Claims that time compression is a powerful source of competitive advantage that remains relatively underutilized in UK busineses. Details the research undertaken by the Warwick Manufacturing Group’s time compression programme (TCP) on the applications of time‐based approaches with a number of partner companies. Explores the nature of time compression in relation to the fundamental principle…
Introduces a supply chain “health check” procedure successfully applied in the European automotive sector and presents the results for the analysis of 20 trans‐European value streams covering a wide range of first and second tier suppliers. The health check procedure is activated via a quick scan methodology (QSM) requiring execution by a multi‐disciplinary team working on‐site. The d…
WMC Ltd is a medium‐sized company which manufactures and distributes mechanical/ electrical equipment for the construction industry. Constitutes a case study which illustrates the re‐engineering methodology developed for WMC in order to improve its material and logistics control strategies. The first re‐engineering approach initiated by WMC was to make wholesale changes affecting internal…
Challenges the idea of an unconditional and positive influence of knowledge on performance without regard to environmental uncertainty. Focuses on applied process knowledge spanning the supply chain (i.e. considers supplier, internal, and customer sources). A survey of 208 manufacturing firms found the association between applied process knowledge and firm market performance is positive and sta…
Describes the complementary standard mixed loads concept (the standard mix concept in short), which allows for assembling mixed loads at an upstream echelon. These standard mixed loads are assigned to customer orders at an echelon downstream of the chain. Describes two applications of the use of the standard mix concept in order to identify up‐front the logistic advantages, both in inventory …
Unlike management in a traditional organization, supply chain management is a collaborative effort among various organizations or entities whose well being relies on dependency relationships within a value chain. As such, shared information and the ability to analyze it effectively are crucial to the effort. Supply chain management software is evolving rapidly in three major areas: supply chain…
Attracting and educating the right supply chain managers are a critical challenge to the realization of most supply chain objectives irrespective of the state of the economy (shortage of personnel several months ago or increasing lay‐offs currently). This is because of the richness of capabilities required to do the job well. Much of our teaching in logistics and supply chain management focus…
The fashion industry has been beset by the problems of volatile and difficult to predict demand. Many companies involved in manufacturing and retailing in fashion markets have seen the profitability severely affected by their inability to match supply with demand. Traditionally, it was assumed that the problem lay with inaccurate forecasts and that if only those forecasts could be improved then…
Documents two case studies conducted in Australian companies from the wholesaling sector. Both companies are importers and wholesalers supplying into the retail sector. The aim of the case studies was to establish to what extent each had adopted and implemented new technologies for the management of supply chain activities. Although both companies have approached implementation of established t…
During the 1990s, globalization and time‐based competition have emerged as important business strategies leading to renewed emphasis on the logistics function. This has opened up opportunities for strategic alliances between manufacturing firms and specialized logistics services providers, with each partner focusing on its core area of competence. Although such alliances are common in North A…
Product development and commercialization is the supply chain management process that provides structure for developing and bringing to market new products jointly with customers and suppliers. Effective implementation of the process not only enables management to coordinate the efficient flow of new products across the supply chain, but also assists supply chain members with the ramp‐up of m…
Returns management is the supply chain management process by which activities associated with returns, reverse logistics, gatekeeping, and avoidance are managed within the firm and across key members of the supply chain. The correct implementation of this process enables management not only to manage the reverse product flow efficiently, but to identify opportunities to reduce unwanted returns …
A major focus of modern day logistics is on achieving a higher level of responsiveness to marketplace demand, but with less inventory. Achieving the dual targets of lower cost and higher service has implications for every stage in the supply chain and in particular for distribution center operations. What is the extent to which organizations are adjusting their distribution center operations to…
Due to the diversity of its players, the American healthcare sector has experimented with different types of integrated supply chain management systems for medical supplies. In the 1980s, US distributors were offering customers the so‐called stockless replenishment method, whereby the distributor picks and packs products according to the particular needs of each patient care unit and, in most…
U.S. Customs administration plays an important role in the structure and efficiency of international logistics. The Customs Modernization and Informed Compliance Act was passed in December 1993 with the objective of improving the efficiency of the U.S. customs process. The principle logistics benefits for the trade community and the means by which they are to be accomplished include faster cl…
Supply chain management (SCM) emerged in the early 1980s as a result of the rapidly changing and challenging business environments in many industries. SCM is a consequence of the increased necessity for holistic considerations in, between and across companies’ business activities and resources in and between marketing channels, in order to improve the overall performance towards the ultimat…
Develops a new value stream or supply‐chain mapping typology. This seven‐map typology is based on the different wastes inherent in value streams. The use of the various tools, either singularly or in combination, is therefore driven by the types of waste to be removed. The tools themselves are drawn from a range of existing functional ghettos such as logistics, operations management and eng…
Traditionally, research into supply chain management has focused on increasing the availability of products and reducing the cost of doing so by concentrating on coordination between supply chain members. Significant improvements have been made in improving the effectiveness and efficiency of supply chains. In this paper we compare the relative costs of different supply chains for grocery produ…
The paper shows that it is possible to reconstruct the dynamical attractors of demand at different levels of the supply chain by using time series duplication and techniques for normalisation. The objective of reconstructing dynamical attractors is to learn more about the long‐term dynamical behaviour of supply chains. Typical patterns that can be encountered through phase space reconstructio…
Logistics integration through market systems is the coming revolution in supply chain management. A number of systems have been attempted facilitating documentation exchange, matching of supply and demand, and providing other essential links and information. However, such systems have had limited success raising important questions about whether a truly useful global system can be developed. …
Integrating business processes across functions is at the heart of logistics and supply chain management. The fundamentals of compressing time across the chain are well understood. There is a common expectation among logistics professionals that cost will fall out of the supply chain from such programs. The theme of supply chain management is that many businesses are not in the trade‐off zo…
The problems associated with supply chains are seldom simply and easily understood. Many tools and algorithms have been developed to help decision makers, but the applicability of these tools is limited to distinct parts of the system or they attempt to comprise the system resulting in a complicated use of the model. For a decision maker who wants to understand the problems of a supply chain as…
Exel Logistics’ experience in a number of industry sectors, product profiles, operational techniques and technology suggests that the outputs of cross‐docking can appear magical, even though they result from fairly standard operational inputs. Explains the origins of cross‐docking and explores the operational aspects of switching from a traditional stockholding supply chain system to a cr…
As organizations strive to become more competitive in today’s challenging business environment, global supply chain management (GSCM) infused by information technology (IT) is being offered as a paradigm to achieve dramatic improvements in cost and time. This study examines the critical role played by IT to improve GSCM practices. The paper starts by classifying all the IT related articles …
Explores the attitude of shippers and service providers towards outsourcing of logistics functions performed within large multinational, manufacturing companies engaged in global trade and presents a model describing the factors which influence the outsourcing decisions. Indicates that five key factors influence the outsourcing decision: centrality of the logistics functions to the firm′s c…
To lower the environmental damage of business we need to examine our “ecological footprint”. We need to move forward with the business at the same time. In order to solve that dilemma, a value‐seeking and proactive approach to greening is proposed in the (general) management literature. However, literature on the role of supply chain operations, mostly published in the area of reversed …
As businesses worked towards Y2000 compliancy and checked their sources of supply, the mechanisms and nature of relationships in the supply chain were exposed. A multi‐case study methodology of four UK‐based SMEs and one large multinational company was undertaken to exploit this time‐window. Although the Y2000 problem was to some extent unique, it is only one of many potential environment…
Recommends a distribution control system which provides control of information and resource allocation throughout all stages of the supply chain, including delivery and sales order information, road traffic, vehicles, pallets and drivers. Describes how the system provides retrospective analysis and forward planning facilities and can be tailored to the specific needs of individual user compan…
With all the hype around efficient consumer response (ECR) and the brave new world of technologies, one would believe that retail out‐of‐stocks have gone down over the last ten years. That is wrong. Retailers have been struggling with considerable out‐of‐stocks for decades – with little evidence of improvement. A similar wrong belief is that shoppers are also still unwilling to acce…
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…
Although information exchange among trading partners is consistently mentioned as a key requirement of successful supply chain management implementation, research on information exchange is scarce. This lack of research provides little guidance and support for those managers interested in improving their logistics operations through increased information exchange. The main goal of this paper …
Since the end of the 1980s, logistics in French mass distribution has undergone a progressive vertical disintegration, with contractors taking a greater role in physical distribution. While food retailers state in the professional press that this disintegration has the inevitable consequence of leading to contractual based relationships rather than transaction based relationships, the reality…
The nature of logistics and supply chain management has dramatically changed as a result of new information technology. Information is now critical in supply systems and information technology has allowed companies to transform their dealings with customers and suppliers. The development of retail exchanges is stimulating further change in supply chains and buyer‐supplier relationships in t…
Although there is growing enthusiasm for supply chain management and integrated logistics, much prescriptive writing rests on a flimsy empirical base. Explores the methodological dilemmas which arise in research in logistics practice. Presents three contrasting models of research frameworks. Outlines the experiences of a novel investigation into supply chain integration in the UK carried out in…
Organizations have been investing heavily in building information links with their suppliers and buyers in order to reduce costs, lead times and quality problems, and improve on time customized delivery. At present, many of these firms are unsure of the degree to which this investment is necessary. A dynamic model is presented which builds on the impact of the evolving interactions of competito…
This paper presents a study on the impacts of information sharing and ordering co‐ordination on the performance of a supply chain with one capacitated supplier and multiple retailers under demand uncertainty. In particular, a computer model is proposed to simulate inventory replenishment decisions by the retailers and production decisions by the supplier under different demand patterns and …