Perspectives on supply chain management and logistics:creating competitive organisations in the 21st Century

Globalisation is the buzzword of the twenty-first century. It forces businesses to compete not just with rivals within the same city or country, but with similar companies across the globe. In such a world the consumer is king and to keep on top businesses must show constant innovation and meet customers' ever-growing expectations. Supply chain management (SCM), with its focus on achieving the service levels demanded by markets and on optimising total supply chains cost and investment, has a potentially pivotal role to play in addressing these challenges. Perspectives on Supply Chain Management and Logistics is written by a mix of academics, consultants and practitioners, all of whom have significant theoretical and practical experience. The book was conceived with the many supply chain and logistics professionals who are following formal learning programmes at all levels (Certificate, Diploma, Degree and Masters) in the subject in mind. However, it is hoped that it will be read equally profitably by students, researchers and practicing SCM and logistics professionals.

Supply chain integration in the UK bioenergy industry:findings from a pilot study

Interest in bioenergy as a viable alternative to fossil fuels is increasing. This emergent sector is subject to a range of ambitious initiatives promoted by National Governments to generate energy from renewable sources. Transition to energy production from biomass still lacks a feasible infrastructure particularly from a supply chain and business perspective. Supply chain integration has not been studied widely providing a deficit in the literature and in practice. This paper presents results from a pilot study designed to identify attributes that helps optimise such supply chains. To consider this challenge it is important to identify those characteristics that integrate bioenergy supply chains and ascertain if they are distinct from those found in conventional energy models. In general terms the supply chain is defined by upstream at the point of origin of raw materials and downstream at the point of distribution to final customer. It remains to be seen if this is the case for bioenergy supply chains as there is an imbalance between knowledge and practice, even understanding the terminology. The initial pilot study results presented in the paper facilitates understanding the gap between general supply chain knowledge and what is practiced within bioenergy organisations. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Exploring the digital supply chain:implications and models for online software distribution

As a discipline, supply chain management (SCM) has traditionally been primarily concerned with the procurement, processing, movement and sale of physical goods. However an important class of products has emerged - digital products - which cannot be described as physical as they do not obey commonly understood physical laws. They do not possess mass or volume, and they require no energy in their manufacture or distribution. With the Internet, they can be distributed at speeds unimaginable in the physical world, and every copy produced is a 100% perfect duplicate of the original version. Furthermore, the ease with which digital products can be replicated has few analogues in the physical world. This paper assesses the effect of non-physicality on one such product – software – in relation to the practice of SCM. It explores the challenges that arise when managing the software supply chain and how practitioners are addressing these challenges. Using a two-pronged exploratory approach that examines the literature around software management as well as direct interviews with software distribution practitioners, a number of key challenges associated with software supply chains are uncovered, along with responses to these challenges. This paper proposes a new model for software supply chains that takes into account the non-physicality of the product being delivered. Central to this model is the replacement of physical flows with flows of intellectual property, the growing importance of innovation over duplication and the increased centrality of the customer in the entire process. Hybrid physical / digital supply chains are discussed and a framework for practitioners concerned with software supply chains is presented.

A knowledge driven approach towards the validation of externally acquired traceability datasets in supply chain business processes

The sharing of near real-time traceability knowledge in supply chains plays a central role in coordinating business operations and is a key driver for their success. However before traceability datasets received from external partners can be integrated with datasets generated internally within an organisation, they need to be validated against information recorded for the physical goods received as well as against bespoke rules defined to ensure uniformity, consistency and completeness within the supply chain. In this paper, we present a knowledge driven framework for the runtime validation of critical constraints on incoming traceability datasets encapuslated as EPCIS event-based linked pedigrees. Our constraints are defined using SPARQL queries and SPIN rules. We present a novel validation architecture based on the integration of Apache Storm framework for real time, distributed computation with popular Semantic Web/Linked data libraries and exemplify our methodology on an abstraction of the pharmaceutical supply chain.

Detecting EPCIS exceptions in linked traceability streams across supply chain business processes

The EPCIS specification provides an event oriented mechanism to record product movement information across stakeholders in supply chain business processes. Besides enabling the sharing of event-based traceability datasets, track and trace implementations must also be equipped with the capabilities to validate integrity constraints and detect runtime exceptions without compromising the time-to-deliver schedule of the shipping and receiving parties. In this paper we present a methodology for detecting exceptions arising during the processing of EPCIS event datasets. We propose an extension to the EEM ontology for modelling EPCIS exceptions and show how runtime exceptions can be detected and reported. We exemplify and evaluate our approach on an abstraction of pharmaceutical supply chains.

Advances in decision support systems on the endeavour for supply chain optimality

Industry practitioners are seeking to create optimal logistics networks through more efficient decision-making leading to a shift of power from a centralized position to a more decentralized approach. This has led to researchers, exploring with vigor, the application of agent based modeling (ABM) in supply chains and more recently, its impact on decision-making. This paper investigates reasons for the shift to decentralized decision-making and the impact on supply chains. Effective decentralization of decision-making with ABM and hybrid modeling is investigated, observing the methods and potential of achieving optimality.

Online grocery provision resistance:understanding urban (non-)collaboration and ambiguous supply chain environments

This chapter investigates the resistance by institutional actors in ambiguous supply chain environments for online grocery provision. Recent studies have shown that significant shifts in urban geographies are increasing consumers' expectations of online retail provision. However, at the same time there is also growing evidence that the collaborative practice in online grocery provision within the urban supply chains is resisted. That these trends are found despite growing demand of online provision highlights both the difficulty of bringing geographically dispersed supply partners together and the problems associated with operating within and across ambiguous environments. Drawing upon twenty-nine in-depth interviews with a range of institutional actors, including retail, logistics, and urban planning experts within an urban metropolis in an emerging market, we detail the different ways that collaboration is resisted in online retail provision. Several different patterns of resistance were identified in (non-) collaboration notably, ideological, functional, regulatory and spatial. © 2011, IGI Global. C.

Modelling and linking transformations in EPCIS governing supply chain business processes

Supply chains comprise of complex processes spanning across multiple trading partners. The various operations involved generate large number of events that need to be integrated in order to enable internal and external traceability. Further, provenance of artifacts and agents involved in the supply chain operations is now a key traceability requirement. In this paper we propose a Semantic web/Linked data powered framework for the event based representation and analysis of supply chain activities governed by the EPCIS specification. We specifically show how a new EPCIS event type called "Transformation Event" can be semantically annotated using EEM - The EPCIS Event Model to generate linked data, that can be exploited for internal event based traceability in supply chains involving transformation of products. For integrating provenance with traceability, we propose a mapping from EEM to PROV-O. We exemplify our approach on an abstraction of the production processes that are part of the wine supply chain.

The analysis of bullwhip effect in a HMMS-type supply chain

The aim of the paper is to investigate the well-known bullwhip effect of supply chains. Control theoretic analysis of bullwhip effect is extensively analyzed in the literature with the Laplace transform. This paper tries to examine the effect for an extended Holt–Modigliani–Muth–Simon model. A two-stage supply chain (supplier–manufacturer) is studied with quadratic costs functional. It is assumed that both firms minimize the relevant costs. The order of the manufacturer is delayed with a known constant. Two cases are examined: supplier and manufacturer minimize the relevant costs decentralized, and a centralized decision rule. The question is answered, how to decrease the bullwhip effect.

The analysis of bullwhip effect in a HMMS-type supply chain

The aim of the paper is to investigate the well-known bullwhip effect of supply chains. Control theoretic analysis of bullwhip effect is extensively analyzed in the literature with Laplace transform. This paper tries to examine the effect for an extended Holt-Modigliani-Muth-Simon model. A two-stage supply chain (supplier-manufacturer) is studied with quadratic costs functional. It is assumed that both firms minimize the relevant costs. The order of the manufacturer is delayed with a known constant. Two cases are examined: supplier and manufacturer minimize the relevant costs decentralized, and a centralized decision rule. The question is answered, how to decrease the bullwhip effect.

A szolgáltatások ellátási láncának speciális menedzsmentjellemzői (Management specialties of supply chain of services)

Az elmúlt évtizedekben a gazdálkodástudomány kitüntetett figyelemmel kísért két – mind a makrogazdaság, mind az egyes vállalatok működésének sikere szempontjából meghatározó fontosságú – jelenséget, egyrészt a szolgáltatásoknak a hagyományos termeléssel szembeni egyre erőteljesebb térnyerését, másrészt a fogyasztói érték teremtése szempontjából növekvő jelentőségű ellátási láncoknak, illetve azok menedzsmentjének kérdéskörét. Ugyanakkor igen kevés elemzés, de kevés leíró jellegű munka is született a két jelenséget és menedzsmentproblémát összekapcsoló területről, azaz a szolgáltatások ellátási láncáról, ezen ellátási láncok kezelésének speciális problémáiról. A szerzők cikkükben a szolgáltatások ellátási láncának és menedzsmentjének jellegzetességeit, a klasszikus terméket előállító ellátási láncokhoz viszonyított sajátosságait foglalják össze a nemzetközi szakirodalom alapján. Ennek során bemutatják, hogy az ún. tiszta szolgáltatások széles körben ismert jellemzői hatással vannak a szolgáltatások előállítását és értékesítését végző ellátási láncok működésére is. Ezek a hatások és specialitások megjelennek az ellátásilánc-menedzsment irodalmában kiemelten tárgyalt mindhárom problémakörben, rányomják tehát bélyegüket mind az ellátási lánc felépítésére, mind az ellátási láncban együttműködő partnerek kapcsolatának kezelésére és végül, de nem utolsósorban az ellátásilánc-menedzsment folyamatok kezelésére. _________ In the last decades scholars have paid a lot of attention to both service operation and supply chain management. There is still limited research on the overlapping field of theses two management areas, on service supply chain specialties. This article gives a structured overview on the latest research results on this topic. Doing so the paper would like to draw attention of the Hungarian researchers to this field and facilitate these empirical researches. As described in the paper traditional service specialties (intangibility, perishability, inseparability, heterogeneity and the importance of human capital) create special management problems concerning (i) the structure of these supply chains, (ii) their relationship management and (iii) the management of supply chain processes.

Domináns vállalat versenyképességének hatása az ellátási láncban (Effects of competitiveness of the dominant company in the supply chain)

Beszállító, gyártó és vevő vállalatok alkotnak egy ellátási láncot. Optimális esetben a vállalatok integrált rendszerben működnek, az együttműködés bizal mi alapon nyugszik, így a közös stratégiai döntések révén versenyképes lesz a lánc. Az ellátási láncban lehet egy kulcsfontosságú vállalat, amelyik domináns hatalmi pozícióval rendelkezik. A kutatás célja, hogy feltárja a hatalommal rendelkező vállalat szerepét a partnercégek és az ellátási lánc versenyképességének alakulásában. A szakirodalom alapján a hipotézis feltételezi, hogy van kapcsolat a versenyképesség és a domináns vállalat szerepvállalása között. A szerzők elemzése primer kutatáson alapul, a kérdőív válaszait SPSS statisztikai kiértékeléssel végezték. Az eredmények azt mutatták, hogy a domináns vállalat versenyképességétől valóban függ a partnercégek versenyképessége. Szignifikáns kapcsolat megléte bizonyítja a hipotézist. A vizsgálatok kiemelik, hogy a verseny már egy szinttel feljebb, az ellátási lánc szintjén értelmezhető: globális ellátási láncok versenyeznek egymással. _____ Supplier, producer and buyer companies make up a supply chain. In an optimal case the companies are integrated, partnership rests on trust which results in common strategic decisions leading to competitiveness. Each supply chain has a key company with dominant power position. The objective of the research is to analyse how the company with power affects competitiveness of partner firms and the supply chain as a whole. Based on theories hypothesis assumes a link between competitiveness and power position and its influence. Methodology of the analysis is based on primary research; the authors used SPSS statistical analysis to evaluate the answers of questionnaire. Findings include that partner firms’ competitiveness rely on competitiveness of the company with dominant power position. Significant connections prove that the hypothesis is true. Results show that competitiveness is being moved up to supply chain level. Global supply chains compete with each other.

A disztribúció kiszervezéséhez kapcsolódó ellátási és működési kockázatok (Supply and operational risks in the outsourcing of distribution management)

A cikk célja, hogy elemző bemutatását adja az ellátási láncok működéséhez, különösen a disztribúciós tevékenység kiszervezéséhez kapcsolódó működési kockázatoknak. Az írás első része az irodalomkutatás eredményeit feldolgozva az ellátási láncok kockázati kitettségének növekedése mögött rejlő okokat törekszik feltárni, s röviden bemutatja a vállalati kockázatkezelés lehetséges lépéseit e téren. A cikk második gondolati egysége mélyinterjúk segítségével összefoglalja és rendszerezi a disztribúció kiszervezéséhez kapcsolódó kockázatokat, számba veszi a kapcsolódó kockázatkezelési lehetőségeket, s bemutatja a megkérdezett vállalatok által alkalmazott kockázat-megelőzési alternatívákat. ______ The aim of this paper is to introduce operational risks of supply chains, especially risks deriving from the outsourcing of distribution management. Based on literature review the first part of the paper talks about the potential reasons of increasing global supply chain risks, and the general business activities of risk assessment. Analyzing the results of semi-structured qualitative interviews, the second part summarizes the risks belonging to the outsourcing of distribution and introduces the potential risk assessment and avoidance opportunities and alternatives in practice.

Fast-Food Franchises: An Alternative Menu for Hotel/Casinos

In their discussion - Fast-Food Franchises: An Alternative Menu for Hotel/Casinos - by Skip Swerdlow, Assistant Professor of Finance, Larry Strate, Assistant Professor of Business Law, and Francis X. Brown, Assistant Professor of Hotel Administration at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, their preview reads: Hotel/casino food service operations are adding some non-traditional fare to their daily offerings in the form of fast-food franchises. The authors review aspects of franchising and cite some new Las Vegas food ideas.” The authors offer that the statewide food and beverage figures, according to the Nevada Gaming Abstract of 1985, exceeded $1.24 billion. Most of that figure was generated in traditional coffee shops, gourmet dining rooms, and buffets. With that kind of food and beverage figure solidly on the table, it was inevitable that fast-food franchises would move into casinos to garner a share of the proceeds. In a March 1986 review of franchising, Restaurant Business reported the following statistics: “Over 60 percent of all restaurants are franchisee owned. This relationship is also paralleled in dollar sales, which has exceeded $53 billion.” “Restaurant franchising expansion has grown at an annual rate of 12 percent per year for the past five years.” The beginning of the article is dedicated to describing, in general, the franchise phenomenon; growth has been spectacular the authors inform you. “The franchise concept has provided an easy method of going into business for the entrepreneur with minimal business experience, but a desire to work hard to make a profit,” say professors Swerdlow, Strate, and Brown. Lured by tourist traffic, and the floundering Chapter 11 afflicted, Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Burger King saw an attractive opportunity for an experiment in non-traditional outlet placement, say the authors. Although innately transient, the tourist numbers were way too significant to ignore. That tourist traffic, the authors say, is ‘round-the-clock. Added to that figure is the 2000-3000 average employee count for many of the casinos on the ‘Vegas strip. Not surprisingly, the project began to look very appealing to both Burger King and the Riviera Hotel/Casino, the authors report. In the final analysis, the project did work out well; very well indeed. So it is written, “The successful operation of the Burger King in the Riviera has sparked interest by other existing hotel/casino operations and fast-food restaurant chains. Burger King's operation, like so many other industry leadership decisions, provides impetus for healthy competition in a market that is burgeoning not only because of expansion that recognizes traditional population growth, but because of bold moves that search for customers in non-traditional areas.” The authors provide an Appendix listing Las Vegas hotel/casino properties and the restaurants they contain.