Risks and performance in supply chain: the push effect

A risk, when it occurs, causes negative effects on outputs. Typically risks are not independent, as multiple risks occur simultaneously. These risks have links, creating a ‘push’ effect, thus increasing the severity of each and all risk(s) on outputs. This paper aims to verify the mechanism of the push effect that is a new approach in the supply chain risk management literature. In this study, two models were compared: (1) only exists in direct effects of risks on supply chain performance, i.e. the competitive model. The other, (2), contains relationships among risks that show the mechanism of the push effect, i.e. the hypothesised model. Empirical evidence found in the Vietnam construction sector proved that the hypothesised model is better suited and has greater effect on supply chain performance in terms of each and all risk(s). Comparing 55% variance of the competitive model, the hypothesised one can explain up to 73% variance of supply chain performance. These results confirm our hypotheses of the push effect. Furthermore, findings achieved from this research can be used as ‘a guideline’ for reducing the impact of this mechanism.     

The impact of total quality management on supply chain management and firm's supply performance

This research investigates the relationships among total quality management practices (TQMP), supply chain management practices (SCMP) and firm's supply performance (FSP) in the automotive industry in Thailand. The measurement instruments for SCMP, TQMP and FSP were developed based on an extensive literature review and verified by experts, pilot test and various statistical techniques to ensure reliability and validity in structural equation modeling constructs. The hypothesized model was tested through a path analysis. Qualitative case studies of two large first-tier automotive suppliers were conducted to obtain more in-depth information. We found that the set of SCMP, TQMP and FSP measures are reliable and valid for Thailand's automotive industry. TQMP not only has a significant direct positive impact on SCMP and on FSP but also a significant indirect positive impact on FSP through SCMP.     

The impact of supply chain relationships and integration on innovative capabilities and manufacturing performance: the perspective of rapidly developing countries

The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationships between supply chain relationships/integration, innovative capabilities and manufacturing performance. The study adopts Institutional Theory and Resource-Based View Theory to assess relationships in 171 organisations drawn from three rapidly developing countries – Brazil, India and China. Data were collected using the International Manufacturing Strategy Survey (IMSS VI) and analysed using structural equation modelling. The study found that supply chain relationships and integration relate positively to both product and process innovative capabilities. The study also found that both product and process innovative capabilities relate positively to manufacturing performance. Furthermore, there was a positive relationship between product innovative capabilities and process innovative capabilities. The findings provide new insights into manufacturers in the three countries and show that the relationships they build with their customers have encouraged them to develop new innovative capabilities. These new capabilities, in turn, have enabled them to reap benefits of improved manufacturing performance.     

How SMEs can benefit from supply chain partnerships

In recent literature on supply chain partnerships in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), there is controversy regarding the benefits of these partnerships. To resolve this controversy, specific information is needed on the implementation of these partnerships by SMEs; an area, that, thus far, has received little academic attention. In this paper, we examine different business functions (production, marketing and sales, purchasing and logistics, research and development (R&D) and finance) within a supply chain partnership. We collected data for each individual function from 279 high-tech SMEs and examined the relationship between the specific types of partnerships and the overall performance of the SMEs. The results indicate that it is only in the area of R&D that partnerships have a significant positive effect on overall firm performance. The results imply that SMEs primarily can benefit from particular types of supply chain partnerships, i.e. R&D partnerships. The results contribute to the debate in the literature by explaining why many SMEs were found not to benefit from these partnerships. We also provide implications for firms and how SMEs can better utilise supply chain management (SCM).     

面向复杂制造业企业的供应链管理实施策略

以一个实际案例为背景讨论面向复杂制造业企业的供应链管理实施策略,其中详细探讨了如何根据企业的产品特点确立供应链管理的基本指导思想,如何对外购物料进行分类管理,如何对供应市场进行分析并在此基础上进行基本策略定位,以及一些具体的实施策略。     

An object-oriented simulation meta-model to analyse supply chain performance

This paper proposes a meta-model, which allows automatic building of simulation models of supply chains. The proposed meta-model is made up from a user interface (to define the characteristics of the supply chain), an ad hoc objects library and a software application, to build the simulation model. The meta-model can dramatically reduce to a few minutes or even seconds the time required to test a specific configuration of a supply chain and/or a specific management policy and, since the simulation model is automatically built, neither the personnel skills nor the time available to build the simulation model represent significant hurdles anymore. The meta-model has been applied to represent a simplified supply chain according to six different scenarios, where demand is deterministic. For each scenario a simulation campaign has been performed and the outputs of the model (built through the proposed meta-model) correspond to the predicted results.     

Intangible capital,knowledge and new product development competence in supply chains: process,interaction and contingency effects among SMEs

Leveraging the strengths of a firm’s supply chain partners for new product development (NPD) has become essential to satisfy rapidly changing customer demands and to remain competitive. Firms are, therefore, aiming to further their NPD competence, which we define as the ability of the supply chain to improve and generate new products and services, based on the processes and relationships established with suppliers and customers. This study examines how intangible capital and knowledge further the development of NPD competence within the context of a supply chain. A theoretical model, based upon resource-advantage theory, is tested via structural equation modelling utilising survey data collected from 195 small- and medium-sized enterprises in the manufacturing industry reporting on their primary supply chain. Our findings indicate that more easily transferable capital manifests itself in explicit knowledge and less easily transferable capital manifests itself in tacit knowledge. We further identify complementarities of the two types of intangible capital as influencing knowledge type development. More importantly, we find that the two types of knowledge differ in their ability to influence NPD competence in the supply chain, and that these links are moderated by relationship length. Supply chain management implications for academics and practitioners are presented.     

Our own translation box: exploring proximity antecedents and performance implications of customer co-design in manufacturing

Customer involvement with design activity is one of the principal components of mass customisation. Whereas many studies proposed methods to enable customer co-design, more research needs to determine co-design predictors and its associations with operations improvements. This study tests relationships between proximity, co-design, and performance, and whether co-design mediates proximity-performance relationships. Following on recent technology and collaborative trends, the study uses a three-dimensional operationalisation of customer proximity that includes physical, virtual, and affinity proximity measures. Regression analyses of data from 698 manufacturers from metal-mechanic industries suggest that virtual and affinity proximity related positively with customer co-design, that co-design explained quality and delivery improvements, and that co-design mediated the relationship between virtual proximity and quality improvements.     

New flexibility drivers for manufacturing,supply chain and service operations

Increasing product proliferation, customisation, competition and customer expectations, as well as supply side disruptions, pose significant challenges to firm operations. Such challenges require improved efficiency and resilience in manufacturing, service and supply chain systems. New and innovative flexibility concepts and models offer a prospective route to such operational improvements. Several emerging issues in flexibility, such as risk and uncertainty management, environmental sustainability, optimal strategies under competition, optimal operations with strategic consumer behaviours are being examined in this regard. This overview provides a concise review of these critical research issues, and discusses related papers featured in this special issue. Four major flexibility drivers are classified: disruption risks, resilience and the ripple effect in the supply chain; digitalisation, smart operations and e-supply chains; sustainability and closed-loop supply chains; and supplier integration and behavioural flexibility.     

Impacts of using a performance measurement system in supply chain management: a case study

The study examines how the utilisation of a new performance measurement system (PMS) influences supply chain management (SCM) and what kind of impacts the new system has on the performance of the supply chain. The paper utilises a longitudinal research setting where the data was gathered in two semi-structured interview studies after an action research project in which a new measurement system was designed and developed. The findings show how a PMS serves as a catalyst of inter-organisational knowledge transfer and promotes shared learning. The results also show how knowledge transfer and shared learning led to improved performance of the supply chain. The paper contributes by opening up the practical mechanisms through which performance measurement provides value for SCM and by showing how inter-organisational transfer of performance information catalyses learning and performance improvement. The paper looks beyond the design of performance measures and provides a view on the practice of supply chain performance management. The paper illustrates how sharing performance information amongst supply chain companies improves managers’ awareness of shared targets and the status of network operations. This also resulted in improved performance in the studied case network. Overall, the results encourage organisations to engage in network-level performance measurement and share performance information with their network partners.     

Innovative knowledge sharing,supply chain integration and firm performance of Australian manufacturing firms

A number of reports show that innovation in Australian manufacturing firms is declining. We propose that better knowledge sharing practices can assist these firms to become more innovative. In this paper, we examine this proposition by empirically testing the relationship between knowledge sharing practices within and between trading partners as a framework for integration, and testing for the effect of these practices on firm performance. Data were collected from 418 organisations in the manufacturing industry in Australia to assess the degree to which innovative knowledge sharing practices provide a competitive advantage to Australian firms. Structural equation modelling approach to data analysis was used. It was found that the three innovative knowledge sharing constructs (internal knowledge integration, knowledge integration with customers and knowledge integration with suppliers) were strongly inter-related, providing a case for knowledge-based integration of firms with their trading partners. Further, these three exogenous constructs collectively explained about a third of the variance in the endogenous construct (firm performance). The relationships identified provide support for the efficacy of knowledge-based collaboration as an innovation promoting higher firm performance levels. Managers of manufacturing firms in Australia specifically, and others more generally, can use this as a way to conceptualise how their firms can develop internal integration and collaborative relationships with their trading partners.     

Information management strategies and supply chain performance under demand disruptions

The operations management literature presents inadequate comprehensive understanding on information management strategies of mitigating supply chain disruption risks. By using control theory modelling and simulation, this study compares the disruption mitigation effects of three information management strategies. From the aspect of stability, the existing stability boundaries are revised by a new method in a two-echelon case. It shows that supply chains (SC) with popular information management strategies are not evidently more stable than traditional ones. From the aspect of disruption recovery time, an innovative two-echelon swiftest response problem under these information management strategies is formulated and solved. Results show that a collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment (CPFR) SC with complete SC information performs the best. However, in a later operational risk mitigation test, an information sharing (IS) SC with partial information has the smallest bullwhip effect. From the aspect of demand amplification and frequency response, an innovative frequency–response plot of order amplification is proposed in a time-continuous SC with moving average forecasts. It implies the best frequency response for concurrently mitigating both operational and disruption risks coming from a CPFR SC. But for a certain SC structure there is still a balance between mitigating bullwhip effect and quick response. Moreover, it also implies that anti-bullwhip should exist in a certain condition, as realised in our numerical experiments.     

Strategic alliance formation and the effects on the performance of manufacturing enterprises from supply chain perspective

This study examines the antecedents of strategic alliance formation in manufacturing firms in China, the alliance effect on innovation capability and dyadic quality performance, and how these two organisational capabilities are related to the supply chain performance of Chinese manufacturing enterprises in Shanghai. We perform a series of statistical techniques including logistic regression analysis, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and multiple regression analysis for assessing the hypothesised relationships. Our findings indicate that relational stability and effective communication are significant antecedent factors influencing strategic alliance formation among Chinese manufacturing enterprises. Such alliance formation is found to benefit innovation capability and dyadic quality performance, which are significant contributors to the supply chain performance of Chinese manufacturers. We provide important theoretical and practical implications on these antecedents and consequences of strategic alliance formation leading to supply chain performance in the Chinese manufacturing context.     

On measuring company performance within a supply chain

Emerging research strengthens the connection between supply chain performance and a company's financial performance (D’Avanzo, R., Von Lewinski, H. and Van Wassenhove, L. N., 2003. The link between supply chain and financial performance. Supply Chain Management Review, November/December, 40–47). The focus on integrating functional internal processes has expanded to include the need for integrating these with external processes of business partners (Edwards, P., Peters, M. and Sharman, G., 2001. The effectiveness of information systems in supporting the extended supply chain. Journal of Business Logistics, 22(1), 1–27). This need for enterprise efficiency is compelling companies to review, to identify, and to adopt supply chain initiatives. This research investigates the use of common measurement metrics in an attempt to determine which one(s) are most useful for measuring performance as companies implement SCM practices. For firms that were engaged in SCM we found inventory and cycle time to be the most significant metrics.     

供应链管理在包装制造业的应用研究

供应链管理思想在制造工业中的应用取得了一定的成就,同样对于包装制造业存在着重要作用,它也面临提高生产力和降低成本的压力.但包装制造业有其自身的特征,并且有关理论还不完善.本文认为供应链中的合作伙伴关系、全面质量管理、基准法和精益思想的实施是包装制造业供应链管理发展的必然趋势.     

应用供应链管理思想改造传统工业企业

供应链管理是现代工业企业最先进的管理思想和,应用供应链管理思想对传统工业企业进行改造是一种可行的选择。在实施改造过程中，出发点应是培育，巩固和提高企业的核心竞争力，主要内容包括供应链设计，先进管理方法的应用和员工培训等。     

Relationship between downstream integration,performance measurement systems and supply network efficiency

Downstream integration is a key managerial area to improve performance in supply networks. Though most studies agree that downstream integration positively influences performances, the literature also reports cases of failures in achieving significant improvements. This evidence suggests that some factors may act as moderators on the downstream integration-performance relationship. This paper analyses the impact of downstream integration on supply network efficiency and the moderating effect on this relationship of supply network performance measurement systems. Data from a sample of 200 manufacturing plants settled in several countries around the world demonstrate that this moderating effect exists. Therefore, in order to strengthen the impact of downstream integration on supply network efficiency, managers should combine interventions on downstream integration and supply network performance measurement systems, rather than investing and focusing on downstream integration only.     

中国企业供需协作绩效调查分析

供应链管理的核心是供应链范围内的部门与组织之间的合作与协调,协调管理是供应链管理的核心内容,通过对中国企业的供需协调绩效的调查分析,对目前我国企业供应链系统中供需协调的绩效进行了分析,调查结果发现,中国企业之间合作关系在近年得到改善,在合作降低库存,快速交货等方面有了改善,但是合作信任度仍不高,高层的合作活动比较少。     

The impact of supply base complexity on disruptions and performance: the moderating effects of slack and visibility

In the face of increasing supply base complexity, organisations have to develop new ways to manage or mitigate risk. This paper investigates the impact of four dimensions of complexity on the frequency of disruptions and plant performance. We apply insights from organisational information processing theory to understand how organisations can mitigate against the impact of more frequent disruptions. We test the moderating effects of slack resources as a means to absorb the effects of disruptions and supply visibility as a means to improve the ability to handle disruptions. The model is tested with data from 264 supply chain management professionals. Our findings broadly support the original hypotheses and suggest that supply base complexity can increase the frequency of disruptions and reduce plant performance but that slack resources and visibility can help to mitigate the effects. The study offers valuable insights into the management of supply base complexity.     

A study on investments in the big data-driven supply chain,performance measures and organisational performance in Indian retail 4.0 context

The use of digital technologies such as ‘internet of things’ and ‘big data analytics’ have transformed the traditional retail supply chains into data-driven retail supply chains referred to as ‘Retail 4.0.’ These big data-driven retail supply chains have the advantage of providing superior products and services and enhance the customers shopping experience. The retailing industry in India is highly competitive and eager to transform into the environment of retail 4.0. The literature on big data in the supply chain has mainly focused on the applications in manufacturing industries and therefore needs to be further investigated on how the big data-driven retail supply chains influence the supply chain performance. Therefore, this study investigates how the retailing 4.0 context in India is influencing the existing supply chain performance measures and what effect it has on the organisational performance. The findings of the study provide valuable insights for retail supply chain practitioners on planning BDA investments. Based on a survey of 380 respondents selected from retail organisations in India, this study uses governance structure as the moderating variable. Implications for managers and future research possibilities are presented.