Item classification based on ABC-XYZ analysis is of high importance for strategic supply and inventory control. It is common to perform the analysis with past consumption data. In this context, the purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis that an integration of demand forecasts can improve the performance of item classification, in particular the performance of ABC-XYZ analysis
Presents an approach for evaluating the number of vendors to employ in a procurement situation using multiobjective programming (MOP) and data envelopment analysis (DEA). The approach advocates developing vendor-order quantity solutions (referred to as supervendors) using MOP and then evaluating the efficiency of these supervendors on multiple criteria using DEA. Formulations are presented for …
The purpose of this paper is to report on research undertaken within a European-based airline services firm. As a result of pressures within the airline industry the firm embarked on a cost reduction programme, recognising the need to achieve more synergy from its procurement spend, located in semi-autonomous business units (BUs). The paper describes sequentially the two stages of the author’…
Current studies indicate that buyers can improve lead-time performance and reduce total inventory-system costs by splitting orders between two suppliers. These studies, however, treat transportation only implicitly as an element of the cost of placing an order. This is an important limitation, because shipping costs increase disproportionately as the size of shipment decreases and typically com…
The ability to satisfy customer demands while responding to relentless competitive pressure requires creative and often complex approaches to managing a firm's supply chain. Perhaps more than any other area, executive managers increasingly believe that a concept called globalization offers the best opportunity to achieve major performance gains. One area where many companies can begin to captur…
The purpose of this paper is to introduce and validate two new constructs with the potential to sharpen our understanding of how and why firms integrate their internal supply chains and assess the governance structure of their supply chains. The first construct, organizational alignment (OA), is a reflective scale measuring the extent to which upper management attempts to foster integration bet…
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.
Presents a history of logistical planning in the USSR and Russia from 1920‐1992. Describes in detail the functions of the centralized distribution system created in the course of Brezhnev‐Kosygin reforms (1965) and dismantled in 1991; a chronology of changes in distribution of producer goods in 1991‐1992 and explains why the newest are less effective than the dismantled distribution syste…
Near sourcing is starting to be regarded as a valid alternative to global sourcing in order to leverage supply chain (SC) responsiveness and economic efficiency. The present work proposes a decision-making approach developed in collaboration with a leading Italian retailer that was willing to turn the global store furniture procurement process into near sourcing.
The cost for bunker fuel represents a major part of the daily running costs of liner shipping vessels. The vessels, sailing on a fixed roundtrip of ports, can lift bunker at these ports, having differing and fluctuating prices. The stock of bunker on a vessel is subject to a number of operational constraints such as capacity limits, reserve requirements and sulphur content. Contracts are of…
The purpose of this paper is to understand the impact of cooperative purchasing on buyers’ purchasing power. Purchasing in the humanitarian sector has traditionally been characterized by a low level of coordination due to inter-agency competition for funding, diverging mandates and other organizational differences. Relationships with commercial suppliers have also remained arm's-length and of…
Examines the interorganizational alliance of a buyer and supplier with the expressed objective of improving the quality of existing purchased parts. Supplier quality can be improved through the implementation of various programmes such as statistical process control (SPC). Supplier quality improvement is viewed as two‐dimensional; there may be improvement owing to the modification of product …
The purpose of this paper is to use the technology acceptance model (TAM) from the information technology (IT) literature to investigate the relationships among technology use and acceptance, and perceptions of quality and satisfaction with logistics services among industrial customers.
The purpose of this paper is to summarize and analyze what is known regarding the ways in which stakeholder pressure may influence supply chain sustainability. The authors extend this understanding to develop a number of research questions and propositions for future investigation on this topic.
Many companies are not satisfied with the methods used to calculate savings for capital equipment purchasing (CEP), and the existing academic literature does not provide adequate suggestions for solving this problem. Therefore, the authors will aim to analyze how companies measure savings for CEP and attempt to identify the main challenges in this area. In order to understand which savings meas…
The concept and importance of supply chain management (SCM) has been introduced and described at length in the literature. Several mostly conceptual definitions of SCM were found. To classify these multiple definitions and extend SCM to include a process orientation a conceptual model of SCM evolution was developed. This research proposes that SCM is an evolving concept with individual firms …
The theoretical framework for market-oriented sustainability developed by Crittenden, Crittenden, Ferrell, Ferrell, and Pinney, in which the relationship between organizational culture and performance management is theorized as moderated by stakeholder involvement, is empirically assessed. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
In an era of global sourcing, the multinational firm′s success often hinges on the most appropriate selection of its foreign suppliers. International supplier selection, however, is very complicated and risky owing to a variety of uncontrollable and unpredictable factors affecting the decision. These factors may include political situations, tariff barriers, cultural and communication barri…
Lays a foundation for a comprehensive awareness and understanding of research in the area of international supply chain management. More specifically, reviews publications constituting a decade of the most recent research in the three areas of international purchasing, inventory management and logistics in 22 leading academic and practitioner journals for the period 1986 through 1995. Through…
Business conditions of electronics manufacturers are demanding due to ever shortening product life-cycles, higher variety and increased outsourcing activity. Even though companies could manage the increasing amount of purchased items with modularity, software-based customization and well designed product platforms; the case is often so that item count in purchasing is increasing with high rates…
To examine the conditions under which the proposed benefits of collaboration between a firm and its suppliers will occur.
Although e-procurement has been adopted in many industries, the business case for this technology has only partially been explored in the literature. This paper aims to investigate, through a case study approach, the extent of the business case developed for e-procurement adoption in three implementations.
The primary objective of this paper is to explore how the companies in Turkey plan, manage, carry out and improve their logistics processes and, thus, provide a preliminary analysis to explore the current status of logistics in Turkey. For this purpose, a structured-disguised survey was conducted with the top 250 firms of Istanbul Chamber of Commerce. The aims were: to specify the organizationa…
Unlike in the manufacturing industries, participants of a construction project operate in a temporary multi‐disciplinary organisation in which the relationship ends as soon as the project is completed. Several project procurement systems such as the traditional procurement system (TPS) and its hybrids, design and build (D&B), and build, operate and transfer (BOT), have been developed and ar…
The purpose of this paper is to illuminate light on the assessment of operating efficiency of specialty coffee retailers from the perspective of socially responsible global sourcing. This paper evaluates the impact of socially responsible sourcing on the operating efficiencies of specialty coffee retailers before and after implementing fair-trade practices and compares the operating efficiencie…
The concepts of a supply chain and supply chain management are receiving increased attention as means of becoming or remaining competitive in a globally challenging environment. What distinguishes supply chain management from other channel relationships? This paper presents a framework for differentiating between traditional systems and supply chain management systems. These characteristics a…
This paper presents a framework for assessing alignment between corporate strategy, procurement strategy and purchasing tools. The framework is built on generation of rents as its common denominator for assessing alignment between the levels. Three types of rents are identified: monopoly rents; Ricardian rents and entrepreneurial rents. The framework is then used for assessing the strategic ori…
Predicts that in the decade ahead, the purchasing function will have to shed its service and operational perspective and take on the challenge of effective contribution to organizational goals and strategies. Describes how, in this evolution, the make or buy decision and increasing reliance on outsourcing will change the purchasing manager into a manager of integrated operations
Reviews the literature of purchasing and transportation management to identify factors in the purchasing and transportation processes that influence a firm’s ability to reduce total cycle time. Presents a model of these factors to establish a framework for guiding research into comprehensive, systematic approaches to total cycle time reduction. In addition, the total cycle time model serves…
The volume of cargo shipped just‐in‐time (JIT) in the USA has been increasing over the last decade. At the same time, purchasing has been undergoing transformations. Examines empirically the effects of both these trends on the purchasing function, and consequently on inbound logistics, and reports on them in four sections: criteria for supplier selection, changes in purchasing practices, pu…