Bertelsmann China: Supply Chains for Books (A)

Author(s):  
Stephan M. Wagner ◽  
Viviane Heldt ◽  
Katrin Lentschig ◽  
Jennifer Meyer

The case of Bertelsmann China: Supply Chain for Books (A) focuses on one the world's leading media companies to illustrate a widespread problem in the supply chain strategy in extremely fast growing markets. Students learn about the basic challenges of supply chain strategy in an international context. The case covers important fields of management theory. Supply chain designs well as cost and performance drivers are revised by the use of frameworks.

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 568-602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samir K Srivastava ◽  
Atanu Chaudhuri ◽  
Rajiv K. Srivastava

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to carry out structural analysis of potential supply chain risks and performance measures in fresh food retail by applying interpretive structural modeling (ISM). Design/methodology/approach – Inputs were taken from industry experts in identifying and understanding interdependencies among food retail supply chain risks on different levels (sourcing and logistics outside the retail stores; storage and customer interface at the stores). Interdependencies among risks and their impact on performance measures are structured into a hierarchy in order to derive subsystems of interdependent elements to derive useful insights for theory and practice. Findings – Using the ISM approach the risks and performance measures were clustered according to their driving power and dependence power. Change in/inadequate government regulations’ are at the bottom level of the hierarchy implying highest driving power and require higher attention and focussed mitigation strategies. Risks like lack of traceability, transport delays/breakdowns and temperature abuse, cross-contamination in transport and storage have medium driver and dependence powers. Research limitations/implications – The approach is focussed on food retail supply chains in the Indian context and thereby limits the ability to generalize the findings. The academics and experts were selected on convenience and availability. Practical implications – It gives managers a better understanding of the risks and performance measures that have most influence on others (driving performance measures) and those measures which are most influenced by others (dependent performance measures) in fresh food retail and also a tool to prioritize them. This kind of information is strategic for managers who can use it to identify which performance measures they should concentrate on managing the trade-offs between measures. The findings and the applicability for practical use have been validated by both experts and practicing managers in food retail supply chains. Originality/value – The work is perhaps the first to link supply chain risks with performance and explains the propagation of risks in food retail supply chains. It contributes to theory by addressing a few research gaps and provides relevant managerial insights for practitioners.


Author(s):  
Antonina Tsvetkova ◽  
Britta Gammelgaard

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore how supply chain strategies emerge and evolve in response to contextual influence.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative single-case study presents the journey of a supply chain strategy, conceptualised as the idea of transport independence in the Russian Arctic context. Data from 18 semi-structured interviews, personal observations and archival materials are interpreted through the institutional concepts of translation and editing effects.FindingsThe study reveals how supply chain strategies evolve over time and can affect institutional factors. The case study further reveals how contextual conditions make a company reconsider its core competencies as well as the role of supply chain management practices. The findings show that strategy implementation through purposeful actions can represent a powerful resistance to contextual pressures and constraints, as well as being a facilitator of change in actual supply chains and their context. During the translation of the idea of transport independence into actions, the supply chain strategy transformed itself into a form of strategic collaboration and thereby made supply chains in the Russian Arctic more integrated than before.Research limitations/implicationsMore empirical studies on strategy implementation in interaction with contextual and institutional factors are suggested. An institutional process perspective is applied in this study but the authors suggest that future research should include a human dimension by an exploration of day-to-day routines and challenges that employees face when strategising and the actions they take.Originality/valueThe study provides an understanding of how a new supply chain strategy emerges and how it changes during implementation. In this process-oriented study – merging context, process and strategy content – it is further shown that a supply chain strategy may affect the context by responding to contextual and institutional challenges.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sindhuja P.N.

Purpose Information security is an essential element in all business activities. The damage to businesses from information security breaches has become pervasive. The scope of information security has widened as information has become a critical supply chain asset, making it more important to protect the organization’s data. Today’s global supply chains rely upon the speedy and robust dissemination of information among supply chain partners. Hence, processing of accurate supply chain information is quintessential to ensure the robustness and performance of supply chains. An effective information security management (ISM) is deemed to ensure the robustness of supply chains. The purpose of the paper is to examine the impact of information security initiatives on supply chain robustness and performance. Design/methodology/approach Based on extant literature, a research model was developed and validated using a questionnaire survey instrument administered among information systems/information technology managers. Data collected were analyzed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Further, to test the hypotheses and to fit the theoretical model, Structural equation modeling techniques were used. Findings Results of this study indicated that information security initiatives are positively associated with supply chain robustness and performance. These initiatives are likely to enhance the robustness and performance of the supply chains. Originality/value With the advancements in internet technologies and capabilities as well as considering the dynamic environment of supply chains, this study is relevant in terms of the capability that an organization needs to acquire with regards to ISM. Benefiting from the resource dependency theory, information security initiatives could be considered as a critical resource having an influence on the internal and external environment of supply chains.


Author(s):  
Vivek Sehgal

With global expansion and emerging business model complexities such as omni-channel for retail industry, corporations are under pressure to reinvent their supply chains. They fall into the old trap of following supply chain strategies of lean, agile, or postponement. These however are not strategies, but simply the goals of an effective supply chain: to reduce cost and variability, and optimize production. In contrast, a strategy should guide a corporation on how to reach these goals. The author argues that true supply chain strategy must be derived through an evaluation of capabilities to be built to realize the business goals of a corporation. To effectively create such a supply chain, corporations must further align their technology strategy to enable their supply chain capabilities. Only when the three, business, supply chain, and technology strategies, align can truly lean, responsive, and agile supply chains be enabled that create sustained competitive advantages.


Author(s):  
Jean C. Essila

The world of business is witnessing the emergence of electronic supply chains (e-SC). As more business is performed via the Internet, e-SCs are becoming an integral part of supply chain management SCM). With business via the Internet requiring different fulfillment approaches, traditional drivers of regular supply chains are no longer adequate for explaining how e-SC performance is driven. The task of SC professionals is more complicated than ever. This situation often leads to unsatisfied customers, which can force companies to close their doors. Therefore, understanding e-SCM performance drivers and their integration with ERP becomes a necessity. Little attention has been devoted to SCM performance driver evaluation. This article discusses the performance drivers of e-SCs and their integration with ERPs. SCM is among the most important factors to organizational success. Effective SCM can enhance competitiveness and increase profitability. Nevertheless, SCM professionals and other actors must understand the factors that undergird driver performance.


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vishnu C.R. ◽  
R. Sridharan ◽  
Angappa Gunasekaran ◽  
P.N. Ram Kumar

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the distinction and relationships between the significant strategic capabilities for managing risks in supply chains. This intersectional review exposes a substantial conceptual contradiction between the perspectives reported by various researchers. Further, the current paper classifies the literature into four categories according to the broad objectives investigated by the research papers. Design/methodology/approach Initially, a bibliometric analysis aligned with the concepts of a systematic literature review is conducted followed by a descriptive review focusing on models and methods. The software called BibExcel is utilized to extract and analyze the bibliographic information in a textual form from the research articles associated with strategic capabilities of the logistics sector. The results are exported to the software known as Gephi to visualize keyword co-occurrence analysis as networks. A well-structured descriptive review is also conducted to identify avenues for future research. Findings Despite conventional supply chain capabilities like efficiency and effectiveness, eight significant strategic capabilities of supply chains for managing risks are identified from the literature. These capabilities with positive connotations include flexibility, reliability, resilience, robustness, agility, adaptability, alignment and responsiveness. Considering the vast literature on flexibility/reliability along with its numerous dimensions and scope, the authors found that resilience, robustness, agility, adaptability, alignment and effectiveness are achievable through flexibility/reliability. Accordingly, it is appropriate to state reliability and flexibility as supply chain capabilities to achieve the other six supply chain competencies. Furthermore, the entire literature in this domain can be classified into four genres according to the addressed objectives, namely, concept development/validation, capability assessment, network design and performance evaluation. Research limitations/implications The information revealed from the keyword co-occurrence analysis along with the research implications provided in the penultimate section will assist budding researchers in framing novel and promising research objectives. Supply chain administrators and policymakers can utilize the literature classification and the notable references provided in this review for locating potential methods for assessing supply chain strategic capabilities, designing the supply chain and evaluating the performance of the supply chain. Originality/value An integrated bibliometric and descriptive literature review procedure is utilized in this paper. Furthermore, this critical review is the first work on comprehensively mapping the research relationships among various strategic capabilities required for mitigating supply chain risks.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Dedie S. Martadisastra

The  aim  of the  study was to investigate the  development  of domestic supplier  perfrmances  as the  result of modem  retail-supplier  business  relationships which they  had  controlled  by the  effect of combinations  on competition and buyer power.  The  paper  presents  the  results  of a  survey  of packaged  processed  foods suppliers,  which  formed  part  of a  wider  study  of  buyer-supplier  relationships  in Indonesia's modem  retail supply chains. The findings of this study indicate that the results demonstrate the heterogeneity relationships between supplier and modem retail in the main commodity grocery sectors. The extent to which modem retail challenged by competition,  supply chain strategy and market share are likely to influence the way in  which modem retail deal with suppliers.  A part of the suppliers indicated that they get benefited  substantially from the presence of modem retail,  however, they also face several  challenges  brought    about  by buyer  power as  imposition  of several  unfair relationship terms, price fixing, and poorly supervision as cause of the development and growth of suppliers limitedly. This study attempts to show the results of the research in Indonesia to empirically measure the effect of competition and buyer power on modem retail-supplier relationships. The further research is needed to refine the results of this initial study. 


Author(s):  
Yoo-Taek Lee ◽  
Sung-Yong Ryu ◽  
Kathleen E. McKone-Sweet

E-supply chains (e-SCs), which are Internet-enabled supply chains, are progressively being implemented by companies to improve their operational and financial performance. Several studies exist where the association between the development of an e-supply chain and the performance of a firm have been investigated. However, there is a paucity of literature that describes how information technology (IT) resources interact with other complementary resources to e-supply chains that positively impact a firm’s performance. This paper seeks to adopt a resource-based view of the firm (RBVF) and empirically tests a framework that identifies and validates the relationships among IT resources, complementary resources to e-supply chains, and performance of a firm. This study utilizes secondary data from two sources – data collected by the South Korean Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE) and financial data from the Korea Exchange. The data from a total of 170 firms representing 10 industries in South Korea was analyzed using a partial least-squares technique (PLS). The results of the analysis confirm that IT resources do not directly influence supply chain performance. However, when associated with a complementary resource, IT resources positively affect both supply chain operations and a firm’s financial performance. The findings of this research support the current existing literature on the RBVF approach with regard to the domain of supply chain management, and can provide additional insights to industry practitioners on how to effectively utilize complementary resources in developing e-SCs to deliver improved performance.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document