Jeffrey A. Ogden

On differences in how operations and supply chain managers approach quality management

In this research, we administered surveys to operations and supply chain managers from different companies to better understand how they approached quality management. The underlying research question was whether the increased emphasis in supply chain management in the workplace had implications for how quality management is practiced and how quality-related values are emphasised. We found that those who identified themselves as supply chain managers utilised and emphasised quality tools and values to a greater extent than those who identified themselves as operations managers. The tools emphasised by supply chain managers included benchmarking, complaint resolution, design for the environment, ERP, supplier development, focus groups, and supply chain management. The primary theoretical implication of this study is that there exists an emerging field that we can term ‘supply chain quality’. This study provides a preliminary outline of the domain of this field.

Towards a better understanding of supply chain quality management practices

This paper reports the results of a comparative study of quality tools and methods adoption by operations and supply chain managers. A survey was administered to both types of managers in the Western United States. Performing a Kruskal Wallis analysis, we found support for the hypothesis that operations and supply chain managers approach quality management differently. We found that operations managers tend to manage supply chains through procedural methods such as ISO 9000 and supplier evaluation. Supply chain managers tend to be more collaborative, emphasising supplier development and complaint resolution. We found that both types of managers adopted on the job training, data analysis, supply chain management, customer relationship management, project management and surveys. This paper represents another step in defining the field of supply chain quality management.

B2B e‐marketplaces: a typology by functionality

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to develop a typology of e‐marketplace functionality and then link the typology to the associated value creation potential of differing types of e‐marketplaces.Design/methodology/approach – In‐depth interviews with the executives of 50 e‐marketplaces, a web/mail‐based survey of another 350 e‐marketplaces and interviews with several e‐marketplace customers were conducted.Findings – B2B e‐marketplaces offer a variety of different value propositions. Leading e‐marketplaces have a well‐developed strategy for reaching a particular segment of the buying community, based on service needs. Developing e‐marketplaces do not demonstrate the same focus. On one hand, only a few e‐marketplaces had developed the same winning constellations of services, while on the other hand, most were planning a roll‐out of a wide variety of services that would carry them far beyond a focused strategy. The success of this approach seems problematic.Practical implications – The prudent customer ...

Benchmarking the viability of SCM for entrepreneurial business model design

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to benchmark the viability of collaborative supply chain (SC) business models for small businesses.Design/methodology/approach – Survey data was collected from 81 companies with 100 or fewer employees, 169 companies with 101‐500 employees, and 308 companies with more than 500 employees. To help contextualize the findings, eight in‐depth interviews with small firms were conducted.Findings – Benchmarking the viability of collaborative SC business models using a contingency, resource‐based‐view assessment paradigm reveals a perplexing paradox. Managers at small firms suggest that the majority of the benefits of SCM are within their reach. They also note that the barriers to implementation do not intimidate them. However, they also report that they are not actively pursuing SCM as a strategic weapon. Our research shows that the best way to avoid the cost squeeze and death spiral encountered by small business in todays global SC environment is to create the collaborative...

The supply base reduction process : an empirical investigation

Purpose – This research seeks to better understand the supply base reduction approaches and processes utilized by organizations.Design/methodology/approach – In‐depth case studies were conducted with ten organizations that recently reduced their supply bases. These organizations represented a variety of industries, type of product or service being purchased, and number of suppliers reduced from the supply base.Findings – Three different types of supply base reduction approaches are identified (systematic elimination, standardization, and tiering), examples of each are provided, and guidance is provided about situations in which each would be useful. A basic supply base reduction process is developed and outlined based on the similarities observed among these three different approaches.Practical implications – A better understanding of these supply base reduction approaches and processes can help organizations successfully implement such efforts by learning from the experiences of other organizations.Origi...

Connecting strategy‐linked outsourcing approaches and expected performance

Purpose – This study aims to examine the connection between strategy‐linked outsourcing goals and measures of outsourcing performance. The strategies of growth, cost, and differentiation (core competence) are examined in terms of their relationship with goal achievement and cost performance measures.Design/methodology/approach – Regression analysis and ANOVA were applied to survey data collected from 165 purchasing executives.Findings – Findings support a positive relationship between goal intensity for a single strategy and achievement of goals related to that strategy. Findings also suggest that firms with high commitment to growth and cost strategies tend to achieve cost‐related performance at higher levels than firms with a lower commitment to same. Finally, the findings also suggest that firms pursuing a single or dominant strategy achieve lower levels of cost saving performance, as compared with firms pursuing a “balanced” approach that emphasizes two or three different strategies in roughly equal m...

A method for measuring supply chain interoperability

ABSTRACT The ability of systems or organisations to provide services to, and accept services from, other systems or organisations is the fundamental tenet of interoperability. This paper introduces supply chain interoperability and proposes it as a metric to facilitate supply chain management performance analysis. Interoperability can be considered a similarity metric with regard to a set of characteristics. Our methodology adapts and expands an interoperability measurement tool initially developed in and for a military context. Through an illustrative example, we demonstrate the assessment of interoperability across a supply chain, where participants are described using deterministic and stochastic characters. Our measurement methodology can assist in efficiently directing resources to best improve interoperability between and among the various elements of a supply chain.

Explaining the Key Elements of Information Systems-Based Supply-Chain Strategy that are Necessary for Business-to-Business Electronic Marketplace Survival

Business-to-business electronic marketplaces (EMs) were hyped as the future of efficient supply chains and as essential to the growth of e-commerce, but in spite of this promise, many EMs failed in the first few years after 2000. Although numerous studies have involved EMs, little research has focused on the degree to which an EM’s automated supply- chain strategy contributed to its survival or failure. Accordingly, this study examines 400 EMs through an extensive survey of the strategic supply- chain capabilities in conjunction with McKinsey & Company and CAPS Research. These results are interpreted using existing strategy literature. The following factors were found to be positively related to EM survival: capturing detailed spend data, providing sourcing and process change recommendations, allowing international contracts, offering the ability to track supplier product availability, and having more than 100 employees. In contrast, the following factors led to EM failure: providing warranties, employing low to medium transaction functionality, integrating with a buyer’s accounting system, allowing buyers to “punch through” to supplier Web sites, permitting the online creation of requisition and purchase orders, transacting a daily volume less than

Comparing Lifecycle Sustainment Strategies in an Electronic Component Obsolescence Environment

1,000, and having 25–75 employees. These results highlight the need for EMs to create network effects of economies of scale and scope for buyers, focus on core competencies, and create buyer lock-in through high switching costs. Existing EMs should focus their strategy on developing the factors found to lead to EM survival and eliminating the factors leading to failure.

Using Supply Chain Interoperability as a Measure of Supply Chain Performance

Rapid advancements in technology and the diminishing lifecycle of electronic systems have complicated the sourcing and sustainment activities of many organizations as suppliers of original components go out of business or refuse to produce obsolete products. This article explores diminishing manufacturing sources and material shortages as well as the obsolescence costs and reliability issues associated with electronic components. Using the current United States Air Force situation as an example, the overall research question asks how obsolescence management can be improved through various sourcing strategies. This article utilizes a simulation model to evaluate equipment demand requirements and sustainment costs for three different approaches: (1) a re-engineering strategy, (2) a lifetime buy strategy, and (3) a programmed redesign strategy. Statistical analysis and long-term forecasted cost comparisons of these three strategies provide a framework to help acquisition, and sustainment managers determine the approach with the lowest total cost of ownership.