Redistributed manufacturing to support field medical care

Aims The aim of redistributed manufacturing (RDM) is to bring production closer to the point of clinical use thereby enhancing the capability to deliver immediate and optimised medical care. Additional benefits include reducing logistical burden and costs, and improving supply resilience. The aim of our preliminary investigation was to scope potential RDM technology innovations with an emphasis on support to field medical care. Three key imperatives were selected: > increased freedom of movement, agility, fl exibility and robustness > reduced resource utilisation and complexity, increased independence and potential modularisation > enhanced fi eld care, sustainable, scalable and remote technologies. Methods Our investigation followed a qualitative, narrative, mixed-methods approach. An academic working group was created with representation from health tech innovation teams, design, engineering, logistics, medical textiles, cell therapies and device manufacturing. Initial workshop discussion was focused upon a number of 'real-life' scenarios through which a process of analysis was carried out in the following domains: > existing capability gap > scientifi c and engineering feasibility > financial metrics > patient and end-user focused outcomes > regulatory considerations

Shifting logics: Limitations on the journey from 'state' to 'market' logic in UK higher education

© Policy Press 2018. Our study of UK higher education institutions (HEIs) offers insights into the role of institutional logics in the adoption of organisational practices - specifically outsourcing. We identify two logics prevalent within HEIs: a public service 'state logic' and a 'market logic'. While adherence to the market logic supports commercial-based practices such as outsourcing, organisations enact competing logics in complex ways. Outsourcing is mainly limited to peripheral activities segmented from the core while a nascent cooperative solution is emerging as HEIs co-opt practices and discourse of outsourcing to justify hybrid relationships that marry competing logics in a process of selective coupling

Application of additive manufacturing for mass customisation: understanding the interaction of critical barriers

Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology presents a very optimistic case for its application for mass customisation. Even though theoretically suitable, practically several critical barriers inhibit its implementation. Thus, this paper attempts to identify those barriers and also understand the dynamic interaction among them. The barriers were identified by a detailed literature review and validated by expert opinions. Interpretative Structural Modelling (ISM) was applied to determine the mutual influences among the barriers. It was also able to ascertain the level of the barriers and categorise them based on their driving power and dependence. The results are highly useful for industry practitioners to determine the interventions required to overcome the most dominant barriers

Global Value Chain Reconfiguration and COVID-19:Investigating the Case for More Resilient Redistributed Models of Production

The COVID-19 pandemic shocked the global economy, laying bare the coordination challenges and vulnerabilities of global value chains (GVCs) across sectors. Governments, consumers, and firms alike have called for greater GVC resilience to ensure critical products are delivered to the right place, at the right time, and in the right condition. This article investigates whether GVC reconfiguration through the adoption of redistributed manufacturing (RDM) in local production can deliver greater resilience against unexpected, disruptive global events. It proposes actionable steps for managers to ensure more resilient GVCs in the face of global shocks

Responding to information asymmetry in crisis situations: Innovation in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic

Crises test the resilience of public service organizations. Healthcare providers must respond and innovate within tight constraints to address challenges. Presenting COVID-19 as a knowable unknown (black swan event), we adopt information processing theory to investigate how healthcare providers and their suppliers address information asymmetry to support decision-making. Building on primary and secondary datasets, we demonstrate managers were innovating internal structural responses. For black swan events, in-house ‘intelligent clients’ are intrinsic not only in managing information uncertainty associated with early stages of the crisis, but also in addressing information equivocality and joint decision-making with other organizations associated with implementing solutions

Risk factors for project success in the Chinese construction industry

Purpose – To achieve project success, an effective project risk management procedure is inevitable. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of risk factors on project success in the Chinese construction industry context. Design/methodology/approach – This study by way of utilizing both qualitative and quantitative methods has examined risk factors that are closely linked to project success in the Chinese construction industry. Findings – After a thorough survey and analysis, risk factors related to designer, contractor, subcontractor, client and government are shown to affect project success to some extent. Originality/value – It is suggested that the present research may be made more generalizable by a larger, more representative samples across various industries and regions of China

The impact of the Internet of Things (IoT) on Servitization: An exploration of changing supply relationships

This research paper explores the emerging potential of IoT technology as an enabler for manufacturers seeking to exploit opportunities for new production, business and operating models. Following an analysis of extant literature and exploration of four in-depth cases, the paper presents four dominant pathways to servitizing the business model through IoT implementation. This first finding is extended in the cross-case analysis, through a categorization of cases into the four pathways, comparing different levels of supplier integration and information exchange. Using this data and categorizations, the paper arrives at certain theoretical propositions regarding the wider impact of IoT technology implementation on information exchange and relational rents through self-enforcing safeguards, risk and financial incentive sharing and lastly transaction cost economics. These propositions lead to the recommendation for suppliers to adopt a servitization pathway of ‘operational service’ models, in order to reap maximum competitive benefit and return on specific investments. This suggests a dependence on the servitization pathway chosen by the supplier, implying that there is no single solution to deal with buyer-supplier relationships in IoT servitization environments

Redistributed manufacturing in healthcare: Creating new value through disruptive innovation

The RiHN White Paper is the first serious attempt to gather expertise and to explore applications in promising areas of healthcare that could benefit from RDM and covers early-stage user needs, challenges and priorities. The UK has an opportunity to lead in this area and RiHN has identified an extensive number of areas for fruitful R&D, crossing production technology, infrastructure, business and organisations. The paper serves as a foundation for discussing future technological roadmaps and engaging the wider community and stakeholders, as well as policy makers, in addressing the potential impact of RDM.The RiHN White Paper is of particular value to policy makers and funders seeking to specify action and to direct attention where it is needed. The White Paper is also useful for the research community, to support their proposals with credible research propositions and to show where collaboration with industry and the public sector will deliver the most benefits.In order to seize the opportunities presented by RDM RiHN proposes a bold new agenda that incorporates a whole healthcare system view of future implementation pathways and wider transformation implications. The priority areas for Future R&D can be summarised as follows: throughAutomated production platform technologies and supporting manufacturing infrastructuresAdvances in analytics and metrologyNew regulatory frameworks and governance pathwaysNew frameworks for business model and organisational transformationThe time to take action is now. Technologies are developing that have the potential to disrupt traditional healthcare pathways and offer therapies tailored to individual needs and physiological characteristics. The challenge is seizing this opportunity and make the UK a world leader in RDM

Emerging technologies in emergency situations (guest editorial)

While scholars have identified the coordination mechanisms needed to provide a synchronised response to emergency situations such as natural disasters (Holguín‐Veras et al., 2012; Oloruntoba & Gray, 2006; van Wassenhove, 2006), the processes required to deploy emerging technologies during such situations had received limited attention (Dubey et al., 2020; Queiroz et al., 2020; Remko, 2020). Moreover, while recent scholarly work has considered the importance of organisational and dynamic capabilities in developing industry 4.0 technologies (Roscoe et al., 2019; Xu et al., 2018), the significance of fostering capabilities for the deployment of emerging technologies in emergency situations is under-researched (de Giovanni, 2019; Koh et al., 2019; Sarkis, 2012). More specifically, the scale of disruption caused by COVID-19 has amplified the challenges presented by natural and man-made disasters, increasing the need for new strategies, capabilities, and creativity in responding to emergency situations (Ivanov, 2020; Remko, 2020; Schleper et al., 2021). The aim of this special issue is to understand how organizations and their supply chain partners can build the capabilities and coordination mechanisms required to deploy and utilise emerging technologies in emergency situations. The special issue intends to stimulate a debate among academic scholars, practitioners, and government representatives on the latest advances in emerging technologies and their application in the context of natural and man-made disasters as well as disease outbreaks such as COVID-19

Distributed manufacturing: a new form of localised production?

Purpose The emergence of distributed manufacturing (DM) is examined as a new form of localised production, distinct from previous manifestations of multi-domestic and indigenous production. Design/methodology/approach Supply network (SN) configuration and infrastructural provisioning perspectives were used to examine the literature on established localised production models as well as DM. A multiple case study was then undertaken to describe and explore the DM model further. A maximum variation sampling procedure was used to select five exemplar cases. Findings Three main contributions emerge from this study. First, the research uniquely brings together two bodies of literature, namely SN configuration and infrastructure provisioning to explore the DM context. Second, the research applies these theoretical lenses to establish the distinctive nature of DM across seven dimensions of analysis. Third, emerging DM design rules are identified and compared with the more established models of localised production, drawing on both literature and DM case evidence. Practical implications This study provides a rich SN configuration and infrastructural provisioning view on DM leading to a set of design rules for DM adoption, thus supporting practitioners in their efforts to develop viable DM implementation plans. Originality/value The authors contribute to the intra- and inter-organisational requirements for the emerging DM context by providing new perspectives through the combined lenses of SN configuration and infrastructural provisioning approaches. </div