Exploring the supply chain agility attributes in fast moving consumer goods industry: A case study in the Middle East

During the 1990s, supply chain management and agility have both received great attention. This is due to the fact that the business market place is characterized by being highly dynamic and complex. This paper aims to explore the need and the attributes of supply chain agility in FMCG business industry working in the Middle East markets. A case study of a multinational company working in the Middle East was chosen, where it faces the challenges of its business environment and its rapid changes in its markets. The findings show the case study supply chain working within such type of industry needs to be agile and that the attributes required for achieving agility within FMCGs supply chain includes: responsiveness; Customer service; flexibility; innovation; speed; quality; efficiency; and responsible people thinking

Increasing Access to Food: A Comprehensive Report on Food Supply Options

Access to food is one of the most important aspects of a healthy, sustainable community. Grocery stores and other suppliers can serve as an economic anchor to provide social benefits to communities. Unfortunately, many communities do not have convenient and/or affordable access to grocery items, particularly fresh produce. As part of Virginia Commonwealth University\u27s Fall 2019 graduate course on Urban Commercial Revitalization, class members researched 13 retail and other food access options, which are described in this report. Each chapter covers a food access option and provides basic information that will be useful to individuals, organizations, or government agencies that wish to attract and/or develop grocery operations in their communities

Improving sustainability performance through supplier relationship management in the tobacco industry

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore how tobacco manufacturing companies can improve their sustainability performance via effective supplier relationship management (SRM). Design/methodology/approach: This study has adopted a single case study of an international tobacco company. The primary data involved semi-structured interviews with participants from the case company who are familiar with sustainable SRM in the tobacco industry and are engaging in various techniques to improve sustainability performance. Findings: The drivers for sustainable SRM commonly identified in literature are observable within the case company. There is also clear evidence of integrating sustainability in its SRM processes. However, the perception of sustainability as a requirement to meet stringent regulations limits its scope and drive in pursuing sustainable SRM. It has also limited supplier sustainability evaluation and performance metrics. Furthermore, the findings of this paper reinforce the importance of a procurement team’s ability to work with other functional teams in implementing sustainable SRM. The findings also contribute to the emerging literature on the impact of sustainability on supplier segmentation and multi-tier supplier management. Research limitations/implications: This study provides insight into the varying SRM methods used in the tobacco industry to ensure compliance and improve sustainability performance. However, further research is required to explore the generalisability of the findings of this study derived from a single case study. Originality/value: The tobacco industry is an under-researched industry, particularly in terms of sustainable operations and supply chain management practices. The findings of this study seem to be relevant to those comparable industries with stringent regulations as well

Coordination, Cooperation, and Collaboration: Defining the C3 Framework

The term C3 refers to the framework of coordinative, cooperative and collaborative relationships within the realm of external supply chain partnerships. Each unique partnership offers both benefits and challenges within a supply chain and must be aligned with company and supply chain strategy in order to achieve maximum effectiveness. This paper aims to fill the current void in supply chain literature concerning C3 by defining each term based upon current supply chain research as well as give the most prevalent characteristics and differences between each “C” in this phase model. This research is then compared to the industry through a case study of a major international retailer. Finally, we propose a set of propositions that organizations can use to assess at what level their external relationships reside within the phase model as well as how companies move and evolve their relationships between the levels and what the trigger mechanisms are in this evolution

An application of hybrid life cycle assessment as a decision support framework for green supply chains

In an effort to achieve sustainable operations, green supply chain management has become an important area for firms to concentrate on due to its inherent involvement with all the processes that provide foundations to successful business. Modelling methodologies of product supply chain environmental assessment are usually guided by the principles of life cycle assessment (LCA). However, a review of the extant literature suggests that LCA techniques suffer from a wide range of limitations that prevent a wider application in real-world contexts; hence, they need to be incorporated within decision support frameworks to aid environmental sustainability strategies. Thus, this paper contributes in understanding and overcoming the dichotomy between LCA model development and the emerging practical implementation to inform carbon emissions mitigation strategies within supply chains. Therefore, the paper provides both theoretical insights and a practical application to inform the process of adopting a decision support framework based on a LCA methodology in a real-world scenario. The supply chain of a product from the steel industry is considered to evaluate its environmental impact and carbon ‘hotspots’. The study helps understanding how operational strategies geared towards environmental sustainability can be informed using knowledge and information generated from supply chain environmental assessments, and for highlighting inherent challenges in this process

Manufacturing in Scotland

Set against the backdrop of current thinking that UK manufacturing needs to move into higher value, this report, commissioned on behalf of the Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service (SMAS) Board, set out to: Give an account of the current status of manufacturing SME’s in Scotland including current activities, aspirations, strategies and challenges facing them; Assess the progress Scotland has made towards high value manufacturing; Make recommendations as to the type of support needed to enable Scottish manufacturing SMEs invest in their long-term future. The resulting report is based on findings of a survey that delivered responses from 435 Scottish manufacturing companies and in-depth interviews with directors of 45 companies. This research was carried out during the period April to September 2008. Our research suggests that there have been significant shifts within manufacturing SMEs in Scotland. The most notable shifts include: A shift in the basis of competition. Our research suggests that the primary basis of competition for Scottish manufacturing SMEs is not price. Increasingly Scottish SMEs are adding value through quality and customer service. A shift in the nature and scope of operations. Whilst the primary business function of manufacturing companies remains production, there is evidence of increasing levels of design and service activity taking place. Companies reported they expected this trend to continue as the shift in the basis of competition away from price towards innovation and customer service gains pace. These changes suggest a move towards high value manufacturing. However there are major challenges facing Scottish SMEs if they are to compete on new value propositions. Of particular concern are: Lack of strategic vision and understanding of the capabilities and competencies needed to compete on the new value propositions. Whilst companies largely recognise the need to improve manufacturing efficiency, many have not embraced the need to develop and improve processes that deliver value to the customer (eg. Customer service processes, new product development processes etc). If customer service, innovation and quality are key differentiators and the way they add value, then companies need to ensure they have sustainable processes to deliver this value. Changes in operational activity have tended to be the result of evolution and opportunity rather than coherent operational strategy. Many companies need help in generating and enacting strategic change There is a lack of appreciation of the potential value of innovation in delivering value (and indeed the understanding of innovation in its many guises). Almost all companies interviewed reported some problems finding and retaining staff. Whilst in some cases labour shortages were due to specific skills and knowledge, there was also a general problem recruiting people with basic employability who had a desire to work in manufacturing. The poor image of manufacturing was a worry to the vast majority of interviewees. Many companies recognised the potential to exploit opportunities overseas. Some alluded to the fact that it might not be enough to market and export overseas, but that a manufacturing presence may be needed to fully exploit the opportunity. In terms of the support needed, companies stated that they would be looking increasingly for help and support in the areas of manufacturing efficiency and sales and marketing. Supply chain was also an area where companies reported they would be looking for help and support. Companies also suggested that they would like to see improvements in terms of “community”, with a number of interviewees looking for help in accessing not just help and support, but also introductions to other organisations. The research team believe that whilst not always recognised by the companies, support is also needed in the areas of strategy (and linked to this leadership) and in developing and improving processes that add value. Finally, the research suggests worryingly low levels of manufacturing entrepreneurship in Scotland, with only 3% of companies surveyed established within the past 5 years. This is worthy of further investigation. 4 Key findings and recommendations are expanded upon in Table 1. However the key recommendations can be summarised as: Manufacturing SMEs continue to require support in manufacturing efficiency, sales and marketing and supply chain. As companies move away from price as the main basis for competition and towards alternative value propositions, they also need support in developing and enacting strategy. Of particular urgency, companies need help in developing and improving the processes and capabilities that deliver value (beyond traditional manufacturing) Establishing processes that support innovation and product development will be central to the sustainability of many Scottish SMEs Further work needs to be done to investigate the apparent low levels of manufacturing start-ups Further work is needed to understand the areas where Scottish SMEs can actually compete on high volume /low complexity – often due to “localisation” factors Consideration should be given to supporting companies who wish to establish manufacturing overseas to exploit global opportunitiesA skills strategy must be created in line with the needs of manufacturing industry The poor image of manufacturing in Scotland needs to be addresse

Organic produce Value Chain Analysis (OF0344)

Growth in the Organic food market has been rapid in recent years. According to the soil association, retail sales of organic food are now worth £1.2 billion – an 11% increase on the previous year. Organic Supply Chains have developed to serve different routes to the consumer. Some chains are simple and involve direct supply to the consumer through, for example, box schemes and farmer’s markets. However in the main greater complexity is involved. Some 75% of organic food is sold through the multiple retailers. Generally speaking, this introduces more stages into the supply chain and as a result there is more complexity. All organic businesses have to be profitable and this requires them to operate efficiently. The Food Chain Centre has undertaken three projects dealing with organic producers supplying through multiple retailers. The projects applied the concept of ‘lean thinking’ and ‘value chain analysis’. The projects were led by the Food Process Innovation Unit, which is part of Cardiff University’s Lean Enterprise Research Centre. The Lean Enterprise Research Centre enjoys a global reputation in the application of lean thinking and their work demonstrates that businesses can use the concept to secure long term competitive advantage. Lean thinking provides a way to do more and more with less and less – less human effort, less equipment, less time, and less space – while coming closer and closer to providing consumers with exactly what they want. In other words, the project focused on removing waste from supply chains and focusing on customer value. This is an established approach based on practices first developed in the Japanese motor industry. Lean thinking has become widespread in UK manufacturing and according to a recent survey by McKinsey it is what sets apart the best performing manufacturers. Many companies that have embraced lean thinking have delivered dramatic improvements over a three year period including: • 90% reduction in defects • 90& reduction in response time to customer orders • 75% reduction in inventory • 50% reduction in space • 50% reduction in variable costs Organic production has some unique features that challenge the lean approach. These include: • The ethical underpinning for many businesses involved in organic production • The highly regulated nature of production that prohibits many practices prevalent in conventional food production • The small scale nature of a substantial part of organic production • The environmental factor – in that organic farming also makes a major contribution to higher levels of bio-diversity and lower levels of pollution The Cardiff team are not typical consultants, neither are they experts in organic production. They are expert facilitators, guiding teams drawn from businesses and helping them to see their supply chains in new light. Each project starts from a recognisable product that consumers purchase. The three projects deal with organic carrots, potatoes and lamb. In each case more than one business is involved in getting the product to market. The project constructed a team with members drawn from each business within the supply chain and support from Cardiff University facilitators to draw a ‘process map’ of the current state of affairs, making sure to capture what is actually happening (‘warts and all’) and not what is supposed to happen. The Cardiff team then helped each project team to investigate issues such as: • Do products flow through the chain as quickly as possible or are there unnecessary hold-ups? • Do some activities add more costs than value? In which case what can be done about it? In particular, are there activities that add absolutely no value to the consumer that can just be eliminated? • Have people learned to live with errors, treating them as inevitable or are they constantly striving to eliminate them? • Are the right quality tests in the right place in the chain and are they working effectively? • Are the right performance measures in place? • When problems are identified, are they traced to their source and dealt with? • Is the right information shared along the chain? • Are there effective ordering and stock holding policies that impose heavy costs on suppliers? The team then created a second map of how they would like the chain to operate in the future. Finally, they draw up an action plan of how to work in partnership to get there. The projects discovered that there were substantial opportunities to transform the profitability of business within the supply chain, whilst maintaining or improving customer value. These improvement opportunities include: • Re-designing the layout of factory and farm • Creating supply chain teams to focus on reducing faults at particular stages of the supply chain • Forums for customers and suppliers to work jointly on improvement projects • Agreeing to exchange information that is currently unavailable in a practical format • Collecting new performance measures and sharing these more widely • Making better use of Information Technology to share information • Working in partnership, to increase long term commitment to supply chain objective

Brexit Report - Impact on Business Models of Scottish Companies

The Brexit Business Model Report is a preliminary assessment of research, interviews and survey results regarding the impact of Brexit on the business models of Scottish companies as they prepare for post-Brexit scenarios. The survey was used to compile data to support research questions gathered during the research and interview process for this graduate class project. Questions were designed to assess how Brexit is impacting the ability of Scottish companies in the areas of business model, contingency planning, supply chain, staffing, innovation, global reach, risk assessment, and opportunities. The questions reflected areas of the business model that may have present and future implications. The answers help measure the Brexit impact on Scottish firms’ business models and the potential for international growth. The upper management of Scottish companies from the “Insider Top 500” list, “FactSet list, and various trade organizations were selected to receive the survey. The focus of this study was on the potential impact of Brexit on Scottish companies’ business models. The survey findings show the importance of understanding the elements of a business model in the Brexit context (see Additional File, Executive Summary below for Business Model Brexit Implications on Scottish Companies based on Key Findings table)