Helen Peck

BUILDING THE RESILIENT SUPPLY CHAIN

In todays uncertain and turbulent markets, supply chain vulnerability has become an issue of significance for many companies. As supply chains become more complex as a result of global sourcing and the continued trend to “leaning‐down”, supply chain risk increases. The challenge to business today is to manage and mitigate that risk through creating more resilient supply chains.

Creating agile supply chains in the fashion industry.

Fashion markets are synonymous with rapid change and, as a result, commercial success or failure is largely determined by the organisations flexibility and responsiveness. Responsiveness is characterised by short time‐to‐market, the ability to scale up (or down) quickly and the rapid incorporation of consumer preferences into the design process. In this paper it is argued that conventional organisational structures and forecast‐driven supply chains are not adequate to meet the challenges of volatile and turbulent demand which typify fashion markets. Instead, the requirement is for the creation of an agile organisation embedded within an agile supply chain.

A taxonomy for selecting global supply chain strategies

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to address the increasingly important question of supply chain design for global operations. With the rise of off-shore sourcing and the simultaneous need for improved responsiveness to customer demand, the choice of supply chain strategy is critical. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws its conclusions from case-based research supported by survey data. Findings – The paper provides evidence that the choice of supply chain strategy should be based upon a careful analysis of the demand/supply characteristics of the various product/markets served by a company. It presents the basis for a taxonomy of appropriate supply chain strategies. Research limitations/implications – The case studies and empirical research reported in this paper are specific to the clothing manufacturing and fashion industries and there would be benefit in extending the research into other sectors. Practical implications – Given the increasing trend to out-sourcing and off-shore sourcing, the choice of supply chain strategy is of some significance and clearly impacts competitive performance. Originality/value – Whilst there is a growing recognition of the need to match the supply chain to the market, there is still limited research into what criteria should be utilised to aid the choice of supply chain strategy. This paper attempts to extend our understanding of the issues.

Reconciling supply chain vulnerability, risk and supply chain management

Supply chain vulnerability has become a fashionable area of management research. The purpose of this paper is to provide a critique of the extant canon and to review of the positioning of research in the field, together with literature drawn from several relevant and overlapping fields of research and practice. The aim is to foster a more explicit understanding of the relationships between supply chain vulnerability, risk and supply chain management, and in turn their relevance to related fields such as corporate governance, business continuity management, security and emergency planning. The ultimate objective is to clarify the agenda for further research. The paper begins with an examination of the concept of a “supply chain” and the scope and nature of supply chain management (SCM), then the fusion of SCM with the many and varied interpretations of “risk” and its faltering relationship to risk management. It is argued that attitudes to risk and approaches to risk management vary greatly within SCM and between related disciplines. It is concluded that although more work is needed within the SCM discipline, the issue of supply chain risk and vulnerability should not be addressed solely from a functional SCM perspective. Supply chain vulnerability is a concern for many other managerial disciplines. Research agendas should therefore strive to inform and support the needs of all those with a legitimate interest in supply chain risk and vulnerability management.

Managing Logistics in Fashion Markets

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 everything would be fine. In fact, experience seems to suggest that even though forecasting techniques and methodology have continued to develop in their sophistication, they can never deliver the accuracy required for managing logistics in fast moving markets. The answer, we would suggest, lies not in better forecasts but in reducing the dependency on the forecast. The way to bringing this about, it can be argued, is through lead‐time management.

Strategy and Relationships: Defining the Interface in Supply Chain Contexts

The emergence of the network organization is a phenomenon that has given rise to much comment and analysis. These virtual organizations are characterized by a confederation of specialist skills or capabilities provided by the network members. It is argued that in turbulent environments such collaborative arrangements can provide a more effective means of satisfying customer needs at a profit than the single firm undertaking multiple value‐creating activities. The implications of the network organization for relationship management are considerable. In particular, the challenges to logistics management are profound. The analysis of relationships is clearly linked to competitive strategy in a network context, yet the exploration of the interface between relationships, strategy and supply chain management is far from complete. Therefore, this paper seeks to conceptualize the relationship strategy interface in supply chain contexts. A framework is proposed and its basic principles illustrated through an analysis of the development of relationship strategies between leading market players in the UK brewing industry.

Risk management in military supply chains: Is there a role for six sigma?

This paper reports on the findings of an investigation into supply chain process variability in the UK defence supply chain. The studys objectives were twofold: (1) to investigate the nature and causes of variability in the defence supply chain; and (2) to ascertain whether a six sigma methodology could be applied usefully in this context. Herein it is described how, by following the DMAIC (define, measure, analyse, improve and control) framework and employing a mixture of quantitative and qualitative tools, a number of specific problems and their root causes were identified. An action plan for improvement is put forward based on the findings of the study. The research concluded that six sigma has applicability in the defence supply chain. However, it was also concluded that it is unlikely to be implemented throughout the supply chain under present circumstances, due to current stock holding policies and low levels of activity in certain demand categories. Statistical process control methods were nevertheless recommended together with the formation of an exceptions management team to investigate problems and lead efforts to foster a continuous improvement culture. Most importantly, the research revealed the pernicious effects of a cultural and organisational dependence on the mean average as a performance metric. This research recommends that urgent consideration be given to the introduction of variance-based measures instead. When made available to distribution centre staff in the form of user-friendly bar charts, variance-based measures illustrate the real implications of poor process controls for their fellow servicemen on the front line.

The development and implementation of co-managed inventory agreements in the UK brewing industry

ABSTRACT This paper reviews some of the existing literature on the subject of Co-Managed Inventory (CMI) and its antecedents, placing CMI within the wider lexicon of Efficient Consumer Response (ECR). It then moves on to consider the background and circumstances of the adoption of CMI by a number of leading players in the UK brewing industry, before presenting an empirical study of two of the programmes underway. Drawing on the experiences of these early adopters as they pass through the initial stages of implementation, it identifies some of the wider business implications ensuing from the introduction of these cooperative inventory management agreements.

Investigating corporate strategies for supplier management in retailing companies- a framework for analysis

Though a process perspective has been adopted in the emerging conceptualization of strategic marketing, little attention has been given to the development of relational exchanges from a strategy process perspective. In this paper we propose a framework for the investigation of corporate strategies for the management of suppliers in retailing companies. It focuses on retailer initiatives to transform arms length relationships with suppliers into closer relational exchanges. By considering the interorganizational relationships at a subunit basis, it also integrates the role of relationships into the process. Using a case research approach, the authors derive research propositions for further investigation within the framework proposed.

The recruitment and internal market domains

This chapter addresses two key market domains within the six markets framework - the recruitment market and the internal market. It is appropriate to consider these two markets together, as it is the extent to which companies can successfully recruit, develop and train the right calibre of people for their organizations that will determine their future success in the internal market and ultimately with the customer market.