Elyn Lizeth Solano Charris, Jairo Rafael Montoya-Torres and William Guerrero-Rueda
The purpose of this paper is to present a decision support system (DSS) for a Colombian public utility company in order to aid decision-making at the operational level regarding…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a decision support system (DSS) for a Colombian public utility company in order to aid decision-making at the operational level regarding route planning and travel time. The aim is to provide a tool to assist technicians that perform interruption and reconnection of domiciliary services for about 2,000 customers a day.
Design/methodology/approach
The real-life problem is modeled as a Single Depot Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows (SDVRP-TW), which is a well-known optimization problem in Operations Research/Management Science. A two-stage approach integrated into decision-making software is provided. The first stage considers the clustering of customers generated by a combination of the sweep and the k-means algorithms, while the second phase plans the routing of technicians using the nearest-neighbor and the Or-opt heuristics. The proposed approach is tested using real data sets.
Findings
In comparison with the current route planning approach, the proposed method is able to obtain savings in total travel times, improving operational productivity by 22.2 percent.
Research limitations/implications
Since the analysis is carried out based on mathematical modeling, assumptions about the relationships between variables and elements of the actual complex problem might be simplified. Although the proposed approach aids the route planning, decision makers make the final decisions.
Practical implications
The proposed DSS has a critical impact on actual operational practices at the company. Productivity and service level are improved, while reducing operational costs. The decision-making process itself will be improved so technicians and higher decision makers can focus on performing other tasks.
Originality/value
The real-life problem is modeled using mathematical programming and efficiently solved through a two-stage approach based on simple, quite intuitive, solution procedures that have not been implemented for such services. In addition, as actual data from the company is employed for experimental purposes, the solution approach is tested and its efficiency and efficacy are both validated in a realistic setting, hence providing realistic behavior for decision makers at the company.
Propósito
presentar un sistema de soporte a las decisiones (Decision Support System, DSS) para una empresa colombiana de servicios públicos con el fin de apoyar el proceso de toma de decisiones a nivel operativo en lo relacionado con la planeación de rutas y el tiempo de servicio. El objetivo es suministrar una herramienta que ayude a los técnicos a desempeñar el servicio de corte y reconección de servicios domiciliarios para aproximadamente 2000 clientes por día.
Diseño/metodología/enfoque
el problema de una empresa real es modelado como un problema de enrutamiento de vehículos un único depósito y ventanas de tiempo (Single Depot Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows, SDVRP-TW). Éste es un problema de optimización muy conocido en Investigación de Operaciones / Ciencias de la Administración. Se presenta un enfoque de dos etapas integrado en un software de ayuda a la toma de decisiones. La primera etapa considera el agrupamiento de los clientes generado por una combinación de los algoritmos del barrido y el k-media, mientras que la segunda fase define el plan de rutas para los técnicos utilizando las heurísticas de vecino más cercano y Or-opt. El enfoque propuesto es validado empleando datos reales.
Hallazgos
en comparación con el plan de rutas actualmente utilizado por la empresa, el método propuesto es capaz de obtener ahorros en el tiempo total de viaje incrementando la eficiencia operativa en un 22.2%.
Limitaciones de la invstigación/implicaciones
puesto que el análisis se lleva a cabo a partir de un modelo matemático, los supuestos sobre las relaciones entre las variables y los elementos del sistema real complejo podrían simplificarse. Además, aunque el sistema propuesto realiza la planeación de rutas, la decisión final es tomada finalmente por las personas.
Implicaciones prácticas
el DSS propuesto tiene un impacto crítico en la práctica operativa real de la empresa. La productividad y el nivel de servicio se mejoran, mientras se reducen los costos operativos. El proceso de toma de decisiones en sí mismo se verá mejorado pues los técnicos y los tomadores de decisiones pueden enfocarse en realizar otras tareas.
Originalidad/valor
el problema real es modelado utilizando programación matemática y se resuelve de forma efectiva con un procedimiento de dos etapas sencillo y básicamente intuitivo que no ha sido puesto en marcha antes para tales empresas de servicios. Además, puesto que datos reales de la empresa son utilizados en la experimentación, el enfoque de solución es validado y su eficiencia y eficacia son comprobadas en un ambiente real, suministrando así un comportamiento real para los tomadores de decisiones en la empresa.
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Luisa D. Huaccho Huatuco, Jairo Rafael Montoya-Torres and Nicky Shaw and Anisoara Calinescu
Hendrik Reefke and Mattia Trocchi
Supply chains (SCs) are integral to the globalized economy and offer many business opportunities but can also lead to unintended social and environmental impacts. Accurate…
Abstract
Purpose
Supply chains (SCs) are integral to the globalized economy and offer many business opportunities but can also lead to unintended social and environmental impacts. Accurate performance assessments are crucial for SC control and are also a cornerstone for sustainable development. Hence, procedural, technological, and operational support is needed to facilitate a balanced approach to performance measurement for sustainable SCs.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper combines concepts derived from literature on performance measurement in SCs and sustainability with the balanced scorecard (BSC). Synthesis of these related approaches leads to the proposal of a customized scorecard design and development processes which are further elaborated through illustrations and practical examples.
Findings
A scorecard design customized for sustainable SCs is proposed along with development and implementation processes.
Research limitations/implications
The organization and synthesis of related performance measurement approaches advances the theoretical understanding of how a BSC can be operationalized in sustainable SCs. Research opportunities are derived based on the presented findings. The results are limited due to their mainly conceptual development.
Practical implications
The BSC is illustrated by practical examples in an attempt to demonstrate the feasibility and practical value of the conceptual approach.
Originality/value
The field of sustainable supply chain management continues to be beset by little guidance in terms of principles and applicable tools for performance assessment. The paper provides structure in this regard, integrates concepts central to the performance of sustainable SCs, and supports the practical application of a BSC approach.
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Ali Pazirandeh and Hamid Jafari
The purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate whether or not greening efforts are dependent on a higher level company-wide sustainability strategy to be carried out and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate whether or not greening efforts are dependent on a higher level company-wide sustainability strategy to be carried out and whether or not greening efforts lead to any changes in logistics effectiveness and logistics efficiency.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on empirical data collected via a survey sent to logistics managers and transport purchasers at Nordic multinationals. The results were analysed using structural equation model as to validate the anticipated relationships between the designed constructs.
Findings
Within this research, the authors have tried to validate the existence of relationships between a company's sustainability strategy, its transportation greening efforts and logistics performance.
Research limitations/implications
The paper investigates the possible effect the sustainability strategy of the firm will have on its decision to green its transportation, and the possible effect these measures will have on logistics efficiency and effectiveness. The empirical data gathered for this research are regionally restricted to the Nordic region. Further research could empirically test these relationships with empirical data from other countries or industries, perhaps using other performance constructs, to see if the results hold true.
Practical implications
It is shown that companies with a sustainability strategy are focusing on greening their transportation both from purchasing and operations perspectives to improve their entire environmental performance. The results from this paper fail to support the assumption that company-wide sustainability strategies are imperative for supply chain greening.
Originality/value
The paper is among the first attempts in analysing the relationships between a company's sustainable strategy and its logistics performance through greening the transportation activities.
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Nancy Bocken, David Morgan and Steve Evans
Sustainability is an area of increasing interest for industry and its stakeholders, and some companies now aspire to address sustainability issues (e.g. carbon emissions) at…
Abstract
Purpose
Sustainability is an area of increasing interest for industry and its stakeholders, and some companies now aspire to address sustainability issues (e.g. carbon emissions) at strategic and operational levels. As companies are exploring the issues, they attempt to embed sustainability in their planning and management systems. It is at this point that the domains of environmental concern and performance management meet. The research questions explored in this paper are: what is the size of environmental performance variation? What are the challenges for sustainability performance management in practice?
Design/methodology/approach
First, interviews in manufacturing companies were conducted to understand the size of environmental performance variation. Subsequently, a survey, interviews and a workshop were conducted with ten organisations to gain insight in environmental performance management in companies.
Findings
It was observed that, across three sectors, environmental performance between manufacturing plants differed up to 500 per cent between worst and best performing factories which make similar products using similar technology, all in well-run companies which have environmental management programmes in place. This means that learning within the company between different sites is important but can be difficult. Some initial success stories observed include a quid-pro-quo approach between factory sites (teach-learn-do-teach) and dedicated individuals (champions) in factories who strive to make year-on-year efficiency improvements.
Originality/value
The paper gives insights in the size of environmental performance variation, self-reported by internal company specialists in sustainable manufacturing, and sustainability performance management in practice.
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Uche Okongwu, Risako Morimoto and Matthieu Lauras
From a continuous improvement perspective, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the levels of maturity attained by organisations in reporting their supply chain (as well as…
Abstract
Purpose
From a continuous improvement perspective, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the levels of maturity attained by organisations in reporting their supply chain (as well as non-supply chain) sustainability initiatives. It also investigates the extent to which supply chain sustainability (SCS) disclosure varies between different business sectors, as well as the degree of interconnection between various sustainability criteria. Subsequently, it proposes an improvement framework for reporting and implementing sustainability initiatives across the supply chain.
Design/methodology/approach
To carry out this investigation, corporate sustainability reports of selected companies in ten different industries are downloaded and assessed. The paper uses content analysis and principal component analysis to study the disclosure maturity levels of the different industrial sectors.
Findings
The paper's results show that the disclosure maturity level is higher in business-to-consumer industries than in business-to-business industries on both the social and environmental dimensions. The paper also shows that the highly polluting energy sector is the least advanced in disclosing SCS initiatives. Generally speaking, there is no clear pattern in the way organisations disclose sustainability information. The conclusion is that sustainability disclosure is not yet homogeneously structured across different business sectors and organisations are yet to attain the “adult” maturity age.
Originality/value
Very few researchers can claim to have investigated the maturity levels of SCS disclosure from a continuous improvement perspective. This is probably due to the absence of a universally accepted framework that clearly defines the scope of sustainability. The paper tries to fill this gap by proposing a framework that would not only help researchers to study SCS and stakeholders to read sustainability reports, but would also enable practitioners to improve the quality and reliability of the data disclosed, especially as they apply to the supply chain.
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Zhihong Wang and Joseph Sarkis
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether companies’ environmental and social supply chain activities are associated with their financial performance.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether companies’ environmental and social supply chain activities are associated with their financial performance.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample from the top 500 US companies based on Newsweek's green ranking is used. Data from the Bloomberg environmental, social and governance (ESG) and COMPUSTAT financial database are used for an empirical analysis of the relationships.
Findings
Integrated sustainable supply chain management, jointly including social and environmental supply chain management, efforts is positively associated with corporate financial performance measured by return on assets and return on equity, and the positive effects can have a time lag of at least two years.
Research limitations/implications
By adopting the ESG database, the paper only tests corporate sustainability supply chain management using a binary 0-1 valuation. Three-year data period is also a limitation for an extensive time study. A research implication is that win-win benefits may accrue, but additional nuances may exist such as indirect influences that need to be studied.
Practical implications
Two major implications of this study are that organizations may wish to implement both environmental and social supply chain management simultaneously to get the greatest benefit, and that managers need to be patient about reaping the rewards of these initiatives.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the sustainability management literature by being the first to use publicly available data to investigate the financial benefits associated with individual and joint environmental and social supply chain management activities. The paper also uses a relatively large data set from US-based companies that have not been widely studied in the supply chain management literature.
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Paolo Taticchi, Flavio Tonelli and Roberto Pasqualino
The purpose of this paper is to develop the body of knowledge in the area of sustainable supply chains by providing a critical literature review in the field of sustainable supply…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop the body of knowledge in the area of sustainable supply chains by providing a critical literature review in the field of sustainable supply chain performance measurement (SSCPM) and suggesting paths for future research.
Design/methodology/approach
At a macro level, the evolution of the research field is analysed with the use of citation and co-citation analysis techniques. Further, the evolution of research on performance measurement (PM), supply chain PM, sustainability measurement and SSCPM is presented so as to highlight the criticalities of the research field.
Findings
The paper highlights a research field that is immature, but is growing very fast. Moreover, key issues are highlighted in order to help scholars in planning future research.
Research limitations/implications
The research presented in this paper is mainly limited to work that is referred directly with PM, operations management and supply chain management. Related research, such as literature on strategy or accounting has only been partially considered, even if future researches could include it.
Originality/value
Research in this area is receiving large attention from both academic and practitioners due to the significant relevance of the sustainability debate and the key role of supply chains in this discussion. The body of knowledge is yet immature, and the paper provides an updated state of the art, a critical analysis of the available literature and guidelines for future research.