Evaluating the supply chain performance of IT-based inter-enterprise collaboration

With the use of IT, the nature of business processes has changed from intra- to cross-enterprise. This has significantly altered enterprise interactions with suppliers and customers. Collaboration is essential for successful supply chain performance. In recent years a variety of initiatives have been adopted by industries. These attempted to create efficiency and effectiveness through integration of the activities and processes. However, enterprises can only gain significant benefits by mass collaboration. Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR), which result in deeper partnerships, have become an important factor in supply chains. We investigated the performance of CPFR; it possesses formalized guidelines and is a relatively new initiative. By using simulation, we investigated four CPFR alternatives that are used in the adoption of collaboration strategies in industries. Retailers have traditionally played the hub role in supply chains in order to reduce the bullwhip effect, but our simulation confirmed that shifting the retailer (buyer-driven) collaboration to a manufacturer (supplier-driven) approach was a more viable option.     

Risk assessment and management for supply chain networks: A case study

The aim of this study is to show how a timed Petri nets framework can be used to model and analyze a supply chain (SC) network which is subject to various risks. The method is illustrated by an industrial case study. We first investigate the disruption factors of the SC network by a failure mode, effects and criticality analysis (FMECA) technique. We then integrate the risk management procedures into design, planning, and performance evaluation process of supply chain networks through Petri net (PN) based simulation. The developed PN model provides an efficient environment for defining uncertainties in the system and evaluating the added value of the risk mitigation actions. The findings of the case study shows that the system performance can be improved using risk management actions and the overall system costs can be reduced by mitigation scenarios.     

A study of emergency management of supply chain under supply disruption

Emergency is an important factor resulting in supply disruption risk. How to deal with emergency in supply chain arouses managers’ and researchers’ attention in recent years. In order to improve the effect of supply disruption risk management under this situation, this paper builds the supply disruption Emergency Management Model of supply chain from the angle of risk management and discusses whether the decision-making mechanism of the case-based reasoning can bring the better effect for supply disruption by using computational experiment. The results mainly show that the mechanism of risk assessment, risk identification, risk control and risk evaluation based on the case-based reasoning can effectively deal with supply disruption risk, and bring more profit and better service level for the members of supply chain.     

A hybrid intelligent approach for supply chain management system

The process of supplier selection is one of the key processes in the industry since the suppliers play a key role in regards to the competitive advantage. It is therefore important to identify and select good suppliers. Supplier selection can be considered a decision-making problem with many criteria, which include both qualitative and quantitative elements, such as; purchase cost, quality level, supplier risk etc. The best process to be designed for selecting the suppliers may require a compromise in terms of these elements. A general framework, which combines Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), Fuzzy AHP and Genetic Algorithm (GA) in order to determine the best set of suppliers, is proposed in this study.     

A group decision making support system in logistics and supply chain management

PurposeThe paper proposes a decision support system for selecting logistics providers based on the quality function deployment (QFD) and the technique for order preference by the similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) for agricultural supply chain in France. The research provides a platform for group decision making to facilitate decision process and check the consistency of the outcomes.MethodologyThe proposed model looks at the decision problem from two points of view considering both technical and customer perspectives. The main customer criteria are confidence in a safe and durable product, emission of pollutants and hazardous materials, social responsibility, etc. The main technical factors are financial stability, quality, delivery condition, services, etc. based on the literature review. The second stage in the adopted methodology is the combination of quality function deployment and the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution to effectively analyze the decision problem. In final section we structure a group decision system called GRoUp System (GRUS) which has been developed by Institut de Recherche en Informatique de Toulouse (IRIT) in the Toulouse University.ResultsThis paper designs a group decision making system to interface decision makers and customer values in order to aid agricultural partners and investors in the selection of third party logistic providers. Moreover, we have figured out a decision support system under fuzzy linguistic variables is able to assist agricultural parties in uncertain situations. This integrated and efficient decision support system enhances quality and reliability of the decision making.Novelty/OriginalityThe novelty of this paper is reflected by several items. The integration of group multi-criteria decision tools enables decision makers to obtain a comprehensive understanding of customer needs and technical requirements of the logistic process. In addition, this investigation is carried out under a European commission project called Risk and Uncertain Conditions for Agriculture Production Systems (RUC-APS) which models risk reduction and elimination from the agricultural supply chain. Ultimately, we have implemented the decision support tool to select the best logistic provider among France logistics and transportation companies.     

A computerized causal forecasting system using genetic algorithms in supply chain management

Forecasting activities are widely performed in the various areas of supply chains for predicting important supply chain management (SCM) measurements such as demand volume in order management, product quality in manufacturing processes, capacity usage in production management, traffic costs in transportation management, and so on. This paper presents a computerized system for implementing the forecasting activities required in SCM. For building a generic forecasting model applicable to SCM, a linear causal forecasting model is proposed and its coefficients are efficiently determined using the proposed genetic algorithms (GA), canonical GA and guided GA (GGA). Compared to canonical GA, GGA adopts a fitness function with penalty operators and uses population diversity index (PDI) to overcome premature convergence of the algorithm. The results obtained from two case studies show that the proposed GGA provides the best forecasting accuracy and greatly outperforms the regression analysis and canonical GA methods. A computerized system was developed to implement the forecasting functions and is successfully running in real glass manufacturing lines.     

分布式数据库在商业供应链系统中的应用

随着网络中数据库应用的发展,使得分布式数据库的应用领域得到快速的扩展。针对商业流通企业大规模、分散式经营以及集团化管理的模式,提出了在商业供应链系统中采用分布式数据库的结构设计方案,对供应链系统的数据库体系进行了分析,对在数据库设计过程中的一些关键问题进行探讨并给出了解决方法。以Oracle 9i数据库系统为例,介绍了采用增量复制、分组、半连接技术,进行数据复制、解决数据冲突以及进行查询优化的实现方法。     

Sustainable supply chain optimisation: An industrial case study

Sustainability plays a key role in the management of a successful and responsible business. When trying to improve the sustainability performance of a business, there are three major challenges that need to be addressed. First, assessment of sustainability requires consideration of not just economic, but also environmental and social impacts. Second, we need to find appropriate sustainability indicators and gather the necessary data in order to quantify sustainability performance. Finally, sustainability has to be seen in the context of the whole system, i.e. it has to include all activities along the supply chain. In this work, we consider all three aspects and propose a multi-objective optimisation framework for the optimisation of a sustainable supply chain. Three sustainability indicators have been considered, namely the total cost, GHG emissions and lead time. We apply this framework to an industrial test case using real-world data drawn from a Dow Chemical business. The results show clear trade-offs between the three different objectives. However, we can also observe that typically a considerable decrease in GHG emissions or lead time can already be achieved by only a relatively small increase in cost. The proposed framework enables us to determine such trade-off relations and consequently make decisions that improve the sustainability performance of the supply chain.     

A flexible and adaptable planning and control system for an MTO supply chain system

Evolving consumer demand has led to the emergence of a new business era where change plays a dominant role. This new era has in turn posed a number of competences that supply chain systems need to posses so as to survive and prosper under change and uncertainty. The main aim of this work is to model the performance of an make-to-order (MTO) production environment that operates as part of a wider supply chain network under various control policies and identify the best performing ones. A simulation model has been created and used as a tool to help quantify the effects of three control policies on this MTO system. A number of performance metrics such as Work-in-process (WIP), tardiness, responsiveness and mean flow time have been considered to provide further insight into the impact of these three localised control policies. The three control policies implemented were push, and two modes of pull control, which are, CONWIP and tight pull.     

IT与供应链管理

随着市场竞争的加剧 ,供应链管理开始受到推崇。IT在促进供应链管理方面起着重要的作用。应用信息技术可以有效削弱供应链管理中的典型问题 -BW效应 ,提高供应链的运营水平。     

A study on inventory replenishment policies in a two-echelon supply chain system

Inventory control plays an important role in supply chain management. Properly controlled inventory can satisfy customers’ demands, smooth the production plans, and reduce the operation costs; yet failing to budget the inventory expenses may lead to serious consequences. The bullwhip effect, observed in many supply chain management cases, causes excessive inventory due to information distortion, i.e. the order amount is exaggerated while a minor demand variation occurs, and the information amplified dramatically as the supply chain moves to the upstream. In this paper, one of the main causes of bullwhip effect, order batching, is considered. A simplified two-echelon supply chain system, with one supplier and one retailer that can choose different replenishment policies, is used as a demonstration. Two types of inventory replenishment methods are considered: the traditional methods (the event-triggered and the time-triggered ordering policies), and the statistical process control (SPC) based replenishment method. The results show that the latter outperforms the traditional method in the categories of inventory variation, and in the number of backlog when the fill-rate of the prior model is set to be 99%. This research provides a different approach to inventory cost-down other than the common methods like: information sharing, order batch cutting, and lead time reduction. By choosing a suitable replenishment policy, the number of backorder and the cost of inventory can be reduced.     

Route planning model of multi-agent system for a supply chain management

Sometimes in travel planning, finding the best route to the road transportation network by considering the environmental conditions that are affecting the actual time travel of the travellers are vital especially in handling the logistic operations in supply chain management (SCM). Furthermore, the policy strategy is needed in order to influence the managers or drivers to find the optimum and the most effective route for a trip plan in supporting the logistic operations of SCM. In this paper we analyze the effectiveness of the coordination model of the environmental conditions that are affecting for the travelling time based on multi-agent system for a road transportation network for supply chain management. A number of experimental cases have been used to evaluate the proposed approach transportation network problems in some Malaysian cities. Finally, experimental results affirmed that the proposed approach is practical and efficient.     

Recommender systems as an agility enabler in supply chain management

Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing - In recent years, recommender systems have become necessary in overcoming the challenges related to the incredible growth of information. They are used in a...     

Dynamic mobile RFID-based supply chain control and management system in construction

Construction project control attempts to effectively obtain real-time information and enhance dynamic control and management via information sharing and analysis from involved participants of the projects to reduce construction conflicts and project delay. However, extending the construction project control system to job sites is considered inefficient since construction sites are unconventional practice. Integrating promising information technologies such as radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, mobile devices-PDA and web portals can help improve the effectiveness and convenience of information flow in construction supply chain control systems. Radio frequency identification is appropriate for various construction applications, and provides cost savings through increased speed and accuracy of data entry. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of a RFID-based supply chain management application called the mobile construction RFID-based dynamic supply chain management (M-ConRDSCM) system in construction projects, demonstrating that it responds efficiently and enhances the information flow among offices and sites in a construction supply chain environment. The M-ConRDSCM system is then applied to a selected case study involving a High-Tech factory building in Taiwan to verify the proposed methodology and demonstrate the effectiveness of information sharing of project control in the construction phase. The advantage of the M-ConRDSCM system lies not only in improving work efficiency for on-site engineers, but also in providing dynamic operation control and management to enable project participants to control the whole project. Moreover, this study presents a generic system architecture and its implementation.     

A review of soft computing applications in supply chain management

It is broadly recognised by global companies that supply chain management is one of the major core competencies for an organisation to compete in the marketplace. Organisational strategies are mainly concentrated on improvement of customer service levels as well as reduction of operational costs in order to maintain profit margins. Therefore supply chain performance has attracted researchers’ attention. A variety of soft computing techniques including fuzzy logic and genetic algorithms have been employed to improve effectiveness and efficiency in various aspects of supply chain management. Meanwhile, an increasing number of papers have been published to address related issues. The aim of this paper is to summarise the findings by a systematic review of existing research papers concerning the application of soft computing techniques to supply chain management. Some areas in supply chain management that have rarely been exposed in existing papers, such as customer relationship management and reverse logistics, are therefore suggested for future research.     

A comprehensive decision-making model for risk management of supply chain

Risk management of a supply chain (SC) has a great influence on the stability of dynamic cooperation among SC partners and hence very important for the performance of the SC operations as a whole. A suitable decision-making model is the cornerstone for the efficiency of SC risk management. We propose in this paper a decision-making model based on the internal triggering and interactive mechanisms in an SC risk system, which takes into account dual cycles, the operational process cycle (OPC) and the product life cycle (PLC). We explore the inter-relationship among the two cycles, SC organizational performance factors (OPF) and available risk operational practice (ROP), as well as the risk managerial elements in OPC and PLC. In particular, three types of relationship, bilateral, unilateral and inter-circulative ones, are analyzed and verified. We build this dynamic relation into SC risk managerial logic and design a corresponding decision-making path. Based on the analytic network process (ANP), a methodology is designed for an optimal selection of risk management methods and tools. A numerical example is provided as an operational guideline for how to apply it to tailor operational tactics in SC risk management. The results verify that this strategic decision model is a feasible access to the suitable risk operational tactics for practitioners.     

Knowledge management in supply chain: An empirical study from France

Supply chain management has assumed a leading operations strategy position in both manufacturing and service industries, and over the past 10 years companies have seriously implemented supply chain management strategies in their organizations. Knowledge management (KM) is a major enabler of supply chain management, and is a critical element in information intensive and multi-cultured enterprise environments. Realizing the importance of knowledge management in supply chain (SC), an attempt has been made in this paper to propose a conceptual framework for KM in SC and to validate the framework with help of an empirical study conducted with French companies. Finally, a summary of findings and conclusions is presented for KM in SC.     

A global supply chain risk management framework: An application of text-mining to identify region-specific supply chain risks

Nowadays global supply chains enable companies to enhance competitive advantages, increase manufacturing flexibility and reduce costs through a broader selection of suppliers. Despite these benefits, however, insufficient understanding of uncertain regional differences and changes often increases risks in supply chain operations and even leads to a complete disruption of a supply chain. This paper addresses this issue by proposing a text-mining based global supply chain risk management framework involving two phases. First, the extant literature about global supply chain risks was collected and analyzed using a text-based approaches, including term frequency, correlation, and bi-gram analysis. The results of these analyses revealed whether the term-related content is important in the studied literature, and correlated topic model clustering further assisted in defining potential supply chain risk factors. A risk categorization (hierarchy) containing a total of seven global supply chain risk types and underlying risk factors was developed based on the results. In the second phase, utilizing these risk factors, sentiment analysis was conducted on online news articles, selected according to the specific type of risk, to recognize the pattern of risk variation. The risk hierarchy and sentiment analysis results can improve the understanding of regional global supply chain risks and provide guidance in supplier selection.     

The impact of supply contracts on supply chain product-flow management

One of the performance issues faced by the supply chain (SC) is the competitive production and delivery of products to all partners of the SC. The supply contract linking the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) with its suppliers currently represents an important decision tool influencing the production and delivery of final products.     

A reference system for internet based inter-enterprise electronic commerce

As supply chain management and its global outsourcing are widely spread recently, many researches and development focus on integration of inter-enterprise information systems. The most important factors to achieve inter-enterprise integration are standardization and digitalization. The objectives of this work are to develop the reference model for internet based inter-enterprise electronic commerce and to implement a prototype system for its fundamental issues such as business process, information standards, and information system integration. The electronics assembly processes are chosen as the target industry. For the reference architecture of inter-enterprise electronic commerce, we also investigate intra-enterprise business processes and model them with IDEF0. The standard documents and its items are defined from analysis of traditional documents for outsourcing processes and EDI documents. For standard exchange method, web-based XML is adopted, and corresponding DTD and XSL for RFQ and Quotation are developed. In order to prove feasibility and effectiveness of the reference system a prototype system is introduced and implemented.