Amy K. Knight

Bio: Amy K. Knight is an academic researcher from George Washington University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Purchasing & Strategic sourcing. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 2 publications receiving 14 citations.

Transforming the purchasing strategy of high-tech medical equipment in healthcare systems

Abstract: In healthcare settings, implementing centralized strategic sourcing in healthcare systems can result in stronger supply chains, improved logistics, and improve the treatment of patients who utilize the newly purchased technologies. This study examines health technology acquisition and purchasing literature and develops a cross-functional acquisition strategy that leverages the acquisition of high-tech medical equipment for healthcare systems. The strategy is derived by combining best practices developed using decentralized purchasing strategies by healthcare facilities and successful buyer-supplier relationships from multiple industries. The strategy allows hospital systems to evaluate the efficacy of the equipment, the ability of the equipment to benefit the patient population, and the ability of the equipment to integrate with existing hospital IT systems. If the equipment proves to be a beneficial acquisition, the system can then form a buyer-supplier relationship to allow for the most efficien...

Enablers of sustainable supply chain management and its effect on competitive advantage in the Colombian context

Abstract: This article aims to evaluate whether the enablers top and middle management support and strategic purchasing facilitate the development of sustainable supply chain practices, as well as the effect of the latter on competitive advantage (CA). Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was applied to test the proposed model based on a sample from companies operating in Colombia. The main hypotheses of the research were supported, implying that a suitable combination between internal enablers and the adoption of sustainable supply chain practices is important to pursue competitive advantage. However, the hypothesis for the expected effect of environmental practices wasn’t supported, suggesting that there is a win-win perspective between social practices in supply chains and competitive advantage in the context of emerging economies. And the analysis of the non-supported hypothesis is one of the contributions of the article.

An integrated decision-making model for supplier evaluation in public healthcare system: the case study of a Spanish hospital

Abstract: In this study, an integrated decision-making model consisting of decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL), best worst method (BWM) and a modified version of evaluation based on distance from average solution (EDAS) methods is proposed for supplier selection problem in a public procurement system considering sustainable development goals.,DEMATEL and BWM methods are used to determine weights of the criteria that are defined for the supplier selection problem. Weight aggregation method is applied to combine the weights obtained from these two methods. A modified version of EDAS method is then used in order to rank the alternative suppliers.,The proposed decision-making model is investigated for a supplier selection problem for a hospital in Spain. The validity of the results is checked using comparison with other decision-making methods and several performance analysis tests.,The proposed multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) model contributes to the healthcare supply chain management (SCM) and aims to lead the policy makers in selecting the best supplier.,There is no such study that combines DEMATEL and BWM together for weight generation. The application of the modified EDAS method is also new. In real time situations, the decision experts may confront to the difficulty of using BWM while identifying the best and the worst criteria choices. The idea of using DEMATEL is to aid the experts to make them enable in distinguishing between the best/worst criteria and handle BWM easily.

Accessing Supplier Innovation by Being Their Preferred Customer: As Firms Increasingly Rely on Collaboration with Suppliers in Their Innovation Processes, Achieving Preferred Customer Status with Key Suppliers Becomes a Cornerstone of Growth, Forcing Buyers to Consider How They Might Make Themselves More Attractive as Customers

Abstract: The 1990s saw a fundamental shift in the way companies approach innovation. In the beginning of the decade, a panel study revealed that most firms innovated internally, but by the end of the decade, 85 percent of companies surveyed included external partners in their innovation programs (Roberts 2001). In an environment characterized by open innovation, the locus of innovation is moving out of the laboratory of a single, self-contained firm and into a network of collaborating partners. Suppliers play an increasing role in such a network (Slowinski et al. 2009; Wagner 2009). In the automotive industry, for instance, most new patents are registered by suppliers. If firms want to compete in the race for innovation in such industries, they will benefit from teaming up with the most innovative suppliers and integrating them into collaborative development projects. However, previous research has shown that the number of highly innovative suppliers is relatively small, usually no more than a dozen suppliers per firm (Schiele 2010a). Unfortunately, the few highly innovative suppliers that would be interesting partners for one firm are often exactly the same suppliers that would make interesting partners for the firm's competitors, as well. This means that the supplier who is being wooed must choose which customers get access to scarce resources--for example, the only employee who can be delegated to work as resident engineer at customer facilities, limited testing time available in labs, or even a new product or process improvement idea the supplier may have developed. Some customers will get preferential access to those resources; these are the "preferred customers" of a supplier. Having preferred customer status can have real competitive benefits for firms. In fact, our study, which intended to identify and better understand the characteristics of highly innovative suppliers, revealed that successful manufacturers were often seen as preferred customers by their innovative suppliers. The study, which used a consortial benchmarking approach, identified key characteristics of innovative suppliers; the results offer some insight on both the importance of being a preferred customer and the routes to attaining that status. In essence, the preferred customer logic inverts the usual way of addressing buyer-supplier relations, asking buyers to consider how they might become more attractive partners for key suppliers. The Study In order to better understand how a firm can access the innovation power of their suppliers and to develop guidance for managers on how to do so, a research consortium was formed to conduct a consortial benchmarking project, a method by which a coalition of academic researchers and practitioners work together to identify best-practice firms in a particular area and benchmark the characteristics of those firms (see "The Consortial Benchmarking Method"). In the first phase of the project, the research consortium was formed, consisting of delegates from several Siemens business units, Drager Medical, Heidelberger Druck, Untiever, and h&z business consulting, as well as the author as academic representative. The project was also backed by the German purchasers' association BME. The association advocated academic participation in order to ensure that findings would be made available to a wider audience. Previous practitioner-only benchmarking projects had sometimes had offered little diffusion of knowledge, with only the involved parties profiting from the studies. To prepare for the research consortium's kick-off meeting, an intensive literature review was conducted, which revealed the existence of an extensive literature on success factors for innovation projects that integrate suppliers early in the development process (for an overview, see Schiele 2010b). However, considerably less attention had been given to identifying characteristics common to suppliers suited for such ventures. …

Inter-organizational supply chain : Interaction for sustainability- a systematic literature review

Abstract: Inter-organizational supply chain : Interaction for sustainability- a systematic literature review