Jan Stentoft Arlbjørn

Logistics knowledge creation: reflections on content, processes and context

Outlines possible ways to question “what logistics knowledge is” and “how it comes about”, as a means to improve the craftsmanship in logistics research. The logistics knowledge‐creation activity is examined with respect to its content, context and processes. A framework distinguishing three levels of abstraction (philosophy of science, methodology and theory, and practice) is presented and discussed. This framework highlights some key issues to be considered when research in logistics and supply‐chain management is to be carried out. The implications of the paper should be considered as complementary to increased rigor and borrowing theories from other disciplines as a means to enrich the logistics discipline.

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...

Exploring supply chain innovation

Supply chain management promises competitive advantages for industrial organizations. The introduction of new products and services, or entry into new markets, is likely to be more successful if accompanied by innovative supply chain designs, innovative supply chain management practices, and enabling technology. This is a widely accepted premise in business practice today. However, systematic research and knowledge about supply chain innovation (SCI) is little developed. There is a lack of common terminology, of agreement about the conceptual understanding, and of related empirical work. This paper presents an exploratory study that aims to provide a better understanding of SCI, mirroring leading edge practice, and providing a sound terminological and conceptual basis for advanced academic work in the field. The research is based on an in-depth literature review and the analysis of a set of secondary data sources: 36 SCI cases, drawn from applications for the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals’ (CSCMP) Supply Chain Innovation Award. As results of the research, a new SCI definition, the construction of a descriptive model of its key elements, and discussion of implications are presented.

Evidence of lean: a review of international peer-reviewed journal articles

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how “lean” is viewed in academic literature and how it is operationalised. The paper also examines how evidence of lean is accounted for in practice.Design/methodology/approach – This paper discusses a review of 105 international peer‐reviewed journals with the purpose of identifying what has been written about lean. All in all, 154 articles featuring lean in the article title are identified and reviewed.Findings – Lean has moved from application only in production to being used in other sectors, such as the public and service sectors. Most contributions are still found in production and supply chain journals, however, and few contributions discuss the basis of lean or provide a clear definition of the meaning of lean. The literature review indicates that there is a low level of operationalisation of the concept of lean, making the concept seem unclear and vague. About one‐third of the reviewed articles apply a toolbox view on lean; and, in general, the po...

Attractiveness in Supply Chains: A Process and Matureness Perspective

Purpose – Companies engage in several business relationships ranging from arms length to close relationships based on trust and commitment. Several companies have recognized that their supply chain capabilities give them a competitive edge for delivering what customers want. However, often customers are not a homogeneous group requiring the same physical products and services. From a manufacturers perspective, this demands that the issue of customer and supplier attractiveness should be considered. How can a company work with a differentiated approach: to be more attractive to selected customers or to suppliers? The purpose of this paper is to address this issue by proposing a process and maturity model for customer attractiveness in supply chains.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on two in‐depth explorative case studies of Danish business‐to‐business manufacturers. The cases report both seller and buyer perspectives on attractiveness.Findings – The literature review on attractiveness rev...

Doctoral Dissertations in Logistics and Supply Chain Management: A Review of Scandinavian Contributions from 1990 to 2001

Logistics and supply chain management (SCM) are broad disciplines in which many different, cross‐functional tasks are investigated. In Scandinavia, research in logistics and SCM experienced a significant boom during the 1990s; the steadily increasing interest in participation in the annual NOFOMA Nordic Logistics Conference and the steadily growing number of PhD students enrolled in the Scandinavian research environments emphasizing the study of logistics and SCM bear witness to this intensification. In addition, a great number of doctoral dissertations in this field are completed in Scandinavia, adding greatly to the existent store of knowledge concerning a wide range of logistics and SCM phenomena. However, to date, precious little effort has been devoted to providing an overview of these dissertations. This paper is designed to fill that void. To that end, 75 doctoral dissertations published from 1990 to 2001 are identified. The framework classifies the dissertations into a series of main themes indicative of the state of Nordic research in logistics and SCM. Suggestions for future research based on this survey are likewise provided.

Public procurement vs. private purchasing: Is there any foundation for comparing and learning across the sectors?

Purpose – Compared with the private sector, the public sectors procurement process differs in several respects. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the possibility for mutual learning and the value between the public and private sectors and also to identify both drivers and barriers for benchmarks between the two sectors.Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on in‐depth literature reviews of comparisons between private and public procurements. The paper is, furthermore, derived from two case studies: one in a chain perspective and another that concerns public‐private innovation.Findings – Extant literature contains limited contributions that compare public procurement practice with private purchasing practice. Using tendering to regulate procurement is troublesome and may hamper the possibility to learn and gain value measured on a broader scale. Wider collaboration may provide more possibilities to learn and gain value.Research limitations/implications – The empirical part of the paper re...

Barriers to master data quality

Purpose – While few would disagree that high data quality is a precondition for the efficiency of a company, this remains an area to which many companies do not give adequate attention. Thus, this paper aims to identify which are the most important barriers preventing companies from achieving high data quality. By improving awareness of barriers on which to concentrate, companies are put in a better position to achieve high quality data.Design/methodology/approach – First, a literature review of data quality and data quality barriers is carried out. Based on this literature review, the paper identifies a set of overall barriers to ensuring high data quality. The significance of these barriers is investigated by a questionnaire study, which includes responses from 90 Danish companies. Because of the fundamental difference between master data and transaction data, the questionnaire is limited to focusing only on master data.Findings – The results of the survey indicate that a lack of delegation of responsib...

A classification model of ERP system data quality

Purpose – In literature, there is not agreement on the relevant data quality dimensions in an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system context. The purpose of this paper is to provide some clarification of this topic, by answering two important questions: What are the most relevant dimensions for assessing ERP data quality? What are the causal relationships between these data quality dimensions?Design/methodology/approach – Based on a discussion of existing literature on data quality, a classification model of ERP system data quality is proposed and the relationships between the defined categories of data quality dimensions are defined. The validity of the classification model and the relationships between categories of data quality dimensions are investigated in three case studies.Findings – The three case studies confirm that the classification model captures the most important aspects of describing ERP data quality and that the defined causalities between categories of data quality dimensions correspo...

Research methodologies in supply chain management: what do we know?

Investigates the methodology applied in supply chain management (SCM) research ublished in three academic journals from 1997 to 2004. The objective is to analyze and discuss by what research methods our current knowledge of SCM has been generated. 71 papers are identified as containing SCM. Empirical evidence is limited to approximately half of the articles, share of which is frequently generated by quantitative approaches. Conceptual work is weak on discussing fundamental assumptions of SCM (theory, methodology, philosophy of science). Theoretical foundations from a philosophy of science perspective are still unquestioned. Actor and level of analysis are primarily the manufacturing company and a supply chain perspective albeit the empirical evidence usually resides in the particular, focal company. Applications of non-logistics theories or concepts are not navigated by a more fundamental discussion of methodology.