper surveys 55 peer-reviewed articles that were retrieved through keyword searches (until May 2014). The analysis identifies research deficits as well as a lack of scientific discourse employing empirical techniques and a lack of investigations on the social sustainability. Additionally, possible topics for further research were derived by comparing the survey’s results with the current research on IT for ‘general’ SCM following the analysis of 631 articles. Six fields could be identified, namely output/effects of IT, machine communication and multiagents, inputs and IT-supported processing, IT-enabled interorganisational exchange, quantitative IT approaches and a sector focus.     

食品供应链可持续发展的生命周期评估法

应用生命周期评估法(LCA)对食品链的经济、社会和环境三个方面的可持续性进行评估,构建了食品链可持续发展的指标体系,并建立了对该指标体系进行评价的层次分析法。     

Environmental supply chain management in the construction sector: theoretical underpinnings

Environmental implications of a product/project are typically spread across its supply chain, from design through to end-of-life. This is particularly acute for construction sector because of the inherent nature and complexity of its supply chain. The sector, therefore, could benefit from the application of environmental supply chain management (ESCM), a systematic and integrated approach towards restraining the adverse environmental impacts emanating from the supply chain. Unfortunately, uptake of ESCM in construction vis-à-vis other sectors is limited and fragmented. This formed the motivation, which using 39 interviews across 20 firms in the UAE construction sector, provide systemic insights on the various facets of ESCM namely, core and facilitating environmental practices, internal and external drivers (pressures/motives) and barriers/challenges affecting environmental practices’ implementation, and relevant environmental performance measures across different firm types and stakeholders with the support of several established/emerging theories. The findings is expected to enhance the application of ESCM in construction.     

Core issues in sustainable supply chain management – a Delphi study

Sustainable supply chain management has emerged as a growing topic, receiving increasing interest in the sustainability and supply chain management area. So far, the field is dominated by either case or survey based research. Few attempts have been made to take a broader look at the overarching issues, which form core topics of sustainable supply chain management. This paper presents the findings from a Delphi study where experts were asked to contribute their opinion. The Delphi study allows an aggregation of these opinions and extracts underlying topics in a structured manner. Four major topics were identified, which are (1) pressures and incentives for sustainable supply chain management, (2) identifying and measuring impacts on sustainable supply chain management, (3) supplier management (particularly addressing issues at the supplier–buyer interface) and (4) supply chain management (dealing with issues across all companies involved in the supply chain). The research presented contributes to substantiating and consolidating the field of sustainable supply chain management. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.