Harri Lorentz

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 ...

Effects of geographic dispersion on intra-firm supply chain performance

Purpose – This article aims to quantify and analyse empirically how the geographic dispersion of a firms supply chain impacts on intra‐firm supply chain performance.Design/methodology/approach – Generalised linear modelling is utilised to analyse a sample of 95 large manufacturing companies operating in Finland.Findings – Results indicate that the increased geographic dispersion of the upstream supply chain results in higher costs of warehousing and logistics administration. On the downstream side, inventory costs, inventory days of supply, and cash‐to‐cash cycle time tend to increase due to geographically dispersed sales network. Increased geographic dispersion in the upstream and downstream supply chain results in the decline of perfect orders, and increases order fulfilment cycle time. However, the increased dispersion of the production network reduces order fulfilment cycle time. The results also indicate that the larger the firm, the better it can alleviate the negative implications of dispersion on...

Priorities and determinants for supply chain management skills development in manufacturing firms

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to find out the current SCM skill development priorities in manufacturing firms and how the structural properties of the supply chain translate into demand for SCM skills in manufacturing firms.Design/methodology/approach – An internet survey was designed and conducted. The responses of 154 manufacturing companies operating in Finland were analysed through descriptive statistics and regression analyses.Findings – The supply chain management skills with an inter‐organisational focus tend to have a higher development priority than the skills with an intra‐organisational focus. The top five skills for development are: demand forecasting and supply planning; sourcing and supplier management; customer and distribution channel management; production planning and control; and information systems for logistics and production planning. Structural properties of the supply chain seem to have an effect on skills that are related to supply chain design and information flow infras...

Confidence and supply chain disruptions

Purpose – This conceptual paper aims to shed light on the nature and determinants of managerial behaviour when affected by supply chain disruptions. It aims to argue that the managerial decision‐making process is an important component in determining the eventual long‐term impact of a supply chain disruption.Design/methodology/approach – The paper introduces a continuous simulation model that is based on a Bayesian robot decision‐maker. Using the system dynamics approach, it illustrates the process of evaluating competing hypotheses of functional vs dysfunctional supply chain design in a disruption scenario. Model validity is assessed by means of a case study based on secondary data.Findings – The model provides insight into the drivers of decision‐maker confidence dynamics that are used when evaluating the competing hypotheses. Furthermore, it identifies the psychological distortions that make actual managerial inference processes different from the Bayesian robot and incorporate these adjustments into t...

Production locations for the internationalising food industry: case study from Russia

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to identify the location decision criteria and their relative weights in the context of food manufacturing internationalisation into emerging markets, and to clarify how supply chain related factors are reflected in the location decision criteria. Knowledge of these factors is considered crucial in understanding the entry and location decisions of foreign food manufacturers into emerging markets where a high level of operational uncertainty may be evident.Design/methodology/approach – The AHP method is utilised in the creation of a location/investment target ‐model, with input from a panel of decision makers in the Finnish food industry. A real‐life application from the Russian agribusiness industry is presented.Findings – Seven criteria reach above average values, namely economic activity potential (10 per cent), consumption potential (9 per cent), available acquisition targets (12 per cent), adequate supply of raw materials (13 per cent), competitive situation (16 p...

Using Eurasian landbridge in logistics operations: building knowledge through case studies

This research concerns about the use of Eurasia as a landbridge for container traffic. We present case study findings concerning European-Asian transportation, and this reveals that the lead time a ...

Analysis of the Russian retail sector

Purpose – The paper aims at providing a contemporary analysis of Russias developing retail sector. Of special interest is the internationalization of this market through cross‐border mergers and acquisitions (M&A). This is done by identifying major trends in this sector and providing projections concerning forthcoming acquisition activity.Design/methodology/approach – The paper builds primarily on second‐hand data. In addition to the analysis of macro‐economic indicators, the paper also provides three case‐based analyses of leading firms in the Russian market.Findings – Previous research has shown that the retail industry is gradually saturating and further growth is sought through acquisitions and expanding into emerging markets. As the findings shows, Russias two largest cities represent basically the driver of the economy, and constitute the platform for the growth of modern retail concepts. The Russian retail sector is currently experiencing gradual internal restructuring, and leading retailers have...

Collaboration in Finnish‐Russian supply chains

Purpose – The management of international supply chains may significantly contribute to the successful outcome of exports. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the level of supply chain collaboration in an uncertain cross‐border context, and whether it improves supply chain performance. The moderating role of export experience and intensity to the collaboration‐performance relationship is also investigated.Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on a survey of Finnish industrial companies with Russian exports. Correlation and regression analysis is used in investigating causal relationships.Findings – The results weakly support the hypothesised positive relationships of collaboration and performance in the chosen cross‐border context. It seems that experience in cross‐border supply chain operations does not guarantee success in supply chain management. However, those companies with large export volumes, implying frequency and leveraged resources in operations, seemed to be better able to coll...

Retailer supply chain capability assessment in Russia

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the relevant assessment criteria for retailer supply chain capability from the perspective of foreign food manufacturers, in an emerging market context, and to evaluate the development level of Russian retail chains in this sphere.Design/methodology/approach – The authors use analytic hierarchy process (AHP) for the modelling and research method, with an exploratory workshop for the specification of the model structure, a web‐based questionnaire for priority weight development, and semi‐structured interviews for the validation of results. A food manufacturing‐based focus group participated in the modelling process.Findings – A four‐level capability assessment model was created, with operational assessment criteria allocated into management, logistics or marketing categories. The results indicate that management‐related criteria have a dominant role in assessing the supply chain capability of a retail chain company. Furthermore, the priority weight of logi...

Supply chain management in emerging market economies: a review of the literature and analysis of the Russian grocery retail sector

There exists a vast amount of research concerning Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) in developed countries; with most of the papers considering the implementation of new IT systems and tightly coordinated as well as centralised retail–manufacturer supply chains. However, population rich as well as rapidly developing emerging markets have gained less attention. According to our literature survey, most of the published journal articles in this area concentrate on Asia or Latin America. Interestingly, research related to Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) is very meagre and less contemporary, although these countries have a fairly large population base near to Europe, and are demonstrating rapidly increasing wealth. In the empirical part of this paper, we show the results of a qualitative content analysis of 330 selected articles from leading Russian language business news, and enlarge the examination of key players with second-hand financial and business data. Based on empirical data analysis, we argue that the retail sector faces increasing pressure regarding restructuring, the management of growth and the implementation of modern retail management concepts. We also identified the internationalisation of this sector by German, French and Turkish-based companies. However, domestic retail companies are also making interesting moves in terms of Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) and acquisitions.