Trust and open book accounting

This thesis presents the research programme that was conducted to examine the relationship between suppliers and retailers in the UK Grocery Sector. The research focused on Trust and Open Book Accounting, with a detailed examination of a selection of suppliers to RetailCo – one of the big 4 UK Grocery Retailers. Primary data was collected from some twenty suppliers to RetailCo, which built on the industry survey made available to the researcher from the Advantage Mirror report on RetailCo. Strong Structuration Theory was used as the theoretical lens for the analysis of the case evidence, with Abduction being the methodological approach. A number of conclusions were drawn from the analysed data, which included the very real differences in the relationship styles exhibited by own-label suppliers from that shown by almost all branded suppliers. The own-label suppliers who enjoyed the most positive relationships with RetailCo were those who had adopted an Innovation-Led strategy. This helped buyers to reach their KPI targets, through the sharing of cost data, resulting in greater profitability from cost reduction and the possibility of additional innovation-led sales. The various forms of Open Book were examined, with real benefits of more collaborative working reported by some suppliers who were involved in forms of Open Book programmes

Business networks SMEs and inter-firm collaboration: a review of the research literature with implications for policy

This literature review, which was commissioned by the UK's Small Business Service is concerned with business networks, and their importance for the small business community. Business networks are sometimes defined as comprising only inter-firm relationships (e.g. those that exist between component supplier and a manufacturer). However, it soon becomes apparent that a broader perspective is required, if research findings are to contribute meaningful insights for policy and practice. We have therefore incorporated research evidence on personal networks, notably those associated with entrepreneurship, and on links between firms and supporting institutions, such as trade associations, government agencies and universities

Collaborative supply chain practices: Taiwanese companies in China

The aim of this research is to investigate collaborative supply chain practices between Taiwanese and Chinese companies. To that end, we seek to address four main objectives: 1) to investigate and provide evidence of collaboration in supply chain management; 2) to evaluate supplier development within supply chain collaboration; 3) to investigate the internal processes of supply chain collaboration; and 4) to examine the outcomes of supply chain collaboration. To explore collaboration in supply chain management, we conduct an extensive review of the state of the art in collaborative supply chain, and we base our investigations and discussions on three real-life companies that practice collaborative supply chain methods in the target countries. Each study contains detailed information on each company, including the company’s background, history, culture, marketing strategy and their collaborative practices. We employ pattern-matching structures to analyse current collaborative practices, which allows us to determine the similarities and differences between theoretical collaboration and collaborative supply chain in practice. We have analysed both the literature and collaborative methodologies used by the companies in each case study, and we have identified a number of key findings that address each of the four research objectives. On one hand there is evidence to support the use of collaboration in supply chain management between Taiwanese and Chinese companies. However, to increase collaboration, we propose agreements between the countries and identification of key suppliers. On the other hand, dominant and powerful partners may prevent good collaboration within the supply chains. Therefore, in order to create an open minded and collaborative culture, we propose greater trust between Taiwanese buyers and Chinese and Taiwanese suppliers. The value in collaborative supply chain can then be realised, which has a positive impact on the business in terms of increasing competitive advantage and customer satisfaction. In addition, such collaborative practices provide the motivation for collaborative supply chain management between Taiwanese buyers and Chinese and Taiwanese suppliers

Networks and trade

Trade occurs between firms both across borders and within countries, and the vast majority of trade transactions includes at least one large firm with many trading partners. This paper reviews the literature on firm-to-firm connections in trade. A growing body of evidence coming from domestic and international transaction data has established empirical regularities which have inspired the development of new theories emphasizing firm heterogeneity among both buyers and suppliers in production networks. Theoretical work has considered both static and dynamic matching environments in a framework of many-to-many matching. The literature on trade and production networks is at an early stage, and there are a large number of unanswered empirical and theoretical questions

The impact of mobile telephony on developing country micro-enterprises: a Nigerian case study

Informational challenges-absence, uncertainty, asymmetry-shape the working of markets and commerce in many developing countries. For developing country micro-enterprises, which form the bulk of all enterprises worldwide, these challenges shape the characteristics of their supply chains. They reduce the chances that business and trade will emerge. They keep supply chains localised and intermediated. They make trade within those supply chains slow, costly, and risky. Mobile telephony may provide an opportunity to address the informational challenges and, hence, to alter the characteristics of trade within micro-enterprise supply chains. However, mobile telephony has only recently penetrated. This paper, therefore, presents one of the first case studies of the impact of mobile telephony on the numerically-dominant form of enterprise, based around a case study of the cloth-weaving sector in Nigeria. It finds that there are ways in which costs and risks are being reduced and time is saved, often by substitution of journeys. But it also finds a continuing need for journeys and physical meetings due to issues of trust, design intensity, physical inspection and exchange, and interaction complexity. As a result, there are few signs of the de-localisation or disintermediation predicted by some commentators. An economising effect of mobile phones on supply chain processes may therefore co-exist with the entrenchment of supply chain structures and a growing 'competitive divide' between those with and without access to telephony

Regional resilience in recessionary times: a case study of the East Midlands

Purpose: Since the 1990's the fashion industry has reflected the issues generally arising in the manufacturing sector, namely rapid and deep structural changes, the development of new supply chain relationships, ICT impacts and increasing globalisation with the attendant issues of ethical sourcing, off-shoring, new emerging markets and recessionary ripples. This paper focuses on one particular aspect of the fashion industry, namely the apparel sector and in particular 'fast fashion' to explore the issues arising for the SMEs in the supply chain. Approach: The research adopts a qualitative methodology and is longitudinal in nature, spanning 5 years from August 2006. The first stage of the research is reported here, where a series of focussed interview scenarios were conducted over an eighteenth month period. The sample of 12 SMEs was a convenience one, drawn from the 30 participants who took part in a business to business event in Leicester, a geographical location which acts as a microcosm of the apparel industry. Interviews were used to elicit narrative data about was what was actually happening in these apparel supply chains. Findings: The apparel supply chain has changed significantly due to recessionary ripples and structural changes. The SMEs have had more success in managing the upstream rather than the downstream relationships and relationships between buyer and suppliers continue to be fractious. Innovation has occurred but is hampered by the relationships that persist. Culture has proved to be a key dimension

Commodities and Linkages: Industrialisation in Sub-Saharan Africa

In a complementary Discussion Paper (MMCP DP 12 2011) we set out the reasons why we believe that there is extensive scope for linkage development into and out of SSA’s commodities sectors. In this Discussion Paper, we present the findings of our detailed empirical enquiry into the determinants of the breadth and depth of linkages in eight SSA countries (Angola, Botswana, Gabon, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa Tanzania, and Zambia) and six sectors (copper, diamonds, gold, oil and gas, mining services and timber). We conclude from this detailed research that the extent of linkages varies as a consequence of four factors which intrinsically affect their progress – the passage of time, the complexity of the sector and the level of capabilities in the domestic economy. However, beyond this we identify three sets of related factors which determined the nature and pace of linkage development. The first is the structure of ownership, both in lead commodity producing firms and in their suppliers and domestic customers. The second is the nature and quality of both hard infrastructure (for example, roads and ports) and soft infrastructure (for example, the efficiency of customs clearance). The third is the availability of skills and the structure and orientation of the National System of Innovation in the domestic economy. The fourth, and overwhelmingly important contextual factor is policy. This reflects policy towards the commodity sector itself, and policy which affects the three contextual drivers, namely ownership, infrastructure and capabilities. As a result of this comparative analysis we provided an explanation of why linkage development was progressive in some economies (such as Botswana) and regressive in others (such as Tanzania). This cluster of factors also explains why the breadth and depth of linkages is relative advanced in some countries (such as South Africa), and at a very nascent stage in other countries (such as Angola)

Pattern-detection in the global automotive industry: A manufacturer-supplier-product network analysis

Production networks arise from customer–supplier relationships between firms. These systems have gained increasing attention as a consequence of the frequent supply chain disruptions caused by the natural and man-made disasters occurred during the last years (e.g. the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war). Recent, empirical evidence has shown that production networks are shaped by "functional" structures reflecting the complementarity of firms, i.e. their tendency to compete. However, data constraints force the few, available studies to consider only country-specific production networks. In order to fully capture the cross-country structure of modern supply chains, here we focus on the global, automotive industry as depicted by the ‘MarkLines Automotive’ dataset. After representing it as a network of manufacturers, suppliers and products, we look for the statistical significance of the aforementioned, functional structures. Our exercise reveals the presence of several pairs of manufacturers sharing a significantly large number of suppliers, a result confirming that any two car companies are seldom engaged in a buyer–supplier relationship: rather, they compete although being connected to many, common neighbors. Interestingly, generalist suppliers serving many manufacturers co-exist with specialist suppliers serving few manufacturers. Additionally, we unveil the presence of patterns with a clearly spatial signature, with manufacturers clustering around groups of geographically close suppliers: for instance, Chinese firms constitute a disconnected community, likely an effect of the protectionist policies promoted by the Chinese government. We also show the tendency of suppliers to organize their production by targeting specific car systems, i.e. combinations of technological devices designed for specific tasks. Besides shedding light on the self-organizing principles shaping production networks, our findings open up the possibility of designing realistic generative models of supply chains, to be used for testing the resilience of the global economy