The Ripple effect in supply chains: trade-off ‘efficiency-flexibility-resilience’ in disruption management

This study aims at presenting the Ripple effect in supply chains. It develops different dimensions of the Ripple effect and summarises recent developments in the field of supply chain (SC) disruption management from a multi-disciplinary perspective. It structures and classifies existing research streams and applications areas of different quantitative methods to the Ripple effect analysis as well as identifying gaps in current research and delineating future research avenues. The analysis shows that different frameworks already exist implicitly for tackling the Ripple effect in the SC dynamics, control and disruption management domain. However, quantitative analysis tools are still rarely applied in praxis. We conclude that the Ripple effect can be the phenomenon that is able to consolidate research in SC disruption management and recovery similar to the bullwhip effect regarding demand and lead time fluctuations. This may build the agenda for future research on SC dynamics, control, continuity and disruption management, making supply chains more robust, adaptable and profitable.     

A note on “Modelling an industrial strategy for inventory management in supply chains: the ‘Consignment Stock’ case”

Braglia and Zavanella [2003, Modeling an industrial strategy for inventory management in supply chains: the ‘consignment stock’ care, International Journal of Production Research, 41 (16), 3793–3808] proposed an analytic formulation of consignment stock (CS) policy and made a comparison with Hill [1999, The optimal production and shipment policy for a single-vendor, single-buyer integrated production-inventory problem. International Journal of Production Research, 37 (11), 2463–2473] model. Through dividing per unit holding cost into a financial and a storage one the present note extends their conclusion and shows whether the CS model offers lower costs depends on the comparative result of buyer's and vendor's storage costs.     

Thermal pre-treatment in the OSL dating of quartz: is it necessary?

Thermal treatment before optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) measurement is an important step in all widely accepted OSL dating procedures used with quartz. This is a major constraint on the design of a portable luminescence instrument for estimating ages in the field. Preliminary experiments show that using a standard dating protocol without heating caused a 30-50% underestimation of equivalent dose. This underestimate arises mainly from OSL derived from the 110 degrees C thermoluminescence (TL) trap; because of the thermal instability of this trap, this OSL contribution is only present in unheated laboratory-regenerated signals, but not in the natural signal. An alternative to thermal pre-treatment is investigated, based on the mathematical separation of the stable dosimetry OSL signal from the total OSL; the latter is the sum of signals from several traps, including the 110 degrees C TL trap. Our results show consistency with dose estimates obtained using a standard measurement protocol including pre-heating.     

Optimal collection and remanufacturing decisions in reverse supply chains with collector’s imperfect sorting

We consider a reverse supply chain comprising two independent companies: the collector and the remanufacturer. The collector is responsible for sorting the collected used products and then transporting the ‘remanufacturable’ items to the remanufacturer. As sorting is not perfectly accurate, the misclassification errors affect the optimal decisions in the reverse supply chain. We focus on the optimal collection quantity for the collector and the optimal order quantity for the remanufacturer using game theory under both deterministic and uncertain demand. We characterise the optimal solution and show that under certain conditions, the remanufacturer should allow the collector to transport more ‘remanufacturables’ than the order quantity. We then examine the case where both the collector and the remanufacturer belong to a single company with centralised decision-making and compare the optimal collection quantities under both structures of the reverse supply chain.     

What is going on in magnesium alloys?

China has been developed into one of the most active regions in terms of both fundamental and applied research on magnesium (Mg) and its alloys in the world from a solid base laid by its prominent metallurgist and materials scientists over the past decades. Nowadays, a large number of young-generation researchers have been inspired by their predecessors and become the key participants in the fields of Mg alloys, which consequently led to the establishment of China Youth Scholar Society for Magnesium Alloys Research in 2015. Since then, the first two China Youth Scholars Symposiums on Mg Alloys Research had been held at Harbin (2015) and Chongqing (2016) China, respectively. A number of crucial research interests related to fundamental and applied Mg research were discussed at the conferences and summarized in this short perspective, aiming to boost far-reaching initiatives for development of new Mg-based materials to satisfy the requirements for a broad range of industrial employments. Herein, four main aspects are included as follows: i) Plastic deformation mechanism and strengthening strategy, ii) Design and development of new Mg-based materials, iii) Key service properties, and iv) New processing technologies.     

Distributed project scheduling with information sharing in supply chains: part I—an agent-based negotiation model

Distributed project scheduling problem (DPSP) in supply chains is concerned with configuration and scheduling of multiple projects in a network of independent and autonomous enterprises. Individual enterprises must collaborate with each other during two main stages: the configuration of a project—selection of contractors for performing project operations and the project scheduling—determining when the operations start. However, the collaboration is especially difficult because none of these enterprises holds the global information about the entire supply chain and all constituent enterprises. Instead, they have to capitalize whatever information is shared between them in order to solve their own local problems in a distributed and autonomous fashion. It is essential for the solution process to strike an overall balance between effectiveness and efficiency. The research, reported in this two-part paper, is aimed at proposing a negotiation-based algorithm for solving DPSP. Its emphasis is how to improve the convergence and quality of the solution by taking advantage of inter-enterprise information sharing especially the sharing of schedule flexibility information (SFI). The first part of this paper describes a new agent-based approach to DPSPs in supply chains while the second part will present detailed discussion on the theoretical and experimental analysis.     

What is the role of value-added service in a remanufacturing closed-loop supply chain?

While the previous literature overlooks value-added service in a closed-loop supply chain (CLSC), we consider new research problems with embedding value-added service into remanufacturing models. In this paper, we mainly study the role of value-added service in a CLSC and investigate how the value-added service influences profits and other decision variables. Then, we evaluate the performance of the CLSC in different service structures, where a manufacturer or a retailer provide the value-added service. Systematic comparisons and numerical studies show that the supply chain is more effective when service is provided by a manufacturer rather than by a retailer. Also, value-added service improves the whole supply chain performance and plays a regulatory role in a CLSC and influences the decisions of supply chain members. We also show that while a service cost-sharing mechanism can only optimise rather than achieve the supply chain coordination, and the degree of optimisation depends on cost-sharing percentage, the two-part tariff contract can be an effective mechanism to coordinate decentralised service scenarios by generating the same supply chain performance in a centralised service architecture model.     

Distributed project scheduling with information sharing in supply chains: part II—theoretical analysis and computational study

The first part of this paper (Lau, J.S.K., Huang, G.Q. and Mak, K.L., Distributed project scheduling with information sharing in supply chains: part I—agent-based negotiation algorithm. Int. J. Prod. Res., 2005, 43, 4813–4838) has outlined the background of this research. The paper proposes and demonstrates a new negotiation-based algorithm (NEG) for solving distributed project scheduling problems (DPSP). This new algorithm not only acknowledges and accommodates the autonomy and independence of individual enterprises in making decisions in the entire supply chain, but also takes advantage of limited information shared among them to improve the quality and efficiency. This second paper will conduct a thorough theoretical analysis and computational study on the proposed algorithm. The theoretical analysis shows that the algorithm converges such that schedules of project and contractor agents do not have conflicts. The computational study reveals that NEG performs better than a centralized heuristic and contract net protocols in terms of the solution quality (e.g. total operating cost). Computational efficiency of NEG is also reasonably comparable and competitive to the extent that good quality solutions can be obtained within an affordable time limit.     

Study on themes and authors’ influence of open access in China

Using Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure as the data resource, this paper searched some papers about open access (OA). Some Visual Basic for Applications programs were developed to generate the co-word matrix, compute the E-index value of keywords as well as the density and centrality of thematic clusters. Callon’s clustering method was also used to generate keywords clusters. Then, co-word analysis method and strategic diagrams were utilized to detect the main research themes as well as explore the development situation and status of these research themes. Furthermore, author-themes coupling network was mapped with the help of Netdraw in order to detect the relationship between core authors and research themes of OA as well as the core authors’ influence on these themes. Based on this, some conclusions were got in the end.     

Who is in control of road safety? A STAMP control structure analysis of the road transport system in Queensland,Australia

Despite significant progress, road trauma continues to represent a global safety issue. In Queensland (Qld), Australia, there is currently a focus on preventing the ‘fatal five’ behaviours underpinning road trauma (drug and drink driving, distraction, seat belt wearing, speeding, and fatigue), along with an emphasis on a shared responsibility for road safety that spans road users, vehicle manufacturers, designers, policy makers etc. The aim of this article is to clarify who shares the responsibility for road safety in Qld and to determine what control measures are enacted to prevent the fatal five behaviours. This is achieved through the presentation of a control structure model that depicts the actors and organisations within the Qld road transport system along with the control and feedback relationships that exist between them. Validated through a Delphi study, the model shows a diverse set of actors and organisations who share the responsibility for road safety that goes beyond those discussed in road safety policies and strategies. The analysis also shows that, compared to other safety critical domains, there are less formal control structures in road transport and that opportunities exist to add new controls and strengthen existing ones. Relationships that influence rather than control are also prominent. Finally, when compared to other safety critical domains, the strength of road safety controls is brought into question.     

Examining the influence of supply chain glitches on shareholder wealth: does the reason matter?

This paper investigates how different reasons for supply chain glitches influence shareholder wealth. Prior research indicated that supply chain glitches can decrease shareholder wealth by a staggering 10.28%. We argue that the reason for the supply chain glitch is an important moderator for understanding how supply chain glitches affect shareholder wealth. In this paper we re-assess the effect of supply chain glitches on shareholder wealth for a new time period (i.e. 2001–2012) whilst including the moderators from the original study (growth prospects, firm size, debt-equity ratio and timing) and adding the reason for the supply chain glitch as an important new moderator. Our results show that on average supply chain glitches decrease shareholder wealth by 1.94%. Further, our results indicate that supply chain glitches that arise due to regulatory, catastrophic and infrastructural reasons trigger more significant negative reactions in financial markets as compared with glitches that occur from the supply side. We discuss the implications of our findings both for theory building and for business practice, and end with limitations and suggestions for future research.     

Commentary on the paper by Heimrich Kanis entitled ‘Reliability and validity of findings in ergonomics research’: where is the methodology in ergonomics methods?

This paper is a commentary on Kanis’ target paper in this issue. Kanis raised deficiencies in the reporting of reliability and validity of ergonomics methods in the literature and proposes a framework for the future. This paper applauds the approach and extends it. Despite the proliferation of ergonomics methods, there is a paucity of data on reliability and validity. There are many other aspects of the methods’ performance that could be reported as well, including the utility of the method. The structure of method reporting would benefit from some standardisation to enable comparison of approaches and usability of the method itself. It is also understood that the gathering of data on reliability and validity will be ongoing, as methods evolve and domain boundaries are crossed.     

Study on transformation characteristics of carbides in an 8?% Cr roller steel

The characteristics of carbide transformation in an 8 % Cr roller steel under the conditions of equilibrium, slow heating, and isothermal treatment were investigated using thermodynamic calculation, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. The carbides under equilibrium conditions were identified as MC, M₂₃C₆, and M₇C₃ types. The austenite transformation onset and finish temperatures, Ac₁ and Ac₃, were 745 and 780 °C, respectively. M₂₃C₆ decomposition took place at 820–850 °C and M₇C₃ at 1060–1130 °C, under slow heating conditions. Quantitative relationships were obtained between the isothermal conditions and average carbide size and aspect ratio, which increased with increasing holding temperature and time.     

Myocardial stunning in hemodialysis: What is the overall message?

Heart failure and cardiovascular events are common in chronic renal failure. Hemodialysis (HD) causes significant hemodynamic changes and hypotension. New evidence based on intradialytic echocardiography demonstrates transient cardiac dysfunction or stunning in majority of chronic HD patients. Over time, this group may progress to chronic heart failure and appears to predict higher cardiovascular events and mortality. Although the exact etiology is unclear, alterations in HD technique and cardiac medications may reduce this complication. We review the current understanding of acute cardiac stunning during HD and present a systematic management algorithm to optimizing overall outcomes in this high-risk population.     

The impact of third-party remanufacturing on the forward supply chain: a blessing or a curse?

It is widely agreed that the entry of third-party remanufacturers (TPRs) hurts original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) because remanufacturing cannibalises the new product sales. In this paper, motivated by the practice of mobile phone remanufacturing, we develop a game theoretical model to revisit the impact of third-party remanufacturing on a forward supply chain in which one OEM purchases critical components from one dominant supplier. The OEM may operate the remanufacturing business as cost-efficient as the TPR. Our analytical results show that regardless of the OEM’s remanufacturing capability, third-party remanufacturing could be beneficial to the OEM in that the supplier would lower the wholesale price as a response to the entry of the TPR; in addition, compared with the case without remanufacturing, third-party remanufacturing is always detrimental to the supplier, but the supplier should not always attempt to deter the entry of the TPR because third-party remanufacturing could be less detrimental than the OEM’s in-house remanufacturing. Under certain conditions, the two players in the forward supply chain both prefer third-party remanufacturing over in-house remanufacturing. The key intuition driving this finding is that third-party remanufacturing makes the OEM and the supplier allied; while in-house remanufacturing makes them against each other.     

Self-regulation of motor vehicle advertising: is it working in Australia?

There is growing concern that certain content within motor vehicle advertising may have a negative influence on driving attitudes and behaviours of viewers, particularly young people, and hence a negative impact on road safety. In response, many developed countries have adopted a self-regulatory approach to motor vehicle advertising. However, it appears that many motor vehicle advertisements in Australia and elsewhere are not compliant with self-regulatory codes. Using standard commercial advertising methods, we exposed three motor vehicle ads that had been the subject of complaints to the Australian Advertising Standards Board (ASB) to, N = 463, 14–55 year olds to assess the extent to which their perceptions of the content of the ads communicated themes that were contrary to the Australian self-regulatory code. All three ads were found to communicate messages contrary to the code (such as the vehicle's speed and acceleration capabilities). However, the ASB had upheld complaints about only one of the ads. Where motor vehicle advertising regulatory frameworks exist to guide motor vehicle advertisers as to what is and what is not acceptable in their advertising, greater efforts are needed to ensure compliance with these codes. One way may be to make it mandatory for advertisers to report consumer pre-testing of their advertising to ensure that undesirable messages are not being communicated to viewers.