A commentary on agility in humanitarian aid supply chains

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 708-716 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Oloruntoba ◽  
Gyöngyi Kovács

Purpose – This paper aims to provide a commentary and an overview of developments in the field of humanitarianism that could impact theoretical understanding of agility in humanitarian aid supply chains over the past decade. Design/methodology/approach – Authors review papers published on agility in humanitarian aid supply chains from 2006 to 2015 in the four leading Emerald-published logistics and supply chain management journals. These are: Supply Chain Management: An International Journal (SCMIJ); International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management (IJPDLM); International Journal of Operations and Production Management (IJOPM); and Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management (JHLSCM). This paper presents an overview and update of developments that have the potential to influence current thinking and understanding about agility in humanitarian aid supply chains, and humanitarian aid supply chains in general. Findings – Humanitarianism and the environment of Humanitarian organisations are evolving. Such evolution has potential impacts on theoretical discussions and understanding of agility in humanitarian aid supply chains and humanitarian aid supply chains in general. Research limitations/implications – This is not a critical literature review but an overview. The paper is based on four logistics and supply chain management journals only. However, the paper is based on the work published over a decade. Practical implications – Points scholars and practitioners to the impacts of Humanitarian Organisations using the relief-development continuum on supply chain design decisions including the pursuit of agility. Social implications – It may be the time to consider the relief-development continuum in fresh light and its implications for agility in humanitarian aid supply chains. Originality/value – This paper seems to be the first paper that highlights the influence of the relief-development continuum model on humanitarian aid supply chain design strategies.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Remko van Hoek

PurposeThis paper considers CSCMP Supply Chain Hall of Famer Henry Ford's innovation and its transformative impact on supply chain management. Credited with the assembly line, Ford's innovation also included a supply chain design around the concept of flow, integrated supply and the enablement of economies of scale and productivity to drive down consumer prices and create affordable product for a growing market.Design/methodology/approachThis paper considers literature and builds upon the history of the innovation to consider supply chain implications and future opportunities to further the innovation into modern supply chains.FindingsFord did not “invent” the assembly line but he did build the supply chain around it. He stewarded core supply chain principles of great relevance well before they become popular, including a focus on lifelong learning, making failure safe, waste elimination and helping make the world a better place. There are many opportunities to continue to build upon the innovation for future supply chain success.Originality/valueThe supply chain field is sometimes said to be “historically challenged.” This paper reviews the essence and lessons learned from the assembly line and supply chain design and the leadership principles of Henry Ford and the Ford production system. We also connect leadership principles of the Ford supply chain to those of Ohno and Deming to map out the evolution of the Ford supply chain management approach over multiple decades and into the supply chain body of knowledge. Finally, we reflect upon how supply chain design aspects of the Ford supply chain may need to further evolve into the future. Based upon this reflection we recommend opportunities for further research and innovation that build upon the supply chain management roots provided by Henry Ford.


Author(s):  
Stephen Kelly ◽  
Vojtech Klézl ◽  
John Israilidis ◽  
Neil Malone ◽  
Stuart Butler

AbstractAs industries mature, they rely more heavily on supply chain management (SCM) to ensure effective operations leading to greater levels of organisational performance. SCM has been widely covered in many industrial areas and, in line with other burgeoning sectors such as Tourism, an industry focus provides the opportunity to look in-depth at the context-based factors that affect SCM. Developments in digital distribution and rapid technological innovations have resulted in an increased focus on Digital Supply Chains (DSCs), which bring about significant changes to how consumers, customers, suppliers, and manufacturers interact, affecting supply chain design and processes. Through a systematic review of the Videogames Industry Supply Chain Management literature, which serves as a pertinent contextual example of a DSC, we look at how supply chains are affected by structural, market and technological change, such as increased platformisation, disintermediation and the proliferation of digital distribution. We distil these findings into a new research agenda, which identifies themes in line with extant DSC research, provides a series of relevant practice recommendations and identifies opportunities for future research.


2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (12) ◽  
pp. 1873-1907
Author(s):  
Bruno S. Silvestre ◽  
Fernando Luiz E. Viana ◽  
Marcelo de Sousa Monteiro

PurposeA growing number of private, voluntary and mandatory sustainability standards have recently emerged. However, supply chain corruption practices as mechanisms to circumvent sustainability standards have also grown and occur regularly. This paper strives to elaborate theory on the intersection of institutional theory, business corruption and the sustainability standards literature by investigating factors that influence the emergence of supply chain corruption practices.Design/methodology/approachBased on secondary data, four in-depth case studies of supply chain corruption practices are investigated through the use of adaptive theory and the method of constant comparisons to elaborate theory on this important phenomenon.FindingsThe paper suggests that although sustainability standards can improve supply chain sustainability performance, if they are adopted only symbolically and not substantively, unanticipated outcomes such as supply chain corruption may occur. The study proposes a typology of supply chain corruption practices, further explores the symbolic adoption of sustainability standards in supply chains and proposes the novel construct of “social isomorphism for corruption.” Since focal companies play central roles in leading supply chain corruption practices, we reason that they can also play a pivotal role in preventing supply chain corruption practices by promoting the substantive adoption of sustainability standards across their supply chains.Originality/valueThis paper elaborates theory on the challenging phenomenon of corruption in supply chains by linking the supply chain management literature to the corruption and the sustainability discourses and offers important insights to aid our understanding on the topic. It generates six propositions and four contributions to the sustainable supply chain management theory, practice and policy.


Author(s):  
Erik Hofmann ◽  
Jan Bosshard

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to summarize and analyze what is known regarding activity-based costing (ABC) applications in the context of supply chain management (SCM). The authors present a reference framework for practical implications and areas for future research in intra-firm and inter-organizational environments. Design/methodology/approach The findings underlie a systematic review methodology. Research gaps and guidance for further publications are derived from the reference framework based on ABC and SCM literature. Findings The review illustrates four main areas for further research: determination of the role of management accounting in SCM (including supply chain finance), integration of time-driven ABC with radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and automatic data collection, analysis of inter-organizational management tools in supply chains in multiple negotiation rounds, and standardization of cost accounting data in supply chains. Practical implications The review provides practitioners with three main recommendations: ABC applications require a solid data basis, organizational readiness, commitment from senior management, and an ABC management philosophy; open book accounting for inter-organizational cost information-sharing purposes needs institutional arrangements and economic incentive systems; and sharing costs and benefits among supply chain members requires a change of managers’ mind-set. Originality/value This paper reveals practical implications and provides new directions for research based on the reference framework. The paper contributes to the interdisciplinary topic between SCM and management accounting by providing a structured overview of 87 peer-reviewed articles from 1992 to 2016.


2015 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 166-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amulya Gurtu ◽  
Cory Searcy ◽  
M.Y. Jaber

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the keywords used in peer-reviewed literature on green supply chain management. Design/methodology/approach To determine the keywords that were used in this area, an analysis of 629 papers was conducted. The papers were identified through searches of 13 keywords on green supply chains. Trends in keyword usage were analyzed in detail focusing on examining variables such as the most frequently used journals/keywords, their frequencies, citation frequency and research contribution from different disciplines/countries. Findings A number of different terms have been used for research focused on the environmental impacts of supply chains, including green supply chains, sustainable supply chains, reverse logistics and closed-loop supply chains, among others. The analysis revealed that the intensity of research in this area has more than tripled in the past six years and that the most used keyword was “reverse logistics”. The use of the terms “green supply chains” and “sustainable supply chains” is increasing, and the use of “reverse logistics” is decreasing. Research limitations/implications The analysis is limited to 629 papers from the Scopus database during the period of 2007 and 2012. Originality/value The paper presents the first systematic analysis of keywords used in the literature on green supply chains. Given the broad array of terms used to refer to research in this area, this is a needed contribution. This work will help researchers in choosing keywords with high frequency and targeting journals for publishing their future work. The paper may also provide a basis for further work on developing consolidated definitions of terms focused on green supply chain management.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 1145-1163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Per Engelseth ◽  
Judith Molka-Danielsen ◽  
Brian E. White

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to question the applicability of recent industry-derived terms such as “Big Data” (BD) and the “Internet of things” (IoT) in a supply chain managerial context. Is this labeling useful in managing the operations found in supply chains? Design/methodology/approach BD and IoT are critically discussed in the context of a complete supply chain organization. A case study of banana supply from Costa Rica to Norway is provided to empirically ground this research. Thompson’s contingency theory, Alderson’s functionalistic end-to-end “marketing channels” model, Penrose’s view of supply purpose associated with service provision, and particularities of banana supply reveal how end-to-end supply chains are complex systems, even though the product distributed is fairly simple. Findings Results indicate that the usefulness of BD in supply chain management discourse is limited. Instead its connectivity is facilitated by what is now becoming commonly labeled as IoT, people, devices and documents that are useful when taking an end-to-end supply chain perspective. Connectivity is critical to efficient contemporary supply chain management. Originality/value BD and IoT have emerged as a part of contemporary supply chain management discourse. This study directs attention to the importance of scrutinizing emergent and actual discourse in managing supply chains, that it is not irrelevant which words are applied, e.g., in research on information-enabled supply process development. Often the old words of professional terminology may be sufficient or even better to help manage supply.


2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 395-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lifang Wu ◽  
Xiaohang Yue ◽  
Alan Jin ◽  
David C. Yen

Purpose – As traditional supply chains are increasingly becoming intelligent with more objects embedded with sensors and better communication, intelligent decision making and automation capabilities, the new smart supply chain presents unprecedented opportunities for achieving cost reduction and enhancing efficiency improvement. The purpose of this paper is to study and explore the currents status and remaining issues of smart supply chain management. Design/methodology/approach – A literature review is conducted to synthesize the earlier work in this area, and to conceptualize and discuss the smart supply chain characteristics. Further, the authors formulate and investigate five key research topics including information management, IT infrastructure, process automation, advanced analytics, and supply chain integration. Findings – Studies in those aforementioned subject fields are reviewed, categorized, and analyzed based on the review questions defined in the study. It is notable that while the topics of converging atoms with digits are increasingly attracting attention from researchers and practitioners alike, there are many more interesting research questions needing to be addressed. Originality/value – The paper provides original and relevant guidance for supply chain management researchers and practitioners on developing smart supply chains.


2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 424-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oguji Nnamdi ◽  
Richard Owusu

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the scope of sourcing research in Sub-Sahara African (SSA) from scholarly journals published from 1980 to 2013 on sourcing-related issues. The study identifies what is known about sourcing from this region and the implications for managers and researchers in supply chain management. Design/methodology/approach – Totally, 40 scholarly journals (supply chain journals and other journals publishing on diverse business topics) were found relevant and reviewed. Content (all field) search using the names of each SSA countries (e.g. Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, etc.) was carried out in the supply chain journals to filter out articles discussing sourcing-related topics. For other business journals, keyword search was performed (procurement, sourcing, purchasing, outsourcing, supplier relations, supplier selection, supplier development, supply management, offshore, supply chain and logistics). Findings – The literature review suggests that studies discussing sourcing issues in SSA have focussed mainly on challenges of sourcing from SSA, and they provide some insights on implementation of supply chain tools such as total quality management, negotiating and selecting suppliers from SSA, and just-in time purchasing. However, the authors found that there is an under-representation of this region in supply chain management literature. More so, the articles discussing sourcing issues in Africa are limited in scope empirically and theoretically in comparison with the large amount of contributions in other emerging economies of Asia and developed economies. Research limitations/implications – The limited amount of publications and contributions does not allow us to provide an integrated framework for sourcing from SSA. Practical implications – There is a need for future research to explore how the SSA context could enhance theorizing in supply chains. Also, there is need for researchers to extend the sourcing debate from the over emphasis on technology sourcing, knowledge intensive service outsourcing and component sourcing to other lower value-added products such as agricultural products and other raw materials sourced in SSA. Originality/value – This paper is one of the first to explore the scope of sourcing in Africa. As the findings suggest, there have been limited amount of papers published about this region. The review provides a perspective for researchers to explore this region and to aid theory development in supply chains. It also provided implications on how to support research publication focussing on this region and how to inform managerial perceptions on sourcing from SSA.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guilherme F. Frederico

Purpose This paper aims to present a grounded and strategic discussion regarding Supply Chain 4.0 as a management system orientation for the post-COVID-19 period as well as propose some research directions thereof. Design/methodology/approach For the development of this paper, some theoretical insights were provided based on the literature related to Supply Chain and Industry 4.0. A discussion regarding the constructs of Supply Chain 4.0 on the context of the post-COVID-19 outbreak is developed as well. Findings The discussion, herein, shows that the disruptive technologies might play a crucial role to become supply chains more responsive and resilient to sudden events such as COVID-19. Then a Supply Chain 4.0 is a transformational strategic orientation to be considered on the aspect of supply chain management for the post-pandemic period. Some research questions are proposed at the end of this paper with the aim to further address this subject. Research limitations/implications This paper provides timely insights for researchers and practitioners which might imply on the further research deployments and practical applications although it demands future empirical studies to validate the propositions herein presented. Practical implications Practitioners can be benefited from this paper on having new insights and a strategic direction on regards supply chain management for the post-pandemic period with focus on a technology-driven strategy for supply chains. Originality/value This paper is unique because it brings an unexplored relationship between Supply Chain 4.0 and COVID-19 pandemic. It also significantly contributes to new directions and views for the supply chain management field from these challenging and difficult times of coronavirus global outbreak.


2019 ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
E. Eswara Reddy ◽  
Bhagyashree N

Environmentally and socially responsive supply chains are in the early adoption stages in India. Global supply chains need worldwide goals, and the key to the success of Green Supply Chain Management is to bring the worldwide industry together to decide upon and pledge to work towards reasonable and concrete goals that will make a real difference to the environment. Customers are increasingly demanding to know where products come from, how they are made and distributed and what impact future environmental legislations will have on the products they buy. The aim of this paper is to provide action plans and facilitate knowledge among supply chain practitioner that they need to go green the business efciently, and communicate these efforts to their customers, partners, and the public. In fact, the paper discusses the key drivers for green initiatives include government compliance, improved customer and public relations, a decreased fuel bill and nancial ROI through various supply chain initiatives such as reverse logistics. Further, increasing supply chain efciency, improving investor relations, decreasing risk and a larger corporate responsibility agenda are identied as important factors in the strategic decision to go green. Companies working in India are not properly addressing these measures in supply chain design and operations. That is why, the paper further elaborates strategic management of green supply chain, which involves collecting and analyzing environmental regulations and customer concerns, discussing the relevant environmental issues with the procurement, manufacturing and quality control departments across the supply chain rms and nally developing and communicating the green supply chain policies to all members of the supply chain i.e. supplier's supplier to customer's customer.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document