Thomas Thron, Gábor Nagy and Niaz Wassan
This paper sets out to investigate the impact of various supply chain advancements within a perishable goods environment.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper sets out to investigate the impact of various supply chain advancements within a perishable goods environment.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses discrete event simulation to evaluate diverse adjustments within the distribution framework of a food manufacturer and their major customers. Analysed aspects include level of safety inventory held, inventory issuing, replenishment and through‐put policies and increased demand transparency due to collaboration between manufacturer and various retailers. The importance and the impact of these factors are investigated using a wide variety of performance measures.
Findings
Several promising practice designs are generated and recommended for implementation to improve the experienced shortcomings. Engaging in collaborative replenishment is emphasized in particular even in cases of limited scope. The analysis further reveals the importance of advanced inventory dispatch policies.
Research limitations/implications
The research focused on the delivery framework of a particular manufacturer and the chosen products. Hence, research findings may differ and need to be modified before drawing conclusions for different products, companies or industries.
Originality/value
Evaluating the impact of various stages of collaboration within a perishable product supply chain environment has not been addressed much within prior SCM research. The analysis tackles a variety of issues that specifically arise within a perishable goods framework and aims to support practitioners by identifying possible pitfalls and areas of improvement.
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Thomas Thron, Gábor Nagy and Niaz Wassan
Most collaborative SCM research has focused on the ideal situation of a manufacturer engaging with all its downstream partners. In view of extensive entry costs, lack of trust or…
Abstract
Purpose
Most collaborative SCM research has focused on the ideal situation of a manufacturer engaging with all its downstream partners. In view of extensive entry costs, lack of trust or simply non‐suitability of electronic data processing systems this, however, provides only limited support to actual problems of many companies. The paper seeks to investigate various common supply chain performance measures to show what impact increasing adoption of collaborative replenishment between manufacturer and several major customers has on each market participant.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses discrete event simulation to evaluate various adjustments within the distribution frameworks of two food‐manufacturers and their major customers.
Findings
The analysis suggests that manufacturer and customers can substantially benefit from even a partial increase in demand visibility. This nevertheless can be costly since favouring some customers due to sharing a collaborative replenishment system, while others often seem to experience heavier delivery delays and declining service‐level.
Research limitations/implications
The research focused on the delivery framework of the two involved manufacturers and the chosen products. Hence, research findings may differ and need to be modified before drawing conclusions for different products, companies or industries.
Practical implications
The analysis aims to help practitioners to identify possible opportunities and threats within an expanding collaborative SC replenishment system.
Originality/value
Investigating heterogeneous delivery frameworks within an emerging collaboration system has not been addressed much within prior SCM research. It aims to help mainly small‐ or medium‐sized enterprises to reveal possible advantages and drawbacks within the process of emerging with a varying number of customers from a traditional predetermined reorder‐point into a collaborative VMI/CPFR system.
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Marek Michalski, Jose Luis Montes-Botella and Washington Guevara Piedra
The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of asymmetric environments on collaboration, integration, and performance during supply chain management processes.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of asymmetric environments on collaboration, integration, and performance during supply chain management processes.
Design/methodology/approach
The study conducted in the industrial sector of two markets – Spain and Poland – considering disparate behaviors among organizations and their managers. Using data collected from 133 firms and advanced partial least squares regression modeling, a number of direct and moderating effects are hypothesized and tested.
Findings
The authors found that existing asymmetry may prevent achievement of optimum equilibrium. Seven of the ten research hypotheses were validated, providing strong support for the significant role that asymmetry can play in managing supply chains (SCs). This result suggests that managers need to consider whether maximum collaboration or integration with SC partners is possible under the strong influence of asymmetry. The findings provide rational insights to SC managers regarding adequate measures to reduce imbalanced relationships and establish equilibrium between partners under varying contexts of collaboration and integration.
Research limitations/implications
This study was conducted in only two countries, so generalizations are limited. Furthermore, there are improvements to be made in sample design to allow for further validation and enhancement of the model and method.
Practical implications
Findings provide rational insights to managers regarding when it is adequate to reduce imbalanced relationships with partners under varying contexts of collaboration and integration.
Originality/value
Collaboration and integration have been well studied in many fields but this research suggests that managers in asymmetric environments must understand that development of strategies based on integration might be impossible to realize.
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Ich habe genug (I have enough) BWV 82 is one of the best known, most regularly performed and consistently recorded of J.S. Bach's approximately 200 extant sacred cantatas.1 In the…
Abstract
Ich habe genug (I have enough) BWV 82 is one of the best known, most regularly performed and consistently recorded of J.S. Bach's approximately 200 extant sacred cantatas.1 In the text, by an anonymous author, the narrator repeatedly expresses their readiness to die, in faith that they will be received by their saviour in eternal life. The whole cantata expresses a fearless ‘longing for death’ (Schweitzer, 1911/1966, p. 114), coupled with a serene contentment. Bach's setting of this text for religious purposes not only supports the sentiments expressed by the narrator but colours, illuminates, vitalises and elevates it in ways that startle the ear, quicken the spirit and stir the imagination. In the third and final aria of the cantata, Bach employs an almost-jaunty dance rhythm to accompany the narrator's anticipatory delight in their own death, liberated from worldly and bodily suffering. After identifying some of the ingenious ways Bach animates the text, I offer some speculations and elaborations as to how and why this work has had such an enduring presence in the Western musical canon, for believers and non-believers alike.
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Gives an in depth view of the strategies pursued by the world’s leading chief executive officers in an attempt to provide guidance to new chief executives of today. Considers the…
Abstract
Gives an in depth view of the strategies pursued by the world’s leading chief executive officers in an attempt to provide guidance to new chief executives of today. Considers the marketing strategies employed, together with the organizational structures used and looks at the universal concepts that can be applied to any product. Uses anecdotal evidence to formulate a number of theories which can be used to compare your company with the best in the world. Presents initial survival strategies and then looks at ways companies can broaden their boundaries through manipulation and choice. Covers a huge variety of case studies and examples together with a substantial question and answer section.
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Ostrander’s notes reveal Palyi’s course to have had, in effect, four parts, the first two being principal ones. The first part is a review and interpretation of selected aspects…
Abstract
Ostrander’s notes reveal Palyi’s course to have had, in effect, four parts, the first two being principal ones. The first part is a review and interpretation of selected aspects of monetary theory, especially the Banking versus Currency Schools of monetary policy. The second part is an interpretation of recent European history, centering on the rise to power of Adolph Hitler. The third deals with Hayek, apparently through a report by another student, Albert G. Hart. The fourth deals with Keynes, apparently through a (second) report by Rose Director. These are taken up in the same sequence in this introduction.
C. Clifford Defee, Brent Williams, Wesley S. Randall and Rodney Thomas
Theory is needed for a discipline to mature. This research aims to provide a summary analysis of the theories being used in contemporary logistics and supply chain management…
Abstract
Purpose
Theory is needed for a discipline to mature. This research aims to provide a summary analysis of the theories being used in contemporary logistics and supply chain management (SCM) studies.
Design/methodology/approach
A comprehensive literature review of articles appearing in five top tier logistics and SCM journals is conducted in order to identify how often theory is used and to classify the specific theories used. An analysis of the theoretical categories is presented to explain the type and frequency of theory usage.
Findings
Over 180 specific theories were found within the sampled articles. Theories grouped under the competitive and microeconomics categories made up over 40 per cent of the theoretical incidences. This does not imply all articles utilize theory. The research found that theory was explicitly used in approximately 53 per cent of the sampled articles.
Practical implications
Two implications are central. First, in the minds of editors, reviewers and authors is approximately 53 per cent theory use enough? Literature suggests there continues to be a need for theory‐based research in the discipline. A first step may be to increase our theory use, and to clearly describe the theory being used. Second, the vast majority of theories used in recent logistics and SCM research originated in other disciplines. Growth in the discipline dictates the need for greater internal theory development.
Originality/value
Despite multiple calls for the use of theory in logistics and SCM, little formal research has been produced examining the actual theories being used. This research provides an in‐depth review and analysis of the use of theory in logistics and SCM research during the period 2004‐2009.
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Claudine Antoinette Soosay and Paul Hyland
This paper aims to conduct a systematic review of the literature on supply chain collaboration published over a 10-year period from 2005 to 2014. It explores the nature and extent…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to conduct a systematic review of the literature on supply chain collaboration published over a 10-year period from 2005 to 2014. It explores the nature and extent of research undertaken to identify key themes emerging in the field and gaps that need to be addressed.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors review a sample of 207 articles from 69 journals, after using an iterative cycle of defining appropriate search keywords, searching the literature and conducting the analysis.
Findings
Key themes include the meaning of collaboration; considerations for supply chain collaboration theory; emerging areas in collaboration for sustainability, technology-enabled supply chains and humanitarian supply chains; and the need for a more holistic approach, multi-tier perspectives and research into B2C collaborations.
Research limitations/implications
The paper provides discussion and scope for future research into the area which would contribute to the field tremendously.
Originality/value
There have been very few reviews in the past on supply chain collaboration, and this is one of the first extensive reviews conducted to address how well the body of knowledge on supply chain collaboration corresponds with our contemporary society.
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Aditya Kamat, Saket Shanker and Akhilesh Barve
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the factors affecting the implementation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in Indian humanitarian logistics. The factors listed are…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the factors affecting the implementation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in Indian humanitarian logistics. The factors listed are significant as they are hindering the incorporation of this new technology into the humanitarian supply chain, thus creating inefficiencies in the humanitarian logistics sector.
Design/methodology/approach
This research is approached using a two-step process. In the first step, the particular barriers for UAV implementation are determined by a literature review and consultation with experts. Next, the proposed framework, a combination of grey-decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (grey-DEMATEL) and analytic network process (ANP), i.e. g-DANP, is used to determine a hierarchical structure for the factors and sub-factors. The grey hypothesis provides sufficient analytical data to an otherwise lacking DEMATEL technique. Also, the use of ANP gives weightage to each factor, allowing us to categorize their importance further.
Findings
This study reveals that factors like expensive commercial solutions and high transport energy costs are significant factors of the “cause” group, whereas the uncertain cost for maintenance and repair and deficiency of high-level computing are crucial factors of the “effect” category. The mentioned factors, along with many others, are the main reasons for the delayed incorporation of UAVs in humanitarian logistics.
Practical implications
The results of this study present insights for humanitarian supply chain managers, UAV producers and policymakers. Those in the humanitarian logistics sector can use the findings of this study to plan for various challenges faced as they try and implement UAVs in their supply chain.
Originality/value
This research is unique as it analyses the general factors hindering the implementation of UAVs in Indian humanitarian logistics. The study enriches existing literature by providing an analytic approach to determine the weightage of various interrelations between the identified factors affecting UAV incorporation in the humanitarian supply chain.
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Zhentao Wang, Pai Peng, Sujuan Zhong, Yafang Cheng and Dong Xu
The purpose of this paper on the one hand is to reduce the sintering temperature, shorten the sintering time and improve the electrical properties of the sample through the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper on the one hand is to reduce the sintering temperature, shorten the sintering time and improve the electrical properties of the sample through the two-step flash sintering method and on the other hand is to study the effect of electric field on the phase structure, microstructure and electrical properties of the flash sintering sample.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, (Mg1/3Ta2/3)0.01Ti0.99O2 giant dielectric ceramics were prepared by conventional sintering and two-step flash sintering, respectively. Further, the effect of electric field (600–750 V/cm) on the electrical properties of (Mg1/3Ta2/3)0.01Ti0.99O2 giant dielectric ceramics was studied.
Findings
The results show that compared with the conventional sintering, the sintering temperature of the two-step flash sintering can be reduced by 200°C and the sintering time can be shortened by 12 times. All sintered samples were single rutile TiO2 structure. Compared with conventional sintering, two-step flash sintering samples have finer grain size. The two-step flash sintered sample has similar dielectric properties to the conventional sintered sample. The dielectric constant of flash sintered samples decreases with the increase of electric field. When the electric field is 700 V/cm, the ceramic sample has the optimal dielectric properties, where the dielectric constant is approximately 5.5 × 103 and the dielectric loss is about 0.18 at 1 kHz. Impedance spectroscopy analysis shows that the excellent dielectric properties are attributed to the internal barrier layer capacitance model.
Originality/value
This paper not only provides a new method for the preparation of co-doped TiO2 giant dielectric ceramics but also has great potential in greatly improving efficiency and saving energy.