Supply Chain Performance and Challenges (A Casestudy in Anbessa Shoe Share Company: Ethiopia)

Supply chain management is the streamlining of a business' supply-side activities to maximize customer value and to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. It represents an effort by suppliers to develop and implement supply chains that are as efficient and economical as possible and cover everything from production, to product development, to the information systems needed to direct these undertakings. The aim of this research was to study the supply chain management performance and challenges of Anbessa shoe manufacturing company. As it has been revealed in the study major challenges mentioned by the respondents in the supply chain management system were low customer service quality, cost controlling problems, poor planning and risk management, supplier/partner relationship management, lack of skilled labor /expert and technology. Furthermore, shortage of raw materials, frequent machinery breakage, shortage of spare parts, lack of accessibility to market,   lack of working capital and other management and management- related  problems were the major   bottlenecks for not working at full capacity .The study also showed that the study firm are operating at low total performance and are faced with many performance problems, mainly with shortage of inputs, poor production planning and control, low productivity, high manufacturing cost and lack of marketing strategy. Keywords: Supply chain, Supply chain management and Supply chain performanc

Fuel Chip Supply System with Low Price Mobile Chippers

High price of chippers and small scale of forestry management area seemed to create a standstill situation of chip utilization system in Japan. By combining the benefits of small scale forestry and low price chippers, a simple and low-cost chip supply model could be established, creating new employments opportunities. The object of this study is to propose the benefits of a chip supply system in small scale forestry using multiple low price chippers at forest landings. The volume of chip material was ranged up to 56 000 m3 in a model area. The results showed that the annual labor cost of the proposed system was higher than that of the conventional system because the utilization ratio of chipper of the proposed system was also higher. The chip supply cost of the proposed system became lower than that of the conventional system because of its proper productivity and machine price. The utilization ratio of machine used in this study will be an important indice for creating employments when establishing chip supply chain. The benefits of the proposed system using multiple chippers are not only creating employments in local community but also bringing flexibility to a stable chip supply system and avoiding the risk of machine workouts and troubles. Therefore, the proposed system that introduces multiple lines using low price chippers will be useful for cost efficient management of small scale forestry and for providing sustainable bioenergy business

Fuel Chip Supply System with Low Price Mobile Chippers

High price of chippers and small scale of forestry management area seemed to create a standstill situation of chip utilization system in Japan. By combining the benefits of small scale forestry and low price chippers, a simple and low-cost chip supply model could be established, creating new employments opportunities. The object of this study is to propose the benefits of a chip supply system in small scale forestry using multiple low price chippers at forest landings. The volume of chip material was ranged up to 56 000 m3 in a model area. The results showed that the annual labor cost of the proposed system was higher than that of the conventional system because the utilization ratio of chipper of the proposed system was also higher. The chip supply cost of the proposed system became lower than that of the conventional system because of its proper productivity and machine price. The utilization ratio of machine used in this study will be an important indice for creating employments when establishing chip supply chain. The benefits of the proposed system using multiple chippers are not only creating employments in local community but also bringing flexibility to a stable chip supply system and avoiding the risk of machine workouts and troubles. Therefore, the proposed system that introduces multiple lines using low price chippers will be useful for cost efficient management of small scale forestry and for providing sustainable bioenergy business

Optimization of Sales and Supply Chain Module

Supply Chain management comprises of managing material and information flowin a supply chain. This encompasses high customer satisfaction at low cost. This technology requires commitment of all stakeholders of the supply chain.Minimizing the total supply chain cost is meant for minimizing holding and shortage cost.In this paper we present a system developed to optimize the Sales and Supply Chain Activities by using a multiple cloud based software solution. This solution will be able to optimize the Sales and Supply chain processes. Optimization of Sales and Supply chain means analyzing the organization past data and other information and giving the best plan to executed for minimizing supply cost, time and effective delivery of inquiries

The Effect of Strategic Supply Chain Management on the Profitability of Flour Mills in the Sub-Saharan Africa (2005 - 2013)

To compete successfully in today’s fierce and challenging business environment, companies need to focus on supply chain management components that have impact in enhancing profitability. The study examined the effect of strategic supply chain management on the profitability of Flour Mills in the Sub-Saharan Africa (2005-2013). The problem x-rayed here stems from the huge cost burden on production firms in the sub-Saharan African region and their subsequent poor performance. The industry is marred by low profit margin as a result of high cost burden, as such the ability of the company to reduce production cost while increasing product output would largely determine profitability.  The major objective of this study is examining the effect of strategic Supply Chain Management on Profitability of Flour Mills in the Sub-Saharan African Region as measured by the Profit After Tax (PAT) and other source document. Specifically, the objectives were to; Determine the trend and level of profitability of the flour mills, Ascertain the Strategic supply chain management model adopted by the selected flour mills, Examine the effect of supply chain management cost components on the profit of the flour mills. Data collected from Annual reports of various issues were analyzed using inferential statistics such as Time trend model, Multiple and simple regression analysis. The results of the findings showed some firms in the region still see strategic supply chain management as a novel theory and as such does not reap its full benefits. Their huge investment in their supply chain component does not  reflect significantly in their profitability. The study concludes that all round development in the industrial sector (Flour mills) is possible with the integration of sound supply chain variables and exploitation of knowledgeable human resources and as well as adopting a sound supply chain management strategy/model. In Nigeria just like every other nation in the globe, when firms reaches the peak of their maturity stage in their life cycle, it starts experiencing stunted growth in terms of their profitability trend. Various recommendations were made which includes that Production firms should integrate their supply chain management operations efficiently in such a way that it enhances their sales and profitability and also should strive to create a Strategic Supply Chain system that will create value and manage risk for their numerous customers from origination and processing, to logistics and distribution, with the changing economic and political environment, emerging technology versus global competition and changing nature of supply chain management, to become competitive strategic weapon, supply chain operations must abandon fragmented approaches, the companies should shorten internal lead times and make them more predictable and repeatable and also reduce the volume of work-in-progress inventories from months of supply to days and that firms should strive to implement Just-in-time delivery strategies for their most costly component materials and also drastic reduction in the setup times, as this will substantially reduce indirect cost and improve the use of resources

Improving the quality and safety of organic and low input foods and maximizing the benefits to consumers and producers

‘Improving quality and safety and reduction of cost in the European organic and 'low input' supply chains' (QLIF) is an Integrated Project under the 6th Framework Programme of the European Commission which started in March 2004 and will end in February 2009. After three years of research by 31 QLIF partners, the scientific data on on the benefits of the system approach used in organic and ‘low input’ agriculture has expanded considerably. At the same time the project has developed an array of technological innovations that are applicable to a wide range of food production systems and novel approaches for whole food chain management. During the 3rd QLIF Congress held at the University of Hohenheim, Germany, in March 2007, these results were discussed in nine synthesis papers and in 37 in-depth papers

Research on IT tools used in flow planning in supply chains

The processes of globalization and increased competitiveness caused that the company have begun to look for solutions and strategies that give opportunities for development and further market expansion. The intensification of competition on the global scale in the 1980s, forced companies to offer low cost, high quality and robust products with greater design flexibility. Various management concepts have been used to improve production efficiency and speed up the cycle. In the 1990s, many manufacturers and service providers began to focus on improving collaboration with suppliers and improving purchasing and supply management. Initially the cooperation was mainly developed in the area of purchasing policies and supply management in factories, but as time went on, it became increasingly popular among wholesalers and retailers who also decided to integrate their transport and logistics functions in a supply chain with a view to gain competitive advantage (Choon T.). The increase in customer requirements with the same pressures to reduce costs and accelerate time service delivery resulted in the growing importance of planning and anticipation of future events. The increasing amount of data makes management depended on systems that allow for rapid decision-making. Apart from ERP systems, which mainly support the management of individual businesses, more and more companies invest in systems APS (Advanced Planning System), which provide  better support in planning processes throughout the supply chain. The aim of the article is to present the idea of advanced supply chain planning, constraints and challenges facing the managing the flow of products and information. The study also addressed the role of Advanced Planning Systems in supply chain management and identify main problems and obstacles that users and decision makers come across while implementing and using IT system

Assessing Key performance indicators in Blockchain-Based Supply Chain Financing: Case Study of Chain Stores

In recent years, due to the growth and development of financing tools and methods, financial institutions are always looking for new, efficient, and low-cost methods. In carrying out their daily production operations, companies are faced with different and diverse financial input and output flows from purchasing orders and inventory to receiving the price of sold goods, which are not the same in terms of time. Therefore, they will inevitably look for the financing of these processes, which is referred to as working capital financing. However, in the conditions of recession and lack of bank loans and considering the problems caused by the unilateral management of this issue, there is a need for innovative financial tools such as supply chain financing (SCF). In recent years, with the introduction and evolution of blockchain technology, this opportunity has also arisen in financial fields to make the most of this new technology. Considering the growth of this technology and the importance of supply chain financing, in this research, it was first tried to fully investigate the dimensions and key components of blockchain-based supply chain financing. chain stores were considered as a case study and the importance of supply chain financing was analyzed in them and the SCF framework was presented in these applied enterprises. In addition, the most important key performance indicators in a blockchain-based supply chain financing system are identified and evaluated with an emphasis on chain store processes. To evaluate the data, a non-linear hierarchical analysis method was used. The results show that transferring and reducing risks in different types is one of the most important performance indicators of the blockchain-based supply chain financing system

Cost and cost drivers associated with setting-up a prime vendor system to complement the national medicines supply chain in Tanzania

Economic analysis of supply chain management interventions to improve the availability of healthcare commodities at healthcare facilities is important in generating evidence for decision-makers. The current study assesses the cost and cost drivers for setting-up a public-private partnership programme in Tanzania in which all public healthcare facility orders for complementary medicines are pooled at the district level, and then purchased from one contracted supplier, the prime vendor (referred to as 'Jazia Prime Vendor System' (Jazia PVS)).; Financial and economic costs of Jazia PVS were collected retrospectively and using the ingredients approach. The financial costs were spread over the implementation period of January 2014-July 2019. In addition, we estimated the financial rollout costs of Jazia PVS to the other 23 regions in the country over 2 years (2018-2019). A multivariate sensitivity analysis was conducted on the estimates.; Jazia PVS start-up and recurrent financial costs amounted to US$2 170 989.74 and US$709 302.32, respectively. The main cost drivers were costs for short-term experts, training of staff and healthcare workers and the Jazia PVS technical and board management activities. The start-up financial cost per facility was US$2819.47 and cost per capita was US$0.37.; In conclusion, the study provides useful information on the cost and cost drivers for setting-up a complementary pharmaceutical supply system to complement an existing system in low-income settings. Despite the substantial costs incurred in the initial investment and operations of the Jazia PVS, the new framework is effective in achieving the desired purpose of improving availability of healthcare commodities