Issues in Supply Chain Stability Estimation in Flexible Supply Networks and Possible Methods and Tools for Their Decision

Corn production, and its associated inputs, is a relatively large source of greenhouse gas emissions and uses significant amounts of water and land, thus contributing to climate change, fossil fuel depletion, local air pollutants, and local water scarcity. As large consumers of this corn, corporations in the ethanol and animal protein industries are increasingly assessing and reporting sustainability impacts across their supply chains to identify, prioritize, and communicate sustainability risks and opportunities material to their operations. In doing so, many have discovered that the direct impacts of their owned operations are dwarfed by those upstream in the supply chain, requiring transparency and knowledge about environmental impacts along the supply chains. Life cycle assessments (LCAs) have been used to identify hotspots of environmental impacts at national levels, yet these provide little subnational information necessary for guiding firms’ specific supply networks. In this paper, our Food System Supply-Chain Sustainability (FoodS3) model connects spatial, firm-specific demand of corn purchasers with upstream corn production in the United States through a cost minimization transport model. This provides a means to link county-level corn production in the United States to firm-specific demand locations associated with downstream processing facilities. Our model substantially improves current LCA assessment efforts that are confined to broad national or state level impacts. In drilling down to subnational levels of environmental impacts that occur over heterogeneous areas and aggregating these landscape impacts by specific supply networks, targeted opportunities for improvements to the sustainability performance of supply chains are identified.

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Knowledge Sharing in Supply Chain

Decision Making Theories and Practices from Analysis to Strategy ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-1589-2.ch020 ◽

2012 ◽

pp. 376-388 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Mian M. Ajmal ◽

Yohanes Kristianto

Keyword(s):

Supply Chain ◽

Knowledge Sharing ◽

Practical Approach ◽

Analytical Models ◽

Theoretical Understanding ◽

Supply Networks ◽

New Approach ◽

Empirical Assessment ◽

Contact Frequency

This paper examines knowledge sharing in supply chain by developing analytical models to minimize knowledge sharing uncertainty. Analogies from thermodynamics are used to describe the phenomenon in supply chain knowledge sharing. The study finds that distance and sender capacity are important to reduce knowledge sharing uncertainty. Furthermore, higher contact frequency between the sender and the receiver without considering sender capacity is proven to be insignificant to reduce uncertainty. This mechanism provides a new approach to explicate knowledge sharing in supply networks. It also serves as a deep-rooted opening point for supplementary empirical assessment. The mechanism facilitates managers to expand their understanding of composite circumstances embedded into global supply networks to share their knowledge. With enhanced understanding, managers can spotlight their actions, increasing their firms’ competitiveness. This study provides a deeper theoretical understanding of knowledge sharing in supply networks with a practical approach.

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Robust Logistics

2030 ◽

10.1093/oso/9780195377170.003.0024 ◽

2010 ◽

Author(s):

Rutger van Santen ◽

Djan Khoe ◽

Bram Vermeer

Keyword(s):

Supply Chain ◽

Power Supply ◽

The Other ◽

Central Issue ◽

The Internet ◽

Supply Network ◽

Supply Networks ◽

Trade Off ◽

Industrial Companies ◽

The Web

Our lives seem to revolve around schedules. If we don’t honor them with second-to-second precision, we miss our trains and our workplace rosters fall apart. We’re reliant on one another, and we constantly have to coordinate our schedules with those of others. Planning is crucial to our industry, too. If you unexpectedly run out of nuts and bolts, you can’t make any more cars, and the entire production process grinds to a halt. No manufacturer can afford that, so industrial companies employ large teams of specialists whose job is to ensure there are never any shortages of key parts. A worldwide logistic network has become our industry’s lifeblood. The central issue facing logistics is that of reliability. How do you keep your supply network intact? And how do you limit the consequences if it fails? These are questions that go far beyond the supply of nuts and bolts for new cars. Reliable logistics touches equally on the web of interactions that determine food production and the optimization of the Internet. It also extends to power supply, telecommunications, and workforce. Reliable networks make our society tick. But they face uncertainties of various kinds. That lends a broader significance to insights gained from industrial logistics, which offer us tools we can use to optimize networks and account for uncertainties in other areas as well. The reliability of a supply network is intimately bound up with the inventories you need to maintain. Businesses hold millions of dollars’ worth of supplies in their warehouses to make absolutely certain they never cease production due to a failure in the supply chain. So the key question is how large a stock do you need to hold of each component? Smart planning to hold down inventory levels in your warehouse generates immediate savings. On the other hand, you need enough stock to ensure continuity should anything go wrong. Optimizing storage is a common problem in supply networks. There is always a trade-off between the reliability of the network and the need for it to be profitable in an economic sense.

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Factors Affecting Organizations’ Resistance to the Adoption of Blockchain Technology in Supply Networks

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su12218882 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (21) ◽

pp. 8882 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Daeheon Choi ◽

Chune Young Chung ◽

Thou Seyha ◽

Jason Young

Keyword(s):

Supply Chain ◽

Structural Equation ◽

New Technologies ◽

Equation Modeling ◽

Sustainable Supply Chain ◽

Supply Networks ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Supply Chain Networks ◽

Blockchain Technology ◽

Technological Barriers

From a supply chain perspective, new technologies such as blockchain can improve the efficiency and competitiveness of logistics and increase customer satisfaction. Although blockchain technology has been lauded as a way for firms to build sustainable supply chain networks, the rate of acceptance of this technology remains low. Therefore, this study seeks to identify the factors that discourage firms from merging blockchain with the supply chain. Instead of providing further reasons for adopting blockchain technology, we try to understand what deters firms from adding blockchain to their operations. Following the deductive approach, a confirmatory factor analysis is conducted on pre-test questionnaires to test, improve, and verify the constructs (questions) to measure the hypothesized factors. A theoretical model is proposed based on the hypotheses, and structural equation modeling is applied. The results are estimated using the partial least squares approach and a sample of 83 respondents. Our findings based on our empirical data support most of our hypotheses. We find that various factors impede the adoption of blockchain technologies, including technological barriers, constraints rooted in organizations and the environment, and system-related governmental barriers. In addition, various factors are critical determinants of resistance to blockchain in the technological, organizational, and environmental dimensions.

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Interactive Fuzzy Multi Criteria Decision Making Approach for Supplier Selection and Order Allocation in a Resilient Supply Chain

Mathematics ◽

10.3390/math7020137 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 137 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Sonia Mari ◽

Muhammad Memon ◽

Muhammad Ramzan ◽

Sheheryar Qureshi ◽

Muhammad Iqbal

Keyword(s):

Supply Chain ◽

Supplier Selection ◽

Fuzzy Optimization ◽

Order Allocation ◽

Supply Networks ◽

Supply Chain Resilience ◽

Fuzzy Environment ◽

Selection Decisions ◽

Low Probability ◽

Disruption Risks

Modern supply chains are vulnerable to high impact, low probability disruption risks. A supply chain usually operates in such a network of entities where the resilience of one supplier is critical to overall supply chain resilience. Therefore, resilient planning is a key strategic requirement in supplier selection decisions for a competitive supply chain. The aim of this research is to develop quantitative resilient criteria for supplier selection and order allocation in a fuzzy environment. To serve the purpose, a possibilistic fuzzy multi-objective approach was proposed and an interactive fuzzy optimization solution methodology was developed. Using the proposed approach, organizations can tradeoff between cost and resilience in supply networks. The approach is illustrated using a supply chain case from a garments manufacturing company.

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Technology uncertainty in supply chains and supplier involvement: the role of resource dependence

Supply Chain Management An International Journal ◽

10.1108/scm-10-2017-0334 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 24 (6) ◽

pp. 697-709 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Chengyong Xiao ◽

Boyana Petkova ◽

Eric Molleman ◽

Taco van der Vaart

Keyword(s):

Supply Chain ◽

Supply Chain Management ◽

Resource Dependence ◽

Supply Networks ◽

Chain Management ◽

Content Type ◽

Relational Perspective ◽

Supplier Involvement ◽

Resource Dependence Perspective

Purpose Technology uncertainty poses significant challenges to manufacturers, as rapid changes in product and/or process standards and specifications can disrupt the smooth flow of materials in extended supply chains. Practitioners and researchers alike who take a relational perspective widely regard supplier involvement as a potentially effective strategy to cope with technology uncertainty, as focal manufacturers can tap into their upstream supply networks for complementary resources and capabilities. However, the literature lacks a nuanced understanding of the supplier involvement processes. Specifically, the role of resource dependence for supplier involvement has yet to be systematically understood. To fill this gap, this study aims to combine the relational perspective with the resource-dependence perspective to explore how buyer dependence, supplier dependence and buyer–supplier interdependence influence buyers’ decision-making on tapping into upstream supply networks for coping with technology uncertainty. Design/methodology/approach To test the hypotheses, a survey is conducted among Dutch firms with more than 50 employees in the discrete manufacturing industries (ISIC 28-35), resulting in a sample of 125 manufacturers. Findings First, there is a significantly positive relationship between technology uncertainty and supplier involvement, giving support to the expectation that buyers are indeed involving their key suppliers in the product/process design and improvement, as a response to technology uncertainty. Second, buyer dependence and interdependence are found to be positively moderating the relationship between technology uncertainty and supplier involvement. In contrast, supplier dependence has a negative moderating effect on the baseline relationship. Research limitations/implications The authors contribute to a relational view on buyer–supplier relationships by showing that the validity of this view, in the context of technology uncertainty, is contingent on the resource dependence between buyers and suppliers, and the authors contribute to the supply chain management literature more generally by combining a relational perspective with a resource-dependence perspective. Practical implications The findings provide several nuanced insights into the effect of resource dependence (buyer dependence, supplier dependence and interdependence) on supplier involvement for coping with technology uncertainty. Originality/value This study contributes to the supply chain management research by going beyond the benefits of supplier involvement and highlights the circumstances under which supplier involvement is likely to occur.

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Lateral Collaboration in Semiconductor Industry Supply Networks

International Journal of Information Systems and Supply Chain Management ◽

10.4018/ijisscm.2014070103 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 7 (3) ◽

pp. 39-79

Author(s):

Bikram K. Bahinipati ◽

S.G. Deshmukh

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Supply Chain ◽

Resource Sharing ◽

Semiconductor Industry ◽

Supply And Demand ◽

Managerial Decision ◽

Supply Networks ◽

Penalty Cost ◽

Optimal Capacity ◽

Capacity Decision

The interactive emphasis of vertical and horizontal collaboration in the semiconductor industry supply chain (SSC) support the buyer(s) performing procurement activities with supplier(s) through joint planning and decision-making, information sharing, resource sharing and incentive alignment. The paper proposes a framework to explore the resource sharing conditions under which enterprises are motivated to collaborate and the conditions in which such collaboration would be successful. A lateral collaboration scheme is proposed, which can be operated by the e-market intermediary to motivate buyers and suppliers to collaborate under competion. The results of this study demonstrate that the proposed collaboration mechanism yields an effective infrastructure for each members of the supply chain that supports efficient exchange of information and resources among all members. It is expected that the proposed scheme would enable the optimal capacity decision among competing suppliers for minimum expected total cost of the supply chain by appropriate selection of ordering quantity and penalty cost as imposed by the e-market intermediary. It is argued that the managerial decision-making in procurement perspective contribute to the matching between supply and demand for gaining mutual benefits.

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Designing a Fresh Food Supply Chain Network: An Application of Nonlinear Programming

Journal of Applied Mathematics ◽

10.1155/2013/506531 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 2013 ◽

pp. 1-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Yu-Chung Tsao

Keyword(s):

Supply Chain ◽

Business Environment ◽

Solution Procedure ◽

Agricultural Product ◽

Supply Networks ◽

Agricultural Produce ◽

Fresh Food ◽

Optimal Service ◽

Inventory Allocation ◽

Integrated Facility

In today’s business environment, many fresh food companies have complex supply networks to distribute their products. For example, agricultural products are distributed through a multiechelon supply chain which includes agricultural association, agricultural produce marketing corporations (APMCs), markets, and so forth. In this paper a fresh produce supply network model is designed to determine the optimal service area for APMCs, the replenishment cycle time of APMCs, and the freshness-keeping effort, while maximizing the total profit. The objective is to address the integrated facility location, inventory allocation, and freshness-keeping effort problems. This paper develops an algorithm to solve the nonlinear problem, provides numerical analysis to illustrate the proposed solution procedure, and discusses the effects of various system parameters on the decisions and total profits. A real case of an agricultural product supply chain in Taiwan is used to verify the model. Results of this study can serve as a reference for business managers and administrators.

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