scholarly journals Improved augmented Lagrangian coordination for optimizing supply chain configuration with multiple sharing elements in industrial cluster

2019 ◽  
Vol 119 (4) ◽  
pp. 743-773 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duxian Nie ◽  
Ting Qu ◽  
Yang Liu ◽  
Congdong Li ◽  
G.Q. Huang

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study various combination forms of the three basic sharing elements (i.e. orders sharing, manufacturers capacity sharing and suppliers capacity sharing) in the cluster supply chain (CSC), formulate a distributed model to protect enterprises’ decision privacy and seek to develop an effective method for solving the distributed complex model. Design/methodology/approach A distributed assembly cluster supply chain configuration (ACSCC) model is formulated. An improved augmented Lagrangian coordination (ALC) is proposed and used to solve the ACSCC model. A series of experiments are conducted to validate the improved ALC and the model. Findings Two major findings are obtained. First, the market order’s quantity change and the sales price of the product have a great impact on both the optimal results of the ACSCC and the cooperative strategy, especially, when the market order increases sharply, enterprises have to adopt multiple cooperative strategies to complete the order; meanwhile, the lower sales price of the product helps independent suppliers to get more orders. Second, the efficiency and computational accuracy of the improved ALC method are validated as compared to the centralized ALC and Lingo11. Research limitations/implications This paper formulated the single-period ACSCC model under certain assumptions, yet a multi-period ACSCC model is to be developed, a more comprehensive investigation of the relationships among combination forms is to be extended further and a rigid proof of the improved ALC is necessary. Practical implications Enterprises in the industrial cluster should adopt different cooperative strategies in terms of the market order’s quantity change and the sales price of the product. Social implications The proposed various combination forms of sharing elements and the formulated ACSCC model provide guidance to managers in the industrial cluster to choose the proper policy. Originality/value This research studies various combination forms of the three basic sharing elements in the CSC. A distributed ACSCC model has been established considering simultaneously multiple sharing elements. An improved ALC is presented and applied to the ACSCC problem.

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 515-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guang Song ◽  
Luoyi Sun ◽  
Yixiao Wang

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to apply an empirically based approach to develop a decision-making model that comprehensively incorporates the potential affecting factors and the related significant drivers that support network designers in selecting the appropriate strategic supply chain configuration or checking the coherence of an existing supply chain structure in four industry sectors. Design/methodology/approach The decision-making model is developed based on an empirical study that integrates multiple case studies and statistical analyses. In total, 113 best-in-class manufacturing firms in four sectors are studied to investigate their strategic supply chain configurations and the information of identified affecting drivers. The factor analysis and regression analysis are conducted to classify the drivers into five factor groups, and to identify the significant drivers used to develop the decision-making model. Findings The findings of this research are three-pronged. First, 12 significant drivers related to 5 factor groups affecting strategic supply chain network design (SCND) are identified. Second, a decision-making model is developed to support users in strategic SCND. Last, the main characteristics of various strategic supply chain configurations are summarized in four industry sectors. Research limitations/implications The authors identified valuable insights for both academics and practitioners based on the identified significant affecting drivers and the developed decision-making model. In addition, this study also proposes two potential research lines on the study of additional contextual affecting factors and decision issues in strategic SCND. Originality/value This study could be the first attempt to use an empirically based method to develop a decision-making model aimed at supporting the preliminary design of a supply chain network. Therefore, the drawbacks of a pure qualitative conceptual model and optimization model are eliminated.


2016 ◽  
Vol 118 (1) ◽  
pp. 132-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose Marcio Carvalho ◽  
Ely Laureano Paiva ◽  
Luciana Marques Vieira

Purpose – High-specification food products that reach prices or expert reviews above average, results from buyer-supplier engagement in quality management. The purpose of this paper is to identify the main attributes of the coffee industry supply chain that deals with high-specification products. Coffee may be included in this category of consumption goods that has increasing importance at consumption level around the world. Several groups of high-quality food products such as wine, coffee, spirits and cheese seem to have a very similar supply chain. Design/methodology/approach – This study was based on multiple case studies. Three research techniques were used in the investigation: secondary data analysis, direct observations and interviews with coffee company’s managers and experts. The within-case and the cross-case analyses made it possible to find the main attributes of a high-specification product supply chain. Findings – The cases studies pointed out differences between the two groups of coffee shops in relation to their supply chain strategies. The first group can be called Independent Coffee Shops, since they are focussed on the coffee preparation business. The second group can be called Integrated Coffee Shops, due to the fact that these organizations are responsible to manufacturing activities in addition to the coffee preparation activities. Despite this supply chain configuration difference, both groups have a similar perception about their role for the final consumer, to provide a premium experience with coffee. Research limitations/implications – The main limitation of this research comes from the fact it was possible to interview only one person in each organization. Only the commercialization of the supply chain was analyzed, if the agricultural production was also analyzed, this paper could have broader implications. Originality/value – The results of this research show the configuration of a supply chain that handles a high-specification product. They are set to transform the trade of a product that has a component of volatility in its quality attributes into a trade of a product that embodies all the desirable attributes preferred by a specific group of costumers. The logic of a supply chain that deals with commodities is different, since in most of the cases it will try to accommodate the variations on quality that comes from nature. This paper describes the market based strategy of 12 organizations and their supply chain configuration in order to offer a premium product.


2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 1002-1025 ◽  
Author(s):  
Remica Aggarwal

Purpose Green supply chain management and new product innovation and diffusion have become quite popular and act as a rich source of providing competitive advantage for companies to trade without further deteriorating environmental quality. However, research on low-carbon footprint supply chain configuration for a new product represents a comparably new trend and needs to be explored further. Using relatively simple models, the purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how carbon emissions concerns, such as carbon emission caps and carbon tax scheme, could be integrated into an operational decision, such as product procurement, production, storage and transportation concerning new fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) product introduction. Design/methodology/approach The situation titled “low-carbon footprint supply chain configuration problems” is mathematically formulated as a multi-objective optimization problem under the dynamic and stochastic phenomenon concerning receiver’s demand requirements and production plant capacity constraints. Further, the effects of demand and capacities’ uncertainties are modeled using the chance constraint approach proposed by Charnes and Cooper (1959, 1963). Findings Various cases have been validated using the case example of a new FMCG product manufacturer. To validate the proposed models, data are generated randomly and solved using optimization software LINGO 10.0. Originality/value The attempt is novel in the context of considering the dynamic and stochastic phenomenon with respect to demand center’s requirements and manufacturing plant’s capacity constraints with regard to the low-carbon footprints supply chain configuration of a new FMCG product.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 980-1000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kengo Nakamura ◽  
Tetsuo Yamada ◽  
Kim Hua Tan

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate effects on global supply chain reconfigured in the customs duty rate of parts and specific material types brought about by Brexit and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Design/methodology/approach The supply chain network is modeled and formulated using mixed integer programming. Numerical experiments are conducted using bill of materials with information such as the procurement cost of each part, 3D-CAD and an industry census. Findings The experiments indicates that if the customs duty rate increases by Brexit, manufacturers would be necessary to restructure supply chain configuration and locate the domestic factory and market. Additionally, when the UK leaves the EU and joins the TPP, there is a case where the total cost decreases in the global supply chain network compared to the baseline without Brexit. Therefore, it is reasonable for the UK to join the TPP. Practical implications The study shows how new trading rules from non-partnership countries can critically disrupt existing global supply chain equilibrium. Asian manufacturers should evaluate a move to more local sourcing, opening new facilities and setting up warehouses to stock finished goods or raw materials in different trading areas to overcome any barriers to the goods movement. Originality/value This study enables us to quantitatively evaluate what there are opportunities or cost increasing risks by the selection of supply chain configuration for Asian manufacturers by political and economic factors of each country, such as Brexit and participation in TPP.


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