The Future of Retail Operations

Retailing consists of all the activities associated with the selling of goods to the final consumer. In this article, we review the research on retail operations published in Manufacturing & Service Operations Research (M&SOM) since 1999. We then discuss the current retail landscape and the new research directions it offers, in which M&SOM can play a prominent role

Buyer focus: evaluation of a new concept for supply chain integration

The goal of integrated supply chains is to remove barriers to ease the flow of materials and information. This article concentrates on an important barrier: shared resources in a supply chain. The removal of these shared resources is closely related to the recently introduced concept of buyer focus. Buyer focus is described as the singling out of resources in order to supply one buyer along the whole range of its products. The value of buyer focus for supply chain integration is evaluated and in two cases illustrated. This article suggests that there are two extreme configurations in supply chains. On the one hand, suppliers with buyer-focused operations to enable high levels of integration in order to cope with uncertainty in volume, mix and leadtime. On the other hand, shared resources and low levels of integration, which are more likely in supply chains that are dominantly cost driven.

Good Partners or Good Politicians: An Exploration of Politics in Supply Chain Management

This dissertation explores the impact of politics on internal and external supply chain management initiatives. From an intra-firm perspective, the impact of organizational politics and political skill on supply chain dynamics and processes is investigated in two quantitative articles. Article 1 is a constituency-based view perspective using survey methodology that explores the impact of organizational politics and political skill on cross-functional integration and supply chain orientation. This article finds that there is a negative relationship between organizational politics and cross-functional integration and a positive relationship between organizational politics and supply chain orientation when political skill of the top supply chain executive is present. Comparatively Article 2 resource management theory perspective using survey methodology and secondary data to explore organizational politics impact on firm supply chain performance variables of cash to cash cycle and operating expense per sales dollar. This research finds that organizational politics has a positive relationship with firm supply chain performance. Alternatively, the inter-firm perspective explores supply chain politics using a grounded theory approach in article 3. The findings of article 3 suggest that there are different political strategies that are employed by supply chain employees when balancing inter-firm and intra-firm politics. Overall, this dissertation provides insight into how organizational politics impact processes and dynamics while challenging the notion that organizational politics may be detrimental for performance. Furthermore, this research introduces supply chain politics and explores the social dynamics that supply chain employees must navigate to be successful in their roles and further supply chain objectives

Food and Wine Value Chains: The Fearne Residency in the Adelaide Thinkers in Residence Program

Andrew Fearne, Professor of Food Marketing and Supply Chain Management and a Director of the dunnhumby Academy of Consumer Research at Kent University, UK, is a current Thinker in the Adelaide Thinkers in Residence (ATIR) program. Professor Fearne is the 14th person to undertake a Thinkers appointment. The residency theme, Food and Wine Value Chains: Prosperity through Collaboration, has provided a timely opportunity for partners, including wine companies, government agencies, universities, an industry association and a regional development board to review micro and macro strategies and policies from a value chain perspective. The residency was initiated to improve sustainable competitive advantage within South Australian food and wine value chains. Its timing has coincided with, and aligns with, community concern and national policy issues in grocery pricing, water policy, drought/climate change, health-wellbeing agendas, waste and food security; all converging and impacting on food and wine supply chains. The paper provides background about the Adelaide Thinkers in Residence program and partner objectives for the residency: it refers to other chain research involving Professor Fearne at dunnhumby and in Tasmania, where better insight to consumer behaviour is the basis for product and process adjustment, with the possibility of better outcomes for consumers and stakeholders; it outlines a major wine value chain analysis project in SA and identifies some main themes to emerge from this Thinker’s program. Professor Fearne will be reporting to the South Australian Government during 2009.value chain analysis, food and wine, planning and policy,

Cooperation within the supply chain : Inbound process development

In order to efficiently manage a supply chain, several processes need to be aligned. Purchasing, logistics and warehousing all are part of a company’s inbound process. Decisions made at external suppliers can have impacts later in the process, at the warehouse or even later at the end customer. The inbound process needs to managed as a whole in order to have an efficient supply chain. Extensive cooperation is required internally between different teams, and externally within the supply chain network. This study looks into literature on supply chain management form different perspectives, SCM as a source of competitive advantage, cooperation within a supply chain, cooperation in partnerships and business networks, learning in a network context and supply chain risk management. This research was conducted using a qualitative research method. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in February 2021 at a case company and their external warehouse partner to gauge how the inbound process is managed and developed in cooperation with internal and external partners. The findings of the interviews are discussed and compared to the presented academic literature. Main findings of this study indicate that managing the inbound process requires cooperation, both internally and externally. The roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder need to be clearly aligned and communicated throughout internal and external partners. Organizational change is a major risk that can hinder process development. When going through organizational changes, companies should allocate sufficient resources to cope with the adaptation period.Hallitakseen toimitusketjua tehokkaasti, useiden eri prosessien tulee toimia yhteistyössä. Osto, logistiikka ja varastointi ovat kaikki osia yrityksen sisään tulevan tavaravirran hallinnassa. Päätöksillä, joita tehdään ulkoisilla toimittajilla voi olla vaikutuksia toimitusketjun myöhemmissä vaiheissa, niin varastolla kuin jopa loppuasiakkaalla. Saapuvaa tavaravirtaa on hallittava kokonaisuutena, jotta koko toimitusketju säilyttää tehokkuutensa. Yhteistyötä vaaditaan niin sisäisten kuin ulkoisten kumppanien kesken. Tässä tutkielmassa käydään läpi akateemista kirjallisuutta koskien seuraavia aiheita: toimitusketjun hallinta eri perspektiiveistä, toimitusketju kestävän kilpailuedun lähteenä, yhteistyö toimitusketjun sisällä, yhteistyö kumppaneiden välillä ja verkostoissa, verkostoissa oppiminen ja toimitusketjun riskien hallinta. Tässä tutkimuksessa on käytetty kvalitatiivista tutkimusmetodia. Puolistrukturoidut haastattelut toteutettiin helmikuussa 2021 tutkimuksen kohteena olleessa yrityksessä ja heidän ulkoisella varastopartnerillaan. Haastatteluissa selvitettiin miten sisään tulevaa tavaravirtaa hallitaan kyseisessä yrityksessä, ja miten prosessia kehitetään yhteistyössä sekä sisäisten osapuolten, että ulkoisten kumppanien kesken. Haastattelujen tulokset esitellään ja niitä verrataan esitettyyn olemassa olevaan kirjallisuuteen. Tutkimuksen johtopäätökset ovat, että toimitusketjun hallinta vaatii yhteistyötä niin sisäisten kuin ulkoisten kumppanien välillä. Eri toimijoiden roolit ja vastuualueet tulee linjata selkeästi sekä kommunikoida kaikille osapuolille. Organisaatiomuutokset ovat suuri riski prosessien kehittämiselle. Yritysten tulee varmistaa riittävät resurssit organisaatiomuutosten läpikäynnin ajaksi

Understanding Collaborative Dynamics: A Critical Review and Inductive Investigation

Collaboration has been a topic of discussion for over 20 years. Managers are consistently calling for better collaboration and researchers have argued that managing tightly coupled relationships creates a co-mingling of complementary competencies that establishes distinctive advantages for firms. Even though there have been a few exemplar companies that have been capable of truly developing these complementary competencies, few companies truly understand the dynamics of a collaborative capability. This dissertation reviews the theoretical conceptualization and operationalization of tightly coupled relationships and through an interpretive analysis, begins to provide clarity to the following questions: * Under what conditions are tightly coupled relationship strategies justified? * What are the elements that constitute effective relationship strategies? * How can these elements be dynamically configured to deliver superior value and firm performance? Essay 1 sets up the theoretical foundation for the dissertation through an in-depth review of the current collaboration/integration literature and delineates and summarizes contrasting dimensions in supply chain relational strategies. An orienting conceptual framework is developed to provide clear insights for the analysis that is conducted in essay 3. Essay 2 focuses on the ontological and epistemological aspects of hermeneutics and promotes the use of this methodology for future research in the supply chain field. Because this methodology is new to the supply chain field a full methodological guideline is described and explained. Through a hermeneutical analysis, Essay 3 evaluates the operationalization of tightly coupled relationships using interview data from a combination of 11 manufacturers and retailers who practice collaborative behavior. The literature review and the orienting conceptual framework from Essay 1 are used to set the stage for the hermeneutical analysis. From the analysis, a framework is developed for use in future research

The car manufacturer (CM) and third party logistics provider (TPLP) relationship in the outbound delivery channel: A qualitative study of the Malaysian automotive industry

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.This research studies the relationship between car manufacturers (CM) and third party logistics providers (TPLP), also known as the logistics partnership, in the outbound delivery channel in the Malaysian automotive industry. It focuses specifically on the dyad perspective, and demonstrates that several critical success factors are required for a successful relationship between these two parties. Five such factors emanate from the operational dimension and eight from the relational dimension. The five operational factors are: logistics service performance, investment, information sharing, information technology and communication, and price of the logistics service; and the eight relational factors are: trust, commitment, power, conflict, dependency, co-operation, informal activity, and understanding. The study also reveals that five outcomes are identified that benefit both the CM and the TPLP as a result of the win-win situation accruing to both parties. These are: renewal of the contract, company profitability, improved logistics service performance, knowledge transfer, and company branding. Such benefits enhance the supply chain relationship, and knowledge of these advantages improves current TPLP theory by deepening the understanding of how logistics partnership can succeed. In order to obtain rich data concerning the CM-TPLP relationship, the researcher adopted a different methodology from that used by previous scholars, who have concentrated on quantitative techniques. In this study, multiple case studies (seven in total) in one industry, the automotive industry, in the non-western context of Malaysia, were conducted. Three main steps in the case study protocol were followed. The first involved a review of the literature pertaining to the themes that required further exploration, together with the development of the interview questions. In the second step, data were collected using semi-structured interviews, observations, document reviews, photographs and also archival records. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data. The third stage involved exploring the data until it was found that nothing new was emerging from the interviews, and hence theoretical saturation had occurred. At this point the factors in question were confirmed, and the initial model revised. Additionally, confidentiality was maintained in all respects to protect the participating organisations and individuals. The findings contribute to the understanding of the CM-TPLP relationship which enhance supply chain relationship and TPLP theory, since they shed light on the operational and relational factors in one specific industry, from a dyadic perspective, and in a non-Western context, thereby adding new dimensions to the existing body of knowledge in this field. The findings benefit practitioners via the novel LPS (logistics partnership success) model generated by the researcher. This indicates the key contributory factors to the CM-TPLP relationship success. Moreover, the study may have the capacity to generalise to other culturally-similar environments.This study is supported by the Malaysian Government, MARA and UniKL

Growing The Pie: How Supplier Diversity Can Enable Minority Businesses to Create Stakeholder Value

Minority business enterprises (MBEs) are among the fastest-growing segments of the U.S. economy and are vital to the nation’s growth and prosperity. Supplier diversity is a strategic procurement initiative implemented by large purchasing organizations (LPOs) to identify, support, and promote diverse supplier partnerships. When LPOs partner with MBEs as strategic suppliers, MBEs are enabled to scale, which can create positive stakeholder value, particularly in underserved communities. However, many LPO and MBE relationships do not realize their full potential in generating mutual value. Contrary to prior supplier diversity research, which has primarily focused on the LPO buyer perspective, this dissertation sheds light on the MBE supplier perspective through three research aims: first, reveal the perceptions that MBEs have regarding the efficacy of supplier diversity program; second, understand the relationship facets that underlie mutual beneficial outcomes in the LPO-MBE dyad; third, explore the impact that enabled MBEs can have on its key stakeholders. Drawing on Social Exchange Theory and Stakeholder Theory, this study uses a multi-case study method to develop a conceptual framework that illustrates how the partnerships between LPOs and MBEs can affect stakeholders, catalyzing a virtuous cycle of growth. This research finds that MBEs have not generally benefitted from supplier diversity programs, yet MBEs believe that these programs are more relevant and vital today than before. The study concludes that an MBE’s differentiated business strategy, strong performance, shared values between MBEs and LPOs, and effective interfirm communications are antecedents to relationship trust and commitment, enabling the MBEs to grow to scale and benefiting their stakeholders. The study has important implications for theory and practice, revealing how MBEs can be a catalyst helping move the U.S. closer towards economic equality and inclusion