An integrative approach to assess environmental and economic sustainability in multi-tier supply chains

Abstract

Multi-tier supply chain sustainability is paramount to achieve corporate sustainability, due to the significant impacts from organisations beyond the focal firm boundaries and its direct suppliers. However, including environmental considerations within the dominant profit-centric logic of supply chain related decisions is prone to generate sustainability tensions. This work aims to support organisations address tensions between sustainability dimensions by adopting an integrative approach for sustainable supply chain management performance assessment thanks to an innovative eco-intensity based performance assessment method, which achieves a balanced consideration of environmental and economic performance in a weak sustainability perspective. The method, using primary data sourced from actual practice and featuring an indirect multi-tier approach with decentralised responsibilities across organisations, is applied to a case study of a machinery supply chain. The proposed integrative approach can support addressing sustainability tensions in the area of sustainable supply chain management, facilitate sustainable supplier evaluation and identify supply chain hotspots for operational improvement.     

Green supply chain management practices in India: an empirical study

This paper presents an empirical study of green supply chain management (GSCM) practices in the Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in India. Although the research in the area of GSCM has grown in recent times, the literature has yet to furnish an accepted explanation for why green practices are to be manifested in supply chain management given external and internal pressures. These MSMEs have been involved in such green supply chain practices only to the extent of their participation as suppliers, distributors and in other capacities as business partners. This study confirms and validates that Indian MSMEs face significant pressures from external stakeholders to adopt GSCM practices. Among internal pressures, on-the-job training forces MSMEs in India to adopt GSCM practices. It has been also established that external pressures and adoption of GSCM are fully mediated by internal pressures.     

Honoring complexity in sustainable supply chain research: a rough set theoretic approach (SI:ResMeth)

Abstract

Sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) faces greater complexity because it considers additional stakeholder requirements, broader sustainable performance objectives, increased sustainable business practices and technologies, and relationships among those entities. These additional complexities make SSCM more difficult to manage and operate than traditional supply chains. Complex systems require new methods for research especially given reductionist research paradigms of modern science. Rough set theory (RST) can be a valuable tool that will help address complexity in SSCM research and practice. To exemplify RST usefulness and applicability, an illustrative application using sustainable supply chain practices (SSCP), and environmental and economic performance outcomes is introduced. The conceptual case provides nuanced insights for researchers and practitioners in mitigating and evaluating various SSCM complexities. RST limitations and extensions are introduced.     

A School Feeding Supply Chain Framework: Critical Factors for Sustainable Program Design

School feeding is an established development aid intervention with multiple objectives including education, nutrition, and value transfer. Traditionally run by international organizations in low‐income settings, school feeding programs have had a substantial impact in many less‐developed countries. However, recent rethinking by the World Bank and the World Food Programme has prompted a shift toward long‐term, sustainable solutions that rely more upon local resources, local capacity, and community participation. Supply chain management, which is critical to program delivery, is vital to developing a sustainable approach to school feeding. We propose a theoretical framework that identifies the internal and external factors that shape the supply chain and connects them to the objectives and performance measures of sustainable programs. Drawing upon supply chain management theory, current school feeding practices, and expert feedback, this article contributes to development aid logistics and program transitioning with a focus on sustainable program design. It aims to provide a comprehensive introduction to school feeding and relevant supply chain issues, a framework to identify sustainability problems in school feeding supply chains, and a starting point for further research on program design.     

Supply chain contamination: An exploratory approach on the collateral effects of negative corporate events

The present work investigates the impact of negative events on supply chain partners. Through a contextualised discussion of the literature on supply chains and on the efficient market hypothesis, it is proposed that negative events negatively impact the market value of suppliers and customers. Following an exploratory approach, 307 companies (21 source companies, 158 suppliers and 128 customers) comprehending 20 cases of environmental disaster, corporate social irresponsibility, operational failure, corporate fraud and corruption were analysed. Results show that in 12 out of the 20 cases investigated supply chain partners indeed had their market value penalised, encompassing, to a greater or lesser degree, all five categories of cases considered. Yet, while both suppliers and customers absorbed the outcomes of negative events, suppliers seem to be at greater risk of sustaining such losses. Likewise, cases in which the source companies were also negatively affected seem to be slightly more prone to cause losses among suppliers and customers. In this sense, the concept of supply chain contamination is coined to address the observed outcomes. The study offers new insights into the applicability of the efficient market hypothesis and contributes to the assessment of the dissemination of negative events in supply chains, a theme that, despite its potential detrimental consequences for firms and stakeholders, has not yet been sufficiently treated in the Management literature.     

Collaboration and Coordination in Supply Chain Management and E‐Commerce

Research in Supply Chain Management and Electronic Commerce has grown dramatically in the past decade as firms have intensified efforts to streamline operations and improve service to a diverse and demanding customer base. Central to this theme is the need for firms to look outside of their organizations for opportunities to collaborate and coordinate with partners to ensure that the supply chain is both efficient and responsive to dynamic market needs. Such collaboration and coordination opportunities introduce new challenges and complexities as a result of increased problem scale and scope, and potentially conflicting incentives among different supply chain players. Motivated by these new challenges, this special issue explores a range of coordination and collaboration problems, stressing the role of information and associated technologies in facilitating and enabling supply chain integration.     

我国战略性新兴产业间供应链企业协同创新演化博弈研究

在新兴技术深度交叉融合的新模式下,供应链企业协同创新是加快产业链向高端化延伸的重要途径。本文基于战略性新兴产业的战略性和新兴性,考虑社会效应及市场风险收益因素,构建战略性新兴产业之间供应链企业的演化博弈模型,研究数据库营销成熟度在内的多种因素的影响,通过案例仿真进行验证并分析在市场机制失灵时,政府调控的作用效果。研究结果表明：数据库营销成熟度、协同创新产生的信息流和技术量、技术收益系数和社会效益系数以及损益障碍因子等因素对系统趋于协同创新方向演化具有正向作用;在市场机制失灵时,政府采取成本补贴的激励效果更加高效快速,成果奖励的驱动力更加持久,两种激励手段相结合的方式最优;中等程度的监管力度及低于搭便车收益程度的惩罚并不能保证企业间的公平竞争,高于阈值的惩罚力度才能够有效抑制搭便车收益与前景损益的负向影响,驱动系统向协同创新的方向演化,且惩罚力度越高,系统的收敛速度越快。     

Competition and Coordination in a Two‐Channel Supply Chain

We study competition and coordination in a supply chain in which a single supplier both operates a direct channel and sells its product through multiple differentiated retailers. We study analytically the supply chain with symmetric retailers and find that the supplier prefers to have as many retailers as possible in the market, even if the retailers' equilibrium retail price is lower than that of the supplier, and even if the number of retailers and their cost or market advantage prevent sales through the direct channel. We find that the two‐channel supply chain may be subject to inefficiencies not present in the single‐channel supply chain. We show that several contracts known to coordinate a single‐channel supply chain do not coordinate the two‐channel supply chain; thus we propose a linear quantity discount contract and demonstrate its ability to perfectly coordinate the two‐channel supply chain with symmetric retailers. We provide some analytical results for the supply chain with asymmetric retailers and propose an efficient solution approach for finding the equilibrium. We find numerically that the supplier still benefits from having more retailers in the market and that linear quantity discount contracts can mitigate supply chain inefficiency, though they no longer achieve perfect coordination.     

Competitive supply chain network design: An overview of classifications,models, solution techniques and applications

Supply chain network design (SCND) determines the structure of a chain and affects its costs and performance. SCND deals with a variety of decisions such as determining number, size and location of facilities in a supply chain (SC) and may include tactical decisions (such as distribution, transportation and inventory management policies) as well as operational decisions (such as fulfilling customers demand). SCND has a voluminous literature. Most of the literature deals with a single SC and ignores the existing competitor SCs and future emerging ones. However, SCs compete together to capture more market shares. Even if there is not any competitor at the moment, SCs should be prepared for possible future competitive situation at the SCND stage. On the other hand, many competitive models assume that the supply chain network (SCN) and its structure already exist. Few research papers consider both aspects of design and competition. In this paper, we provide a review of SCND literature and highlight the effects of competitive environment on SCND. We review, classify, and introduce the major features of the proposed models in both SCND and competition literature. After investigating proposed competitive SCND models we develop a general framework for modeling the competitive SCND problems considering managerial insight and propose potential areas for future research.     

Evaluating barriers to implementing green supply chain management: An example from an emerging economy

Abstract

This study proposes a fuzzy-based VIKOR (VIseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje) framework for evaluating barriers to implementing green supply chain management (GSCM) in the context of an emerging economy. The methodology uses a mix method approach combining literature review and opinions of some selected managers from the plastic industry of Bangladesh to identify four main-barriers and twenty-five sub-barriers relevant to GSCM implementation. Fuzzy-VIKOR approach was applied to aid in the analysis of the barriers in the plastic industry of Bangladesh. The findings of the study show the order/rank of intensity and severity of the main-barriers to implementing GSCM practices in the plastic industry of Bangladesh as follows: ‘inadequate knowledge and support’, ‘insufficient technology and infrastructure’, ‘financial constraints and unsupportive organizational’ and ‘operational policies’. The results also show the rankings of the sub-barriers under each main barriers. This research contributes to the literature in a number of ways. First, it identifies multi-levels of barriers to GSCM implementation. Secondly, it identifies and proposes alternative action plans (strategies) to help mitigate and implement GSCM practices. Though this study has significant contributions, a number of limitations do exist. The barriers in this study were identified using the extant literature review and industrial managers’ opinions. A more scientific approach and empirical validation is required, especially in the plastic manufacturing industry of Bangladesh to identify more new challenging barriers. However, this study can provide managers with a better understanding of the barriers to implementing GSCM practices and motivate the researchers to further extend the investigation on the insights for developing strategic plans for implementing GSCM practices in the plastic industry of Bangladesh.     

A knowledge chain management framework to support integrated decisions in global supply chains

Knowledge management has been identified as a key enabler to achieve organisation’s value chain competitiveness. It, however, has been facing fresh challenges in a global supply chain setting. This paper proposes a global knowledge chain management (GKCM) framework that identifies and prioritises critical knowledge that a global supply chain can focus on to support integrated decisions. The framework explores three types of global context knowledge, namely global market knowledge, global capacity knowledge and global supply network configuration knowledge. Empirical study has been undertaken within the manufacturing industry to evaluate the GKCM framework. Analytic network process has been explored as a key method to assess the importance of the global knowledge constructs from supply chain managers’ perspectives. A key contribution of the paper is that it advances existing knowledge chain management approaches within one organisation and its local supply chain to include the global context knowledge applicable to global manufacturing settings, and highlights how the GKCM framework can support global supply chain integrated decisions.     

考虑平台数据赋能的电商供应链成本分担策略选择研究

近年来,平台型电商企业纷纷开始凭借其在数智化领域的优势赋能供应链成员,这极大地影响了电商供应链成员的运营决策和收益。本文考察了由一个平台型电商企业和一个线上零售商构成的供应链系统中,在平台型电商企业数据赋能,且线上零售商同时进行数据运用投入的情境下,零售商会在何种条件下接受数据赋能,以及怎样的成本分担机制更有助于发挥数据赋能的作用,实现供应链成员的共赢。本文从报童模型出发,运用建模的方法进行探讨,研究表明,只有双方数据运用合作所增加的成本较低时,零售商才会选择接受数据赋能。本文还分析了分散决策、零售商分担平台型电商企业的数据赋能成本,以及平台型电商企业分担零售商的数据运用投入成本三种情境下的决策均衡,指出供应链成员的数据运用效率是影响成本分担策略选择的重要因素,平台型电商企业和零售商均倾向于分担数据运用效率高的一方的成本。     

Traceability and Risk Analysis Strategies for Addressing Counterfeit Electronics in Supply Chains for Complex Systems

Within the microelectronics industry, there is a growing concern regarding the introduction of counterfeit electronic parts into the supply chain. Even though this problem is widespread, there have been limited attempts to implement risk‐based approaches for testing and supply chain management. Supply chain risk management tends to focus on the highly visible disruptions of the supply chain instead of the covert entrance of counterfeits; thus counterfeit risk is difficult to mitigate. This article provides an overview of the complexities of the electronics supply chain, and highlights some gaps in risk assessment practices. In particular, this article calls for enhanced traceability capabilities to track and trace parts at risk through various stages of the supply chain. Placing the focus on risk‐informed decision making through the following strategies is needed, including prioritization of high‐risk parts, moving beyond certificates of conformance, incentivizing best supply chain management practices, adoption of industry standards, and design and management for supply chain resilience.     

Emerging Market Penetration,Inventory Supply,and Financial Performance

Realizing potential benefits from emerging market penetration requires firms to address inherent supply chain challenges. A major challenge is for firms to manage costly inventories to address demand and supply risks in emerging markets. However, emerging market penetration may offer opportunities for firms to lower inventory levels, reduce costs, and improve operating performance. Using data for 482 manufacturing firms over the 5‐year period, 2003–2007, obtained from the COMPUSTAT Industrial and Segment Databases, this article examines the relationships between emerging market penetration, inventory supply, and financial performance. Our results show that a multinational firm's sales penetration into emerging markets is associated with fewer days of inventory supply and improved financial performance. As emerging market penetration may allow firms to operate with lower inventory supply, the positive effect from emerging market penetration, such as labor cost reductions, may be enhanced due to inventory cost savings.     

Adaptive Tactical Pricing in Multi‐Agent Supply Chain Markets Using Economic Regimes

In today's complex and dynamic supply chain markets, information systems are essential for effective supply chain management. Complex decision making processes on strategic, tactical, and operational levels require substantial timely support in order to contribute to organizations' agility. Consequently, there is a need for sophisticated dynamic product pricing mechanisms that can adapt quickly to changing market conditions and competitors' strategies. We propose a two‐layered machine learning approach to compute tactical pricing decisions in real time. The first layer estimates prevailing economic conditions—economic regimes—identifying and predicting current and future market conditions. In the second layer, we train a neural network for each regime to estimate price distributions in real time using available information. The neural networks compute offer acceptance probabilities from a tactical perspective to meet desired sales quotas. We validate our approach in the trading agent competition for supply chain management. When competing against the world's leading agents, the performance of our system significantly improves compared to using only economic regimes to predict prices. Profits increase significantly even though the prices and sales volume do not change significantly. Instead, tactical pricing results in a more efficient sales strategy by reducing both finished goods and components inventory costs.     

Resilience metrics in the assessment of complex supply-chains performance operating under demand uncertainty

The design and planning of resilient supply chains is a major challenge due to the increasing complexity of these systems that operate in a global market and therefore are more exposed to disruptions. In the present work a design and planning model that integrates demand uncertainty is applied to five supply chain structures that are submitted to different types of disruptions. Disruptions are modelled in a probabilistic manner, resulting in the incorporation of two sources of uncertainty. Eleven indicators are considered to assess the supply chains’ resilience, which comprise network design, centralization and operational indicators. The goal is to provide managers what are expected operational impacts (measured by the operational indicators) by assessing the behavior of network and centralization indicators and their known resilience behaviors from the literature. A case study of a European supply chain is used to illustrate the methodology and a discussion on the results obtained is presented in order to conclude which main characteristics a manager should consider when designing and planning resilient supply chains.     

分形供应链的自相似性与其评价模型

供应链管理是企业在当前日益激烈的竞争环境中为提高核心竞争力而形成发展起来的管理方法。由于市场需求及运作环境的变化日愈加快,传统的稳健型供应链模型逐渐向具有更高敏捷度的动态供应链模型进化。但动态供应链往往因过于关注敏捷性而导致资源整合周期长、运作失衡等问题。为了平衡供应链构建及运作的灵活性和稳定性,本文提出了基于分形理论的具有自相似、自组织、自优化功能的可重构分形供应链。对其构建及运作模型进行了阐述,并着重利用分形方法对分形供应链的自相似性及相似性进行了研究,给出了基于分形方法的定量评价相似度的数学模型。     

A decision support system for a third-party coordinator managing supply chain with demand uncertainty

Global supply chains reduce cost but increase lead times, complexities and uncertainties. Retailers in consumer products industry are getting shorter lead time to respond to market demand. To meet this challenge, many rely on third party supply chain managers (SCMs) for economically supplying required quantities of finished products quickly. However, due to shorter ‘time to market’, the SCM has to procure raw materials and start production process based on expected demand. Since SCM absorbs financial penalties associated with under- and over-estimation of demand from retailer, finding an optimal production lot size and product customisation strategy are essential to an SCM's operation. We develop a profit maximisation model and provide a close-form solution that allows an SCM to calculate optimal production lot size. The model is used to examine profitability of postponing product customisation. Finally, the effect of demand variation on SCM's profitability is explored.     

Supply Chain Knowledge and Performance: A Meta‐Analysis

Many firms make significant investments into developing and managing knowledge within their supply chains. Such investments are often prudent because studies indicate that supply chain knowledge (SCK) has a positive influence on performance. Key questions still surround the SCK–performance relationship, however. First, what is the overall relationship between SCK and performance? Second, under what conditions is the relationship stronger or weaker? To address these questions, we applied meta‐analysis to 35 studies of the SCK–performance relationship that collectively include more than 8,400 firms. Our conservative estimate is that the effect size of the overall relationship is  = .39. We also find that the SCK–performance relationship is stronger when (i) examining operational performance, (ii) gathering data from more than one supply chain node, (iii) gathering data from multiple countries, (iv) examining service industries, and (v) among more recently published studies. We also found that studies that embraced a single theory base (as opposed to using multiple ones) had a stronger SCK–performance relationship. Looking to the future, our meta‐analysis highlights the need for studies to (i) include lags between the measurement of SCK and performance, (ii) gather upstream data when examining innovation, (iii) examine SCK within emerging countries, and (iv) provide much more information relative to the nuances of the SCK examined.     

买方市场时效性产品的供应链弹性契约优化模型

在买方市场环境下,产品越来越具有时效性,寿命周期越来越短,为了规避风险,经销商往往不以实际预测量来订货。针对该问题,本文在已有的数量弹性契约研究的基础上,以激励相容理论和供应链理论为理念,引入回购契约的方法,提出了一个可以激励经销商的弹性契约优化模型,弥补了弹性契约的不足。用一个算例分析检验了该模型,结果表明,通过调节批发价格和返利比例来引导经销商的订货量趋势,当经销商期望利润最大的订货量与市场平均需求相等时,经销商会客观地估测未来需求量并报给制造商,同时制造商还在此基础上确定具体批发价格和返利比例以使自己利润最大化,从而使经销商与制造商共担供应链环节中的市场风险,并共同为优化整体供应链做出努力。