Chee Yew Wong

Supply chain management practices in toy supply chains

Purpose – Innovative products usually experience highly unpredictable and variable demand. This is especially valid for the volatile and seasonal toy industry, which produces high obsolete inventory, lost sales and markdown. In such a volatile industry, what supply chain management (SCM) practices are applicable and effective? This study seeks to explore SCM practices, and identify practical and theoretical gaps in toy supply chains.Design/methodology/approach – This article includes a longitudinal and in‐depth case study during the past year in an international toy manufacturer, which includes qualitative semi‐structured interviews and questionnaire with 11 main European toy retailers.Findings – The study concludes that there are three main SCM practices for toy retailers in terms of ordering behaviours (one‐off, JIT, and mixed model), and one dominated SCM practice for toy manufacturers (traditional mass‐production or push‐models). These low‐responsive practices in the toy supply chain are not caused on...

The moderating effects of technological and demand uncertainties on the relationship between supply chain integration and customer delivery performance

– The purpose of this paper is to test the moderating effects of technological and demand uncertainties on the relationship between supply chain integration and customer delivery performance., – Based on a survey questionnaire with 151 participants in the Thai automotive industry supply chain, hierarchical regressions are used to test the moderating effects., – Internal and supplier integration, but not customer integration, were positively associated with customer delivery performance. Technological and demand uncertainties were found to moderate the relationships between internal integration and customer delivery performance, and supplier integration and customer delivery performance., – The moderating effects of technological and demand uncertainties in the Thai automotive just‐in‐time (JIT) environment are explained. This research contributes to the development of a contingency theory of supply chain integration suggesting that the impacts of supply chain integration on customer delivery performance vary under different levels of technological and demand uncertainties., – Managers recognize the diminishing effects of internal integration and supplier integration under demand uncertainty, and the increasing effect of supplier integration under high technological uncertainty., – This study contributes to the supply chain management literature by clarifying the moderating effects of technological and demand uncertainties on the relationship between supply chain integration and customer delivery performance.

Towards a theory of multi-tier sustainable supply chains: a systematic literature review

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a comprehensive framework that synthesizes approaches and contingency variables to manage the sustainability of multi-tier supply chains and sub-suppliers. Design/methodology/approach – Using a systematic literature review, the authors analyse 39 studies and relevant theories to develop a comprehensive framework that integrates research efforts so far. Findings – The authors build a conceptual framework that incorporates four approaches to manage the sustainability of multi-tier supply chains. They also identify several contingency variables (e.g. power, dependency, distance, industry, knowledge resources) and their effect on the proposed approaches. Research limitations/implications – Based on the framework, six research propositions that advance the theories on multi-tier supply chain management, allow lead firms to develop comprehensive sustainable supply chain strategies and set the ground for future research in the area were developed. Originality/val...

Reverse logistics network design: a state-of-the-art literature review

In the last decade, research in reverse logistics has rapidly grown in both academia and business driven by factors such as economics, environmental legislations and corporate citizenship. Particularly in academic research, a variety of quantitative models have been proposed to address reverse logistics network design, a key area of research in logistics. In this paper, we present a comprehensive review of the literature on reverse logistics network design during the period 2000?2008 and identify future research gaps and opportunities.

Research challenges in municipal solid waste logistics management

During the last two decades, EU legislation has put increasing pressure on member countries to achieve specified recycling targets for municipal household waste. These targets can be obtained in various ways choosing collection methods, separation methods, decentral or central logistic systems, etc. This paper compares municipal solid waste (MSW) management practices in various EU countries to identify the characteristics and key issues from a waste management and reverse logistics point of view. Further, we investigate literature on modelling municipal solid waste logistics in general. Comparing issues addressed in literature with the identified issues in practice result in a research agenda for modelling municipal solid waste logistics in Europe. We conclude that waste recycling is a multi-disciplinary problem that needs to be considered at different decision levels simultaneously. A holistic view and taking into account the characteristics of different waste types are necessary when modelling a reverse supply chain for MSW recycling.

Emerging distribution systems in central and Eastern Europe

Purpose – The purpose of the research is to shed light on the evolution of distribution structures and its consequent implications for supply chain management (SCM) in the context of the emerging markets of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).Design/methodology/approach – A structured literature review followed by two case studies, which combine qualitative and quantitative analysis. Mainly in‐depth interviews were used, with company sales data analysis in terms of variation and forecast accuracy.Findings – It was found that CEE distribution structures are overlapping, and along complex traditional structures there exists a possibility for a more direct approach. This modern key‐account approach improves supply chain performance, mainly due to echelon elimination and information sharing. The case studies also illustrate that supply chain demand distortion originating practices create uncertainty in demand, even in the case of modern key accounts. The findings therefore suggest that general SCM approaches of ...

The impact of logistics resources on the performance of Malaysian logistics service providers

This paper identifies, conceptualises and measures the extent of logistics resources acquired by Malaysian logistics service providers (LSPs) and further examines the impact of such logistics resources on logistics performance in terms of customer service innovation and cost leadership. Based on data from interviews and a survey of 123 LSPs in Malaysia, this paper uses factor analyses to establish five components of logistics resources and capabilities – technology, physical, management expertise, relational and organisational resources. Further regression analyses suggest that each logistics resource is positively associated with both customer service innovation and cost leadership, and some of these resources are bundled together to enhance the two performances. The paper contributes to the development of constructs and measurements for logistics resources from LSPs’ perspective and provides theory-driven empirical evidences to explain the performance of LSPs.

The implications of information sharing on bullwhip effects in a toy supply chain

This paper compares actual bullwhip effects provided by retailers who shared downstream demand information and retailers who did not share in a three-level (divergent) toy supply chain. The toy supply chain faces high forecast errors and bullwhip effects due to unpredictable and seasonal demand patterns. The results indicate a reduction of the bullwhip effect and an improvement of the fill rate due to the increase of retailers who shared downstream demand information. This paper also addresses two main causes of the bullwhip effect, which are the supply variability and limited use of the shared demand information. To reduce the bullwhip effect, two solutions using the shared information are tested. They are a proposed premature replenishment rule and a simple forecast updating mechanism. Both solutions are proven capable in reducing bullwhip effects of the toy supply chain even without coordination between the toy manufacturer and the retailers.

Using the ‘Documentary Method’ to Analyse Qualitative Data in Logistics Research

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the use of a qualitative data analysis technique, the documentary method, in the development of knowledge in logistics. The value of the method is illustrated through an example of its application in a study of in‐store logistics processes at six leading European retail stores.Design/methodology/approach – Extant literature is outlined regarding philosophical underpinnings of the documentary method and is followed by an explanation of the method and its application. Finally, an illustration is provided of its adaptation and use in a logistics research project.Findings – Drawing on a social constructionist approach, the documentary method can add to the development of logistics research by providing rich descriptions of actual practice, problems and issues in logistic processes – compared with the stated goals of such processes.Research limitations/implications – The documentary method is not suitable for all areas of logistics research and will need certain adaptations...

Supply chain alignment for improved business performance: an empirical study

Purpose – This study aims to explain how supply chain alignment, which remains a major challenge for supply chains, can be achieved and its implications for business performance (BP) by testing the strengths of the relationships between previously identified enablers, supply chain alignment and BP. Design/methodology/approach – A literature review develops hypotheses on the relationships between enablers, alignment and BP. A survey of medium-to-large UK manufacturing companies was conducted where the sample comprised 151 randomly selected companies, and the response rate was 56 per cent. Partial least square regression was used to test the hypothesis. Findings – Two types of supply chain alignment are defined – shareholder and customer – but only customer alignment (CA) has a direct positive impact on BP, while shareholder alignment (SA) is its antecedent. Top management support was shown to be an enabler of both shareholder and CA, while organisation structure, information sharing and performance measure...