Strategic positioning of manufacturing operations within global supply chains

This paper describes research that has sought to create a structured and integrated methodology that guides manufacturers through the decision of strategic positioning within global supply chains. The position of a company is concerned with deciding a boundary and configuration of internal and external business activities to the company and is directly related to initiatives such as outsourcing, make or buy, and offshoring. This paper provides an in-depth description of this concept, describes work carried out to form a methodology for strategic positioning within the global supply chain, and presents the details of the methodology. This research has made a significant contribution to the knowledge on how manufacturing companies can form a strategic positioning within global supply chains.

Linked data for the 21st Century enterprise:from silos to supply chains

Six actions for collation collective intelligence to inform and accelerate change

Building up resilience of construction sector SMEs and their supply chains to extreme weather events

Wider scientific community now accept that the threat of climate change as real and thus acknowledge the importance of implementing adaptation measures in a global context. In the UK , the physical effects of climate change are likely to be directly felt in the form of extreme weather events, which are predicted to escalate in number and severity in future under the changing climatic conditions. Construction industry; which consists of supply chains running across various other industries, economies and regions, will also be affected due to these events. Thus, it is important that the construction organisations are well prepared to withstand the effects of extreme weather events not only directly affecting their organisations but also affecting their supply chains which in turn might affect the organisation concerned. Given the fact that more than 99% of construction sector businesses are SMEs, the area can benefit significantly from policy making to improve SME resilience and coping capacity. This paper presents the literature review and synthesis of a doctoral research study undertaken to address the issue of extreme weather resilience of construction sector SMEs and their supply chains. The main contribution of the paper to both academia and practitioners is a synthesis model that conceptualises the factors that enhances resilience of SMEs and their supply chains against extreme weather events. This synthesis model forms the basis of a decision making framework that will enable SMEs to both reduce their vulnerability and enhance their coping capacity against extreme weather. The value of this paper is further extended by the overall research design that is set forth as the way forward.

Reverse resource exchanges in service supply chains:the case of returnable transport packaging

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand how reverse resource exchanges and resource dependencies are managed in the service supply chain (SSC) of returnable transport packaging (RTP). Design/methodology/approach: A single case study was conducted in the context of automotive logistics focusing on the RTP SSC. Data were collected through 16 interviews, primarily with managers of a logistics service provider (LSP) and document analysis of contractual agreements with key customers of the packaging service. Findings: Resource dependencies among actors in the SSC result from the importance of the RTP for the customer’s production processes, the competition among users for RTP and the negative implications of the temporary unavailability of RTP for customers and the LSP (in terms of service performance). Amongst other things, the LSP is dependent on its customers and third-party users (e.g. the customer’s suppliers) for the timely return of package resources. The role of inter-firm integration and collaboration, formal contracts as well as customers’ power and influence over third-party RTP users are stressed as key mechanisms for managing LSP’s resource dependencies. Research limitations/implications: A resource dependence theory (RDT) lens is used to analyse how reverse resource exchanges and associated resource dependencies in SSCs are managed, thus complementing the existing SSC literature emphasising the bi-directionality of resource flows. The study also extends the recent SSC literature stressing the role of contracting by empirically demonstrating how formal contracts can be mobilised to explicate resource dependencies and to specify, and regulate, reverse exchanges in the SSC. Practical implications: The research suggests that logistics providers can effectively manage their resource dependencies and regulate reverse exchanges in the SSC by deploying contractual governance mechanisms and leveraging their customers’ influence over third-party RTP users. Originality/value: The study is novel in its application of RDT, which enhances our understanding of the management of reverse exchanges and resource dependencies in SSCs.

Designing post-disaster supply chains:learning from housing reconstruction projects

Post-disaster housing reconstruction projects face several challenges. Resources and material supplies are often scarce; several and different types of organizations are involved, while projects must be completed as quickly as possible to foster recovery. Within this context, the chapter aims to increase the understanding of relief supply chain design in reconstruction. In addition, the chapter is introducing a community based and beneficiary perspective to relief supply chains by evaluating the implications of local components for supply chain design in reconstruction. This is achieved through the means of secondary data analysis based on the evaluation reports of two major housing reconstruction projects that took place in Europe the last decade. A comparative analysis of the organizational designs of these projects highlights the ways in which users can be involved. The performance of reconstruction supply chains seems to depend to a large extent on the way beneficiaries are integrated in supply chain design impacting positively on the effectiveness of reconstruction supply chains.

Logistical framework for last mile relief distribution in humanitarian supply chains:considerations from the field

Recent years large scale natural disasters: (e.g. 2004 Tsunami, 2005 Earthquake in South Asia, 2010 Earthquake in Haiti, 2010 flood in Pakistan, 2011 Earthquake in Japan etc.) have captured international attention and led to the advance of research of disaster management. To cope with these huge impact disasters, the involved stakeholders have to learn how quickly and efficiently the relief organisations are able to respond. After a disaster strikes, it is necessary to get the relief aid to the affected people by the prompt action of relief organisations. This supply chain process has to be very fast and efficient. The purpose of this paper is to define the last mile relief distribution in humanitarian supply chain and develop a logistical framework by identifying the factors that affect this process. Seventeen interviews were conducted with field officers and the data analysed to identify which are the critical factors for last mile relief distribution of disaster relief operation. A framework is presented classifying these factors according to the ability to implement them in an optimisation model of humanitarian logistics.

Dynamic supply chain alignment:a new business model for peak performance in enterprise supply chains across all geographies

Dynamic supply chain alignment: a new business model for peak performance in enterprise supply chains across all geographies John Gattorna and friends, Farnham, Gower Publishing, 2009, 440pp., £60, ISBN 978-0-566-08822-3.

A strategic case for e-adoption in healthcare supply chains

A growing body of literature suggests that greater benefits of e-business will be obtained when e-business is integrated throughout a supply chain. However, organizations are still cautious in adopting e-business technologies. This paper examines whether a strategic case for e-commerce can be recognised and the factors that influence e-adoption, using e-business development models, a contingency approach and a stakeholder approach. The paper explores the link of e-commerce with strategy and the potential strategic benefits, risks and problems. This paper analysed e-adoption in four diverse healthcare supply chains in the context of the English National Health Service (NHS). The fieldwork showed there is of limited use of e- in supply chains; there are key problems associated with perceived benefits and costs by different actors both within organisations and within the chain. The paper proposes a framework to link the case for e-commerce with the achievement of strategic objectives across three inter-related domains—health, supply and business.