1,913 research outputs found

    Tidal and marine energy in the uk– identifying the future challenges for supply chain development

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    The purpose of this paper is to investigate the current technical and operational supply chain issues surrounding the development of tidal and marine energy production in the UK. The paper outlines the market and growth potential of tidal energy production in the UK before identifying the key supply chain themes surrounding tidal energy production including an analysis of the portability and transferability of current supply chain thinking and development from other renewable energy systems such as wind turbine technology towards the development of tidal energy supply chain systems. The paper closes by identifying the major challenges that the UK supply chain must overcome in order to develop a comprehensive and robust supply chain system

    Problematising the concept of 'sustainability' in the supply chain through systematic literature review

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    The authors contend that there are two broad 'senses' in which 'sustainability' is currently understood in supply chain research and practice – responsibility (in terms of environmental and social practices) and continuity (in the face of twenty-first century uncertainty and disruption). Systematic review is used to illustrate the predominance of the responsibility 'sense' of sustainability in academic literature labelled 'sustainable supply chain.' The authors propose that parallel research into strategies for supply chain continuity (e.g. agility and resilience) be brought within the fold of the 'sustainable supply chain' research label for the sake of clarity of the 'sustainability' concept and the development of a truly sustainable supply chain, because a responsible supply chain might not necessarily be a resilient supply chain in the twenty-first century global environment

    Why Knowledge Acquisition is Important to Effective Supply Chain Management:The role of Supply Chain Managers As Knowledge Acquisitors

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    The acquisition of knowledge either by organisations or individuals is considered critical to the success of the organisation in a dynamic and uncertain business environment. Likewise, the acquisition of knowledge in supply chain is seen to be of great advantage to the complex activities that goes on in the supply chain, where it is difficult to forecast demand and therefore maximise competitive advantage. Despite data, information, knowledge and knowledge sharing being critical to the success of supply chain, there are dearth of studies exploring how knowledge is acquired. This paper explores the importance of knowledge acquisition for effective supply chain management. In doing so, supply chain managers are conceptualised as either active acquisitors of knowledge, and thereby potential sources of competitive advantage, or merely passive recipients of data and information. We argue that to achieve improved supply chain management performance supply chain managers need to engage in active knowledge acquisition

    Public sector supply chain management: A Triple Helix approach to aligning innovative environmental initiatives

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    © 2015 National Research University Higher School of Economics. This paper argues that in order to deliver greater levels of sustainable performance, environmental strategy should be addressed at the supply chain level and not just at the level of the individual organisation. It demonstrates the similarities between the environmental statements of companies in both the private and public sectors and proposes that public sector organisations, by virtue of their considerable spend with private sector organisations, are in a powerful position to encourage and support environmental initiatives throughout their supply chains. Drawing upon Triple Helix Theory the paper discusses the importance of unifying the efforts of government, industry and academia in order to identify and operationalise innovative thinking in economies. It explores the roles of public and private sector organisations along with universities in developing environmental strategies and practices within supply chains. Environmental Management Systems (EMS) are discussed and the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) is identified as a potential mechanism for structuring and reporting the collaborative environmental improvement performance of supply chains

    Smart Systems Implementation in UK Food Manufacturing Companies:A Sustainability Perspective

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    The UK food industry faces significant challenges to remain sustainable. With major challenges, such as Brexit, on the horizon, companies can no longer rely on a low labour cost workforce to maintain low production costs and achieve economic sustainability. Smart Systems (SS) is being seen as an approach towards achieving significant improvements in both economic and environmental sustainability. However, there is little evidence to indicate whether UK food companies are prepared for the implementation of such systems. The purpose of this research is to explore the applicability of Smart Systems in UK food manufacturing companies, and to identify the key priority areas and improvement levers for the implementation of such systems. A triangulated primary research approach is adopted that includes a questionnaire, follow-up interviews, and visits to 32 food manufacturing companies in the UK. The questionnaire and interviews are guided by a unique measuring instrument that the authors developed that focusses upon SS technologies and systems. This paper makes an original contribution in that it is one of the few academic studies to explore the implementation of SS in the industry, and provides a new perspective on the key drivers and inhibitors of its implementation. The findings suggest that the current turbulence in the industry could be bringing food companies closer to the adoption of such systems; hence, it is a good time to define and develop the optimum SS implementation strategy
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