Showing papers on "Supply chain published in 2017"

Sustainable supply chain management and the transition towards a circular economy: Evidence and some applications $

Abstract: In the last decades, green and sustainable supply chain management practices have been developed, trying to integrate environmental concerns into organisations by reducing unintended negative consequences on the environment of production and consumption processes. In parallel to this, the circular economy discourse has been propagated in the industrial ecology literature and practice. Circular economy pushes the frontiers of environmental sustainability by emphasising the idea of transforming products in such a way that there are workable relationships between ecological systems and economic growth. Therefore, circular economy is not just concerned with the reduction of the use of the environment as a sink for residuals but rather with the creation of self-sustaining production systems in which materials are used over and over again. Through two case studies from different process industries (chemical and food), this paper compares the performances of traditional and circular production systems across a range of indicators. Direct, indirect and total lifecycle emissions, waste recovered, virgin resources use, as well as carbon maps (which provide a holistic visibility of the entire supply chain) are presented. The paper asserts that an integration of circular economy principles within sustainable supply chain management can provide clear advantages from an environmental point view. Emerging supply chain management challenges and market dynamics are also highlighted and discussed.

Digital Supply Chain Transformation toward Blockchain Integration

Abstract: Digital supply chain integration is becoming increasingly dynamic. Access to customer demand needs to be shared effectively, and product and service deliveries must be tracked to provide visibility in the supply chain. Business process integration is based on standards and reference architectures, which should offer end-to-end integration of product data. Companies operating in supply chains establish process and data integration through the specialized intermediate companies, whose role is to establish interoperability by mapping and integrating companyspecific data for various organizations and systems. This has typically caused high integration costs, and diffusion is slow. This paper investigates the requirements and functionalities of supply chain integration. Cloud integration can be expected to offer a cost-effective business model for interoperable digital supply chains. We explain how supply chain integration through the blockchain technology can achieve disruptive transformation in digital supply chains and networks.

A supply chain traceability system for food safety based on HACCP, blockchain & Internet of things

Abstract: In recent times food safety has drawn upsurge of academic and commercial concerns. In supply chain area, with the rapid growth of internet technologies, a lot of emerging technologies have been applied in traceability systems. However, to date, nearly all of these systems are centralized which are monopolistic, asymmetric and opaque that could result in the trust problem, such as fraud, corruption, tampering and falsifying information. Besides, centralized system is vulnerable to collapse, since a single point of breakdown will lead the whole system to be crashed. Today, a new technology called the blockchain which is a ground-breaking innovation in decentralized information technology presents a whole new approach. However, since this technology is still in its early stages, it has some inherent defects, in which scalability become a primary and urgent one when we face the mass data in the real world. In this paper we will build a food supply chain traceability system for real-time food tracing based on HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points), blockchain and Internet of things, which could provide an information platform for all the supply chain members with openness, transparency, neutrality, reliability and security. Furthermore, we introduce a new concept BigchainDB to fill the gap in the decentralized systems at scale. The paper concludes with a description of a use case and the challenges to adopt blockchain technology in the future food supply chain traceability systems are discussed.

Challenges and opportunities of digital information at the intersection of Big Data Analytics and supply chain management

Abstract: Purpose Despite the variety of supply chain management (SCM) research, little attention has been given to the use of Big Data Analytics for increased information exploitation in a supply chain. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to theory development in SCM by investigating the potential impacts of Big Data Analytics on information usage in a corporate and supply chain context. As it is imperative for companies in the supply chain to have access to up-to-date, accurate, and meaningful information, the exploratory research will provide insights into the opportunities and challenges emerging from the adoption of Big Data Analytics in SCM. Design/methodology/approach Although Big Data Analytics is gaining increasing attention in management, empirical research on the topic is still scarce. Due to the limited availability of comparable material at the intersection of Big Data Analytics and SCM, the authors apply the Delphi research technique. Findings Portraying the emerging transition trend from a digital business environment, the presented Delphi study findings contribute to extant knowledge by identifying 43 opportunities and challenges linked to the emergence of Big Data Analytics from a corporate and supply chain perspective. Research limitations/implications These constructs equip the research community with a first collection of aspects, which could provide the basis to tailor further research at the nexus of Big Data Analytics and SCM. Originality/value The research adds to the existing knowledge base as no empirical research has been presented so far specifically assessing opportunities and challenges on corporate and supply chain level with a special focus on the implications imposed through Big Data Analytics.

A New Paradigm for Systematic Literature Reviews in Supply Chain Management

Abstract: While systematic literature reviews (SLRs) have contributed substantially to developing knowledge in fields such as medicine, they have made limited contributions to developing knowledge in the supply chain management domain. This is due to the ontological and epistemological idiosyncrasies of research in supply chain management, which need to be accounted for when retrieving, selecting, and synthesizing studies in an SLR. Therefore, we propose a new paradigm for SLRs in the supply chain domain that is based on both best practice and the unique attributes of doing supply chain management research. This approach involves exploring existing studies with attention to theoretical boundaries, units of analysis, sources of data, study contexts, and definitions and the operationalization of constructs, as well as research methods, with the goal of refining or revising existing theory. This new paradigm will push supply chain management research to the frontier of current methodological standards and build a foundation for improving the contribution of future SLRs in the supply chain and adjacent management disciplines.

A Novel Blockchain-Based Product Ownership Management System (POMS) for Anti-Counterfeits in the Post Supply Chain

Abstract: For more than a decade now, radio frequency identification (RFID) technology has been quite effective in providing anti-counterfeits measures in the supply chain. However, the genuineness of RFID tags cannot be guaranteed in the post supply chain, since these tags can be rather easily cloned in the public space. In this paper, we propose a novel product ownership management system (POMS) of RFID-attached products for anti-counterfeits that can be used in the post supply chain. For this purpose, we leverage the idea of Bitcoin ’s blockchain that anyone can check the proof of possession of balance. With the proposed POMS, a customer can reject the purchase of counterfeits even with genuine RFID tag information, if the seller does not possess their ownership. We have implemented a proof-of-concept experimental system employing a blockchain-based decentralized application platform, Ethereum , and evaluated its cost performance. Results have shown that, typically, the cost of managing the ownership of a product with up to six transfers is less than U.S. $1.

Literature review on disruption recovery in the supply chain

Abstract: Recent research underlines the crucial role of disruption events and recovery policies in supply chains. Despite a wealth of literature on supply chain design with disruption considerations, to the best of our knowledge there is no survey on supply chain with disruptions and recovery considerations. We analyse state-of-the-art research streams on supply chain design and planning with both disruptions and recovery considerations with the aim of relating the existing quantitative methods to empirical research. The paper structures and classifies existing research streams and application areas of different quantitative methods subject to different disruption risks and recovery measures. We identify gaps in current research and delineate future research avenues. The results of this study are twofold: operations and supply chain managers can observe which quantitative tools are available for different application areas; on other hand, limitations and future research needs for decision-support methods in supply chain risk management domains can be identified.

Management of social issues in supply chains: a literature review exploring social issues, actions and performance outcomes

Abstract: The social dimension of sustainable development and its impact on supply chains have so far received less attention than the environmental dimension. The aim of the research is to explore the intersection between social issues, corporate social responsibility (CSR) actions and performance outcomes. A structured literature review of social issues in supply chains is presented, analysing the research published so far in peer-reviewed publications. Linking CSR and supply chain management allows the exploration of strategies and performance outcomes with a focus on social issues. The corresponding responsible supply chain actions adopted by firms to address these issues are grouped into communication, compliance and supplier development strategies. Social and economic as well as buyer and supplier performance are identified as the key outcomes, but the interactions among these constructs would require further research. This paper contributes to the understanding of managing social issues in supply chains by linking social issues, responsible supply chain actions and performance outcomes. The paper consolidates related research by offering an overarching conceptual framework and points to future research directions and simultaneously provides insights into the management of social issues in supply chains.

Assessing the social sustainability of supply chains using Best Worst Method

Abstract: A truly sustainable organization needs to take the economic, environmental and social dimensions of sustainability into account. Although the economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability have been examined by many scholars and practitioners, thus far, the social dimension has been received less attention in literature and in practice, in particular in developing countries. Social sustainability enables other sustainability initiatives and overlooking this dimension can have a serious adverse impact across supply chains. To address this issue, this study proposes a framework for investigating the social sustainability of supply chains in manufacturing companies. To show the applicability and efficiency of the proposed framework, a sample of 38 experts was used to evaluate and prioritize social sustainability criteria, using a multi-criteria decision-making method called the ‘best worst method’ (BWM). The criteria are ranked according to their average weight obtained through BWM. The respondents view ‘contractual stakeholders influence’ as the most important social sustainability criterion. The results of this study help industry managers, decision-makers and practitioners decide where to focus their attention during the implementation stage, to increase social sustainability in their organizational supply chain and move towards sustainable development.

Understanding big data analytics capabilities in supply chain management: Unravelling the issues, challenges and implications for practice

Abstract: In the era of Big Data, many organisations have successfully leveraged Big Data Analytics (BDA) capabilities to improve their performance However, past literature on BDA have put limited focus on understanding the capabilities required to extract value from big data In this context, this paper aims to provide a systematic literature review of BDA capabilities in supply chain and develop the capabilities maturity model The paper presents the bibliometric and thematic analysis of research papers from 2008 to 2016 This paper contributes in theorizing BDA capabilities in context of supply chain, and provides future direction of research in this field

Blockchain in logistics and supply chain : trick or treat?

Abstract: Blockchain is an emergent technology concept that enables the decentralized and immutable storage of verified data. Over the last few years, it has increasingly attracted the attention of different industries. Especially in Fintech, Blockchain is hyped as the silver bullet that might overthrow today's payment handling. Slowly, the logistics and supply chain management community realizes how profoundly Blockchain could affect their industry. To shed light on this emerging field, we conducted an online survey and asked logistics professionals for their opinion on use case exemplars, barriers, facilitators, and the general prospects of Blockchain in logistics and supply chain management. We found most of our participants are fairly positive about this new technology and the benefits it offers. However, factors like the hierarchical level, Blockchain experiences, and the industry sector have a significant impact on the participants' evaluation. We reason that the benefits over existing IT solutions must be carved out more carefully and use cases must be further explored to get a rather conservative industry, like logistics, more excited about Blockchain.

Time–Temperature Management Along the Food Cold Chain: A Review of Recent Developments

Abstract: The cold chain is responsible for the preservation and transportation of perishable foods in the proper temperature range to slow biological decay processes and deliver safe and high-quality foods to consumers Studies show that the efficiency of the cold chain is often less than ideal, as temperature abuses above or below the optimal product-specific temperature range occur frequently, a situation that significantly increases food waste and endangers food safety In this work, field studies on time-temperature conditions at each critical stage of the cold chain are reviewed to assess the current state of commercial cold chains Precooling, ground operations during transportation, storage during display at retail and in domestic refrigerators, and commercial handling practices are identified and discussed as the major weaknesses in the modern cold chain The improvement in efficiency achieved through the measurement, analysis, and management of time-temperature conditions is reviewed, along with the accompanying technical and practical challenges delaying the implementation of such methods A combination of prospective experimental and modeling research on precooling uniformity, responsive food inventory management systems, and cold chains in developing countries is proposed for the improvement of the cold chain at the global scale