Overview and classification of coordination contracts within forward and reverse supply chains

Among coordination mechanisms, contracts are valuable tools used in both theory and practice to coordinate various supply chains. The focus of this paper is to present an overview of contracts and a classification of coordination contracts and contracting literature in the form of classification schemes. The two criteria used for contract classification, as resulted from contracting literature, are transfer payment contractual incentives and inventory risk sharing. The overview classification of the existing literature has as criteria the level of detail used in designing the coordination models with applicability on the forward and reverse supply chains.Coordination contracts; forward supply chain; reverse supply chain

Outsourcing of humanitarian logistics to commercial logistics service providers: An empirical investigation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to empirically explore the potential of outsourcing of humanitarian logistics activities to commercial logistics service providers (LSPs) throughout the different disaster phases. The authors identify incentives for initiating outsourcing of humanitarian logistics activities to commercial logistics providers, humanitarian logistics activities to be outsourced and selection criteria for partners. Design/methodology/approach – This study is based on empirical data collected by interviewing 12 practitioners from commercial LSPs and 12 practitioners from humanitarian organizations (HOs). A review of related literature guided this research. Findings – This research shows that incentives for initiating outsourcing engagements, partner selection criteria and activities to be outsourced are changing throughout the different disaster phases. A number of research propositions are presented. Research limitations/implications – This research constitutes a first step towards the goal of a comprehensive analysis of humanitarian logistics outsourcing throughout the different disaster phases. The authors collected data from practitioners and large organizations based mainly in Europe and the USA. Hence, insights from national and local organizations of other parts of the world are missing. Practical implications – This research provides a deeper understanding of outsourcing of humanitarian logistics activities. As the main implication for practice, the research suggests a strategic use of outsourcing during the three disaster phases. The authors acknowledge that business objectives, risks, stakeholder agendas and requirements, as well as costs play a vital and changing role for outsourcing decision-making during the three disaster stages. The managerial implications arising from the research can provide support to commercial LSPs and HOs that initiate or develop strategic outsourcing relationships. Originality/value – This study covers the gap in the humanitarian literature related to context-specific factors of outsourcing in humanitarian logistics by empirically investigating the phenomenon. This is one of the first studies that empirically investigate the potential of outsourcing of humanitarian logistics activities throughout the disaster phases

The Global Networked Value Circle: A new model for best-in-class manufacturing

As companies face deflation, slowing production and declining prices, they will need to assess their entire value chain as they look for ways to keep costs low and improve efficiencies while continuing to innovate. To help address this challenge, this report reflects fresh research undertaken by Capgemini in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh into the ?Best-in-Class Global Manufacturing Value Chain?

Solving multi-objective supplier selection and quota allocation problem under disruption using a scenario-based approach

Nowadays, experts believe there are abundant sources of risks in a supply chain. An important group of risks against a supply chain is the disruption risks group, which disturbs the flow of material in the chain and may lead to inefficiency in providing the final product in the supply chain. The aim of this article is to investigate the control of costs of disruption in a supply chain by considering the possibility of disruption. In fact, this research focuses on determining the best combination of suppliers and quota allocation with regards to disruption in suppliers. The proposed multi-objective mathematical model in this paper is a mixed-integer programming (MIP) model with objective functions to minimize transaction costs of suppliers, expected costs of purchasing goods, expected percentages of delayed products, expected returned products, and to maximize expected evaluation scores of the selected suppliers. Due to the uncertainty of demand and supplier disruption in the real world, their values are also considered uncertain; the proposed multi-objective model is studied by using a scenario-based stochastic programming (SP) method. In this method, all possible predictions for demand and disruption values are simultaneously included in the model; objective function results have more optimal value than a separate solution of the model for each predicted value

Service : the new focus in international manufacturing and trade

Major breakthroughs in communications technologies in the 1980s made it possible to monitor all phases of moving a product from raw material sourcing through processing to delivery to the customer. Close monitoring revealed major inefficiencies in the traditional set-up of materials acquisition, production, and distribution - especially large inventory holdings. At the same time, patterns of customer demand began to shift more rapidly, partly because of better communications networks. The need to reduce costs and become responsive to volatile changes in customer preferences forced businesses to substantially restructure their corporate practices. With domestic factor costs rising, manufacturers outsourced intermediate production to foreign enterprises in countries with lower wages. Merchants also sought cheaper supply sources - developments that held promise for developing countries. Many developing countries have been unable to take advantage of structural changes in world manufacturing and trade because they have been unable to deliver the quality of production, fast turnaround, and reliability of delivery manufacturing businesses need to keep up with changing market demand. A new management approach - logistics management - is needed to cut business costs and to be more responsive to rapidly changing markets. Logistics management orchestrates materials acquisition, production, and marketing to reduce inventories to a minimum. Effective logistics management enables many organizations to conduct their business with less than a week's worth of supplies. Such a radical change requires major corporate restructuring and the development of strategic alliances with service providers. Outsourcing of production is projected to continue growing, and the search for less costly supply sources will continue. Developing countries can capitalize on those trends - but only if they substantially improve their infrastructure, liberalize their regulations, and begin to apply modern logistics management techniques. If they do not, their outlook is not promising.Transport and Trade Logistics,Common Carriers Industry,Business in Development,Business Environment,Environmental Economics&Policies

Balancing the logistics cost-of-service equation in an increasingly uncertain business environment

The emphasis in the press, trade publications, and even academic publications is increasingly on supply chain operations, collaboration, and software. There is no argument that these are important considerations as companies struggle to compete in highly competitive markets and an economically difficult environment. This emphasis on “lean” or “JIT” operations presupposes the ability of the firm to operate on a minimum level of inventory and deliver a high level of service. Too often, the basic and vital interdependency between transportation and inventory, necessary to support this objective, is forgotten in the emphasis on the total picture as embodied by the supply chain. It has been said that “the devil is in the details.” It may be time for many firms to take another look at inventory, transportation and the cost of service

Smart Technology Adoption’s Impact on the Value of Logistics Service Providers’ Firms

Although it took a pandemic to raise awareness about supply chain issues in the minds of the public at large, industry players have long understood supply chain complexities—particularly in the face of continually evolving technologies and ever-more interconnected global enterprises. With Logistics 4.0 and the rapid developments in smart technologies, these complexities make the ongoing need for technology adoption even more complicated for logistics providers. While the literature regularly reports on the adoption of specific technologies, there is little research on the adoption process and even less that might guide providers in prioritizing their technology targets. This research examined the literature for drivers and consequences of technology adoption among providers, then tested those concepts through in-depth interviews with 40 senior-level executives at global logistics provider firms. Among the study’s findings are that the drivers and consequences of smart technology adoption are similar among logistics providers. However, firm size, business tenure, and client relationships moderate the adoption of these innovations. The study identifies incumbent people, processes, and systems as “excess baggage” that slows adoption because of adjustments needed to accommodate new technologies and creates bottlenecks for these firms. However, when combined with new competencies, streamlined processes, and proper change management, this baggage may improve firm performance because of the legacy processes integrated with customers’ supply chains. The study also developed a framework to inform practitioners’ adoption efforts. The framework addresses the research questions. It also recommends that to realize quicker revenue gains when adopting smart technology. Providers focus on two key drivers: customer relationships and market demands. This research also suggests that providers adopting smart technology leverage their incumbent human resources, processes, and technologies to deliver customer value and improve firm performance

Disruptions in Supply Chain Transportation: A literature review

Efficient and well-organised transportation is crucial to the success of any supply chain operation, but disruptions can occur in competitive and globalised environments, leading to potential damage and interruptions. A thorough literature review on supply chain transportation research is conducted to address these disruptions from a transportation perspective. The objective is to present recent research on various aspects of the transportation problems, address the gap considering disruptions and propose a framework that outlines the factors that may cause transportation disruptions, their relationships, the types of impacts they have, and how they depend on one another

The process improvement dilemma in dynamic 3PL firms: A systems and agency lens

For the past several decades, firms have been shifting from contending as autonomous entities to working and competing as part of supply chains. In this context, warehousing, transportation, and distribution needs are being increasingly outsourced to third-party logistics (3PL) firms. 3PL providers operate in fast-moving, time-sensitive, and priority-changing supply chain environments, constantly demanding efficient, cost-effective, and routinized responses. To attain the ultimate end of maximizing efficiency, reducing costs, and improving customer satisfaction, scholars and supply chain industry opinion leaders alike talk about process improvement as part of a broader organizational learning strategy to be pursued in order to keep a competitive edge. This thesis explores the relationship between daily bottom-line pressures and prioritization and the design, implementation, and control of process improvement initiatives in complex and dynamic 3PL service providers. It uses a systems-agency lens to unveil intra- and inter-firm relations around process improvement activity and the links with organizational learning. The study utilized multi-case study-based qualitative-interpretive methods used in conjunction with system dynamics and agency tools. Data collection was carried out through in-depth interviews with 41 employees from two 3PL service providers and complemented by two collaborative enquiry exercises organized for each case study firm. Contrary to recommendations made by scholars and industry leaders, this thesis has found that day-to-day operational firefighting in 3PL scenarios revolving around managing multiple demands, conflicting priorities, and unexpected events often prevail over less tangible process improvement and broader organizational learning goals. This is aggravated by constant cost-reduction pressures centering on human resources headcount deemed critical for the development of learning and improvement practices. Consequently, there is little evidence that the case study firms demonstrate the necessary conditions for process improvement and organizational learning to actually take place. The study also revealed that when process improvement does happen, its focus mainly centers on customer satisfaction or cost-saving, rather than on the improvement of shop floor work routines aiming at operational effectiveness. It also shows process improvement to be more reactive and ad hoc as opposed to the continuous, widespread, and long-term-oriented practices associated with continuous improvement and organizational learning

Study and Prospects: Adaptive Planning and Control of Supply Chain in One-of-a-kind Production

Based on the research project titled “Adaptive Planning and Control of Supply Chain in One-of-a-kind Production”, the research group performed a systematic review of supply chain integration, risk prediction and control and trace ability. Studies of a computer-aided and integrated production system for cost-effective OKP systemare included. Our efforts relevant to integration of supply chain in OKP, modeling &control of ripple effects in OKP supply chain and the trace ability of the OKP supply chain are introduced in this paper