Data and Predictive Analytics Use for Logistics and Supply Chain Management

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the social process of Big Data and predictive analytics (BDPA) use for logistics and supply chain management (LSCM), focusing on interactions among technology, human behavior and organizational context that occur at the technology’s post-adoption phases in retail supply chain (RSC) organizations. Design/methodology/approach The authors follow a grounded theory approach for theory building based on interviews with senior managers of 15 organizations positioned across multiple echelons in the RSC. Findings Findings reveal how user involvement shapes BDPA to fit organizational structures and how changes made to the technology retroactively affect its design and institutional properties. Findings also reveal previously unreported aspects of BDPA use for LSCM. These include the presence of temporal and spatial discontinuities in the technology use across RSC organizations. Practical implications This study unveils that it is impossible to design a BDPA technology ready for immediate use. The emergent process framework shows that institutional and social factors require BDPA use specific to the organization, as the technology comes to reflect the properties of the organization and the wider social environment for which its designers originally intended. BDPA is, thus, not easily transferrable among collaborating RSC organizations and requires managerial attention to the institutional context within which its usage takes place. Originality/value The literature describes why organizations will use BDPA but fails to provide adequate insight into how BDPA use occurs. The authors address the “how” and bring a social perspective into a technology-centric area

Supply chain agility, adaptability and alignment: empirical evidence from the Indian auto components industry

Purpose: To examine when and how organizations create agility, adaptability, and alignment as distinct supply chain properties to gain sustainable competitive advantage. Design/methodology/approach: The current study utilizes the resource-based view (RBV) under the moderating effect of top management commitment. To test our research hypotheses, we gathered 351 usable responses using a pre-tested questionnaire. Findings: Our statistical analyses suggest that information sharing and supply chain connectivity resources influence supply chain visibility capability, which, under the moderating effect of top management commitment, enhance supply chain agility, adaptability and alignment. Originality/value: Our contribution lies in: (i) providing a holistic study of the antecedents of agility, adaptability and alignment; (ii) investigating the moderating role of top management commitment on supply chain agility, adaptability and alignment; (iii) following the RBV and addressing calls for investigating the role of resources in supply chain management, and for empirical studies with implications for supply chain design

Big data analytics capability in supply chain agility: The moderating effect of organizational flexibility

Please note that the full text of the AAM must only appear in the IR once the final version of the article has been published in the journal. If you have any questions about Emerald’s repository policy and how to make a ‘closed deposit’, please contact [email protected] purpose of this paper is to examine when and how organizations build big data analytics capability to improve supply chain agility and gain competitive advantage. We grounded our theoretical framework in two perspectives the dynamic capabilities view (DCV) and contingency theory (CT). To test our research hypotheses, we gathered 173 usable-responses using a pre-tested questionnaire. Our results suggest that big data analytics capability has a positive and significant effect on supply chain agility and competitive advantage. Further, our results support our hypothesis that organizational flexibility has a positive and significant moderation effect on the path joining big data analytics capability and supply chain agility. However, contrary to our belief, we found no support for the moderation effect of organizational flexibility on the path joining big data analytics capability and competitive advantage. The study makes some useful contributions to the literature on big data analytics capability, supply chain agility, organizational flexibility and competitive advantage. Moreover, our results may further motivate future scholars to replicate our findings using longitudinal data

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

Coping with uncertainties via resilient supply chain framework

Supply chain resilience (SCR) is a promising area budding from the emergent admiration to minimise supply chain disruptions by practitioners and by researchers across the globe. To inflate monetary earnings, many organisations execute initiatives such as comprehensive reach of supply chains, amplified outsourcing, shorter product life cycles, reduced buffers and centralisation. These initiatives are effective in stable surroundings, but they could make supply chain vulnerable to various types of disruptions. The main thrust of this research is, to propose a conceptual model for endowing deeper knowledge of how uncertainty from suppliers, customers and existing supply chain structure amplifies vulnerability and consequently increases supply chain risk exposure. In accordance with fitness landscape theory, this paper accepts a complex systems perspective to view supply chain organisations and understand their capabilities. It focuses on diminishing the vulnerability of supply chain systems and the ability to design systems to be more resilient to chang

Internet of Things and Their Coming Perspectives: A Real Options Approach

Internet of things is developing at a dizzying rate, and companies are forced to implement it in order to maintain their operational efficiency. The high flexibility inherent to these technologies makes it necessary to apply an appropriate measure, which properly assesses risks and rewards. Real options methodology is available as a tool which fits the conditions, both economic and strategic, under which investment in internet of things technologies is developed. The contribution of this paper is twofold. On the one hand, it offers an adequate tool to assess the strategic value of investment in internet of things technologies. On the other hand, it tries to raise awareness among managers of internet of things technologies because of their potential to contribute to economic and social progress. The results of the research described in this paper highlight the importance of taking action as quickly as possible if companies want to obtain the best possible performance. In order to enhance the understanding of internet of things technologies investment, this paper provides a methodology to assess the implementation of internet of things technologies by using the real options approach; in particular, the option to expand has been proposed for use in the decision-making process

Achieving Profitability in Global Small Business Supply Chain Management

Supply chain managers of small and medium-sized enterprises face cost inefficiencies in meeting human, physical, and technology capital requirements. Small and medium-sized enterprise supply chain managers who fail to implement cost-efficiency strategies risk jeopardizing profitability. Grounded in the chaos theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the successful strategies SME supply chain managers used to create cost efficiencies to remain profitable. Participants were 3 corporate supply chain managers of a small and medium-sized international enterprise located in central Florida who were successful at creating cost efficiencies to remain profitable. The data collection process included face-to-face interviews, a review of documentation, and physical artifacts. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data with 4 themes emerging to include leadership and organizational culture, visibility, policies and processes, and production and product sourcing. A key recommendation is that leaders fully embrace and work with department managers to implement strategies that integrate the development of all departments to ensure total organizational success. When small and medium-sized enterprises prosper, community economic conditions thrive, changing lives, homes, individuals, and communities

Business Models and their Implications for Skills

The dominant political-economic narrative of our time is that, under conditions of global competition with low-wage economies able to undercut even efficient western firms, the only viable and sustainable route to competitiveness is to trade on high value-added goods and services and that these in turn require enhanced skills and knowledge. This kind of analysis finds echo and sustenance in the management literature concerning 'knowledge'. Drawing upon a series of case studies this monograph reveals a more varied and complex pattern of possibilities

Inventory drivers in a pharmaceutical supply chain

In recent years, inventory reduction has been a key objective of pharmaceutical companies, especially within cost optimization initiatives. Pharmaceutical supply chains are characterized by volatile and unpredictable demands –especially in emergent markets-, high service levels, and complex, perishable finished-good portfolios, which makes keeping reasonable amounts of stock a true challenge. However, a one-way strategy towards zero-inventory is in reality inapplicable, due to the strategic nature and importance of the products being commercialised. Therefore, pharmaceutical supply chains are in need of new inventory strategies in order to remain competitive. Finished-goods inventory management in the pharmaceutical industry is closely related to the manufacturing systems and supply chain configurations that companies adopt. The factors considered in inventory management policies, however, do not always cover the full supply chain spectrum in which companies operate. This paper works under the pre-assumption that, in fact, there is a complex relationship between the inventory configurations that companies adopt and the factors behind them. The intention of this paper is to understand the factors driving high finished-goods inventory levels in pharmaceutical supply chains and assist supply chain managers in determining which of them can be influenced in order to reduce inventories to an optimal degree. Reasons for reducing inventory levels are found in high inventory holding and scrap related costs; in addition to lost sales for not being able to serve the customers with the adequate shelf life requirements. The thesis conducts a single case study research in a multi-national pharmaceutical company, which is used to examine typical inventory configurations and the factors affecting these configurations. This paper presents a framework that can assist supply chain managers in determining the most important inventory drivers in pharmaceutical supply chains. The findings in this study suggest that while external and downstream supply chain factors are recognized as being critical to pursue inventory optimization initiatives, pharmaceutical companies are oriented towards optimizing production processes and meeting regulatory requirements while still complying with high service levels, being internal factors the ones prevailing when making inventory management decisions. Furthermore, this paper investigates, through predictive modelling techniques, how various intrinsic and extrinsic factors influence the inventory configurations of the case study company. The study shows that inventory configurations are relatively unstable over time, especially in configurations that present high safety stock levels; and that production features and product characteristics are important explanatory factors behind high inventory levels. Regulatory requirements also play an important role in explaining the high strategic inventory levels that pharmaceutical companies hold

The role of operations and supply chains in mitigating social disruptions caused by COVID-19: a stakeholder dynamic capabilities view

Purpose: The disruption caused by COVID-19 exhorts to reiterate the role of operations and supply chain management (OSCM) in achieving social sustainability. Therefore, the present study aims to develop a conceptual understanding of the OSCM ecosystem's role in enabling the world to accelerate towards social sustainability. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses the integrative review method to achieve the stated objectives. The study first identifies the societal disruptions caused by COVID-19. Then based on dynamic capabilities (DC) theory, stakeholder theory and real-life examples, the study puts forward the stakeholder dynamic capabilities (SDC) view as an approach to overcome these social challenges. Findings: Taking the SDC view, the study identified ten social challenges aggravated by the COVID-19. Response actions for OSCM have been proposed to mitigate these challenges. Research limitations/implications: The pandemic has brought new challenges to the OSCM to achieve social sustainability. Therefore, the study's proposed response actions aim to assist OSCM managers in leveraging their expertise to do good for society and create a better world. Moreover, the study also provides avenues for future research on the topic. Originality/value: Based on the SDC view, the study attempts to conceptualise social sustainability for OSCM during a pandemic. The SDC view helps capture internal and external social challenges emerging due to COVID-19 and utilise firms' capabilities to overcome these challenges