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1 – 10 of 278Seyoum Eshetu Birkie and Paolo Trucco
Recent studies have argued that companies may actively implement practices to mitigate disruptions in their supply chain and reduce the extent of damage on performance. Other…
Abstract
Purpose
Recent studies have argued that companies may actively implement practices to mitigate disruptions in their supply chain and reduce the extent of damage on performance. Other studies have shown that disruptions may propagate in supply chains, leading to consequences that are more negative and raising doubts on the effectiveness of mitigation strategies implemented downstream. This study investigates the influence of supply chain complexity on the two phenomena and their interplay, taking a focal company's perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic procedure for data collection, encoding and aggregation based on incident data mainly from secondary sources was used. Multiple regression models were run to analyse direct and moderation effects involving resilience, distance of impact location from trigger point, and supply chain complexity on weighted performance change.
Findings
Supply chain complexity is found to have positive moderation on the ripple effect of disruption. Resilience capability remains to have dominating direct positive effect in mitigating disruptions when supply chain complexity is taken into account.
Research limitations/implications
This study extends the research discourse on supply chain resilience and disruption management with focus on the supply side. It demonstrates that, along with the severity of the disruption scenario, the ripple effect must also be considered when analyzing the benefits of resilience practices implemented by the focal company.
Practical implications
Complexity in the supply chain can only help to smooth-out the rippling effects of a disruption, which go largely beyond supply-demand unbalances and lead time fluctuations. To mitigate it better, the focal company has to act proactively with adequate resilience practices, which also connects to the importance of better visibility across multiple supply chain tiers.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that empirically tests the benefits of resilience practices and the ripple effect of disruptions under the moderation role of supply chain complexity.
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Seyoum Eshetu Birkie, Paolo Trucco and Matti Kaulio
Many studies have found that Lean practices provide better performance in a stable business environment. However, there is limited information on how Lean practices influence…
Abstract
Purpose
Many studies have found that Lean practices provide better performance in a stable business environment. However, there is limited information on how Lean practices influence performance gains (defined in this paper as improvement and sustenance of performance) in an uncertain (complex and dynamic) environment. This study aims to investigate how the implementation of Lean helps to sustain performance in such context.
Design/methodology/approach
The study draws on an in-depth investigation of two capital goods manufacturing engineer-to-order (ETO) cases, in which performance sustenance is discussed in relation to the extent, locus and extensiveness of implemented Lean practice bundles.
Findings
Findings indicate that a higher extent of Lean practices’ implementation, covering both shop floor and transactional processes, increases the possibility of performance sustenance in ETO. Furthermore, a coherent approach in the pre-, during- and post-implementation phases of the Lean change process is required to foster performance sustenance. Lean practices in ETO are modified to suit context change from repetitive manufacturing.
Research limitations/implications
This study proposes performance sustenance as a performance measure in a highly uncertain context, such as ETO, as a single reference cannot effectively measure performance improvements over diverse orders. From this perspective, appropriate Lean implementation contributes towards building capabilities for flexibly and proactively managing uncertain circumstances.
Practical implication
Even companies operating in highly uncertain (complex and dynamic) contexts may benefit from significant performance gains, thanks to the Lean implementation. This can be achieved by a balanced implementation of practices at shop floor and transactional processes, and their mindful customisations.
Originality/value
The study compares Lean implementation in ETO with that of high-volume–low-variety systems established in the literature. It qualitatively discusses how Lean implementation as an overarching effort both in shop floor and transactional processes leads to better sustenance of achieved performance improvements in shop floor under high uncertainty.
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Gianluca Riglietti, Mariachiara Piraina and Paolo Trucco
This paper investigates the relationships between the core elements of a BCM system and SCRES constituents, i.e. visibility, agility, flexibility, velocity and collaboration. An…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates the relationships between the core elements of a BCM system and SCRES constituents, i.e. visibility, agility, flexibility, velocity and collaboration. An explorative multiple case studies methodology was adopted, consisting of organizations in the retail, manufacturing and humanitarian sectors that had to withstand the impact of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (January to June 2020).
Design/methodology/approach
The paper adopts an interpretative approach to understand organizational behavior through observations. The source of data comes from in-depth interviews as well as the scrutiny of available official documents for triangulation. The unit of analysis is the organizations internal supply chain with a specific focus on their BCM system and SCM arrangements.
Findings
This paper shows how core BCM practices have a direct impact on supply chain resilience constituents. Specifically practices such as establishing a crisis management committee and risk assessments boost constituents such as agility and flexibility. This advances the theoretical discussion on supply chain resilience, while providing practical examples for organizations to build a response to pandemic incidents.
Originality/value
This paper validates the contribution of business continuity management to supply chain resilience, a concept that has mainly been linked to practices such as risk management. In this regard, this paper enriches the discussion. Secondly, the analysis explains how specific BCM practices worked during the first wave of the pandemic and how they were implemented, providing a clear path for supply chain resilience.
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Seyed Sajad Mousavi, Reza Khani Jazani, Elizabeth A. Cudney and Paolo Trucco
This study aims to quantify the multifaceted relationship between lean implementation and occupational health and safety (OHS) performance. Hypotheses based on a set of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to quantify the multifaceted relationship between lean implementation and occupational health and safety (OHS) performance. Hypotheses based on a set of antecedents (mediating factors) are built and quantitatively tested.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected through an international survey with responses from more than 20 countries. Partial least square-based structural equation modeling was used to test a theoretical framework derived from literature. Leading indicators (formative indices) were used to evaluate the four antecedents of OHS performance (mediating factors).
Findings
All the identified antecedents show a significant mediating role. Antecedents related to the working environment and organizational factors have the strongest mediating effect. Results support the importance of using OHS leading indicators to appropriately measure the impact of lean implementation on workers’ health and safety.
Research limitations/implications
The proposed OHS leading indicators connecting lean practices to OHS performance antecedents are only explored in this study. Therefore, to establish a comprehensive, validated and practically usable set of leading indicators, further research is needed.
Practical implications
As there are some synergistic and trade-off relationships between lean and safety, the findings of this study will enable managers and organizations to leverage the positive effects of lean implementation on workers’ health and safety and mitigate the negative effects.
Originality/value
Several prior studies investigated the multifaceted link between lean and OHS; however, this is the first study that tested direct and mediated influence by defining a coherent set of antecedents. The results justify and strongly support the adoption of OHS leading indicators to measure the impact of lean implementation on OHS performance.
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R. Fisher, E. Trucco, A. Fitzgibbon, M. Waite and M. Orr
Range data have become increasingly popular in recent years. Range sensors can acquire shape directly, thus avoiding the difficulties of methods using multiple intensity images…
Abstract
Range data have become increasingly popular in recent years. Range sensors can acquire shape directly, thus avoiding the difficulties of methods using multiple intensity images, and have been adopted in many applications: bin picking, robotic assembly, inspection, recognition, robot navigation, automated cartography and medical diagnosis to name but a few.
Sung-Woo Lee, Sung-Ho Shin and Hee-Sung Bae
This study aims to analyze information on vessel traffic between the two Koreas with a probability distribution for each route/vessel type. The study will then conduct an estimate…
Abstract
This study aims to analyze information on vessel traffic between the two Koreas with a probability distribution for each route/vessel type. The study will then conduct an estimate for maritime transport patterns of inter-Korean trade in the future. To analyze the flow of inter-Korean coastal shipping, this study conducted visualization analysis of shipping status between North and South Korea by year, ship type, and port using navigation data of three years from Port Logistics Information System (Port-MIS) sources during 2006 to 2008, which saw the most active exchanges between the two governments. Also, this study analyzes shipping status between the two governments as a probability distribution for each port and provides the prospects for future maritime transport for inter-Korean trade by means of Bayesian Networks and simulation. The results of the analysis are as follows: i) when North-South routes are reopened, the import volume for sand from North Korea will be increased; ii) investment in the modernization of ports in North Korea is required so that shipping companies can generate profit through economies of scale; iii) the number of the operating vessels including container ships between the two governments is expected to increase like when the tensions and conflict on the Korean Peninsula was release, especially between Busan port in South Korea and Nampo port in North Korea; and iv) among container ships, transshipment containers imported and exported through Busan Port will be shipped to North Korea by feeder transportation.
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Shoufeng Cao, Kim Bryceson and Damian Hine
The aim of this paper is to explore the value of collaborative risk management in a decentralised multi-tier global fresh produce supply chain.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to explore the value of collaborative risk management in a decentralised multi-tier global fresh produce supply chain.
Design/methodology/approach
This study utilised a mixed methods approach. A qualitative field study was conducted to examine the need for collaborative risk management. The simulation experiments with industry datasets were conducted to assess whether risk-sharing contracts work in mitigating joint risks in parts of and across the supply chain.
Findings
The qualitative field study revealed risk propagation and the inefficiency of company-specific risk management strategies in value delivery. The simulation results indicated that risk-sharing contracts can incentivise various actors to absorb interrelated risks for value creation.
Research limitations/implications
The research is limited to risks relevant to supply chain processes in the Australia–China table grrape supply chain and does not consider product-related risks and the risk-taking behaviours of supply chain actors.
Practical implications
Collaborative risk management can be deployed to mitigate systematic risks that disrupt global fresh produce supply chains. The results offer evidence-based knowledge to supply chain professionals in understanding the value of collaborative risk assessment and management and provide insights on how to conduct collaborative risk management for effective risk management.
Originality/value
The results contribute to the supply chain risk management literature by new collaborative forms for effective risk management and strategic competition of “supply chain to supply chain” in multi-tier food supply chains.
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The desire to improve efficiency has led both academics and practitioners to embrace various technologies to aid managers to discharge their functions. Recently, there has been a…
Abstract
Purpose
The desire to improve efficiency has led both academics and practitioners to embrace various technologies to aid managers to discharge their functions. Recently, there has been a growing interest amongst construction researchers on the use of computer vision and image‐processing techniques to automatically capture work in progress. Reported findings are promising; however, those previous studies fall short of providing a reporting mechanism to aid decision making. The purpose of this paper is to develop a reporting model based on progress captured using computer vision.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper first presents trends in research relating to use of computer vision in the monitoring of work in progress. It then employs the unified modelling language to present the conceptual development of the model. The computerised reporting model is developed using the visual basic programming language.
Findings
The key elements of the model are computations of cost‐schedule variances, payments and cash flows. Results of a test on a hypothetical case show that the model accurately computes the metrics.
Originality/value
The reporting model serves to provide managers with a quick and easy means of interpreting work progress captured using computer vision. It reinforces the value of already existing work on the application of computer vision techniques to the measurement of work in progress on construction sites.
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Melek Akın Ateş and Huriye Memiş
This paper aims to empirically examine the moderating role of strategic purchasing on the relationship between supply base complexity (SBC) and purchasing performance.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to empirically examine the moderating role of strategic purchasing on the relationship between supply base complexity (SBC) and purchasing performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data were collected from 209 firms listed in the Capital Top 500 Firms of Turkey. Measurement properties were assessed via confirmatory factor analysis, and the conceptual model was tested via hierarchical regression analysis. A supplementary analysis based on 14 semi-structured interviews was conducted to provide further insights on the survey findings.
Findings
Regarding structural SBC, the results suggest that horizontal complexity and supplier interaction improve purchasing performance, but only in firms with high strategic purchasing. By contrast, spatial complexity reduces purchasing performance in firms with high strategic purchasing, while supplier differentiation does not have any effect. Regarding dynamic SBC, the results show that both delivery complexity and supplier instability reduce purchasing performance when firms have low strategic purchasing. Interviews further suggest that firms with high strategic purchasing leverage the positive effects and mitigate the negative effects of SBC by having a long-term focus, considering multiple performance criteria and adopting advanced purchasing practices.
Practical implications
In contrast to what is widely posited in the existing literature, the nuanced findings of this study reveal that complexity is not always detrimental. The results suggest that practitioners should aim for high levels of strategic purchasing to suppress the negative effects of SBC while leveraging its benefits.
Originality/value
By investigating the contingency role of strategic purchasing, this study provides novel insights into the under-investigated issue of how to best “manage” SBC.
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Pushpesh Pant, Shantanu Dutta and S.P. Sarmah
The purpose of this paper is to conduct a large-sample empirical examination of how intangible supply chain complexity impacts firm performance in light of a firm's organizational…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to conduct a large-sample empirical examination of how intangible supply chain complexity impacts firm performance in light of a firm's organizational structure.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses panel data from 2,580 Indian manufacturing firms and constructs empirical proxy for intangible supply chain complexity, i.e. CHQ distance from major cities. The proposed conceptual model is grounded in the dynamic capability view (DCV) and social network theory (SNT). Multivariate regression analyses are performed to investigate the effect of intangible complexity on firm performance.
Findings
Results show that intangible supply chain complexity, as proxied by “CHQ distance from major cities”, negatively affects firm performance and a firm's organizational structure plays an important role in conceiving CHQ locational strategies. Firms with interconnected supply chain and social network (e.g. business group firms) have a higher propensity to locate their CHQs farther away from major cities, and business group firms that have more distantly located CHQs experience better financial performance compared to independent firms (with less network resources).
Originality/value
In light of the supply chain literature and relevant theories, the study conceptualizes intangible supply chain complexity as “CHQ distance from major cities” and deepens our understanding of the relationship between intangible complexity and firm performance in light of organizational structure. Further, it develops an objective understanding of intangible supply chain complexity by relying on secondary panel data.
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