Supply chain management

About: Supply chain management is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 39055 publications have been published within this topic receiving 1082949 citations. The topic is also known as: SCM.

Research opportunities for a more resilient post-COVID-19 supply chain – closing the gap between research findings and industry practice

Abstract: The COVID-19 crisis has caused major supply chain disruptions, and these can be traced back to basic supply chain risks that have previously been well identified in literature. The purpose of this paper is to suggest a pathway for closing the gap between supply chain resilience research and efforts in industry to develop a more resilient supply chain.,Based upon virtual roundtables with supply chain executives, supplemented with interviews and publicly available datapoints about COVID-19 impact on the supply chain, we explore challenges in industry and suggest opportunity areas where research can support efforts in industry to improve supply chain resilience.,During the COVID-19 crisis, participating supply chain executives are experiencing textbook supply, demand and control risks in the supply chain. They also observe a lack of preparedness, shortcomings of current response plans and the need for greater supply chain resilience. Focus areas in improving resilience mirror generic recommendations from literature and provide a rich opportunity to reduce the gap between research findings and efforts in industry.,More empirical, event-based and less conceptual research into supply chain resilience has been called for several times during the last two decades. COVID-19 provides a very rich opportunity for researchers to conduct the type of research that has been called for. This research may contribute to the structurally de-risking of supply chains. Areas of research opportunity include decision models for supply chain design that avoid overfocusing on costs only, and that consider the value of flexibility, short response times and multiple sources as well as methods for enriching supplier segmentation and evaluation models to reduce a focus on savings and payment terms only.,Key levers for de-risking the supply chain include the need to balance global sourcing with nearshore and local sourcing, the adoption of multiple sources and a greater utilization of information technology to drive more complete and immediate information availability. Perhaps most importantly, talent management in supply chain management needs to promote a focus not just on costs, but also on resilience as well as on learning from current events to improve decision-making.,There is a great opportunity for supply chain managers to grow their contribution to society beyond risk response into the proactive reduction of risks for the future. Researchers can serve society by informing this progress with impactful research.,This article offers initial empirical exploration of supply chain risks experienced in the context of COVID-19 and approaches considered in industry to improve supply chain resilience. Opportunities for empirical, event-based and less conceptual research that has been called for years, are identified. This research can help close the gap between supply chain resilience research and efforts in industry to improve supply chain resilience. Hopefully the research opportunities identified can inspire the flurry of research that can be expected in response to the multiple special issues planned by journals in our field.

Ten-mega trends that will revolutionize supply chain logistics

Abstract: This article, the last in the visioning series under the current editor, describes the authors' vision of the major trends in supply chain logistics as well as their perspective regarding current industry status with respect to these trends. The authors also suggest the changes and transformations that must take place to enable firms to achieve this vision.

Supply chain collaboration: capabilities for continuous innovation

Abstract: – The purpose of this study is to investigate how collaborative relationships enhance continuous innovation in the supply chain using case studies., – The data were collected from semi‐structured interviews with 23 managers in ten case studies. The main intention was to comprehend how these firms engaged in collaborative relationships and their importance for successful innovation. The study adopted a qualitative approach to investigating these factors., – The findings demonstrate how differing relationships can impact on the operation of firms and their capacities to innovate. The ability to work together with partners has enabled firms to integrate and link operations for increased effectiveness as well as embark on both radical and incremental innovation., – The research into the initiatives and strategies for collaboration was essentially exploratory. A qualitative approach using case studies acknowledged that the responses from managers were difficult to quantify or gauge the extent of these factors., – The findings have shown various methods where firms integrated with customers and suppliers in the supply chain. This was evident in the views of managers across all the firms examined, supporting the importance of collaboration and efficient allocation of resources throughout the supply chain. They were able to set procedures in their dealings with partners, sharing knowledge and processes, and subsequently joint‐planning and investing with them for better operations, systems and processes in the supply chain., – The case studies serve as examples for managers in logistics organisation who are contemplating strategies and issues on collaborative relationships. The study provides important lessons on how such relationships can impact on the operation of firms and their capability to innovate.

Coordinating for Flexibility in e-Business Supply Chains

Abstract: The widespread use of information technology (IT) to create electronic linkages among supply chain partners with the objective of reducing transaction costs may have unintended adverse effects on supply chain flexibility Increasing business dynamics, changing customer preferences, and disruptive technological shifts pose the need for two kinds of flexibility that interenterprise information systems must address--the ability of interenterprise linkages to support changes in offering characteristics (offering flexibility) and the ability to alter linkages to partner with different supply chain players (partnering flexibility) This study explores how enterprises in supply chains may forge supply chain linkages that enable both types of flexibility jointly, and allow them to deal with ubiquitous change Drawing on March and Simon's coordination theory, we propose two design principles: (1) advance structuring of interorganizational processes and information exchange that allows partnering organizations to be loosely coupled, and (2) IT-supported dynamic adjustment that allows enterprises to quickly sense change and adapt their supply chain linkages This study reports on a survey of 41 supply chain relationships in the IT industry For design principle, our empirical investigation of factors shows (1) that modular design of interconnected processes and structured data connectivity are associated with higher supply chain flexibility, and (2) that deep coordination-related knowledge is critical for supply chain flexibility Also, sharing a broad range of information with partners is detrimental to supply chain flexibility, and organizations should instead focus on improving the quality of information shared For industry managers, the study provides clear insights for information infrastructure design To manage their interdependencies, enterprises need to encapsulate their interconnected processes in modular chunks, and support these with IT platforms for information exchange in structured formats Enterprises also need to nurture their execution capabilities by putting in place the information systems to process information exchanged with partners, augmenting their understanding of factors such as how partner actions need to trigger adaptive responses For researchers, the study initiates a new stream of theorizing that focuses on the role of the information infrastructure in managing the tension between competing goals of offering flexibility and partnering flexibility

International Supply Chain Management

Abstract: Competitive pressures and changes in the economic climate have forced management of international companies to evaluate afresh the operation and structure of international supply chains. Swings between “local for local” and “international supply centre” strategies for manufacturing and distribution have dramatic implications for organisation, structure, control systems and costs to serve the customer. New approaches to managing change in international chains have emerged and been proven in recent years. This article describes the concepts underlying these approaches, the barriers that need to be overcome and some of the lessons learned from experience of implementation.