Supply chain uncertainty:a review and theoretical foundation for future research

Supply-chain uncertainty is an issue with which every practising manager wrestles, deriving from the increasing complexity of global supply networks. Taking a broad view of supply-chain uncertainty (incorporating supply-chain risk), this paper seeks to review the literature in this area and develop a theoretical foundation for future research. The literature review identifies a comprehensive list of 14 sources of uncertainty, including those that have received much research attention, such as the bullwhip effect, and those more recently described, such as parallel interaction. Approaches to managing these sources of uncertainty are classified into: 10 approaches that seek to reduce uncertainty at its source; and, 11 approaches that seek to cope with it, thereby minimising its impact on performance. Manufacturing strategy theory, including the concepts of alignment and contingency, is then used to develop a model of supply-chain uncertainty, which is populated using the literature review to show alignment between uncertainty sources and management strategies. Future research proposed includes more empirical research in order to further investigate: which uncertainties occur in particular industrial contexts; the impact of appropriate sources/management strategy alignment on performance; and the complex interplay between management strategies and multiple sources of uncertainty (positive or negative)

le réseau supply chain: approches pratiques et de confiance pour la réussite à long terme (supply chain network: trust and practical approaches to longterm success)

La Chaîne d’Offre (Supply Chain) fait partie de la coopération interentreprises et de la dynamique organisationnelle de nombreuses activités, processus et systèmes. C’est le défi pour chaque partenaire d’établir une stratégie de définition des facteurs clés de la réussite et de connaissance sur les façons dont lui et les autres partenaires interagissent. Etant donné que chaque relation joue un rôle crucial, tous les partenaires ont le même poids dans la satisfaction ininterrompue de la demande. La confiance est le connecteur le plus important du point de vue de réussite. Toutes les autres relations sont fondées sur la confiance. Par conséquent, ce papier considère le réseau de la chaîne d’offre comme un réseau de valeurs et met l’accent sur les différentes facettes de la confiance, sur les stratégies fondées sur la confiance et fait de propositions sur l’utilisation de la confiance comme facteur clé dans la réussite opérationnelle, tactique et stratégique d’un réseau de chaîne d’offre. The Supply Chain (SC) falls within the scope of inter-company co-operation and the organizational dynamic of new organizational forms and comprises many activities, processes and systems. It is the duty of each partner (participant) to get to know the key factors to success and how each interacts with the others. The connectors, given that each relationship plays a crucial role, are of equal value in continuously satisfying demand. Trust is the most important connector with a view to success. All the other relationships made are based on trust. Consequently, this paper lays stress on the Supply Chain network as a “network of values” and on the different dimensions of shared trust, the strategies based on trust and the suggestions for using trust as the key factor in the operational, tactical and strategic success of an SC network.the supply chain, trust, inter-company, cooperation

Supply chain management as the key to a firm’s strategy in the global marketplace

Purpose: This research aims to analyze the intersection of two literature streams: that of strategy and supply chain management (SCM). This review should create a better understanding of “strategic SCM” by focusing on relevant theories in the strategic management field and their intersection with SCM to develop a joint research agenda. Design/Methodology/Approach: We conducted a correspondence analysis on the content of 3,402 articles from the top SCM journals. This analysis provides a map of the intellectual structure of content in this field to date. The key trends and changes were identified in strategic SCM research from 1990-2014 as well as the intersection with the key schools of strategic management. Findings: The results suggest that SCM is key to a successful deployment of strategy for competing in the global marketplace. The main theoretical foundations for research in this field were identified and discussed. Gaps were detected and combinations of theoretical foundations of strategic management and SCM suggest four poles for future research: agents and focal firm; distributions and logistics strategic models; SCM competitive requirements; SCM relational governance. Research limitations/implications: Scholars in both the strategy and the SCM fields continue to search for competitive advantages. Much recent research indicates that strategic SCM can be a critical source for that advantage. One of the limitations of our research is that the analysis does not include every journal that published an article mentioning SCM. However, the 34 journals selected are reputed to be the most influential on SCM and focused primarily on SCM. Practical implications: The map of the intellectual structure of research to strategic SCM highlights the need to combine different theoretical approaches to the complex phenomenon of SCM. Practitioners should consider the supply chain as an informal organization and should devote time and resources to build a shared advantage across the supply chain. They should also consider the inherent benefits and risks that sharing Originality/value: The paper demonstrates that strategic SCM needs a balanced and rigorous combination of theoretical approaches to deliver more theory-driven evidences. Our research combines both a qualitative analysis and a quantitative methodology that summarizes gaps and then outlines future research from a large sample of articles. This methodology is an original contribution to this field and offers some assistance for enlarging the sample of future literature reviews

Developing supply chain maturity

This study introduces an empirical model of supply chain maturity and assesses its impact upon performance. Findings suggest that supply chain maturity is multi-dimensional including the areas of planning, sourcing, making, delivering, new product development, and returning. Valid and reliable measures, scales and supply chain maturity constructs were formulated and significant positive links found with multiple objective performance measures. The supply chain maturity framework is thus concluded to be robust for answering questions relating to where a supply chain is in developmental terms and what may be done to continue improving upon the design. Possible areas for further research and implications for managers are also raised.Supply Chain Design; Supply Chain Coordination;

Multi Agent Systems in Logistics: A Literature and State-of-the-art Review

Based on a literature survey, we aim to answer our main question: “How should we plan and execute logistics in supply chains that aim to meet today’s requirements, and how can we support such planning and execution using IT?†Today’s requirements in supply chains include inter-organizational collaboration and more responsive and tailored supply to meet specific demand. Enterprise systems fall short in meeting these requirements The focus of planning and execution systems should move towards an inter-enterprise and event-driven mode. Inter-organizational systems may support planning going from supporting information exchange and henceforth enable synchronized planning within the organizations towards the capability to do network planning based on available information throughout the network. We provide a framework for planning systems, constituting a rich landscape of possible configurations, where the centralized and fully decentralized approaches are two extremes. We define and discuss agent based systems and in particular multi agent systems (MAS). We emphasize the issue of the role of MAS coordination architectures, and then explain that transportation is, next to production, an important domain in which MAS can and actually are applied. However, implementation is not widespread and some implementation issues are explored. In this manner, we conclude that planning problems in transportation have characteristics that comply with the specific capabilities of agent systems. In particular, these systems are capable to deal with inter-organizational and event-driven planning settings, hence meeting today’s requirements in supply chain planning and execution.supply chain;MAS;multi agent systems

The state of the art development of AHP (1979-2017): A literature review with a social network analysis

Although many papers describe the evolution of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), most adopt a subjective approach. This paper examines the pattern of development of the AHP research field using social network analysis and scientometrics, and identifies its intellectual structure. The objectives are: (i) to trace the pattern of development of AHP research; (ii) to identify the patterns of collaboration among authors; (iii) to identify the most important papers underpinning the development of AHP; and (iv) to discover recent areas of interest. We analyse two types of networks: social networks, that is, co-authorship networks, and cognitive mapping or the network of disciplines affected by AHP. Our analyses are based on 8441 papers published between 1979 and 2017, retrieved from the ISI Web of Science database. To provide a longitudinal perspective on the pattern of evolution of AHP, we analyse these two types of networks during the three periods 1979?1990, 1991?2001 and 2002?2017. We provide some basic statistics on AHP journals and researchers, review the main topics and applications of integrated AHPs and provide direction for future research by highlighting some open questions

The importance of key supplier relationship management in supply chains

Purpose: This paper investigates the impact of key supplier relationship management (KSRM) – understood as an aggregated supply chain management (SCM) process in the upstream direction – on the overall level of the execution of SCM within organizations. Methodology: A conceptual model is developed from a theoretical framework and proposes the capability to do KSRM as a mediator between internal and external SCM resources and SCM execution. A survey of 174 managers representing different supply chain stages is used to test the model through variance-based structural equation modelling. Findings: The findings reveal that external SCM resources directly affect the capability to do KSRM. Nevertheless, internal resources show a considerable indirect impact through external resources and can thus be considered an indirect determinant. The capability to do KSRM in turn impacts upon the level of SCM execution, measured in terms of the integration of business processes, directly and substantially, as well as mediating the effect between SCM resources and the level of SCM execution. Value: The main contribution of this paper is to empirically demonstrate the potential of KSRM for enhancing the level of SCM execution within organizations and consequently the level of integration in supply chains, leading to higher customer and shareholder value

Aligning supply chain complexity with product demand and design characteristics

This study models the alignment of supply chain complexity with product demand and design characteristics and formulates appropriate strategies to enhance supply chain alignment. An integrated theoretical framework linking all the three main constructs of supply chain complexity, namely, coordination, collaboration, and configuration, with product demand and design complexities is developed and empirically tested. Data were collected from a cross-industry sample of 273 Australian manufacturing firms and analysed using structural equation modelling. The results show that volatility of demand, product life cycle, and innovativeness directly impact on the complexity of supply chain collaboration. Product modularity, on the other hand, is more likely to indirectly influence supply chain collaboration through the mediating role of coordination. Higher complexity in product demand and design characteristics increases complexity in supply chain coordination and configuration while reducing complexity in supply chain collaboration. Based on the findings, a taxonomy is proposed to provide a reference frame for practitioners to formulate appropriate alignment strategies to manage or mitigate risk associated with growing supply chain complexity