The Impact of Retailer-Supplier Cooperation and Decision-Making Uncertainty on Supply Chain Performance

Buyer-supplier relationships have been increasingly considered a critical part of contemporary supply chain management. In response to dynamic and unpredictable market changes, buyers and suppliers enter into cooperative relationships to pursue individual goals and joint goals for better economic and non-economic performance of the supply chain. On the other hand, cooperation between channel members is surrounded by uncertainty, which can create a detrimental impact on the performance of a supply chain. Previous research has focused on various aspects of uncertainty that could affect supply chain member behaviour. The present research contends that relationship behavioural factors play an important role in increasing or mitigating channel members’ perceived uncertainty in their supply or purchase decision-making. Specifically, the purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of retailer-supplier cooperation and retailer/supplier’s decision-making uncertainty (DMU) on retail supply chain performance from the perspectives of both the retailer and the supplier. A holistic model was developed as the theoretical framework for this conceptualisation. A sample of 202 retailers and 64 suppliers in the sporting goods retail business in Taiwan was used to separately test a number of hypothesised relationships by using structural equation modelling (SEM). The findings indicate that both cooperation and DMU are the key determinants of retail supply chain performance, including financial performance and non-financial performance (i.e., supply flexibility and customer service). Financial performance is positively affected by retailer-supplier cooperation and negatively affected by DMU in both the retailer model and the supplier model. The five dimensions of retailer-supplier cooperation (i.e. trust, guanxi, dependence, coercive power and non-coercive power) have significant effects on cooperation. However, apart from guanxi with the retailer/supplier, neither other relationship dimensions nor retailer-supplier cooperation have any influence on retailer’s DMU or supplier’s DMU. The results also indicate that differences and similarities exist across retailers and suppliers with respect to the effects of several relationship dimensions on cooperation and uncertainty. 2 The holistic empirical model developed for this research contributes further to understanding the links, which have been lacking in the extant channel relationship literature and supply chain management literature, between buyer-supplier relationships, DMU, and supply chain performance. The findings that a retailer/supplier’s DMU can erode the performance of a supply chain in various aspects highlight the need for improvement in some areas of supply chain efficiency and effectiveness, through cooperation-enhancing actions between the retailer and the supplier. From a managerial perspective, the performance improvement in the supply chain, in turn, will motivate more reciprocal commitment and efforts from the retailer and the supplier to maintain their working relationship. As such, mutual trust and enriched guanxi, dependence and non-coercive power help both the retailer and the supplier to have less uncertainty in their purchase/supply decision-making process. It creates a win-win position for both parties in the supply chain

The Impact of Retailer-Supplier Cooperation and Decision-Making Uncertainty on Supply Chain Performance

Buyer-supplier relationships have been increasingly considered a critical part of contemporary supply chain management. In response to dynamic and unpredictable market changes, buyers and suppliers enter into cooperative relationships to pursue individual goals and joint goals for better economic and non-economic performance of the supply chain. On the other hand, cooperation between channel members is surrounded by uncertainty, which can create a detrimental impact on the performance of a supply chain. Previous research has focused on various aspects of uncertainty that could affect supply chain member behaviour. The present research contends that relationship behavioural factors play an important role in increasing or mitigating channel members’ perceived uncertainty in their supply or purchase decision-making. Specifically, the purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of retailer-supplier cooperation and retailer/supplier’s decision-making uncertainty (DMU) on retail supply chain performance from the perspectives of both the retailer and the supplier. A holistic model was developed as the theoretical framework for this conceptualisation. A sample of 202 retailers and 64 suppliers in the sporting goods retail business in Taiwan was used to separately test a number of hypothesised relationships by using structural equation modelling (SEM). The findings indicate that both cooperation and DMU are the key determinants of retail supply chain performance, including financial performance and non-financial performance (i.e., supply flexibility and customer service). Financial performance is positively affected by retailer-supplier cooperation and negatively affected by DMU in both the retailer model and the supplier model. The five dimensions of retailer-supplier cooperation (i.e. trust, guanxi, dependence, coercive power and non-coercive power) have significant effects on cooperation. However, apart from guanxi with the retailer/supplier, neither other relationship dimensions nor retailer-supplier cooperation have any influence on retailer’s DMU or supplier’s DMU. The results also indicate that differences and similarities exist across retailers and suppliers with respect to the effects of several relationship dimensions on cooperation and uncertainty. 2 The holistic empirical model developed for this research contributes further to understanding the links, which have been lacking in the extant channel relationship literature and supply chain management literature, between buyer-supplier relationships, DMU, and supply chain performance. The findings that a retailer/supplier’s DMU can erode the performance of a supply chain in various aspects highlight the need for improvement in some areas of supply chain efficiency and effectiveness, through cooperation-enhancing actions between the retailer and the supplier. From a managerial perspective, the performance improvement in the supply chain, in turn, will motivate more reciprocal commitment and efforts from the retailer and the supplier to maintain their working relationship. As such, mutual trust and enriched guanxi, dependence and non-coercive power help both the retailer and the supplier to have less uncertainty in their purchase/supply decision-making process. It creates a win-win position for both parties in the supply chain

Developing a conceptual model for examining the supply chain relationships between behavioural antecedents of collaboration, integration and performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is threefold: first, review the literature on the topic of behavioural antecedents of collaboration and their impact on supply chain integration and performance; second, lay the theoretical foundations and develop a conceptual model linking behavioural antecedents of collaboration, information integration, coordination of operational decisions and supply chain performance; and third, set out operationalisation considerations. Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual model with theoretical basis on Relational Exchange Theory (RET) and extant supply chain theory is developed as a causal model that can be operationalised using structural equations modelling (partial least squares) and a “single key informant” approach. Findings – Positive relationships between behavioural antecedents of collaboration (trust, commitment, mutuality/reciprocity), information integration, coordination of operational decisions and supply chain performance (efficiency, effectiveness) are hypothesised. RET provides adequate theoretical background that leads to the theoretical establishment of hypotheses between behavioural antecedents, supply chain integration and performance, which are worth testing empirically. Research limitations/implications – The ideas presented in this paper enrich the study of behavioural factors in supply chain management and their impact on supply chain performance, and may benefit researchers in the field. The paper also sets the scene (experimental design, measurement items) for the upcoming field research. The empirical part of the work will provide the necessary evidence for the validation of the established hypotheses. Practical implications – The proposed linkages may stimulate the interest of supply chain strategists towards more collaborative relationship management and affect their decisions on the behavioural antecedents of relationship formation and management. Moreover, the proposed model may help clarify how the integration of critical operational contingencies – information, operational decisions – can help achieve superior supply chain performance. Originality/value – The paper establishes a causal relationship between constructs which have not been researched (mutuality/reciprocity, coordination of operational decisions) or have been researched individually or in combination (impact of integration on performance, impact of collaboration on performance) but not in the proposed integrated way. It also addresses the challenge of lack of theoretical justification on the development of knowledge that will assist decision making in SCM/logistics and its integration into models, processes and tasks. Finally, by using RET in selecting of behavioural factors and establishing hypotheses, it adds to the body of knowledge concerning the use of interorganisational theories in supply chain relationships

Blockchain-Coordinated Frameworks for Scalable and Secure Supply Chain Networks

Supply chains have progressed through time from being limited to a few regional traders to becoming complicated business networks. As a result, supply chain management systems now rely significantly on the digital revolution for the privacy and security of data. Due to key qualities of blockchain, such as transparency, immutability and decentralization, it has recently gained a lot of interest as a way to solve security, privacy and scalability problems in supply chains. However conventional blockchains are not appropriate for supply chain ecosystems because they are computationally costly, have a limited potential to scale and fail to provide trust. Consequently, due to limitations with a lack of trust and coordination, supply chains tend to fail to foster trust among the network’s participants. Assuring data privacy in a supply chain ecosystem is another challenge. If information is being shared with a large number of participants without establishing data privacy, access control risks arise in the network. Protecting data privacy is a concern when sending corporate data, including locations, manufacturing supplies and demand information. The third challenge in supply chain management is scalability, which continues to be a significant barrier to adoption. As the amount of transactions in a supply chain tends to increase along with the number of nodes in a network. So scalability is essential for blockchain adoption in supply chain networks. This thesis seeks to address the challenges of privacy, scalability and trust by providing frameworks for how to effectively combine blockchains with supply chains. This thesis makes four novel contributions. It first develops a blockchain-based framework with Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC) model to assure data privacy by adopting a distributed framework to enable fine grained, dynamic access control management for supply chain management. To solve the data privacy challenge, AccessChain is developed. This proposed AccessChain model has two types of ledgers in the system: local and global. Local ledgers are used to store business contracts between stakeholders and the ABAC model management, whereas the global ledger is used to record transaction data. AccessChain can enable decentralized, fine-grained and dynamic access control management in SCM when combined with the ABAC model and blockchain technology (BCT). The framework enables a systematic approach that advantages the supply chain, and the experiments yield convincing results. Furthermore, the results of performance monitoring shows that AccessChain’s response time with four local ledgers is acceptable, and therefore it provides significantly greater scalability. Next, a framework for reducing the bullwhip effect (BWE) in SCM is proposed. The framework also focuses on combining data visibility with trust. BWE is first observed in SC and then a blockchain architecture design is used to minimize it. Full sharing of demand data has been shown to help improve the robustness of overall performance in a multiechelon SC environment, especially for BWE mitigation and cumulative cost reduction. It is observed that when it comes to providing access to data, information sharing using a blockchain has some obvious benefits in a supply chain. Furthermore, when data sharing is distributed, parties in the supply chain will have fair access to other parties’ data, even though they are farther downstream. Sharing customer demand is important in a supply chain to enhance decision-making, reduce costs and promote the final end product. This work also explores the ability of BCT as a solution in a distributed ledger approach to create a trust-enhanced environment where trust is established so that stakeholders can share their information effectively. To provide visibility and coordination along with a blockchain consensus process, a new consensus algorithm, namely Reputation-based proof-of cooperation (RPoC), is proposed for blockchain-based SCM, which does not involve validators to solve any mathematical puzzle before storing a new block. The RPoC algorithm is an efficient and scalable consensus algorithm that selects the consensus node dynamically and permits a large number of nodes to participate in the consensus process. The algorithm decreases the workload on individual nodes while increasing consensus performance by allocating the transaction verification process to specific nodes. Through extensive theoretical analyses and experimentation, the suitability of the proposed algorithm is well grounded in terms of scalability and efficiency. The thesis concludes with a blockchain-enabled framework that addresses the issue of preserving privacy and security for an open-bid auction system. This work implements a bid management system in a private BC environment to provide a secure bidding scheme. The novelty of this framework derives from an enhanced approach for integrating BC structures by replacing the original chain structure with a tree structure. Throughout the online world, user privacy is a primary concern, because the electronic environment enables the collection of personal data. Hence a suitable cryptographic protocol for an open-bid auction atop BC is proposed. Here the primary aim is to achieve security and privacy with greater efficiency, which largely depends on the effectiveness of the encryption algorithms used by BC. Essentially this work considers Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) and a dynamic cryptographic accumulator encryption algorithm to enhance security between auctioneer and bidder. The proposed e-bidding scheme and the findings from this study should foster the further growth of BC strategies

Quantifying the Sustainability of Products and Suppliers in Food Distribution Companies

[EN] Supplier evaluation is a relevant task of supply chain management where multicriteria methods make great contributions to manufacturing industries. This is not the case in food distribution companies, which have a key role in providing safe and affordable food to society. The purpose of this research is to measure the sustainability of products and suppliers in food distribution companies through a multiple criteria approach. Firstly, the system proposed provides indicators to qualify products and assess the food quality, using the compensatory Multi-Attribute Utility Theory (MAUT) model. Secondly, these indicators are included in supplier evaluation, which takes economic, environmental, and social criteria into account. MAUT and Preference Ranking Organisation Method for Enrichment Evaluation (PROMETHEE), a non-compensatory method, are used for supplier evaluation. This approach has been validated for fresh food in a supermarket chain, mainly using historical data. Partial indicators, such as food safety scores, together with global indicators of suppliers, inform the most appropriate decisions and the most appropriate relations between companies and providers. Poor performance in food safety can lead to the disqualification of some suppliers. MAUT is good for qualifying products and is easy to apply at the operational level in logistic platforms, while PROMETHEE is more suitable for supplier segmentation, as it helps to identify supplier strengths and weaknesses.This research was funded by the Regional Ministry of Education, Research, Culture and Sport of the Autonomous Government of the Valencian Region, Spain, grant number AICO/2017/066.Segura Maroto, M.; Maroto Álvarez, MC.; Segura García Del Río, B. (2019). Quantifying the Sustainability of Products and Suppliers in Food Distribution Companies. Sustainability. 11(21):1-18. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11215875S1181121Thies, C., Kieckhäfer, K., Spengler, T. S., & Sodhi, M. S. (2019). 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The effects of behavioural supply chain relationship antecedents on integration and performance

Structured Abstract: Purpose: To examine the effects of behavioural antecedents of collaboration in supply chain relationships on supply chain integration and performance by developing and empirically validating a model linking these constructs. Design/methodology/approach: A conceptual model was developed based on Relational Exchange Theory, Social Exchange Theory and Resource-Based View. An international survey with supply chain/logistics managers from manufacturing focal firms based in Europe, US and Asia was conducted; they provided input on upstream and downstream relationships based on their actual interaction and experience with supply chain partners. The collected data, which reflect supply chain managers’ perceptions on the above described phenomena, were analysed using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) method. Findings: Mutuality, reciprocity, trust and commitment are instrumental for the formation of supply chain relationships characterised by higher information integration. In turn, information integration has much stronger impact on the coordination of operational decisions related to production and demand planning than on decisions related to actual production processes but, interestingly, the latter affects supply chain performance much more than the former. Research limitations/implications: The research could benefit from a) a longitudinal rather than cross-sectional approach, b) incorporating multiple respondents such as representatives of supply chain partners and senior management of the focal firm, to capture potentially varying opinions on the supply chain phenomena under examination. Practical implications: The results can assist supply chain decision-makers in understanding the importance of behavioural closeness between supply chain partners for the development of collaborative supply chain relationships that lead to higher integration and superior performance. Insight is provided on linkages between examined dimensions of supply chain integration. A process view of intermediate steps needed to translate collaborative relationships into higher supply chain integration and performance across the supply chain is offered. Originality/value: The development and testing of an integrated model examining linkages between supply chain relationship antecedents, integration and performance is an original contribution. By proposing and confirming a sequential order in the influence of behavioural antecedents, integration dimensions, and their impact on supply chain performance, the paper sets foundations of a roadmap for achieving higher supply chain performance from collaborative supply chain relationships. Finally, the paper contributes to the limited theoretical justification on the development of knowledge for assisting decision-making in SCM/logistics and its integration into models, processes and tasks

Exploring the Essential Medicines List Concept

Background: Access to medicines is a basic human right. The World Health Organization (WHO) Model List of Essential Medicines was created in 1977, to promote access to essential medicines that satisfy the priority health care needs of the population. In this day and age, access to safe and affordable medicines is not guaranteed to all. There exists global inequality of access to lifesaving or essential medicines. This is referred to by the WHO as the ‘global drug gap’, in which approximately one third of the global population still does not have access to basic medicines. Contributing to the disparity in access, are rising pharmaceutical expenditures and globalisation of complex pharmaceutical supply chain networks. This has resulted in countries of all economies and geographical regions sourcing their medicines from common sources. Therefore, challenges accessing unavailable medicines have become a shared experience, as demonstrated by the relatively recent emergence and recurrence of global drug shortage crises. The WHO framework for access to essential medicines, which considers rational selection of medicines, affordable prices, sustainable financing, and reliable health and supply systems, was used as a theoretical framework to explore the gap in access to medicines. Aims and Objectives: Aim: To explore stakeholder views about the concept of essential medicines. Objectives: (1) To explore the application of the Essential Medicines List (EML) concept and how this was associated with access to essential medicines. (2) To explore the factors that influence access to essential medicines, and understand the roles of international key stakeholders involved in this process. (3) To explore what constitutes an “essential” medicine, and how the EML concept functions in a high income country (HIC) context. Content of This Thesis This thesis is made up of 4 chapters. Chapter 1 contains the background and a review of the literature on access to essential medicines. The challenges identified in chapter 1 lead to the exploration of global perspectives on the supply and management of essential medicines in chapter 2. The qualitative study in chapter 3 describes what constitutes an essential medicine for stakeholders in a high income country (HIC). Lastly, chapter 4 contains general discussions and conclusions from the work described in this thesis. Methods: A narrative literature review (chapter 1) was performed to explore how the application of the EML concept is associated with access to essential medicines. A search strategy developed from the principles of the WHO access to medicines framework was used to identify primary studies from Medline, Embase and PubMed. A qualitative study was conducted to explore perspectives of international (chapter 2) and Australian (chapter 3) key stakeholders about the pharmaceutical supply chain, on the application and relevance of EML concept and what makes a medicine essential. Snowball sampling was used to recruit decision makers, leaders or senior managers involved in medicines decision making across seven stakeholder groups. Stakeholders included: government, health care providers, academics, consumer groups, non-profit organisations, pharmaceutical manufacturers and wholesaler/distributors. Forty-seven semi structured interviews were conducted face-to-face, via Skype or telephone, audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Interviews were conducted until thematic saturation was achieved. Data were analysed using a grounded theory approach. The comprehensive theory of collaboration was applied after the grounded theory analysis to organise and understand results within a management context. In addition, chapter 2 used the Ishikawa fishbone diagram to illustrate the complexities of the pharmaceutical supply chain. Meanwhile, chapter 3 illustrated the conceptual model derived from the results. Key Findings: Chapter 1- A literature review showed that there has been improved access to essential medicines for many populations. Findings showed EMLs help promote advocacy and provide reliable evidence at the health systems level. However, there was variable use of EMLs at the health services delivery level (i.e. for a patient at the point of care). Decision making around standard treatment guidelines and EMLs were often not aligned with procurement and management strategies within the supply chain. The literature review showed that accessing medicines was complex. Studies were often not well-designed, had narrow research objectives and few qualitative studies were conducted. Studies focused on resource limited settings in LMICs and scarce data was available for EMLs in HICs. Chapter 2- Qualitative interviews with international stakeholders described the complexities involved in managing the global pharmaceutical supply chain. While stakeholders’ roles and responsibilities were inter-connected, therapeutic decision making was often separated from logistic management of the pharmaceutical supply chain due to potential conflicts of interest. This created many gaps and inconsistencies around pricing and costs, planning and reactivity, communication and transparency, and contributed to difficulties building trust and consistency between stakeholders. Adding to this complexity, individualised or patient-centred care approaches have emphasised the need for consumer choice and demand a wide range of products that has become increasingly challenging to manage. Therefore, drug shortages have highlighted the opportunity for collaborative alliances to identify, prioritise, and manage vulnerabilities in the supply chain to prevent or mitigate patient harm as a result of restricted access to medicines. In particular, wholesalers and distributors were identified as potentially having more valuable roles in managing supply disruptions (e.g. redistribution) and facilitating information exchange between stakeholders (e.g. forecasting or confirming at what level of the system a shortage occurs). Participants also suggested designating drug shortage experts or liaison to manage and communicate shortages, especially to consumers and health providers. Chapter 3- Qualitative interviews with Australian stakeholders demonstrated that the different perceived functions of EMLs seemed to be stratified depending on whether the decision making context was at a health systems level or at an individual level (i.e., for a patient at the point of care). EMLs can function as reimbursement lists at the health systems level, or hospital formularies at the health services level. Meanwhile, non-reimbursed or off-formulary medicines were available to consumers who were willing and able to pay if they were deemed essential to individuals. Conversely, some medicines can be deemed essential but were not available or affordable to individuals. The wide range of views in this study, highlight the complexities of decision-making processes involved in developing and managing EMLs, which has been compounded by the expanding consumer need to have a range of therapeutic options. These findings emphasise the context within the health system determines for whom a medicine is deemed essential. Conclusion: Prior to this thesis, EMLs have been studied with narrow research objectives and mainly in LMICs. This body of research was the first to explore how the application and management of EMLs effected access to medicines, from a broad range of stakeholder views involved in both therapeutic decision making and logistics management. Furthermore, it was also a rare study that examined the EML concept within HIC contexts. Findings from this body of work demonstrated different perceived functions of the EML. Furthermore, it also questioned whether the term ‘essential’ was appropriate and reflected how the EML was used. While EMLs can be useful to guide evidence based decision making for reimbursement at the systems level, the variations in the notion of essential at the individual level is influenced by an individual’s choice. Therefore, this highlights the importance of guiding (or limiting) consumer choice with appropriate and accessible information, to help individuals make informed and responsible decisions. This research confirmed that the access to medicines gap continues to be problematic. The pharmaceutical supply chain has been unable to handle drug shortages adequately. Therefore, in order to sustain patient-centred care practices, concessions by all stakeholders must be made if the supply chain is to withstand global economic, political, and ecological instability. Multi-stakeholder engagement, transparent processes, innovative communication pathways, and EML approaches offer potential solutions to mitigate supply chain disruptions. Future approaches should align decision making priorities with procurement practices. Decision makers and supply chain managers have a valuable opportunity to reflect and understand how the current system is functioning, in order to develop foundations for improved processes, and innovative and cooperative platforms to interact and network

Small and Medium sized Enterprises’ Collaborative Buyer-Supplier Relationships: Boundary Spanning Individual Perspectives

Boundary-spanning individuals (BSIs) play a critical role in supply chain management, especially in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) where interactions with buyers and suppliers can depend heavily on just a few individuals. This study, utilizing data from Korean manufacturing-sector SMEs, explores whether cooperative social value orientations of SMEs’ BSIs influence the effects of collaborative buyer-supplier initiatives. The results suggested that the performance implication of decision-sharing initiative increases when BSIs have a high level of cooperative social value orientation. However, it also negatively moderates the relationship between risk/benefit sharing (involving financial losses or gains) and performance suggesting possible negative side-effects. However, we found that such orientation also negatively moderates the relationship between risk/benefit sharing (involving direct financial losses or gains) and relationship performance suggesting possible negative side-effects

A Negotiation Approach to Support the Strategies Alignment Process in Collaborative Networks

[EN] This paper proposes a negotiation approach to support the strategies alignment (SA) collaborative process. The negotiation approach is presented as a complementary mechanism to deal with the SA process. The strategies alignment negotiation approach (SA-NA) considers three different levels of collaboration, which differ by the accurateness of information and amount of data exchanged among the collaborative enterprises. Accordingly, three negotiation processes are proposed, equivalent to the three collaboration levels identified. This paper describes from a conceptual and mathematical point of views the phases of the SA-NA to carry out at each collaboration level. The SA-NA enables users to identify aligned strategies to be activated by the collaborative network (CN) partners. The main aim of the SA-NA is to identify those aligned strategies that satisfy all the CN enterprises, allowing users to achieve the objectives and performance levels required at the enterprises' level while the network performance is maximized. The SA-NA enables CN partners to negotiate and achieve a suitable solution for all the CN enterprises, promoting sustainable collaboration among the partners participating in the CN through the activation of aligned strategies.This research was funded by Ayuda Vali+D Formacion-Andres Navarro (ACIF/2012/006). (16 April 2012-16 April 2015) GENERALITAT VALENCIANA.Andres, B.; Blanes, VJ. (2020). A Negotiation Approach to Support the Strategies Alignment Process in Collaborative Networks. Sustainability. 12(7):1-30. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12072766S130127Camarinha-Matos, L. M., & Abreu, A. (2007). Performance indicators for collaborative networks based on collaboration benefits. 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Technic and Collaboration Breakdown Structures: Drivers of collaborative problem solving approaches in a supply chain context

Problem Solving Methodologies have been par excellence a cornerstone element of the firms’ strategy on achieving effective continuous improvement. But the enterprise evolution towards an extended environment characterized by network-based organization has radically changed the problem solving paradigms. This paper aims to propose a generic and collaborative methodology addressing more complex and distributed problems, dealing with Supply Chain issues and having a key role as a driver for building global competitive advantages and create superior performances at a Supply Chain level