Information sharing in supply chain systems

This chapter considers the importance of information-sharing techniques and strategies employed by industry sectors. Well-developed supply chain management often brings with it improved buyer-supplier communication processes, and we consider the impact of these not only from an intersector point of view, but also from a cross-sector viewpoint. The particular perspectives of the small business within a supply chain structure and of the supply chain customer are examined in detail. We conclude that information sharing is a critical component of business success both inside and outside the supply chain structure. However, while globally and at the large business level, both development and implementation of such technologies have mushroomed, smaller enterprises have tended to be left behind to cope as best they can with multiple pressures to conform.

Using soft systems methodology to address supply chain management problems

This paper reports an investigation of if, and how, Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) might.be used to facilitate better management of industry supply chains. In two workshops involving supply chain managers from the Textile Clothing and Footwear (TCP) industry and industry facilitators, ways in which SSM techniques might supplement existing Supply Chain Management (SCM) workshop approaches have been explored. Specifically, the placement of SSM techniques within a workshop setting, reactions to the techniques, perceived reasons for using SSM, together with strengths and difficulties encountered, have been examined.

A retail supply chain risk assessment conceptual model

Supply chains are increasingly relying on information and communications technologies and in particular electronic commerce to facilitate transactions between supply chain partners. The adoption of these enabling technologies brings several enhancements to the conduct of business including gains in efficiency. However there are also drawbacks inherent in these technologies that include threats that are imposed on businesses that use them. This paper presents a study on retail supply chains and the risks and vulnerabilities that cooperating supply chain partners are exposed to when adopting these technologies. In particular, the paper discusses the various threats and vulnerabilities of retail supply and presents a conceptual model of such risks.

A conceptual framework of e-fraud control in an integrated supply chain

The integration of supply chains offers many benefits; yet, it may also render organisations more vulnerable to electronic fraud (e-fraud). E-fraud can drain on organisations’ financial resources, and can have a significant adverse effect on the ability to achieve their strategic objectives. Therefore, efraud control should be part of corporate board-level due diligence, and should be integrated into organisations’ practices and business plans.
Management is responsible for taking into consideration the relevant cultural, strategic and implementation elements that inter-relate with each other and to coordinating the human, technological and financial resources necessary to designing and implementing policies and procedures for controlling e-fraud. Due to the characteristics of integrated supply chains, a move from the traditional vertical approach to a systemic, horizontal-vertical approach is necessary. Although the e-fraud risk cannot be eliminated, risk mitigation policies and processes tailored to an organisation’s particular vulnerabilities can significantly reduce the risk and may even preclude certain classes of frauds.
In this paper, a conceptual framework of e-fraud control in an integrated supply chain is proposed. The proposed conceptual framework can help managers and practitioners better understand the issues and plan the activities involved in a systemic, horizontal-vertical approach to e-fraud control in an integrated supply chain, and can be a basis upon which empirical studies can be build.

The application of soft systems methodology to supply chain management

This chapter reflects upon techniques that might facilitate improved strategic decision making in a supply chain management (SCM) environment. In particular, it presents the integration of a selection of techniques adapted from an approach to systems-based problem solving that has emerged primarily in the UK over the last 20-30 years—the soft systems methodology (SSM). The results reported indicate that SSM techniques can complement existing SCM decision-making tools. In particular, this chapter outlines a framework for integrating some SSM techniques with approaches based upon the supply-chain operations reference-model (SCOR) .

Identifying supply chain management and e-commerce opportunities at PaperCo Australia

Established supply chain management techniques such as Quick Response (QR) or Customer Relationship Management (CRM) have proven the potential benefits of reorganizing an organization’s processes to take advantage of the characteristics of electronic information exchange. As the Internet and other proprietary networks expand, however, organizations have the opportunity to use this enabling infrastructure to exchange other, more varied types of information than traditional electronic data interchange (EDI) messages. This is especially true of companies with global operations and interests, which lead to a more diverse set of trading activities. This case presents the experiences of a large Australian paper products manufacturer in implementing an electronic document exchange strategy for supply chain management, including the drivers for change which spurred their actions, and describes the issues associated with trying to support existing and future requirements for document exchange across a wide variety of trading partners. The experiences of PaperCo will be relevant to organizations with diverse trading partners, especially small to medium enterprises (SMEs).

Integration of an internet-driven supply chain for a medium-size e-commerce company

This research aimed at discovering the benefits and challenges of integration across a company's e-supply chain. The research involved a single case study of an Australian e-commerce company. In our work, we first formed a framework of benefits and challenges for e-supply chain integration, which was based on the beliefs held by management consultants. After conducting interviews with various organisational stakeholders of an e-commerce company, we found that although some of the elicited opinions matched those expressed by consultants, others provided their refinement in respect to a medium size, rapidly evolving, start-up company. We also discovered challenges, seemingly ignored by the consultants, which concerned changing market conditions and limited economies of scale perceived as seriously impeding SCM integration. Also, the ability to develop and maintain scalable and effective information systems was found to impact the capacity to integrate services across the e-supply chain. The case study's single most important contribution was to bring to our attention the importance of organisational and environmental maturity in the strategic planning of the supply chain management process.