Antonio Borghesi

Managing risks in the supply chain using the AHP method

Purpose – The aim of the research is to provide a method to evaluate supply chain risks that stand in the way of the supply chain objectives.Design/methodology/approach – An analytical hierarchy process model is proposed to identify supply chain risk factors with a view to improving the objective of customer value. The two phases of the method are the prioritization of supply chain objectives; and the selection of risk indicators. A case study is also presented.Findings – The appreciation of the most critical supply chain risks comes from careful evaluations of the impacts and a consideration of the cause‐effect relationships. The involvement of key managers is essential. In the case study the two most divergent evaluations were from the logistics manager and the sales manager.Research limitations/implications – Further application in various companies and industry sectors would be helpful to compare different cases and findings.Practical implications – The model allows for flexibility in using (and the f...

Governance and Risk Management

For the purpose of defining the risk management action area, three important managerial analysis models are: structure-conduct-performance paradigm and the functional view of risk management; systemic approach and transversal/process view of (risk) management; and value-based management and value perspective.

City Logistics: Is Deregulation the Answer?

Distribution of goods affects city congestion and air pollution; it also increases costs and reduces quality of life. City logistics are aimed at reducing the negative effects of distribution while supporting city development. Over the past two decades, many city logistics initiatives have failed in Italy and elsewhere in Europe. As many actors and stakeholders are involved in the complex organizational process of city logistics, it is important to investigate and understand the causes of these failures. This is the purpose of this article, which considers Italian experiences of city logistics. Evaluation of city logistics initiatives is necessary to ensure success in future implementation, to achieve sustainable urban freight transport development. Multi-agent systems (MAS) have been applied to evaluate different fields, such as supply chain, stock market, freight distribution, and traffic management. We conducted a review on city logistics projects in the main Italian cities with experience in these initiatives, in particular, in the case of failure. Our analysis considered the MAS, which utilizes multiple stakeholders’ points of view with different effects to improve city logistics feasibility. The study considers Italian experiences in city logistics, but other countries may have different backgrounds and different situations. Therefore, predictions may be valid only for Italy and not in other contexts. Our perspective is quite original compared with the existing literature as it focuses on the failures of city logistics projects rather than best practices.

Logistics Service Quality: Searching for New Drivers of 3PL Customers’ Satisfaction

Despite a fairly rich research tradition dedicated to service quality and customer satisfaction in logistics, much of the focus has remained on service quality in buyer–supplier relationships, and only to a lesser extent has it addressed third-party logistics relationships. This study investigates perceived satisfaction, defined as the degree to which a logistics customer is satisfied with a third-party logistics provider’s overall performance in the outsourcing relationship, and provides relevant insights for scholars and managers. Our study has advanced Logistics Service Quality beyond previous literature, adding two new relevant drivers (returns management and reputation) with significant impacts on perceived satisfaction among 3PL customers.

Operational Risk and Supply Chain Risk Management

As described in the previous chapters, risks have been typically divided into four groups, which are strategic, financial, hazard, and operational risks. The consideration of the central role of business processes and the relevance of their effective and efficient management have led us to present operational risk and supply chain risk as explicit topic of this handbook. Risk management is the process devoted to protecting the organization and augmenting its capability to achieve its stated strategic objectives. Operational processes represent the core business of most companies, and therefore the proper assessment of operational and supply chain risks is critical to effective and efficient prevention and protection of an organization. In fact, the successful assessment of these risks can represent an important competitive advantage for the organization.

Consumer Satisfaction and Loyalty in Digital Markets: Exploring the Impact of Their Antecedents

Customer loyalty is even more important in the e-commerce since the costs of serving customers decrease as long as the customers’ number increases. Convenience, variety seeking, trust, security, social interaction, returns policy are helpful elements to predict e-satisfaction, and this latter, constitutes the primary cause of e-loyalty. The aim of the paper is to better explore the impact of different drivers in enhancing the satisfaction and loyalty perceived by customer when purchasing online in a B2C context. Results show that not all the antecedents represent drivers enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty. In particular, the constructs related to ease of use and trust on the e-retailer/s are found to be always positively linked to all the three dependent variables (satisfaction, repurchase intention and WOM), while monetary savings and security do not impact on these three outcomes. Considering the effect of return policy, it impacts both on satisfaction and overall loyalty.

Risk Management Perspectives

“Risk” cannot be eliminated. Organizations therefore need to manage all the factors that increase and reduce those risks so that they can pursue strategic advantage at minimum costs.

From Social and Natural Science Comes a Historical Overview on the Concepts of Uncertainty and Risk

Whomever is interested in understanding the concept of risk and its interpretation should consider some important reflections provided by the principles of the theories of physics, from pure physics to Newtonian theories.

The Need for an Enterprise-Wide Approach to Risk Management

An integrated risk management approach allows for the integration and coordination of strategic entrepreneurial risk management processes through the effective and efficient management of the risks that are typical of business processes, while meeting the performance expectations of the various stakeholders.

La criticità delle relazioni con i clienti-committenti nell'analisi dei rischi nei progetti industriali

The critical role of customer relationships in the project risk analysis - The present paper describes a risk analysis approach within industrial projects, showing the evidences from a case study. The method is ‘customer centric’ analyzing how project management and project risk may be influenced, or driven, by the customer himself. This approach comprises project portfolio mapping, objectives’ definition and hence measurement and evaluation of a panel of indicators devoted to address the capability to achieve project objectives as expected by the customer. The method leads also to the analysis of critical obstacles that stand in the way of effective customer relationships. Keywords: project management, risk management, relationship management Parole chiave: project management, risk management, relationship management