James Aitken

Analysis and design of focused demand chains

The paper describes the evolution of focused demand chains over an extended period of time as a major UK lighting manufacturer has sought to remain an international player in a fast changing business environment. Analysis and design procedures make use of the concepts of Wickham Skinner and Marshall Fisher to answer the strategic questions “what facilities are required and how should they be laid out to enable the necessary focused demand chains?” and to answer the tactical question “which focused demand chain is appropriate for this product?” The case study then details how the company has been transformed from operating within a traditional supply chain to driving change via the engineering of four focused demand chains. The paper concludes with a comparison of operations enablers, customer choice, and business performance metrics covering the transition period culminating in the current focused demand chain scenario. By matching products to the appropriate value stream there is a consequential reduction in product development time of 75%; manufacturing costs reduction of up to 27%; and up to 95% reduction in delivery lead times.

The impact of product life cycle on supply chain strategy

In order to compete in todays highly competitive marketplace supply chains must be engineered to match product characteristics and customer requirements. As products proceed through their life cycles these requirements dramatically change. Consequently supply chain strategies must be dynamically matched so as to maximise competitiveness. This paper demonstrates how an innovative UK lighting company re-engineered its supply chain to accommodate the impact of product life cycles. The key to their success is the ability to classify products and develop appropriate supply chain strategies. Careful matching of products to pipelines thereby enables maximisation of the appropriate order winner and market qualifier characteristics. The classification system used enables generic modelling of the methodology and hence potential for use in other market sectors.

Value stream classification

Purpose – In the twenty‐first century business scenario, most organisations supply a range of products to multiple markets, so participate in several often quite different supply chains. Just as the linear chain is a simplification of a supply network, the single channel is a simplification of the true complexity many organisations face. When all products are pushed down a single channel, they are paced by the slowest and customers are charged an average price resulting in many being underserved. Manifestly, for most businesses “one size fits all” is not a viable option in delivery pipeline design and operation. This paper aims to address these issues.Design/methodology/approach – Traditionally, the requisite number of delivery pipelines operated by a business is determined by “hunch”, as is the range of products flowing down each channel to the marketplace. The information technology (IT) revolution, which in turn has spawned the “analytic corporation” enables pipeline selection and product matching to b...

A comparative study of manufacturing and service sector supply chain integration via the uncertainty circle model

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the differences and similarities between the manufacturing and services sectors in order to develop a methodology that can provide the opportunity for the transfer of best practice between the two sectors. This paper aims to describe an audit methodology capable of yielding objective comparisons of supply chain integration performance that can assist practitioners and academics to transfer learned solutions. Design/methodology/approach – A robust, site-based, multi-method supply chain diagnostic for detecting manufacturing supply chain system uncertainty was amended for the service sector in order to yield objective comparisons of the (normalised) supply chain integration performances of 119 organisations. Findings – The research confirms the value of using a lens enabled by the uncertainty circle model (UCM) for generating meaningful comparative supply chain performances. The research found that services do not always exhibit unique attributes which effectively bar manufacturing-based supply chain best practice from being adopted within the service sector. Originality/value – Combining the UCM and Quick Scan Audit Methodology approach has the potential to assist the spread of proven good practice across both sectors. The framework provides realistic and repeatable performance vectors, capable of aligning estimates of value stream health status even when comparing supply chains with differing objectives, configurations, and performance goals.

Co-Alignment of Supply Chain Strategies and the Knowledge Outcomes for Buyer-Supplier Network Relationships

We investigate the relational dynamics in supply chains focused on three questions. The first question relates to the initial strategic choices of suppliers; the second relates to the impact of interactions between buyers and suppliers, or how suppliers manage buyers initiative; the third relates to the pre-requisites to forming successful supplier networks such as the enablers and inhibitors factors to strategic integration of the supply chain, or other context factors affecting suppliers networks. This paper builds upon business network theory and an extensive empirical research on two cases of supply chain networks. Our theoretical framework for the comparative case research derives from the conceptualisation of relational dynamics and the impact of individual strategies employed by relational partners to manage the evolution of the exchange [35]. Our conclusions confirm that stronger strategic alignment, resource integration and intensive knowledge transfer facilitate more successful supply networks.

To eliminate or absorb supply chain complexity: a conceptual model and case study

Purpose Existing works in the supply chain complexity area have either focused on the overall behavior of multi-firm complex adaptive systems or on listing specific tools and techniques that business units (BUs) can use to manage supply chain complexity but without providing a thorough discussion about when and why they should be deployed. This research aims to address this gap by developing a conceptually sound model, based on the literature, regarding how an individual BU should reduce versus absorb supply chain complexity. Design/methodology/approach This research synthesizes the supply chain complexity and organizational design literature to present a conceptual model of how a BU should respond to supply chain complexity. The authors illustrate the model through a longitudinal case study analysis of a packaged foods manufacturer. Findings Regardless of its type or origin, supply chain complexity can arise because of the strategic business requirements of the BU (strategic) or because of suboptimal business practices (dysfunctional complexity). Consistent with the proposed conceptual model, the illustrative case study showed that a firm must first distinguish between strategic and dysfunctional drivers prior to choosing an organizational response. Furthermore, it was found that efforts to address supply chain complexity can reveal other system weaknesses that lie dormant until the system is stressed. Research limitations/implications The case study provides empirical support for the literature-derived conceptual model. Nevertheless, any findings derived from a single, in-depth case study require further research to produce generalizable results. Practical implications The conceptual model presented here provides a more granular view of supply chain complexity and how an individual BU should respond, than what can be found in the existing literature. The model recognizes that an individual BU can simultaneously face both strategic and dysfunctional complexity drivers, each requiring a different organizational response. Originality/value There are no other research works that have synthesized the supply chain complexity and organizational design literature to present a conceptual model of how an individual BU should respond to supply chain complexity. As such, this paper improves the understanding of supply chain complexity effects and provides a basis for future research, as well as guidance for BUs facing complexity challenges.

Crash repair in the UK: reusing salvaged parts in car repair centres

The reuse of salvaged parts from vehicles deemed to be at the end of their life is viewed as an opportunity by insurers and crash repair firms to reduce rectification costs and improve service to policy holders. This research investigates the opportunities and challenges that confront an important but under-researched part of the automotive supply chain in establishing a reverse logistics flow of salvaged parts. The aim of this paper is to explore why the development of a reverse logistics system for the reuse of salvaged parts has not been successful in the UK yet flourishes in North America and Europe. Through answering this question, the paper seeks to provide a framework for managing the development of a partial closed-loop reverse logistics system for salvaged parts. Economic and ecological benefits are identified as potential outcomes. The implications for practice and further research are discussed.

Reverse Exchange: Classifications for Public Service SCM

Purpose: To identify reverse flows and exchanges that support public service provision. Reverse flow literature has focused on manufacturing based supply chains utilising the lens of exchange (Recovery, Reuse, Repair, Recycle) to gain performance improvement in product flows. Limited research is available to support an understanding of customer derived reverse exchange (RE) service processes. We contribute to the service literature through the development of RE antecedents; derive new and revised definitions and the supporting constructs of RE service processes. Design/Methodology/Approach: This paper synthesises literature creating a framework of antecedents for RE. Antecedents reflect differences of service flow (level of service inseparability and ‘acting upon’). These antecedents are empirically tested within an illustrative pre-existing UK healthcare case study against the synthesised antecedents and existing RE definitions. Two teams of researchers reviewed the data generated from public service supply chain processes. Definitions of RE were either revised or derived from the empirical data by each team. Findings: The service concept of ‘acting upon’ for inseparable public service supply chain flows provides a basis for examining the existence of reverse flows and exchanges. Revised and new classifications to the RE model are proposed to stimulate contextual performance improvement and innovation in public service provision. Psychological utility is an additional feature to economic, environmental and social utility in public service RE. RE offers practitioners and academics a strategic operational competence to achieve improvement and innovation in public services and further advance this concept. Originality/Value: Extending the literature beyond the manufacturing derived RE concept to develop an understanding of the customer’s role in preserving and co-creating value in RE and flows in public service. New RE antecedents for public services, including the potential of psychological utility, are presented.

Agile factorial production for a single manufacturing line with multiple products

Industrial practices and experiences highlight that demand is dynamic and non-stationary. Research however has historically taken the perspective that stochastic demand is stationary therefore limiting its impact for practitioners. Manufacturers require schedules for multiple products that decide the quantity to be produced over a required time span. This work investigated the challenges for production in the framework of a single manufacturing line with multiple products and varying demand. The nature of varying demand of numerous products lends itself naturally to an agile manufacturing approach. We propose a new algorithm that iteratively refines production windows and adds products. This algorithm controls parallel genetic algorithms (pGA) that find production schedules while minimizing costs. The configuration of such a pGA was essential in influencing the quality of results. In particular providing initial solutions was an important factor. Two novel methods are proposed that generate initial solutions by transforming a production schedule into one with refined production windows. The first method is called factorial generation and the second one fractional generation method. A case study compares the two methods and shows that the factorial method outperforms the fractional one in terms of costs.