Claudia Colicchia

Increasing supply chain resilience in a global sourcing context

Managing risk has emerged as an issue of critical importance for todays globalised supply chains. This article focuses on inbound supply risk in a global sourcing context, where increased distances between sources of supply and final markets add uncertainty to supply continuity through longer and more variable lead times. After an in-depth analysis of international supply process vulnerability, this article identifies a set of approaches for managing risk in order to enhance supply chain resilience. Then, a simulation-based framework for assessing the effectiveness of the proposed approaches was developed and applied on a real case.

Benchmarking supply chain sustainability: insights from a field study

Purpose – Given the relevance of supply chain sustainability, the aim of the present paper is threefold: first, to investigate the strategies currently undertaken by companies in the supply chain sustainability arena, and, second, to find out which phase of the supply chain is at the forefront in the implementation of initiatives towards more sustainable supply chains. Finally, the criteria commonly used for priority‐setting amongst different initiatives within the same supply chain phase are identified.Design/methodology/approach – A three‐pronged methodology was adopted. First, a framework was developed to identify the initiatives towards supply chain sustainability. Second, the framework was applied to a set of multinational companies by examining their environmental reporting, thus to assess the adoption of each initiative. Third, a further in‐depth investigation of three companies was finally performed in order to provide additional insights on the obtained results.Findings – The research offers a be...

Literature review on the ‘Smart Factory’ concept using bibliometric tools

The objective of this paper is to depict a landscape of the scientific literature on the concept of the ‘Smart Factory’, which in recent years is gaining more and more attention from academics and practitioners because of significant innovations in the production systems within the manufacturing sector. To achieve this objective, a dynamic methodology called ‘Systematic Literature Network Analysis (SLNA)’ has been applied. This methodology combines the Systematic Literature Review approach with the analysis of bibliographic networks. The adopted methodology allows complementing traditional content-based literature reviews by extracting quantitative information from bibliographic networks to detect emerging topics, and by revealing the dynamic evolution of the scientific production of a discipline. This dynamic analysis allowed highlighting research directions and critical areas for the development of the ‘Smart Factory’. At the same time, it offers insights on the fields on which companies, associations, politicians and technology providers need to focus in order to allow a real transition towards the implementation of large-scale Smart Factory.

Eco-efficient supply chain networks: development of a design framework and application to a real case study

Abstract This paper presents a supply chain network design framework that is based on multi-objective mathematical programming and that can identify ‘eco-efficient’ configuration alternatives that are both efficient and ecologically sound. This work is original in that it encompasses the environmental impact of both transportation and warehousing activities. We apply the proposed framework to a real-life case study (i.e. Lindt & Sprüngli) for the distribution of chocolate products. The results show that cost-driven network optimisation may lead to beneficial effects for the environment and that a minor increase in distribution costs can be offset by a major improvement in environmental performance. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge on eco-efficient supply chain design and closes the missing link between model-based methods and empirical applied research. It also generates insights into the growing debate on the trade-off between the economic and environmental performance of supply chains, supporting organisations in the eco-efficient configuration of their supply chains.

Lean and green supply chain management through intermodal transport: insights from the fast moving consumer goods industry

Abstract Combining efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability is crucial for companies to succeed in today’s context of fierce competition. This paper investigates how intermodal transport can be adopted for managing supply chains according to a Lean and Green approach. A scenario-based estimation tool was developed to quantify the potential demand for intermodal transport. The tool was applied to the Italian Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) supply chain. Following, a single longitudinal case study on an FMCG company (Procter & Gamble) was carried out to investigate the enabling factors for the adoption of intermodal transport. Our results show that it is possible to shift demand from road to rail: a number of pathways for action were identified that related to planning and management, assets, train services, collaboration, legal issues and incentive schemes. Also, a collaborative business model for making the modal shift possible was presented. This paper is original because it offers an investigation of Lean and Green Supply Chain Management through intermodal transport by adopting a supply chain perspective and providing a bridging link between academic studies and field evidence.

A simulation-based framework to evaluate strategies for managing global inbound supply risk

Supply chain risk management (SCRM) has emerged as an issue of critical importance for todays globalised supply chains. This topic still presents obstacles in practice, especially in terms of evaluating alternatives for managing risks. Therefore, the aim of this research is to study the impact that specific risk-reduction strategies could have on supply lead time and on the related logistics cost and to offer a tool to support companies in the implementation of these strategies. A simulation-based framework in order to assess the effectiveness and the efficiency of the SCRM strategies under consideration has been developed. The framework was applied to two real-life case studies, providing a better understanding of the key elements impacting on the choice of the optimal SCRM strategy.

Is environmental sustainability a strategic priority for logistics service providers

Despite an increasing number of third-party logistics service providers (3PLs) regard environmental sustainability as a key area of management, there is still great uncertainty on how 3PLs implement environmental strategies and on how they translate green efforts into practice. Through a multiple case study analysis, this paper explores the environmental strategies of a sample of medium-sized 3PLs operating in Italy and the UK, in terms of environmental organizational culture, initiatives, and influencing factors. Our analysis shows that, notwithstanding environmental sustainability is generally recognised as a strategic priority, a certain degree of diversity in the deployment of environmental strategies still exists. This paper is original since the extant literature on green strategies of 3PLs provides findings predominantly from a single country perspective and mainly investigates large/multinational organizations. It also provides indications to help managers of medium-sized 3PLs in positioning their business. This is particularly meaningful in the 3PL industry, where medium-sized organizations significantly contribute to the generated turnover and market value.

Designing the venue logistics management operations for a World Exposition

World Expositions, due to their size and peculiar features, pose a number of logistics challenges. This paper aims at developing a design framework for the venue logistics management (VLM) operations to replenish food products to the event site, through a combination of qualitative and quantitative research approaches. First, an in-depth interview methodology, combined with the outcomes of a literature review, is adopted for defining the key variables for the tactical and operational set-up of the VLM system. Second, a quantitative approach is developed to define the necessary logistics resources. The framework is then applied to the case of Milan 2015 World Exposition. It is the first time that such a design framework for a World Exposition is presented: the originality of this research lies in the proposal of a systematic approach that adds to the experiential practices constituting the current body of knowledge on event logistics.

Information processing and management using citation network and keyword analysis to perform a systematic literature review on green supply chain management

The field of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) has recently gained considerable attention from both academics and practitioners. This has caused an exponential growth in the number of publications related to different aspects of sustainability in the supply chain. This study aims to show information processing and management techniques, to reveal the evolution of a field over time and identify directions for future research. In particular, this paper is intended to provide a systematic literature review using citation network and the analysis of words in titles and author keyword through burst detection algorithm. Crossing the results of the citation network and burst detection algorithm it was possible to monitor the evolution of the sustainability drivers and to identify the necessity of new key performance indicators of sustainability, able to integrate the economic, environmental and social dimensions, internally within the organization, and externally among the supply chain partners. The contribution of this study lies in the adoption of a blind methodology to analyze theory development which have not been yet applied to the field of GSCM but proved to be useful and promising.

Citation network analysis for supporting continuous improvement in higher education

ABSTRACT Continuous improvement in Higher Education can be supported by effective literature reviews to unveil contemporary and current educational needs and lay the foundations of programmes of study. As no discipline remains static, the aim of this paper is to present a methodology for conducting literature reviews that can complement traditional content-based reviews by revealing the dynamic evolution of a discipline. This methodology is represented by citation network analysis (CNA), a collection of tools that help to detect the dynamics of a field through computer-based systematic analyses of its bibliographic data. Notwithstanding its potential, CNA has been seldom adopted to conduct literature reviews. In this paper, CNA was applied to the evolving field of logistics and supply chain management education. Results provide evidence of the benefits of CNA for the identification of key issues, trends, and evolutionary trajectories supporting continuous improvement in Higher Education in a more scientific and objective way.