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This article has been withdrawn as it was published elsewhere and accidentally duplicated. The original article can be seen here: 10.1108/eb014610. When citing the article, please cite: William Copacino, Donald B. Rosenfield, (1985), “Analytic Tools for Strategic Planning”, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Materials Management, Vol. 15 Iss 3 pp. 47 - 61.

In this article the focus is upon analytic tools for strategic logistics planning. We discuss a broad set of tools roughly divided into two areas. One area is that of traditional tools such as functional cost analysis and the various modelling approaches and these are briefly reviewed. Principally, however, the discussion centres on newer tools which have not been as widely used and which can be highly effective for strategic planning and especially for strategic logistics planning. In addition, we will present a framework which outlines the various aspects or approaches for strategic logistics planning and identifies the analytic tools that are available and appropriate for each particular aspect of planning.

Logistics has been receiving increased attention in management literature in the past few years. In particular, logistics has been recognised not only as a group of important functions, but as functions that have important strategic impacts as well. Logistics, as demonstrated by many corporations, can either gain or lose leverage in the marketplace, and more firms are recognising its importance.

Supply chain management (SCM) encompasses all activities associated with a firm moving its composite flow of information, materials and services from the raw materials stage through production and on to the end customer. This includes sourcing and procurement, production scheduling, order processing, inventory management, transportation, manufacturing, warehousing, customer service and the information systems used to monitor these activities. The sudden increase in electronic commerce and the Internet have resulted in new opportunities to improve the performance of the supply chain. Potential internet‐based opportunities and problems related to SCM will be discussed.

Over recent years supply chain management has grown in importance because of the proliferation of improved information flows, outsourcing practices, strategic alliances and partnerships, and the reshaping of the organizational focus from functional silos toward integrated activities. Logistics and supply chain management emphasize achieving lowest total cost through synergistic interaction of all supply chain components. The cash‐to‐cash (C2C) metric is an important measure as it bridges across inbound material activities with suppliers, through manufacturing operations, and the outbound sales activities with customers. This paper first defines how to calculate C2C. It then overviews the importance of measuring C2C, using both accounting and supply chain management perspectives. Next, it identifies key leverage points that are necessary to manage C2C effectively. Finally, future research questions are developed that should prove useful in guiding the development of C2C as a usable metric.

This paper aims to investigate the development of logistics and supply chain education through conducting comparative study between high diploma and associate degree. This study will critically review the added value of sub-degree courses of professional education. What exactly drives sub-degree students to enroll for a high diploma and associate degree program in maritime logistics and supply chain studies? How do they select to enroll such programs? Do such programs foster the students to equip in the professions? What do they look for obtaining professional status afterwards?

To address the stated queries, this study will analyze students’ evaluation of the effectiveness of sub-degree education and their motivation on enrolling these courses through a questionnaire survey.

In the context of higher education, sub-degrees of professional studies experienced tremendous growth in recent decades. Many academic institutions have recorded an upward trend in providing professional education on subjects that traditionally focused on apprentice-style, non-academic learning approach. However, the reasons behind the steady growth of the demand of sub-degree level of professional education have been under-researched.

This research is based on Hong Kong data only.

The paper not only increases the scope and depth of research area in logistics and supply chain education but also contributes theoretically to the understanding on the curriculum of sub-degree logistics and supply chain programs.

This paper aims to provide the results of a large‐scale survey of courses dedicated to the field of logistics in higher education. This research is unique because it represents the first large‐scale study of both undergraduate and graduate logistics courses.

Content analysis was performed on each syllabus to identify the actual course coverage: requirements, pedagogy and content emphasis. Content analysis is a descriptive approach to categorize data and the results may be limited by the categorizations used in analysis. This aggregated information was utilized to compare historical research findings in this area with the current skills identified as important for career success. These data provide input for gap analysis between offerings in higher education and those needs identified by practitioners.

Data gathering efforts yielded a sample of 118 logistics courses representing 77 schools and six different countries. The aggregate number of topics covered in undergraduate courses totalled 95, while graduate courses covered 81 different topics. The primary evaluation techniques include the traditional exams, projects and homework. Details regarding learning objectives and grading schema are provided along with a gap analysis between the coverage of logistics courses and the needs identified by practitioners.

The goal is to use these data as a means of continuous improvement in the quality and value of the educational experience. The findings are designed to foster information sharing and provide data for benchmarking efforts in the development of logistics courses and curricula in academia as well as training and development by professionals in the field of logistics.

Supply chain effectiveness has never been more important to commercial success. Yet, the overall experience to date has been disappointing for too many companies. This article sets out to explain why, arguing that technology alone is not the answer and that strategy and management considerations are also crucial.

The article seeks to achieve its aims by drawing on the most relevant ideas from the thought‐leadership literature, along with striking illustrations from the general business press. The author draws on his own years of experience teaching, researching and writing on supply chain strategy to distill a number of insights and implications of particular value to business strategists.

The main insight offered is that effective supply chain management requires the ability to meet two main challenges, a strategic challenge and an integration challenge. The strategic challenge centers around two key questions, what to outsource and when to partner. The integration challenge emerges from current trends toward more complex and web‐like supply chains, where effective supply chain integration is increasingly becoming a strategic capability and potential source of sustainable competitive advantage in its own right.

The article contributes both perspective and prescription. It offers perspective on the two major challenges identified, strategy and integration. It also offers more specific guidance on how to go about deciding what to outsource and when to partner, identifying and assessing the most significant opportunities and risks. It further offers guidance on what to prioritize when setting out to meet the supply chain integration challenge.

This paper reports the results of a three-year-long research on business relationships, relying on qualitative data gathered through multiple-case study research of four focal companies operating in Australia. The industry settings are as follows: steel construction, vegetable oils trading, aluminum and steel can manufacture, and imaging solutions. The research analyzes two main aspects of relationships: structure and process. This paper deals with structure describing it by the most desired features of intercompany relationships for each focal company. The primary research data have been coded drawing on extant research into business relationships. The main outcome of this part of the research is a five construct model composed by trust, commitment, bonds, distance, and information sharing that accounts for all informants’ utterances about relationship structure.

Examines the adoption of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in the commercial aviation industry, focusing on its role in baggage handling and security.

Draws upon academic and trade literature to provide a current overview of developments in the implementation of RFID technology in commercial aviation, particularly focusing on Delta Airlines, an industry leader in the USA in the testing and development of RFID systems for improved operations in baggage handling.

Though RFID technology is experiencing widespread adoption across many industries, commercial aviation seems poised to be a leader in its full‐scale adoption in practice. RFID technology demonstrates distinct advantages over the currently used barcode system for baggage handling.

This paper shows how RFID technology can improve customer service though better operational efficiency in baggage handling, which has been demonstrated to be an integral component of an airline's customer service equation. Academicians and marketing professionals should both be aware of developments with RFID technology. It is of particular importance in the airline sector, as improved accuracy of baggage handling can enable air carriers to close an important service‐delivery gap in an increasingly turbulent operating environment.

Little is published in the academic literature about this timely topic. Most of the published information available is from corporate or commercial sources, and is presented in such formats as white papers. This paper is a companion piece to the review of RFID in UK retailing by Jones et al. in this issue.