Multi-Modal Transportation

This chapter highlights concepts, dimensions, issues, and challenges associated with multimodal transportation of goods. It gives a decision-making framework for selection of modes and nodes based on the dimensions of multimodal system. Thirteen dimensions of multimodal transportation have been identified and its impact on selection of logistics route has been discussed. A computational framework for selecting the best multimodal route has been proposed in this chapter.

Implementing Supply Chain Strategies

This chapter emphasizes the key elements required to implement supply chain strategy in a firm. It highlights the differences in supply chain strategies, its alignment with corporate strategies, and the associated drivers of supply chain management. This chapter also highlights the dynamics associated with inventory and success of supply chain of a firm. It tries to provide a framework to resolve the supply chain managers' dilemma as to hold inventory for order fulfilment or to enhance the inventory turnover ratio to maximize profitability. The chapter discusses all facets of inventory management – it includes inventory management of constant as well as dynamic demand. This chapter introduces the concept of adaptive inventory control for non-stationary demand. There are situations when all assumptions of conventional approach may fail and hence points out the importance of application of artificial intelligence and data science in inventory management. This chapter brings out the varied dimensions of contracts that are crucial to have an effective supply chain system. Here the author attempts to put forward an outsourcing decision framework to facilitate make or buy decision. This chapter relates the concept of materials requirement planning (MRP) with independent items. Since supply chains are going global, this chapter introduces the concepts behind global sourcing including the significance of INCO (international commercial) terms.

Introduction to Supply Chain Management and Multimodal Logistics

This chapter provides an understanding of basic essence of supply chain management. It introduces a multi-dimensional facet of supply chain management. A typical supply chain has at least three entities, that is, the supplier, the firm, and its customer. The inter-link between these three entities comprises three primary components of a supply chain, namely, the inbound or upstream supply chain, internal supply chain, and outbound or downstream supply chain. However, in a real-life scenario, many firms (especially in case of large and complex firms), the suppliers, and production centres are more than one. This increases the complexity of the supply chain structure. This concept has been introduced in this chapter. The drivers of supply chain have been categorized under strategic and operational drivers. This aspect has been explained, with examples. The chapter discusses the enablers and inhibitors of a supply chain of a firm. It proceeds to explain the issues in assessing and integrating the drivers, enablers, and inhibitors in the supply chain planning process. Bull whip and snow ball effects are two important outcomes of an inefficient supply chain. These concepts have been introduced here. Finally, the chapter concludes by laying down the objectives and the strategies of supply chain management. It prioritizes the focus of supply chain management, stating that customers come first followed by cost optimization. The chapter discusses on the ways to make supply chain agile and flexible. Supply chains are always prone to disruptions; hence, this chapter talks about a resilient supply chain. Next to customer, cost is an important element that enables a firm to keep its price competitive and be profitable. Here the concept of a lean supply chain has been discussed, a way to minimize waste and hence reduce cost. Supply chain management varies with firms' business strategy. The firm may choose to follow either a cost-leadership strategy or a differentiation or a focus strategy and thus would accordingly adopt push or pull or push-pull (supply chain) strategy. In case of cost-leadership strategy, the firm is expected to follow “make-to-stock” (operations) strategy; in case of differentiation strategy it would adopt “make-to-order” strategy; and for focus strategy the firm embraces “engineer-to-order” strategy. This chapter discusses these aspects to correlate the different dimensions of business and its supply chain management. Firms now are focussing on global operation to leverage on opening up of economy, enabling them to lower the cost of operations and achieve the desired quality. Besides, globalisation has also led to widening of market coverage. A brief introduction to global logistics management has been made in this chapter to emphasise on operationalization of a firms' global supply chain.

Supply Chain Strategy

This chapter discusses the relevance, dimensions, and types of supply chain strategies. It puts forward the key aspect, that is, the supply chain strategy needs to be in line with the firms' business strategy or else the relevance is lost. This chapter relates the supply chain strategy with business strategy as whether a supply chain needs to be cost-efficient or responsive or how to optimize both cost and response time in view of its business strategy, whether to make or buy a product, how to relate supply chain with product and supplier life cycle, and whether the firm needs to pursue push or pull or a dual strategy.

Supply Chain Complexity

This chapter focusses on the concept, drivers, and perspectives of supply chain complexity of a firm. It discusses the impact of number of tiers, number of nodes in each tier, its links and flows on complexity of a firms' supply chain. This chapter tries to bring out the dynamic interactions between tiers and nodes. This chapter suggests that the levels of supply chain and its dynamic complexity are influenced by the products, processes, relationships, and the environment of the firm and its suppliers and distribution partners. Here the drivers, namely, the 5Vs (value, volume, variety, volatility, and visibility), 3Ps (process, people, and planet), and the global market (as a driver) that lead to complexity have been discussed. The complexity of supply chain has been explained from different perspectives. These are the system and process perspectives. This chapter introduces the concept of systems thinking proposed by Forrester and Senge. It illustrates the need to apply a holistic approach in reduction of supply chain complexity. The causality doctrine, proposed in this chapter, enables a supply chain manager to carry out policy experimentation. Supply chain structure varies across organisations. This suggests that a process framework along with application of systems thinking will aid supply chain managers to make supply chain less complex and lean. That is, the supply chain has the desired properties, namely, repeatability, testability, serviceability, flexibility, and cost efficiency. The next section talks about the importance of production processes in reducing complexity. Finally, the chapter discusses about the optimal number of suppliers a firm may have to meet its objectives. It argues that if past do not extend in future, the number of suppliers will add redundancy to the upstream supply chain, and at the same time, if future exceeds past, the supply chain fails. There are different options available to meet these challenges. These could be “buy-back” or “pay-back” or “rate contract” options. This chapter introduces the computational framework for assessing complexity of a firm based on its structure. This framework will help supply chain managers to carryout experimentation on the design of a supply chain network.

Management of Logistics Systems and Operations

In this chapter, the author explores and explains the different elements of logistics, namely, packaging, material handling, warehousing, and transportation. It provides the guiding principles of packaging and material handling. In this chapter, the management of warehouse has been explained. The author elaborates the concepts and different forms of shipping.