制造业存货管理研究

在市场竞争越来越激烈的情况下,企业靠提高产品售价获取润已不现实,在产品售价不变甚至降低的情况下,降低成本就显得尤为重要。存货在降低成本中占了举足轻重的位置。本文阐述了存货管理的内涵和一般方法,并针对目前制造业存货管理中存在的问题提出了对策与建议。     

Enhancing effects of manufacturing flexibility through operational absorptive capacity and operational ambidexterity

A large body of research investigates how manufacturing flexibility in uncertain environments leads to firm performance, with mixed results. The mixed findings could be due to differences across firms in terms of the capabilities to acquire, assimilate, and transform knowledge and to simultaneously pursue both the exploitation of existing operational capabilities and the exploration for new operational capabilities. Building on the literature that suggests that manufacturing flexibility mediates the relationship between environmental uncertainty and firm performance, we explore the applicability of two organizational learning contingencies to the operations environment: operational absorptive capability and operational ambidexterity. Absorptive capacity enables the recognition and assimilation of new knowledge. Ambidexterity determines whether this knowledge will be applied for both exploration and exploitation. Using a sample of 852 manufacturing firms, we find that environmental uncertainty affects firm performance directly and indirectly through manufacturing flexibility. Furthermore, both operational absorptive capacity and operational ambidexterity moderate the relationship between environmental uncertainty and manufacturing flexibility and the relationship between manufacturing flexibility and firm performance. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Firm turnover and productivity differentials in Ethiopian manufacturing

Are the forces of market selection at work in Africa? How successful are markets in these economies in sorting out firms on an efficiency basis following the sequence of reforms to liberalize and particularly to transform some of the previous command economies to market oriented ones? What is the pattern of entry and exit in the manufacturing sector and how does it affect industry productivity growth? This study examines these issues using firm-level industrial census data from the Ethiopian manufacturing sector. It is the first attempt to analyze firm turnover and productivity differentials using industrial census data in sub-Saharan Africa. The Ethiopian manufacturing sector exhibits a high firm turnover rate that declines with size. Exit is particularly high among new entrants; 60% exit within the first 3 years in business. Our study consistently shows a significant difference in productivity across different groups of firms, which is reflected in a turnover pattern where the less productive exit while firms with better productivity survive. We also found higher aggregate productivity growth over the sample period, mainly driven by firm turnover.     

Exploring the financial consequences of the servitization of manufacturing

Commentators suggest that to survive in developed economies manufacturing firms have to move up the value chain, innovating and creating ever more sophisticated products and services, so they do not have to compete on the basis of cost. While this strategy is proving increasingly popular with policy makers and academics there is limited empirical evidence to explore the extent to which it is being adopted in practice. And if so, what the impact of this servitization of manufacturing might be. This paper seeks to fill a gap in the literature by presenting empirical evidence on the range and extent of servitization. Data are drawn from the OSIRIS database on 10,028 firms incorporated in 25 different countries. The paper presents an analysis of these data which suggests that: [i] manufacturing firms in developed economies are adopting a range of servitization strategies—12 separate approaches to servitization are identified; [ii] these 12 categories can be used to extend the traditional three options for servitization—product oriented Product–Service Systems, use oriented Product–Service Systems and result oriented Product–Service Systems, by adding two new categories “integration oriented Product–Service Systems” and “service oriented Product–Service Systems”; [iii] while the manufacturing firms that have servitized are larger than traditional manufacturing firms in terms of sales revenues, at the aggregate level they also generate lower profits as a % of sales; [iv] these findings are moderated by firm size (measured in terms of numbers of employees). In smaller firms servitization appears to pay off while in larger firms it proves more problematic; and [v] there are some hidden risks associated with servitization—the sample contains a greater proportion of bankrupt servitized firms than would be expected.

浅析机械制造技术智能化发展趋势

文章在现有的研究基础上,介绍了机械制造技术智能化发展的现状,并探讨了其未来发展的趋势。     

External linkages and product innovation in small manufacturing firms

The requirement for small firms to collaborate, as a means to supplementing and complementing limited internal resources, has dominated much of the academic and policy debate on regional development and small firm innovation throughout the late 1980s and 1990s. However, relatively little empirical work has sought to look further than simple frequency enumeration - noting that the most innovative and better performing firms are generally more likely to have links with external organizations. Based upon a sample of 228 small West Midlands' manufacturers, this study considers the source, function, geography and strength of innovation-related co-operation. While the general findings point to innovators making greater use of external linkages, of certain types and in particular directions (notably the preponderance of vertical value chain linkages), the results are less emphatic than might have been anticipated. This leads to consideration of the factors contributing to and impeding joint innovation and the firms' perceptions of the impact of innovation. From this, it appears that much of the observed difference between innovators and non-innovators lies in less objective measures. The data suggest the importance of inter-personal dynamics, attitude and expectations in facilitating successful collaboration.     

Backshoring of production activities in European manufacturing

Backshoring – the movement of manufacturing activities from locations abroad back to the home country – has gained some attention in policy discussions and in academic research in recent years. This paper presents empirical evidence on backshoring from a large sample of European manufacturing firms. The data indicate that backshoring is still uncommon among European firms. Around 4% of all firms in our sample have moved production back to the home country between 2013 and mid-2015. The most frequent reasons for backshoring are the loss of flexibility, a lack in quality of the goods produced abroad, and unemployed capacities at home. Flexibility and quality concerns are, in particular, relevant for firms that move production back from Asian countries. Backshoring is most likely for manufacturers of final products and in high-technology sectors, in particular in electrical equipment, information and communications equipment, and the Automotive industry.     

Labour productivity and employment in Australian manufacturing SMEs

This paper examines the relationship between labour productivity and employment in Australian manufacturing small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The results indicate that labour productivity of SMEs varies substantially between industries within the manufacturing sector, but on average labour productivity for manufacturing SMEs increased at a faster rate than that of large manufacturing enterprises across all industries. All manufacturing industries except one recorded employment growth during the period under study. However like labour productivity growth, employment growth also varies across industries within the manufacturing sector. Yet the study could not establish any definite relationship between labour productivity growth and employment. This finding is consistent with some previous studies.     

The role of executive problem solving in knowledge accumulation and manufacturing improvements

This study investigates how strategic leaders influence knowledge stocks and manufacturing improvements in firms. In doing so, we identify two related but distinct problem-solving orientations among senior executives. The first orientation uses short-term remedies to control and contain the impact of a problem, which we label as symptomatic problem solving (SPS). The other orientation addresses a problem situation with the objective of developing new understanding and skills, and we label it as generative problem solving (GPS). We test our theoretical framework using two waves of survey data from a sample of metal casting manufacturers (metal foundries) in the United States. Our analysis shows that GPS positively affects both internal and external knowledge stocks, while SPS negatively influences internal knowledge stock. Knowledge stocks, in turn, facilitate incremental and radical manufacturing improvements. Our results suggest that the two executive problem-solving orientations can potentially counteract each other in enhancing and depreciating knowledge stocks, and subsequently affect a manufacturer's ability to attain improvements both in the short and long terms     

具有折扣因子的供应链库存控制模式研究

针对具有折扣因子的供应链环境,建立了供应链库存控制模式的系统动力学仿真模型;模型经过参数优化,比较了三种供应链库存控制模式(看板、CONWIP及混合控制模式)的运行效果,并对折扣因子进行了灵敏度分析。通过模型研究,得出三种模式在具有折扣因子的供应链环境下的优缺点,并指出混合控制模式是该环境下的较优控制策略。     

论制造企业生产物流的改进策略

生产物流是制造企业物流的关键环节,然而我国制造企业的生产物流却存在很多严重的问题,其中最为突出的是:落后的生产物流的计划控制方式使得提前期长,库存量和在制品储备量高,造成了企业库存积压严重、生产效率低下等问题。这就迫切需要一种有效的生产物流计划与控制方法,来合理调配生产物资,优化制造过程,以改善制造企业生产物流的现状,提高企业的经营绩效。     

Did globalization reduce unionization? Evidence from US manufacturing

How do globalized economic conditions affect labor market institutions such as unionism? We draw on recent theoretical and empirical work to explore a wider set of hypotheses regarding the decline in unionization. Using a comprehensive data set of US three-digit manufacturing industries from 1973 to 1994, we test the hypothesis that domestic and international competition directly reduces unionization. Using instrumental variable regressions, we demonstrate the relevance of product market competition variables for unionization. However, we are unable to account for the unionization decline over this period. This could reflect the lagged and complex effects of competition on unionization.     

联合库存管理法在企业库存控制中的应用

在供应链环境下,库存是每个企业重点考虑的问题,也是提高整个供应链运作效率的重要因素.文章在充分理解联合库存管理法内涵的基础上,针对企业供应链下库存控制中存在的问题,分析联合库存管理法在供应链库存控制中的应用及其对供应链库存成本的优化作用.     

Efficiency meets accountability: Performance implications of supply chain configuration, control, and capabilities

The public increasingly holds firms accountable for social and environmental outcomes, such as product toxicity problems and human rights violations, throughout their global supply chains. How can companies improve the social and environmental performance within their supply chains, particularly as other competitive pressures, such as cost and quality, continue to escalate? Starting from an efficient versus responsive supply chain framework, we develop an integrative model that blends together elements of supply chain configuration, stakeholder management, and capability development. Specifically, we spotlight the dimensions of control and accountability that collectively determine stakeholder exposure, and show how this new construct affects the linkages between supply chain capabilities, configuration, and performance. In particular, this analysis reveals that the nature of stakeholder exposure determines how social/environmental technical and relational capabilities impact social and environmental outcomes. We conclude with implications for research and practice, discussing how current supply chain theories must be extended to incorporate external stakeholders, to clarify strategies and identify potential pitfalls, and to better predict performance outcomes.     

The manufacturing strategy formulation process: Linking multifunctional viewpoints

While there has been considerable research on the content of manufacturing strategy, there is a paucity of literature concerning the process of manufacturing strategy formulation [Ward, P.T., Brickford, D.J., Leong, G.K., 1996. Configuration of manufacturing strategy, business strategy, environment, and structure, J. Manage., 22(4) 597–626; Leong, G.K., Snyder, D.L., Ward, P.T., 1990. Research in the process and content of manufacturing strategy, Omega, 18(2) 109–122]. Many researchers have highlighted the need to overcome this deficiency by studying the process of developing manufacturing strategy [Adam, E.E., Swamidass, P.M., 1989. Assessing operations management from a strategic perspective, J. Manage., 15(2) 181–203; Anderson et al., 1989; Leong, G.K., Snyder, D.L., Ward, P.T., 1990. Research in the process and content of manufacturing strategy, Omega, 18(2) 109–122]. To effectively link the manufacturing strategy of a firm to the needs of the marketplace, critical competitive factors or order-winning criteria must be understood and agreed upon both by operations and marketing managers [Hill, T.J., 1983. Manufacturing's strategic role, J. Operational Res. Soc., 34(9) 853–860; Hill, T.J., 1994. Manufacturing Strategy—Text and Cases, 2nd edn., Irwin, Homewood, IL]. For this study, we created and examined a process of establishing a set of order-winning criteria for a consumer pharmaceuticals firm which involved the participation of sixteen managers from seven functional areas over four months. The foundation of the process was developed by Hill [Hill, T.J., 1989. Manufacturing Strategy—Text and Cases. Irwin, Homewood, IL; Hill, T.J., 1994. Manufacturing Strategy—Text and Cases, 2nd edn., Irwin, Homewood, IL], however it was soon evident that additional steps were required. The expanded process we developed both exposed significantly differing views among the managers and raised several questions with important managerial and research implications.     

Unlocking the potential of advanced manufacturing technologies

This research examines whether investments in advanced manufacturing technologies (AMTs) such as flexible manufacturing systems (FMS), computer aided design (CAD), computer aided manufacturing (CAM), robotics, etc., are more likely to lead to improved performance if they are supported by improvements in the manufacturing infrastructure of the company. This question is evaluated using data gathered from 202 manufacturing plants chosen from industries generally considered to have relatively high investments in technology.Multiple item scales are developed and adapted from sources in the literature to measure investments in technology, infrastructure, and the performance of the plant. Evidence supporting the reliability and validity of these scales is provided. Hierarchical regression is used to analyze the relationship between technology, infrastructure, and performance. The results suggest that there is an important interaction between the adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies and investments in infrastructure. Firms that invest in both AMTs and infrastructure perform better than firms which only invest in one or the other. Separate analyses on sub-samples of firms with the highest and lowest investments in AMTs show that infrastructural investments have a stronger relationship with performance in the high investment group. Thus, the data indicate that infrastructural investments provide a key to unlocking the potential of advanced manufacturing technologies.     

An analysis of decentralized collection and processing of end-of-life products

In this study, we analyze decentralized collection and processing operations for end-of-life products in durable goods industries. We consider a durable end-of-life product from which a particular part can be dismantled and remanufactured, and the remainder of the product can be further processed for part and/or material recovery. Both the quantity of end-of-life products available and the demand for remanufactured parts are price-sensitive. We develop models to determine the optimal acquisition price of the end-of-life products and the selling price of the remanufactured parts in centralized as well as remanufacturer- and collector-driven decentralized channels. We discuss how the decentralized channels can be coordinated to attain the end-of-life product collection rate that can be achieved in the centralized channel. In the presence of environmental regulations that require an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of durable goods to collect and process its end-of-life products, we identify when and why the OEM would prefer a remanufacturer- or a collector-driven channel, i.e., outsource the processing or the collection activity, respectively. From a practical perspective, we show that the OEM should prefer a collector-driven channel to increase the collection rate, when end-of-life products are homogenous. However, we also show that the OEM would prefer a remanufacturer-driven channel under certain conditions. We also examine how the OEM can increase the quantity of used products collected, when the collection rate in the preferred channel setting falls short of the collection rate mandated by the environmental regulation. When end-of-life products are heterogeneous, we observe that the collection rate for all quality groups can be positive in a remanufacturer-driven channel, whereas the collection rate for some quality groups may be zero. This indicates that the OEM must pay more attention to its outsourcing decision in this case, if the environmental regulation in effect specifies target collection rates for individual quality groups.     

Organizational knowledge and the manufacturing strategy process: A resource-based view analysis

The current competitive environment is characterized by new sources of information, new technologies, new management practices, new competitors, and shorter product life cycles, which highlights the importance of organizational knowledge in manufacturing companies. We integrate some of those knowledge-based approaches seeking to understand how aspects related to cross-functional orientation, new technologies, and increasing access to information affect manufacturing strategy. In this paper, “know-what” (where to find the needed information) and “know-how” (how to run operations smoothly) are considered key components of organizational knowledge in the process of manufacturing strategy formulation. Assuming that knowledge accumulation may lead to competitive advantage, we propose a model of manufacturing strategy process from a resource-based view perspective. We used a survey to collect field data from 104 companies. The results indicate that cross-functional activities integrate manufacturing knowledge and contribute to the creation of valuable and rare product characteristics.     

Services trade restrictiveness and manufacturing export sophistication

This paper highlights the importance of services trade liberalization. It is well-known that there is a strong relationship between the level of economic development of a country and the quality of its export basket. Since the pioneering work of Hausmann, Hwang, and Rodrik (2007), several studies have attempted to identify the determinants of export sophistication. In this paper, based on the existing literature, we argue that restrictiveness of services sector trade can have a negative impact on the level of export sophistication. Using panel data from 36 countries over the 2005–2014 period, we show that the impact of services sector trade restrictiveness on export sophistication is negative and statistically significant. We find that this negative effect has increased in the post-2007 period. Furthermore, restrictiveness of trade in modern services is relatively more detrimental to manufacturing export sophistication. A series of endogeneity and robustness tests confirm the reliability of our main empirical result. Our analysis suggests that services sector trade liberalization can also be used as a development strategy by developing countries.