Leveraging Open-standard Interorganizational Information Systems for Process Adaptability and Alignment: An Empirical Analysis

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand the value creation mechanisms of open-standard inter-organizational information system (OSIOS), which is a key technology to achieve Industry 4.0. Specifically, this study investigates how the internal assimilation and external diffusion of OSIOS help manufactures facilitate process adaptability and alignment in supply chain network.Design/methodology/approachA survey instrument was designed and administrated to collect data for this research. Using three-stage least squares estimation, the authors empirically tested a number of hypothesized relationships based on a sample of 308 manufacturing firms in China.FindingsThe results of the study show that OSIOS can perform as value creation mechanisms to enable process adaptability and alignment. In addition, the impact of OSIOS internal assimilation is inversely U-shaped where the positive effect on process adaptability will become negative after an extremum point is reached.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the existing literature by providing insights on how OSIOS can improve supply chain integration and thus promote the achievement of industry 4.0. By revealing a U-shaped relationship between OSIOS assimilation and process adaptability, this study fills previous research gap by advancing the understanding on the value creation mechanisms of information systems deployment

A Conceptual Framework of Reverse Logistics Impact on Firm Performance

This study aims to examine the reverse logistics factors that impact upon firm performance. We review reverse logistics factors under three research streams: (a) resource-based view of the firm, including: Firm strategy, Operations management, and Customer loyalty (b) relational theory, including: Supply chain efficiency, Supply chain collaboration, and institutional theory, including: Government support and Cultural alignment. We measured firm performance with 5 measures: profitability, cost, innovativeness, perceived competitive advantage, and perceived customer satisfaction. We discuss implications for research, policy and practice

Critical Management Issues for Implementing RFID in Supply Chain Management

The benefits of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in the supply chain are fairly compelling. It has the potential to revolutionise the efficiency, accuracy and security of the supply chain with significant impact on overall profitability. A number of companies are actively involved in testing and adopting this technology. It is estimated that the market for RFID products and services will increase significantly in the next few years. Despite this trend, there are major impediments to RFID adoption in supply chain. While RFID systems have been around for several decades, the technology for supply chain management is still emerging. We describe many of the challenges, setbacks and barriers facing RFID implementations in supply chains, discuss the critical issues for management and offer some suggestions. In the process, we take an in-depth look at cost, technology, standards, privacy and security and business process reengineering related issues surrounding RFID technology in supply chains

CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry - Plan of Work and Budget 2020

There were no significant changes in 2019 to FTA’s theory of change1. FTA plans all its work on the basis of its operational priorities. These, in turn, focusresearch towards major development demands and knowledge gaps, orienting FTA towards the implementation of the SDGs and other global commitments. Three operational priorities were added in 2020 (see list in Appendix 1) to better delineate pre-existing research areas addressing development bottlenecks needing dedicated investment and visibility: smallholder tree-crop commodities, tree seeds and seedlings delivery systems, and foresight. FTA organized in 2019, at the request of its ISC, a joint ISC-FTA workshop on impact assessment methods for the program. Based on the outcomes of this workshop FTA will, inter alia, revisit in 2020 its impact pathways and end of programme outcomes, and if need be, corresponding adjustments to the ToC of FTA and/or of its FPs will be made

CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry - Plan of Work and Budget 2020

There were no significant changes in 2019 to FTA’s theory of change1. FTA plans all its work on the basis of its operational priorities. These, in turn, focusresearch towards major development demands and knowledge gaps, orienting FTA towards the implementation of the SDGs and other global commitments. Three operational priorities were added in 2020 (see list in Appendix 1) to better delineate pre-existing research areas addressing development bottlenecks needing dedicated investment and visibility: smallholder tree-crop commodities, tree seeds and seedlings delivery systems, and foresight. FTA organized in 2019, at the request of its ISC, a joint ISC-FTA workshop on impact assessment methods for the program. Based on the outcomes of this workshop FTA will, inter alia, revisit in 2020 its impact pathways and end of programme outcomes, and if need be, corresponding adjustments to the ToC of FTA and/or of its FPs will be made

Buyer-supplier partnership in agile supply chains: A conceptual view

The purpose of this paper focuses on achieving agility within the supply chain and seeks to examine the impact of developing an integrated buyer-supplier partnership on achieving agility. It also aims to investigate the moderating role played by information sharing and technology in achieving such a goal. Supply chain management and agility have both been received great attention in recent years. In a highly dynamic and complex business market place the customer is demanding more choice and companies need to possess the means to rapidly adjust to market changes in order to satisfy its customers in an effective manner. Agility has been introduced to the supply chain context to enable companies to face the business environmental changes and deal with them effectively. The methodological approach used in this paper is an analysis and critique to the existing literature, as an initial step for developing the empirical study for the paper

Customer Enquiry Management in a Global Competitive Context: A Comparative Multi-Case Study Analysis

Business-to-Business (B2B) relationships, such as between a manufacturer and a customer, are increasingly important during the Customer Enquiry Management (CEM) process, particularly so for non-Make-To-Stock (non-MTS) companies operating in industrial markets. Few empirical studies have explored the CEM practices adopted by firms in practice. A study of the Italian capital goods sector by Zorzini et al. (2007) is a recent exception. Moreover, most studies have approached CEM from a cross-department integrated perspective but in the digital economy, and with globalization, outsourcing and extended supply chains, CEM needs to be approached from a broader supply chain-oriented perspective, incorporating B2B exchanges. This paper builds on the study by Zorzini et al. (2007) by conducting multi-case study research with seven UK-based companies in the capital goods sector, including three sales and support companies with offshore manufacturing. By adopting a cross-national research perspective, it assesses whether the proposed theory applies to other capital goods firms outside Italy. By also adopting a supply chain perspective of CEM it investigates current industry practice in B2B markets and explores whether cross-functional coordination and formalization issues can be extended into a global context. Evidence from the UK generally supports prior theory, confirming links between high levels of coordination, formalization of the CEM process and improved performance. Some refinements are proposed, for example, in order to make the theory suitable for a global context. The characteristics of a supply chain are important factors that affect CEM. This research has managerial implications for improving the CEM process in non-Make-To-Stock (non-MTS) capital goods companies from both an intra and an inter-organisational (B2B) perspective. Coordination with partners along the supply chain is needed at the enquiry stage and constraints linked to global customers should be considered when structuring the

Small and Medium sized Enterprises’ Collaborative Buyer-Supplier Relationships: Boundary Spanning Individual Perspectives

Boundary-spanning individuals (BSIs) play a critical role in supply chain management, especially in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) where interactions with buyers and suppliers can depend heavily on just a few individuals. This study, utilizing data from Korean manufacturing-sector SMEs, explores whether cooperative social value orientations of SMEs’ BSIs influence the effects of collaborative buyer-supplier initiatives. The results suggested that the performance implication of decision-sharing initiative increases when BSIs have a high level of cooperative social value orientation. However, it also negatively moderates the relationship between risk/benefit sharing (involving financial losses or gains) and performance suggesting possible negative side-effects. However, we found that such orientation also negatively moderates the relationship between risk/benefit sharing (involving direct financial losses or gains) and relationship performance suggesting possible negative side-effects

Evaluating the integration of supply chain information systems: A case study

Supply chain management (SCM) is the integrated management of business links, information flows and people. It is with this frame of reference that information systems integration from both intra- and inter-organisational levels becomes significant. Enterprise application integration (EAI) has emerged as software technologies to address the issue of integrating the portfolio of SCM components both within organisations and through cross-enterprises. EAI is based on a diversity of integration technologies (e.g. message brokers, ebXML) that differ in the type and level of integration they offer. However, none of these technologies claim to be a panacea to overcoming all integration problems but rather, need to be pieced together to support the linking of diverse applications that often exist within supply chains. In exploring the evaluation of supply chain integration, the authors propose a framework for evaluating the portfolio of integration technologies that are used to unify inter-organisational and intra-organisational information systems. The authors define and classify the permutations of information systems available according to their characteristics and integration requirements. These, classifications of system types are then adopted as part of the evaluation framework and empirically tested within a case study