Development of a risk-oriented strategic sourcing (ROSS) framework for the construction and electronics manufacturing industries

Strategic sourcing has increased in importance in recent years, and now plays an important role in companies’ planning. The current volatility in supply markets means companies face multiple challenges involving lock-in situations, supplier bankruptcies or supply security issues. In addition, their exposure can increase due to natural disasters, as witnessed recently in the form of bird flu, volcanic ash and tsunamis. Therefore, the primary focus of this study is risk management in the context of strategic sourcing. The study presents a literature review on sourcing based on the 15 years from 1998–2012, and considers 131 academic articles. The literature describes strategic sourcing as a strategic, holistic process in managing supplier relationships, with a long-term focus on adding value to the company and realising competitive advantage. Few studies discovered the real risk impact and status of risk management in strategic sourcing, and evaluation across countries and industries was limited, with the construction sector particularly under-researched. This methodology is founded on a qualitative study of twenty cases across Ger-many and the United Kingdom from the construction sector and electronics manufacturing industries. While considering risk management in the context of strategic sourcing, the thesis takes into account six dimensions that cover trends in strategic sourcing, theoretical and practical sourcing models, risk management, supply and demand management, critical success factors and the strategic supplier evaluation. The study contributes in several ways. First, recent trends are traced and future needs identified across the research dimensions of countries, industries and companies. Second, it evaluates critical success factors in contemporary strategic sourcing. Third, it explores the application of theoretical and practical sourcing models in terms of effectiveness and sustainability. Fourth, based on the case study findings, a risk-oriented strategic sourcing framework and a model for strategic sourcing are developed. These are based on the validation of contemporary requirements and a critical evaluation of the existing situation. It contemplates the empirical findings and leads to a structured process to manage risk in strategic sourcing. The risk-oriented framework considers areas such as trends, corporate and sourcing strategy, critical success factors, strategic supplier selection criteria, risk assessment, reporting, strategy alignment and reporting. The proposed model highlights the essential dimensions in strategic sourcing and guides us to a new definition of strategic sourcing supported by this empirical study.

Challenges and emerging solutions in the development of compressed orally disintegrating tablets

Areas covered: The review discusses the main challenges of ODT manufacturing process and the emerging solutions featured at early drug development stages. The research specifically describes the methods reported for taste masking/assessment and solubilisation of unpalatable and poorly soluble drugs, respectively. Furthermore, this review highlights the techniques used for developing modified-release ODTs, an emerging area in the field. In addition, it also discusses the poor flowability and segregation problems of directly compressed powders. Moreover, the review describes the tests reported in the literature for ODT disintegration time assessment since a universal technique is still non-existent. Expert opinion: The approaches used to overcome the manufacturing challenges often have a bearing on the price of the end product. However, despite the technical and regulatory challenges, ODTs can offer many advantages over the conventional dosage forms if accompanied by suitable adjuvant technologies and in vitro analytical tools. © 2014 Informa UK, Ltd. Introduction: Orally disintegrating tablets (ODTs) provide several advantages over conventional tablets such as suitability for patients with swallowing difficulties and faster onset of action. The manufacture of ODTs by compression/tableting offers a practical and cost-effective strategy over the freeze drying (lyophilisation) method. Nonetheless, the FDA recommends a disintegration time of 30 s and a maximum weight of 500 mg for a tablet to be labelled as an ODT. These requirements, alongside other desirable product properties, have created a number of challenges for the formulator to overcome while developing compressed ODTs.

Design and development of logistics workflow systems for demand management with RFID

This paper discusses demand and supply chain management and examines how artificial intelligence techniques and RFID technology can enhance the responsiveness of the logistics workflow. This proposed system is expected to have a significant impact on the performance of logistics networks by virtue of its capabilities to adapt unexpected supply and demand changes in the volatile marketplace with the unique feature of responsiveness with the advanced technology, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). Recent studies have found that RFID and artificial intelligence techniques drive the development of total solution in logistics industry. Apart from tracking the movement of the goods, RFID is able to play an important role to reflect the inventory level of various distribution areas. In today’s globalized industrial environment, the physical logistics operations and the associated flow of information are the essential elements for companies to realize an efficient logistics workflow scenario. Basically, a flexible logistics workflow, which is characterized by its fast responsiveness in dealing with customer requirements through the integration of various value chain activities, is fundamental to leverage business performance of enterprises. The significance of this research is the demonstration of the synergy of using a combination of advanced technologies to form an integrated system that helps achieve lean and agile logistics workflow.

The role of academic/industry partnerships in the development of supply chain managers

The need for improvement in the logistics and supply chain management capability of companies in Ireland is becoming increasingly recognised. One of the main bottlenecks currently is the shortage of supply chain management professionals. Education and training has a fundamental role to play if the supply of suitably qualified human resource is to be addressed in a meaningful way. Recent research indicates that demand for people with the right knowledge and skills greatly exceed supply. There are numerous techniques and technologies which can facilitate improvement in a company’s supply chain capability. However, experience has shown that these tools alone can not address the weaknesses – any improvement tool is only as good as a company’s ability to utilise it and effective utilisation depends above all on the knowledge and skill of employees. Education and training is essential in developing the requisite knowledge and skills. Consultants can play a role in terms of providing an objective view of a company’s requirements. But the only way to generate a sustainable competitive advantage is to ensure that the necessary knowledge and skills are available in-house. Indeed, the “consultancy culture” which has developed in many companies is a direct result of this lack of in-house expertise. Given the shortage of suitably qualified and experienced people in the job market, the only way that this problem can be addressed is through effective development of existing staff. This paper describes the partnership model adopted by the NITL to achieve its objective of combining academic excellence with real relevance to commercial needs in its supply chain management development programmes. The Executive Development Programme (EDP) is used to illustrate how the model is implemented.

Development of a digital tool to overcome the challenges of rural food SMEs

It has been recognised that throughout the UK, rural economies have a significant potential for growth but despite the potential for growth, many rural businesses face barriers that prohibit their expansion. In this study, we focus on one particular group of rural small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): food and drink producers. Through user engagement activities, we identify the issues and needs associated with distributing products to the market, in order to understand the main issues which prevent rural food and drink SMEs from expansion, and to establish the requirements for a digital solution to this challenge.

Hungarian international development cooperation:context, stakeholders and performance

This paper explores the domestic and international context of Hungary's emerging international development policy. Specifically, it looks at three factors that may influence how this policy operates: membership in the European Union (EU) and potential ‘Europeanization’, Hungary's wider foreign policy strategy, and the influence of domestic stakeholders. In order to uncover how these factors affect the country's international development policy, semi-structured interviews were carried out with the main stakeholders. The main conclusions are: (1) While accession to the EU did play a crucial role in restarting Hungary's international development policy, the integration has had little effect since then; (2) international development policy seems to serve mainly Hungary's regional strategic foreign policy and economic interests, and not its global development goals; and (3) although all the domestic development stakeholders are rather weak, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) still seems to play a dominating role. Convergence with European requirements and best practices is, therefore, clearly hindered by foreign policy interests and also by the weakness of non- governmental stakeholders.

Disaster risk reduction infrastructure requirements for South-Western Bangladesh:perspectives of local communities

Purpose: Development of effective disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategies for communities at risk of being affected by natural disasters is considered essential, especially in the wake of devastating disaster events reported worldwide. As part of a wider research study investigating community perspectives on existing and potential strategies for enhancing resilience to natural disasters, community perspectives on infrastructure and structural protection requirements were investigated. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach: Patuakhali region in South-Western Bangladesh is a region significantly at risk of multiple natural hazards. In order to engage local communities and obtain their perspectives, focus group discussions were held with local community leaders and policy makers of at-risk communities in Patuakhali region, South-Western Bangladesh. Findings: Infrastructure and structural protection requirements highlighted included multi-purpose cyclone shelters, permanent embankments and improved transport infrastructure. Much of the discussions of focus group interviews were focused on cyclone shelters and embankments, suggesting their critical importance in reducing disaster risk and also dependence of coastal communities on those two measures. Originality/value: The research design adopted sought to answer the research questions raised and also to inform local policy makers on community perspectives. Local policy makers involved in DRR initiatives in the region were informed of community perspectives and requirements, thus contributing to community engagement in implementing DRR activities.

QuantUn:quantification of uncertainty for the reassessment of requirements

Self-adaptive systems (SASs) should be able to adapt to new environmental contexts dynamically. The uncertainty that demands this runtime self-adaptive capability makes it hard to formulate, validate and manage their requirements. QuantUn is part of our longer-term vision of requirements reflection, that is, the ability of a system to dynamically observe and reason about its own requirements. QuantUn's contribution to the achievement of this vision is the development of novel techniques to explicitly quantify uncertainty to support dynamic re-assessment of requirements and therefore improve decision-making for self-adaption. This short paper discusses the research gap we want to fill, present partial results and also the plan we propose to fill the gap.

When the requirements for adaptation and high integrity meet

Two classes of software that are notoriously difficult to develop on their own are rapidly merging into one. This will affect every key service that we rely upon in modern society, yet a successful merge is unlikely to be achievable using software development techniques specific to either class. This paper explains the growing demand for software capable of both self-adaptation and high integrity, and advocates the use of a collection of "@runtime" techniques for its development, operation and management. We summarise early research into the development of such techniques, and discuss the remaining work required to overcome the great challenge of self-adaptive high-integrity software. © 2011 ACM.

The development of biomaterials for contact lens applications:effects of wear modality on materials design

The successful design of polymers for contact lens applications depends on the ability to provide a balance of properties appropriate to the ocular environment. Principal relevant aspects of the anterior eye are the tear film, eyelid and cornea, which govern the requirements for surface properties, modulus and oxygen permeability, respectively. Permeability requirements and the developing view of the needs of the cornea, in terms of oxygen consumption and the particular roles of fluorine and silicon in the design of silicone hydrogels, which have proved to be the most successful family of materials for this demanding application, are discussed. The contact lens field is complicated by the fact that contact lenses are used in a range of wear modalities, the extremes of which can conveniently be classified as lenses that are disposed of at the end of a single period of daily wear and those used for 30. days of successive day-and-night periods, frequently referred to as extended or continuous wear. As silicone hydrogels developed, in the decade following their launch there has been a progressive trend in properties taking both modulus and water content closer to those of conventional hydrogels. This is particularly evident in the family of daily disposable contact lenses that have appeared since 2008.