Supply Chain Management

The Impact and Potential Role of Multinational Corporations in Achieving Sustainability in Latin American Countries

by Charles Atencio

Master of Science Thesis, System Design and Management, School of Engineering and Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

    This thesis aims to assess the activities and influence of automotive multinational corporations (MNCs)... more     This thesis aims to assess the activities and influence of automotive multinational corporations (MNCs) in developing countries as it relates to the concept of "total sustainability" within three countries: Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico. It is an innovative perspective of the systemic sustainability issues incorporated incorporate strategy, industrial policy, worker representation, and the environmental protection.

    Research has focused on collecting information from journals, industry publications, and studies by international organization, on the interplay between government policy and automotive MNC activity. Focus of attention has been paid to influences on the "Pillars of Sustainability", described by Professor Nicholas Ashford, that encompass sustainable development: Environment, Economy, and Employment.

    Analysis of the observations and industry/policy trends has used the Ashford framework, which focuses on both the above mentioned factors of total sustainability and the many processes that interconnect their states. Attention is also paid to emergent complex system behavior and associated risks and opportunities.

    Conclusions and Recommendations are focused on systemic views of the challenges posed by automotive industry activity on the nations studied and policy recommendations on how to possibly both capture economic benefit, but also further
sustainable development efforts.

    Suggested future research topics associated with this thesis would encompass the analysis of different industries, entrepreneurial enterprises, industrial policies, technologies and policies, or the development of associated System Dynamics models.

Dealing with supply chain risks: Linking risk management practices and strategies to performance

by Andreas Wieland

co-authored with: Carl Marcus Wallenburg; forthcoming in: International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 42, No. 10

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OF THE FIRM

by Rohaizat Baharun

The Proposed Conceptual Model for Investigating Moderating Effects of Contextual Factors on Supply Chain Management Practice-Performance Link in …

by Rohaizat Baharun

The Influence of Relational Experience and Contractual Governance on the Negotiation Strategy in Buyer-Supplier Disputes

by Fabrice Lumineau

Lumineau F. & Henderson J. 2012. “The Influence of Relational Experience and Contractual Governance on the Negotiation Strategy in Buyer-Supplier Disputes.” Journal of Operations Management, 30(5): 382-395.

This paper theoretically refines and empirically extends the debate on the type of interplay between relational... more This paper theoretically refines and empirically extends the debate on the type of interplay between relational experience and contractual governance in an under-researched area: supply chain disputes. We define relational experience as either cooperative or competitive; distinguish between control and coordination functions of contractual governance; and assess their interplay on the negotiation strategy used in disputes. Using a unique data set of buyer-supplier disputes, we find, in particular, that increasing contractual control governance weakens the positive effect of cooperative relational experience on cooperative negotiation strategy. However, increasing contractual control governance for a buyer-supplier dyad with competitive relational experience will increase cooperative negotiation strategy. Contractual coordination governance reinforces the positive effect of cooperative relational experience. Through this study, we reach a better understanding of how and when contractual and relational governance dimensions interact; rather than whether they act as substitutes or complements as has been studied in prior research. We discuss the implications of these findings for the field of supply chain management.

The costs of adoption of RFID technologies in supply networks

by Raluca Bunduchi

Smoothing seasonal resource supply in land-based industries: Economic and technical impacts of 'smoothing the flush' in New Zealand dairy milk production and processing

by Peter Mellalieu

Mellalieu, P. J. (2010). Smoothing seasonal resource supply in land-based industries: Economic and technical impacts of “smoothing the flush” in New Zealand dairy milk production and processing. Presented at the Unitec Learning, Teaching, and Research Symposium, Auckland, NZ: Unitec Institute of Technology. Retrieved from http://web.me.com/petermellalieu/Teacher/Examples/Entries/2010/9/28_Smoothing_the_flush_in_New_Zealand_dairy_milk_production_and_processing.html

Most industries face production patterns that vary to some extent with the seasons of the year - or even the hours of... more Most industries face production patterns that vary to some extent with the seasons of the year - or even the hours of the day. These seasonal variations result in the requirement to construct excess processing and/or logistics capacity for peak periods, and/or to hold final product inventory produced during off-peak periods. In general, these peak supply variations increase the cost per unit of output.

This study explores the tactical and strategic implications for raw material supply-side management in the New Zealand dairy industry as an illustrative case. We focus attention particularly on the costs and opportunities for managing supply ('smoothing the flush') in the New Zealand dairy industry.

The study presents data showing that the market value of product produced by a typical multi-facility, multi-process dairy company is lowest during the flush supply period. The market value increases markedly in off-peak months as the processing company possesses the flexibility to allocate its raw material to a the most profit-bearing products - an option not available at the capacity-constrained 'flush' point.

The study argues that the New Zealand dairy industry could increase net industry profitability through adopting a (fortnightly?) pricing system for milk received from dairy farmers that reflects the actual net value achievable from the processing of milk at different periods throughout the production season. The recommendation would likely lead to (a) higher average capacity utilisation of dairy processing facilities (b) adjustments to on-farm operations as sub-regional groups of farmers arranged their production to peak earlier or later than the regional industry norm.

For source data used in this presentation, see:
Mellalieu, P. J. (1982). A Decision Support System for Corporate Planning in the New Zealand Dairy Industry (Doctor of Philosophy in mathematics, statistics and operations research). Victoria University of Wellington. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10063/568

Exploring growth in vertical inter-firm relationships: small-medium firms supplying multiple food retailers

by Richard K Blundel

Critical Evaluation of Paradigms for Modeling Supply Chains as Complex Socio-Technical Systems

by Behzad Behdani

Working Paper

Each simulation paradigm is characterized by a set of core assumptions and some underlying concepts to describe the... more Each simulation paradigm is characterized by a set of core assumptions and some underlying concepts to describe the world. These assumptions, in fact, constrain the development of a conceptual model for the system of study. Consequently, the choice of appropriate simulation paradigm is an important step in model development process. In this paper, selection of a simulation approach for supply chain modeling is discussed. For this purpose, the supply chain is described from perspective of two well-established system theories. Firstly, supply chains are defined as socio-technical systems. Afterwards, they are described from complex adaptive systems perspective. This study gives a set of features for supply chains as complex socio-technical systems which is subsequently used to compare three simulation paradigms for supply chain modeling – namely, system dynamics, discrete-even simulation and agent-based simulation.

A Decision Support System for Corporate Planning in the New Zealand Dairy Industry

by Peter Mellalieu

Mellalieu, P. J. (1982). A Decision Support System for Corporate Planning in the New Zealand Dairy Industry, Doctor of Philosophy in mathematics, statistics and operations research,. Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand.

A Decision Support System (DSS) is described, the prime objective of which is to aid in the location of new... more A Decision Support System (DSS) is described, the prime objective of which is to aid in the location of new investments in a multi-site, multi-product dairy processing company. A network program model is described which optimises the collection of milk from farm groups (netcells) and the allocation of the milk to a range of final products and byproducts through consideration of product prices, Process costs and transport costs. Constraints include process capacities, overtime capacities, and final product demands. Site dependant product yields are considered through use of an iteration procedure surrounding the network model. This procedure updates estimates of the mean company yield used to set upper and lower arc constraints in the product demand phase of the network model. Milk tanker collection distances are estimated by an expected travelling salesman distance method in conjunction with accurately measured netcell to factory 'bridging distances' and an inter-factory diversion network of road distances. To cope with daily fixed cost charges, a heuristic procedure employing cost relaxations and a number of pre-solution feasibility tests is used. Seasonally varying factors (milk supply, product yield and farms visited per tanker trip) are accommodated by solving the network model for the average day in each month for twelve months, then summing the results multiplied by the number of production days in each month. Implementation as a DSS was facilitated through use of an interactive computer system incorporating computer-generated graphic displays. Applications of the DSS to location planning, industry rationalization and other corporate planning activities are described. Recommendations on the use of the model to identify the feasible set of candidates for location studies are made, and methods for identifying the appropriate timing of investments are considered.
Keyword: Corporate planning; Network program system; Operations research; Corporate support; Dairy processing; Dairying planning; 230117 Operations Research; 230299 Statistics

Bündelung von Straßen- und Schienenwegen – Planung, Chancen, Wirkungen

by Dennis Rodler

UVP, Bundeverkehrswegeplanung, Raumordnung, Maßnahmen

Performance measurement and benchmarking in the supply chain: literature review

by Wojciech Piotrowicz

Wojciech Piotrowicz, Richard Cuthbertson and Gerd Islei, Performance measurement and benchmarking in the supply chain: literature review. This is a shortened version of the BestLog EU project deliverable D4.1 Existing Methods of Benchmarking (2007).

See also: www.elabestlog.org and www.bestlog.org

Results of the literature review presented in this report are part of the BestLog (Best Practices in Logistics)... more Results of the literature review presented in this report are part of the BestLog (Best Practices in Logistics) project. Aim of this task it was to analyse the existing frameworks and models for performance measurement and benchmarking used in supply chain management. The content, context, process framework was applied to structure the literature review. This report includes not only the key metrics categories, but also the frameworks, methods and tools that are recommended, or used, in measuring supply chain performance at the inter-organisational level. The problems of supply chain performance measurement as well as the requirements for performance system are also discussed.

Keywords: Supply chain management, logistics, performance measurement, benchmarking, best practice, evaluation.

An interactive planning model for the New Zealand dairy industry

by Peter Mellalieu

Mellalieu, P. J., & Hall, K. R. (1983). An Interactive Planning Model for the New Zealand Dairy Industry. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 34, 521–532. doi:10.1057/jors.1983.119

For subsequent papers related to this work see:
Mellalieu, P. J. (1982). A Decision Support System for Corporate Planning in the New Zealand Dairy Industry (Doctor of Philosophy in mathematics, statistics and operations research). Victoria University of Wellington. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10063/568

Kearney, T. D., Hall, K. R., & Mellalieu, P. J. (1984). Recent Advances in Network Optimization Methods and Applications. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the United Kingdom Operational Research Society. Presented at the Annual Conference of the United Kingdom Operational Research Society. Retrieved from http://unitec.academia.edu/PeterMellalieu/Papers/1569500/Recent_Advances_in_Network_Optimization_Methods_and_Applications

A long-term planning model for a large New Zealand dairy company is described. The model presents an integrated view... more A long-term planning model for a large New Zealand dairy company is described. The model presents an integrated view of the company's operation, including transportation and processing. The model used is based on a network formulation, NETPLAN, developed by the authors to carry out the optimisation. NETPLAN is highly flexible, interactive and provides graphical output of the results. The optimisation maximises net revenue based on product prices, variable process costs and variable transport costs subject to factory capacity, product demand and raw material supply constraints.

APDL: A Reference XML Schema for Process-centered Definition of RFID Solutions

by Nikolaos Konstantinou

Co-authored with N. Kefalakis, J. Soldatos, N. Prasad, In Int. J. of Systems and Software (JSS), 84(7): 1244-1259, Elsevier, 2011

Despite the proliferation of RFID systems and applications, there is still no easy way to develop, integrate and... more Despite the proliferation of RFID systems and applications, there is still no easy way to develop, integrate and deploy non-trivial RFID solutions. Indeed, the latter comprise various middleware modules (e.g., data collection and filtering, generation of business events, integration with enterprise applications), which must be deployed and configured independently. In this paper we introduce APDL (AspireRFID Process Description Language), an XML based specification for describing and configuring RFID solutions. Using APDL one can minimize the steps and effort required to integrate and configure an RFID solution, since it unifies all the configuration parameters and steps comprising an RFID deployment. APDL supports several configuration parameters defined in the scope of the EPCglobal architecture and related standards. However, it extends beyond the EPCglobal architecture, to a wider class of RFID solutions. Furthermore, APDL is amendable by visual tools, which obviates the need to carry out low-level programming tasks in order to deploy an RFID solution. These tools are also presented and evaluated in the paper.

Sachdev Merz JAMT 2010 org structure service cap predictors SC perf

by Russ Merz

Sachdev Merz JBMM 2012 governing mechanisms model

by Russ Merz

Anthropometric lot sizing of garments

by Denis A. Coelho

by Denis A. Coelho and Isabel L. Nunes
in Advances in Usability Evaluation
Series: Advances in Human Factors and Ergonomics Series
Published: July 09, 2012 by CRC Press - 700 Pages
Editor(s):Gavriel Salvendy, Tsinghua University, P.R. China; Waldemar Karwowski, University of Central Florida, Orlando, USA
ISBN 9781439870242

European Norm 13402-3 sets standards for clothes sizing designation. Depending on the kind of garment, between one to... more European Norm 13402-3 sets standards for clothes sizing designation. Depending on the kind of garment, between one to up to four anthropometric dimensions need to be considered in defining the clothing size system. According to the distribution of the anthropometric dimensions of a specific population, the quantity needed or proportion for the various clothes and garment size categories varies greatly. In order to develop a process that enables clothing distribution managers to foresee the relative proportion of each category size that is expected to be consumed, assuming a homogeneous appeal of the garments irrespective of their size, across the population, a set of considerations supported by mathematical calculations, need to be established. To this end, it must be noted that the combination of anthropometric dimensions, described by their Gaussian statistical parameters (mean and standard deviation) is mathematically feasible, as long as correlation factors between anthropometric dimensions are known for the population at hand (these may only be extracted from original data sets). The chapter proposes deploying correlation factors between anthropometric dimensions involved in the European clothes sizing standard, and presents a method for garments lot sizing for point of sale application, informed by the correlation factors, which may be retrieved from literature, and by the statistical parameters of the population (actual or inferred). The chapter demonstrates the approach presented for various clothing item types, including men shorts (sizing based on one anthropometric dimension) and women brassieres (sizing based on two anthropometric dimensions). The mathematical formulation presented and demonstrated in the chapter is systematized in examples solved by spreadsheet calculations and is intended to support the management of orders of garments by size at their point of sale considering the reduced cycle of fashion (about 3 months). The chapter also emphasizes that reporting of anthropometric data should consider not only the mean and standard deviation of individual dimensions as has been the common practice in the field of human factors and ergonomics, but should also be accompanied by correlation charts between the anthropometric dimensions, given reduced availability of this kind of data.

Increasing Effectiveness Within a Supply Chain Developing Transactive Memory Systems. abstract

by Ania Rynarzewska

Authors: Rynarzewska, A. I, Giunipero, L., Pillai, G. K., & Palihawadana, D.

To be presented at an Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Conference, March 2012, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Previous research on transactive memory systems has mainly focused on relationships between dyads and within... more Previous research on transactive memory systems has mainly focused on relationships between dyads and within organizations. This paper dwells on transactive memory literature and extends it to the supply chain context. A supply chain transactive memory systems development model is proposed. The paper also extends the task-expertise-person unit of analysis in the literature to the organizational network or supply chain level by proposing the notion of task-expertise-firm unit.

MARTINEZ M., CANONICO P., DE NITO E., MANGIA G, Interorganizational relationships in Italian logistic platforms: the role of Meta Logistic Operators, 88-902124-0-3; Euroma

by Marcello Martinez

Logistics Managers' Preferences for Freight Service Attributes in Italy: estimates with the ACA methodology

by marcucci edoardo