Patterns of maritime supply chains: slot capacity analysis

This paper offers a tool for analysing patterns of maritime supply chains. The study uses empirical data on slot capacity deployed by container shipping lines for analysing ports (as nodes) and routes and shipping lines (as links) that are embedded within the maritime supply chain. The ports of Singapore and Hong Kong are chosen to illustrate the respective transhipment and gateway perspectives. Findings reveal that geographical location and changes in the constitution of players can have reverberations on the maritime supply chain dynamics that traverse the port. Furthermore, evidence from trade route data also shows that maritime supply chain dynamics associated with transhipment and gateway ports could be governed by different levels of scope economies, demand complementarity and market power. The paper illustrates the abundant potential of slot capacity analysis for academic and industry/market research. Thus, future research can be pursued in various contexts and for different applications.     

Designing a sustainable maritime supply chain: A hybrid QFD–ANP approach

This study aims to design a sustainable maritime supply chain by taking customer requirements as the focus. This is achieved by an analytical approach combining Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and Analytical Network Process (ANP) for guiding shipping companies’ design. An analysis of a major container shipping line is conducted to illustrate and validate the approach. The four main customer requirements are: (1) Cost and Price Competitive, (2) Pollution Reduction, (3) Efficient Use of Fuel and Resources, and (4) Health, Safety, and Security. The Use of Green Design Ships, Engines and Machinery is found to be the most important design requirement.     

Multi-objective decision support to enhance environmental sustainability in maritime shipping: A review and future directions

This paper aims to examine the potential of multi-objective optimization (MOO) as a decision support to improving sustainability in maritime shipping. We focus on environmental sustainability and the trade-offs involved with economic and operational objectives. Through a systematic approach, we review the literature on environmental sustainability, decision support and multi-objective optimization in maritime shipping. We identify the gaps and directions for future research. It is expected that the next generation of decision support systems for maritime transport will exploit the theoretical development in MOO to facilitate informed decision making in maritime supply chains considering environmental sustainability and the competing objectives.     

Panarchy within a port setting

All facets of present day society are subjected to an ever increasing rise in uncertainty. Seaports are no exception. As complex clusters of industrial activity and gateways for distribution networks, they are vulnerable to external and internal shocks disrupting supply chains. This evolution forces stakeholders to ponder on “sustainable development,” and to foster adaptive capabilities and create opportunities. The development and further substantiation of the notion of ‘resilience’ underlined the need to study how clusters and networks (should) respond to major disturbances. In this paper, we scrutinize the concept of port resilience by revisiting the Panarchy and adaptive cycle theorem of Holling (2001). The objective is to determine if this framework can be applied to a port development context. The paper outlines the literature on Panarchy and adaptive cycles and links it to ports. It also provides an overview of the general theorem and explains the value for maritime research. The framework is linked to a set of cases on port infrastructure and development.     

Post-disaster grain supply chain resilience with government aid

Assessing the disruption and resilience of the agricultural grain supply chain is critical to ensure grain supply and stabilize grain price in the final market. This research proposes a quantitative model to analyze how a grain processor regains robustness when supply is disrupted by a natural disaster upstream, and how this disruption affects grain retailers downstream. Two supply chain recovery methods, contingent sourcing and government aid, are considered for grain processor recovery. The results show that (1) a processor prefers timely full recovery, and (2) government aid as an intervention means is indispensable but cannot fully replace the backup supplier.     

Integrated scheduling of a multi-product multi-factory manufacturing system with maritime transport limits

This paper studies a practical multi-factory job allocation and scheduling problem involving inland and maritime transport limits. A new heuristic called Due-date Based Cut-off rule (DBC) is developed to improve the computational efficiency of both exact and genetic algorithms (GA). Except the application of DBC, this proposed GA is guided by a novel fuzzy controller aimed at eliminating the drawbacks other GAs have when dealing with multi-factory models. The tests of the solution quality and computational efficiency for this GA are carried out. The numerical experiments demonstrate the value of the proposed approach in this practical global supply chain.     

Global supply chain design: A literature review and critique

In this paper, we review decision support models for the design of global supply chains, and assess the fit between the research literature in this area and the practical issues of global supply chain design. The classification scheme for this review is based on ongoing and emerging issues in global supply chain management and includes review dimensions for (1) decisions addressed in the model, (2) performance metrics, (3) the degree to which the model supports integrated decision processes, and (4) globalization considerations. We conclude that although most models resolve a difficult feature associated with globalization, few models address the practical global supply chain design problem in its entirety. We close the paper with recommendations for future research in global supply chain modeling that is both forward-looking and practically oriented.     

Dynamic impact on global supply chains performance of disruptions propagation produced by terrorist acts

Understanding disruptions and how their effects propagate through the supply chain is critical to promote security and efficient movement of goods. This research proposes a system dynamics model as an effective quantitative approach for analyzing the effects of the materialization and simultaneous propagation of disruptions produced by terrorist acts on global supply chains performance. The article shows that the impact on inventory levels in the supply chain can increase 600% compared to normal operating conditions as a result of increasing the security measures on international borders. Finally, useful conclusions for designing more resilient supply chains and future research are exposed.     

Marrying supply chain sustainability and resilience: A match made in heaven

Sustainable supply chain management has become an integral part of corporate strategy for virtually every industry. However, little is understood about the broader impacts of sustainability practices on the capacity of the supply chain to tolerate disruptions. This article aims to explore the sustainability–resilience relationship at the supply chain design level. A multi-objective optimization model featuring a sustainability performance scoring method and a stochastic fuzzy goal programming approach is developed that can be used to perform a dynamic sustainability tradeoff analysis and design a “resiliently sustainable” supply chain. Important managerial and practical insights are obtained from an empirical case study.     

Reprint of “Enhancing green supply chain initiatives via empty container reuse”

In this paper, the maritime industry’s commitment to green supply chain has been analyzed. The objective of this study is to show that the reuse of empty containers not only adds value to a firm, but leads to waste reduction in the supply chain. The novelties of this article include (i) empty and laden containers are treated in accordance with a shipping company’s green effort; (ii) both the volume and weight of containers are introduced to indicate a potential constraint on green effort; (iii) empty container storage costs are included as a value-added component which stem from green effort.     

Supply chain integration,landside operations and port accessibility in metropolitan Chicago

Seaports have traditionally been the focus of maritime logistics supply chains. Changing production patterns demanding greater end to end visibility by customers and accessibility to key inland population centers assume greater importance in the organization and design of transport resources and cargo flows. While synchronization of all aspects of the supply chain has become an operational necessity for firms, it is often held hostage to the efficiency of hinterland networks who must respond to a large group of stakeholders with sporadic coordination. This is particularly true when looking at the central US city and region of Chicago, a critical intermodal exchange point for truck, air and river barge traffic domestic and global, as well as a major central distribution location. This paper analyzes supply chain integration (SCI) efforts in the metropolitan Chicago region and considers efforts by public and private actors to collaborate for region-wide SCI improvements. Pareto analysis suggests that concentrated freight corridors exist, influencing freight planning for regional transportation networks more directly than diffused regional freight movements. If the corridor service becomes less responsive or congested the corridor will move to different end nodes within the broad region. Regional planning must thus address national, regional, and local moves. Private/public sector infrastructure firms should address functional cooperation on SCI by focusing on corridors as well as local improvements.     

Uncertainty propagation in a supply chain or supply network

A supply chain is characterized by uncertain demands (demand-side uncertainty) and uncertainties associated with the performances of the production facilities (supply-side uncertainty). In this paper, a method is proposed to plan production in a supply chain with a multi-echelon supply process with unreliable production facilities working in markets with uncertain demand. In such a system it is necessary to consider the global and cumulative effects on the performance of the entire supply chain. We introduce the salient features of uncertainty propagation in supply chains and demonstrate their impact quantitatively using a test problem from the automotive industry.     

Supply chain design under quality disruptions and tainted materials delivery

Events such as the 2008 Heparin tragedy, in which patients lost their lives due to tainted pharmaceuticals, highlight the necessity for supply chain designers and planners to consider the risk of even low probability incidents in supply chains. The goal of this research is to design a single-period, single-product supply chain model with capacitated facilities to hedge against the possibility of sending tainted materials to consumers. Given that our mixed-integer stochastic model is NP-hard, we develop efficient heuristic and metaheuristic algorithms to obtain acceptable solutions. Computational experience is presented and discussed.     

Robust supply chain strategies for recovering from unanticipated disasters

Recovering from unanticipated disasters is critical in today’s global market. This paper examines the effectiveness of popular recovery strategies used to address unpredictable disasters that derail supply chains. We create a formal model to portray dynamic operational performance among supply chain firms facing disruptions caused by natural and man-made disasters. Our analysis shows that a supply chain recovers best if member firms adopt a radical, rapid, costly recovery strategy that immediately resolves the disruption. This observation is robust to various resource consumption requirements. We apply our methodology in the case of Taiwan’s 2011 food contamination scandal and provide managerial insights.     

Analysis,modeling, and assessing performances of supply chains served by long-distance freight transport corridors

This article deals with an analysis, modeling, and assessing performances of supply chains served by long-distance intercontinental intermodal rail/road- and sea-shipping freight transport corridor(s). For such a purpose, the supply chains are defined and the methodology for assessing their performances under given conditions is developed. The methodology consists of the analytical models of indicators of the operational, economic, environmental and social performances of particular corridors and corresponding supply chains assumed to be dependent on the infrastructural and technical/technological capabilities. The models of particular indicators have been applied according to “what-if” scenario approach to assessing performances of the long-distance intercontinental inland and maritime freight transport corridors spreading between China and Europe in the scope of the “Silk Road Economic Belt” and “A New Maritime Silk Road” policy initiative. The results prove that the intermodal inland rail/road alternative could act as a serious competitive alternative to its maritime deep-sea counterpart under given conditions. Nevertheless, in order to realize the opportunities, large investments in the inland rail/road infrastructure are required to appropriately connect China with Europe.     

Production smoothing in a serial supply chain: A laboratory investigation

The purpose of this paper is to examine production smoothing in supply chains. Using the controlled setting of the laboratory, we systematically investigate supply chain features that lead to production smoothing. In contrast to prior laboratory studies of the bullwhip effect, we find that the bullwhip effect disappears in several of our experiments. More importantly, our study shows that when customer demand has a predictable seasonal component, retailers smooth orders. This behavior is more pronounced when changing order levels is costly. The results demonstrate how simplifying the structure of the supply chain leads to production smoothing behavior.     

The environmental benefits of changing logistics structures for fresh vegetables

The transport phase is one of the crucial stages that can be improved to reduce the environmental impact of the fresh fruit and vegetable supply chain. In this paper, we calculate the environmental impact of feasible logistic alternatives for the above-mentioned supply chain so as to identify the type of transportation that incurs the lowest environmental costs. Specifically, we consider the early potato supply chain as a case study, as it involves one of the main fresh vegetables exported from Italy. Consumers' willingness to pay for the environmental impact of different logistic chains was obtained through life cycle assessment. Our results show that rail transport could reduce environmental impact in terms of tons of oil equivalent, environmental loads, and fuel consumption while ensuring reasonable shipment times. Development of an efficient rail transport system would be positively considered by consumers, enhancing their preferences for Italian products.     

Integration of inland waterway transport in the intermodal supply chain: a taxonomy of research challenges

This paper identifies research opportunities which will enable the further integration of inland waterway transport in the intermodal supply chain. Intermodal transport may be interpreted as a chain of actors who supply a transport service. Inland navigation can play a crucial role in increasing supply chain service performance. A first group of research challenges lies in the evolving relationship between transport geography and logistics activities. The next set of research challenges has the objective to encourage efficient operations in IWT: development of a system wide model for IWT, integration of operational planning systems and analysis of bundling networks. A third group of research efforts is directed towards shippers and consignees who use the intermodal transport chain to send or receive their goods: further development of models that integrate intermodal transport decisions with supply chain decisions and creation of green supply chains. A fourth cluster of research challenges concerns the problem domain of external cost calculations. Finally detailed time series data on freight transport should be collected to support these future research tracks.     

Optimizing inventory decisions in a multi-stage multi-customer supply chain

Most supply chain models focus on two-stage chains in which vendors supply material to one customer. In this paper, we formulate a three-stage supply chain model where a firm can supply many customers. We deal with three inventory coordination mechanisms between chain members and solve a cost minimization model for each. We show that some of the coordination mechanisms can result in a significantly lower total cost than matching production and delivery along the chain. We provide some insights into when the added complexity of the second and third coordination mechanisms lead to significant cost reductions.     

Maritime transport policy of Turkey

The purpose of this paper is to review recent aspects of the maritime transport policy of Turkey in an explanatory approach. The decisions taken by the Turkish authorities for Turkish maritime policy are analysed both at international and national levels. The decisions are discussed for the current situation in Turkey.