Strategic adoption of logistics and supply chain management

© 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop a thorough understanding of the adoption of logistics and supply chain management (SCM) in practice, particularly at a strategic level, through an investigation of the four perspectives taxonomy of the relationship between logistics and SCM. Design/methodology/approach: Based on a comprehensive literature review, three specific research questions are proposed. The empirical work addresses these questions and comprised three phases: focussed interviews, a questionnaire survey and focus groups. Findings: The findings provide a usage profile of the four perspectives and indicate a divergence between the understanding and adoption of logistics and SCM principles and concepts at a strategic level in firms. The findings also identify the critical success factors (CSFs) and inhibitors to success in addressing this divergence. Research limitations/implications: The insights generated using the authors’ methodologically pluralist research design could be built upon to include case studies, grounded theory and action research. Replicating the research in other geographical areas could facilitate international comparisons. Practical implications: The findings allow practitioners to compare their perspectives on the relationship between logistics and SCM with those of their peers. The CSFs and inhibitors to success provide a rational basis for realising the strategic potential of logistics and SCM in practice. Originality/value: New insights are generated into practitioner perspectives vis-à-vis logistics vs SCM. A fresh understanding of those factors which drive and hinder the adoption of strategic SCM is also developed and presented

Exploring Vietnamese logistics service quality in the run up to AEC 2015

Paper presented at the 7th International Conference on Logistics and Transport, 17th to 20th November, Lyon, France. Abstract: The logistics and supply chain management domain faces a number of ongoing trends and resultant challenges including costs, the globalisation of supply and markets, time compression, product complexity and shrinking product life cycles, quality of performance and service, a shortage of logistics and supply chain management talent, their impact on the natural environment, and risk and disruption and supply chain security (Grant, 2014). This is particularly true in and important for developing economies such as Vietnam

LOGISTICS AND SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGIES IN GRAIN EXPORTING

During the past decade, the grain shipping industry has become highly competitive and technologically advanced. These changes, along with the introduction of innovative shipping mechanisms, have made logistics management an important source of opportunity and risk for grain shippers. In this study, a stochastic simulation model was developed to evaluate the tradeoffs and effects of key variables on logistical performance in managing the grain supply chain. Average demurrage cost for the supply chain was $2.03 million with the greatest cost being for railcars and the least cost being for barges. Of the stochastic variables modeled, changes in export demand had the greatest impact on demurrage costs.Supply Chain, Grain Shipping, Logistics, Demurrage, Guaranteed Freight, Industrial Organization,

Logistics and supply chain management: an area with a strategic service perspective

Logistics and supply chain management is an area that evolved deeply in the past years, integrating develop-ments of other areas of knowledge, both entrepreneurial and general. In this paper, a perspective of the evolu-tion of logistics and supply chain management is somehow designed. Traditionally, one may find logistics and supply chain management in friction with marketing and claiming for its own space. Nowadays, it seems difficult to see internal (logistics) versus external (marketing) wars and different orientations between marketing and logistics because they are both service and relations oriented. Simple transactions have been substituted, long time ago, for sustainable relations in the area of logistics and supply chain management. Finally, a more service oriented logic has been the footprint of logistics and supply chain management in current days and not, as pre-tended for some current rows of investigation, a simple transaction approach under a goods dominant logic. Lo-gistics and supply chain management is nowadays in parallel with an S-D logic (service dominant logic) because it is an area where relations matter, where sustainable links between networks of companies are crucial and where service is key in order to accommodate the contemporary thoughts and practices in the area. The main purpose of the paper is to stress the point that logistics and supply chain management is an area of service and value creation (or co-creation) and not a simple area of goods exchange and simple transactions

Examining the Most Severe Logistics and Supply Chain Issues Experienced by Malaysian SMEs

Literature revealed that both the internal and external factors may result in business failure among Small and Medium Size Enterprise (SME). One of the external factors identified is non-availability or deficiency in logistics and supply chain operations. Thus, this study was conducted with the objective to identify the most severe logistics and supply chain issues faced by SMEs in Malaysia. Quantitative research design was employed, where data were collected through mail survey questionnaire. The frequency of respondents selecting 4 (Severe) and 5 (Very severe) for each survey item were calculated, in order to determine which issues are the most severe among Malaysian SMEs. The items are then ranked based on the highest number of respondents selecting 4 and 5. It provides more meaningful information on the most severe logistics and supply chain issues faced by SMEs, if compared to analysing the mean score of each item as the mean value may be distorted by high standard deviation. Findings indicate that difficulties and inaccuracies in forecasting inventory top the list, followed by inability to fulfil orders due to inventory shortages and keeping wrong mix of inventories. Thus, it can be concluded that inventory related issues are the most critical problems faced by Malaysian SMEs. This study contributes towards logistics and supply chain management literature as it provides an in depth information on the logistics and supply chain related issues faced by SMEs. For practitioners and the relevant government agency, this study sheds light on the most severe issues so that firms and government agency can focus their efforts on rectifying these severe logistics and supply chain issue

Mapping domain characteristics influencing Analytics initiatives: The example of Supply Chain Analytics

Purpose: Analytics research is increasingly divided by the domains Analytics is applied to. Literature offers little understanding whether aspects such as success factors, barriers and management of Analytics must be investigated domain-specific, while the execution of Analytics initiatives is similar across domains and similar issues occur. This article investigates characteristics of the execution of Analytics initiatives that are distinct in domains and can guide future research collaboration and focus. The research was conducted on the example of Logistics and Supply Chain Management and the respective domain-specific Analytics subfield of Supply Chain Analytics. The field of Logistics and Supply Chain Management has been recognized as early adopter of Analytics but has retracted to a midfield position comparing different domains. Design/methodology/approach: This research uses Grounded Theory based on 12 semi-structured Interviews creating a map of domain characteristics based of the paradigm scheme of Strauss and Corbin. Findings: A total of 34 characteristics of Analytics initiatives that distinguish domains in the execution of initiatives were identified, which are mapped and explained. As a blueprint for further research, the domain-specifics of Logistics and Supply Chain Management are presented and discussed. Originality/value: The results of this research stimulates cross domain research on Analytics issues and prompt research on the identified characteristics with broader understanding of the impact on Analytics initiatives. The also describe the status-quo of Analytics. Further, results help managers control the environment of initiatives and design more successful initiatives.DFG, 414044773, Open Access Publizieren 2019 - 2020 / Technische Universität Berli

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

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Logistics and Supply Chain Management Moves Up in Ranking