Udukumburage Shalinda Kusal De Silva, Ananna Paul, Kazi Wahadul Hasan, Sanjoy Kumar Paul, Syed Mithun Ali and Ripon Kumar Chakrabortty
Managing supply chain risk is a crucial element in ensuring the long-term sustainability of any organization or industry. As such, identification of risks and deploying their…
Abstract
Purpose
Managing supply chain risk is a crucial element in ensuring the long-term sustainability of any organization or industry. As such, identification of risks and deploying their mitigation strategies should be the focal point to sustain in the long run. The risks that are faced by food processing supply chains are gaining prominence, given more consumers requiring higher quality products while ensuring traceability. In essence, this research focuses on the supply chain risks and mitigation strategies in the spice industry of an emerging economy, Sri Lanka.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper integrates two popular multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques, such as the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) to assess the supply chain risks and to derive their mitigation strategies for the spice industry.
Findings
Findings show that “inability to meet quality requirements” has been established as the most significant risk in the Sri Lankan spice industry. On the other hand, “vertical integration” (backward integration) has been discovered as the key mitigation strategy to ameliorate the effects of supply chain risks in this sector.
Research limitations/implications
This study is exploratory, and more empirical data and statistical analyses are needed to further validate the outcomes of the study.
Originality/value
Despite being one of the largest trade exporters in Sri Lanka, the spice industry gets scant attention to the identification and mitigation of the risks. The authors explored the supply chain risks in the spice industry and then prioritized the suitable mitigation strategies using an integrated AHP-TOPSIS method.
Details
Keywords
Sandesh Kanhu Gaikwad, Ananna Paul, Md. Abdul Moktadir, Sanjoy Kumar Paul and Priyabrata Chowdhury
The purpose of this study is to investigate the barriers for implementing Lean Six Sigma (LSS) in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and present a framework that provides…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the barriers for implementing Lean Six Sigma (LSS) in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and present a framework that provides prioritized strategies to overcome the barriers.
Design/methodology/approach
The barriers and strategies are identified via a comprehensive literature review and validated by industry experts. The study uses the fuzzy Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (fuzzy TOPSIS) to analyze the barriers and strategies for determining the prioritized list of strategies.
Findings
The findings reveal that there are sixteen barriers to LSS implementation in Indian SMEs. To overcome these barriers, this study reveals twelve strategies. The analysis shows that “effective management” is the most crucial strategy to overcome the barriers for implementing LSS in Indian SMEs.
Research limitations/implications
This research guides SMEs practitioners to efficiently and effectively implement LSS, which, in turn, can enhance the performance of SMEs.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature by integrating the strategies with the barriers for implementing LSS in Indian SMEs. Besides, this study provides the prioritized list of strategies to overcome the barriers for implementing LSS in Indian SMEs.