Jyri Vilko

On uncertainty in supply chain risk management

– The concept of uncertainty is a relevant yet little understood area within supply chain risk management. Risk is often associated with uncertainty, but in reality uncertainty is a much more elaborate concept and deserves more in-depth scrutiny. To bridge this gap, the purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework for assessing the levels and nature of uncertainty in this context. , – The aim of the study is to link established theories of uncertainty to the management of risk in supply chains, to gain a holistic understanding of its levels and nature. The proposed conceptual model concerns the role of certainty and uncertainty in this context. Illustrative examples show the applicability of the model. , – The study describes in detail a way of analysing the levels and nature of uncertainty in supply chains. Such analysis could provide crucial information enabling more efficient and effective implementation of supply chain risk management. , – The study enhances understanding of the nature of the uncertainties faced in supply chains. Thus it should be possible to improve existing measures and analyses of risk, which could increase the efficiency and effectiveness of supply chain and logistics management. , – The proposed conceptual framework of uncertainty types in the supply chain context is novel, and therefore could enhance understanding of uncertainty and risk in supply and logistics management and make it easier to categorise, as well as initiate further research in the field.

The development of a service supply chain model for a manufacturing SME

Purpose – Services are increasingly growing in importance in the global economy. However, in the context of manufacturing industry supply chains, services are still little discussed. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding of service business development for manufacturing small- and medium-sized enterprises by further developing previous conceptual frameworks for service supply chain management, based on the current scientific literature and empirical cases. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based mainly on qualitative interviews and expert group sessions set up to analyze the acquired data and test the developed model. The developed model is based on a multidisciplinary literature review, to provide a holistic perspective on the affecting factors in new business development in the service supply chain context. Findings – The implications of the study are beneficial from both the scientific and practical perspectives, which help to understand better the process and r...

Assessing the impact of outsourcing in the electricity network industry

Purpose – Electricity networks in Europe have been experiencing drastic changes driven by deregulation. The old monopoly businesses do not always find it easy to make the required improvements, and some are outsourcing the functions to private service providers. Outsourcing is a fairly new phenomenon in electricity distribution, however, and there are few studies on the subject. The purpose of this paper is to narrow the gap in assessing the affecting factors and the impact in a case involving outsourcing the underground cabling functions of a publicly‐owned network company to a private service provider.Design/methodology/approach – The study is based mainly on qualitative interviews and an expert group session set up to analyse the acquired data. The affecting factors and the outsourcing impact levels were determined in the group discussion, and analysed in accordance with the risk/benefit framework developed, taking account of both the short‐ and long‐term aspects.Findings – Outsourcing in the electrici...

Origin and impact of supply chain risks affecting supply security

Cargo flows in the Gulf of Finland have grown substantially since the fall of the Soviet Union. The high growth of traffic density in the narrow and shallow shipping lanes has been the centre of attention for some time, and researchers have produced numerous reports warning about the risks involved. Many of these reports have not, however, considered the viewpoint of the practitioners of business life. Therefore, this paper is contributing to this gap by presenting the risks identified affecting the supply chains from their perspective. The study was conducted by interviewing organisations acting as part of a focal supply chain. The main risks identified by the interviewees were the port functions and the sea lanes and land routes near the port. The recognised risks varied significantly between the companies and persons depending on their position in the supply chain.

An information-exchange perspective on Supply-Chain Risk Management: systemic organisational motives and cognitive barriers

Disruptions in the supply chain are critical issues for many companies, and complexity and disintegration are emerging as one of the major challenges to risk management in this context. For the risk management to work on a proper level the actors in the supply chain need to collaborate and share information. In this paper we assess information exchange and the related risks in the supply chain between the Baltic States and Finland. We discuss methods of information exchange and the risks involved, and analyse the case in terms of the cognitive barriers and systemic motives.

Outcomes of public health reform – service availability in rural areas

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on the availability and demanded locations of health care services in a rural context. The authors analyse subjective experiences because mobility and other individual factors influence the availability of public services. Design/methodology/approach – Results from a mail survey in southeastern Finland are presented. Data collection was conducted using a random sample of 3,000 people from age 60 to 90 years. A total of 1,121 valid responses were received. Findings – The acceptable distance to service sites depends on learned behaviour where differences exist between suburban and rural residents. The authors found that service networks can be sparser in rural areas if the service sites are located in the daily activity space of the residents and travel burdens caused by distance and time are adequately solved. However, continuous downscaling of the provision may lead to the loss of health benefits which is harmful for individuals and expensive for society. Re...

Risk management abilities in multimodal maritime supply chains: Visibility and control perspectives

Supply chain complexity and disintegration lead to increased uncertainty from a stakeholders perspective, which is emerging as one of the major challenges of risk management. The ability to identify risks has weakened, as the responsibility of supply chain risk management is handed over to outside service providers. Regardless, the risks, their visibility and their impact depend on the position of the companies in the supply chain. The actors in the chain must therefore collaborate to create effective risk management conditions. This challenging situation is especially pronounced in multimodal maritime supply chains, where the risks and actor focality are high. This paper contributes to current risk management literature by providing a holistic and systemic view of risk visibility and control in maritime supply chains. The study employs broad-based, qualitative interview data collected from actors operating in southern Finland and the Gulf of Finland as well as an expert-panel assessment of the related risk management abilities. The results show a high level of variance in the level of risk identification and visibility between the actors in question. This further suggests that collaboration in supply chain risk management is essential, as an awareness of the risks and their control mechanisms do not necessarily reside in the same company.

Selecting the supply chain route: environmental aspects

Given the general concern over the state of nature, environmental issues are of more significance in supply chains than previously. The routing of transportation chains is typically based on economic factors at the expense of ecological factors. The environmental impact and risks attributable to transportation are often not understood, and therefore taking them into account is challenging. In this paper we discuss the environmental effects and risks related to freight transportation, and suggest a method for assessing environmental factors in route selection. We applied the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) in considering the greener option in road and railway transportation, a combination yielding alternative routings that cause minimum environmental damage and risk in the case under investigation.

Analyzing Supply Chain Vulnerability Through Simulation

Supply chain vulnerabilities have attracted little research attention despite being recognized as an important issue. To provide further insights into this issue, this chapter uses a simulation approach for analyzing supply chain vulnerability. Specifically, simulations are used to gain additional insights into multiechelon supply chains and the impact of supply disruptions. This study employs an integrated literature review of supply chain vulnerability and risk management and a discrete-event-simulation. The presented framework and simulation models provide important information about the feasibility of using a simulation for analyzing supply chain vulnerability. The results of this study suggest that supply chain vulnerability depends on both the complexity of the supply chain as well as the disruption risks inherent in it. To gain a more holistic view of an entire supply chain system, it is imperative to use proper tools to analyze vulnerabilities. Simulations can be used to model both the system complexity and the different levels of operation holistically and gain insights into managing supply chain vulnerability. By analyzing supply chain vulnerability, managers can ground their decisions in a more holistic understanding of the issue.

Improving performance in public services: Tools and implications of multiple criteria staff scheduling and ranking

Given the pressure on improving performance of labor-intensive services in the public sector, systematic decision support approaches for work planning within a field of a pertinent process and operations management have met with increasing success. However, due to a complex work pattern and multiple conflicting attributes, the issue has proven difficult to solve. In the face of those complications, we propose a holistic decision support approach comprising fundamental elements of staff scheduling, optimization, and operations management-concepts. For daily scheduling, monitoring, and developing organizational efficiency on continuous manner, an automated system comprising a functional interface and on-line database tools is also developed. The system tool is applied to a case organization in the public administration and the results from tangible examples are evaluated by comparing with observed data.