Martin Beaulieu

Hybrid stockless: a case study

Due to the diversity of its players, the American healthcare sector has experimented with different types of integrated supply chain management systems for medical supplies. In the 1980s, US distributors were offering customers the so‐called stockless replenishment method, whereby the distributor picks and packs products according to the particular needs of each patient care unit and, in most cases, delivers them directly. By the late 1990s, stockless agreements had run out of steam, as distributors sought to optimize the balance between their efforts expended in hospital replenishment and the hospitals’ inventory savings. Among the various reflections and initiatives aimed at finding such a new balance, we focused on the experience of a Quebec (Canada) hospital adopting a hybrid version of the stockless system, under which the distributor supplied high‐volume products for the patient care unit in case quantities, leaving the institution’s central stores to break down bulk purchases of low‐volume products into point‐of‐use format (eaches). The study reveals marginal benefits from the hybrid method for both the institution and the distributor. However, it also reveals the importance of the manufacturer’s role with respect to packing formats, and demonstrates that the rearrangement of storage areas can generate substantial savings, opening the way to means for improving the healthcare sector supply chain.

Aligning competitive priorities in the supply chain: the role of interactions with suppliers

Purpose – Over the last decade, competition in the manufacturing sector has increased as globalization and customer requirements have evolved. Now, organizations are competing not only with their internal capabilities but also on their abilities to leverage capabilities in the supply chain. Recent studies suggest that strategic alignment in the supply chain, assessed by the degree of matching between supply management and market requirements, is critical for the success of organizations in the global marketplace. The purpose of this paper is to examine the possible linkage between strategic alignment (or lack of) in the supply chain, based on the traditional competitive priorities (i.e. cost, quality, flexibility and delivery), and the type of interactions with suppliers.Design/methodology/approach – Strategic alignment in the supply chain was measured by the difference between customers requirements and the emphasis that the organization puts on these same requirements in dealing with its suppliers. The...

Mastery of operational competencies in the context of supply chain management

Purpose – According to the most recent theories, the competitiveness of organizations is based on the development of competencies. Core competencies result from greater mastery than competitors of organizational abilities valued by customers. This paper seeks to investigate how a more thorough integration of the supply chain may be associated with greater mastery of operational competencies.Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on a mail survey carried out among Canadian manufacturing companies.Findings – The statistical analyses identified four clusters of respondents with regard to their supply chain management practices. These practices may be either distant or integrated with upstream or downstream partners. The other component of the study made it possible to identify four operational competencies – i.e. cost, delivery, logistic services, and design. It was observed that the group with the most highly integrated supply practices mastered an operational competency in logistic services.Resea...

The Challenges of Hospital Supply Chain Management, from Central Stores to Nursing Units

The practice of patient care is supported by a range of healthcare supply chain management activities, also referred to by many as healthcare logistics. Improving the efficiency of these activities can provide opportunities for healthcare institutions and health systems to increase the quality of care and reduce costs. Hospitals represent a key link in the supply chain and face their own particular challenges due the complexity of their internal supply chain. The distribution of medical supplies to nursing units represents a vital component of the internal hospital supply chain. Indeed, all doctors, nurses, and clinical support staff deal with and depend on supplies in one way or another and are thus affected by their accessibility and availability on a daily basis. The methods most often used to distribute supplies to nursing units range from requisition-based systems that depend on clinical staff involvement to methods where the hospital’s central stores manage inventory and replenishment. In the latter category, common storage and distribution method options include par level systems and automated cabinets, among others, as well as the two-bin/kanban replenishment method, which has been identified as a best practice. For its part, RFID technology has further enhanced this leading practice and introduced the possibility of proactively managing supplies by triggering replenishment rounds based on a range of user-defined criteria. Beyond its expanded benefits, this innovation opens the door to a large number of research avenues in the areas of capacitated vehicle routing problems, inventory optimization, and simulation.

The impact of the supply chain on core competencies and knowledge management: directions for future research

In today’s increasingly competitive business environment, the implementation of technological innovations (products or processes) can rarely be done in isolation. More and more, companies must network with each other to pool resources and knowledge, allowing for the creation of competitive advantages. They may join various networks, but their supply chain network is deemed as a natural and more stable one. Many articles have been published on the importance and the impacts of supply chain performance. However, this article brings an integrated view to these concepts. First, it shows how the concepts of the resource-based view and knowledge management fit together. Then, it summarises the principles supporting supply chain management, and it integrates the conclusions of a number of studies dealing with knowledge management and supply chain management. Finally, the article suggests and discusses some key research questions that could lead to a more integrated research stream.

Reverse Logistics Networks and Governance Structures

Over the last few years, the management of reverse logistics has become increasingly important for organizations and a field of interest for researchers. We observe that the implementation and coordination of reverse logistics networks call for original responses with regard to their governance structure. In this context, the research question for this article is which factors explain the existence and contribution of different governance structures in reverse logistics. Our research is exploratory in nature, and we look at the following reverse logistics networks: recycling of used tires, empty beer bottles, used paint, and paper products. Some of our case studies feature original arrangements where additional stakeholders, such as government organizations and dedicated third parties, become involved in the governance of reverse logistics networks and modify the natural relationships normally observed in traditional supply chains.

Logistique à rebours : un portrait nord-américain

This article presents the history of the backward logistics concept and provides a definition and its associated profits, profits that exceed the only environmental benefits. In the background, the authors wish to demonstrate that the concept of reverse logistics is not only a response to environmental pressures from legislators and consumers but it is a way of improving the competitiveness of business by cutting costs or improving its customer service (Meyer, 1999) for example, by returning defective or unsold products (Rogers and Tibben-Lembke, 1998).

Knowledge Management Practices in the Context of Supply Chain Integration: The Canadian Experience

Knowledge can be a strategic resource for any organization. Today, it is considered the cornerstone for the development of core competencies that will generate competitive advantages. This knowledge is not found exclusively within organizations, but may be shared through business relationships developed within the supply chain through the interconnection of value-added activities among business partners. This article seeks to study the relationship between supply chain and knowledge management practices. The results of a study of 163 Quebec (Canada) manufacturing companies (almost 90% of which are small- and medium- sized enterprises) confirmed our hypothesis that the deployment of integrated supply chain management practices with both upstream and downstream partners is associated with more effective knowledge management processes. Although this relationship is not linear, a more comprehensive, integrated vision of the supply chain-both upstream and downstream-leads to an awareness of the value of the knowledge exchanged. This awareness also results in the implementation of measures to protect knowledge deemed to be strategic.

Réapprovisionnement des unités de soins : portrait de six hôpitaux québecois et français

Des produits pharmaceutiques, des fournitures médicales, des repas, du linge, des fournitures de bureau circulent quotidiennement ou de façon hebdomadaire à travers l’hôpital entre leur lieu d’entreposage principal ou leur lieu de production et les différents points de service. Pour les produits et les fournitures qui soutiennent directement les activités cliniques, le réapprovisionnement des unités de soins présente un caractère particulièrement critique car il doit limiter les perturbations auprès du personnel soignant. Un programme de recherche est mené depuis quelques années visant à identifier les facteurs contextuels qui affectent la performance des modes de réapprovisionnement des fournitures médicales aux unités de soins. Cet article présente des résultats de la recherche.

Systèmes de réapprovisionnement des unités de soins : description et implications organisationnelles

Cet article dresse un portrait du fonctionnement des différents modes de réapprovisionnement des centres hospitaliers nord-américains et européens. Une telle description sera élaborée à partir d’un découpage du cycle de réapprovisionnement en quatre activités ainsi que d’une présentation des principaux avantages et inconvénients qui sont associés à ces modes de réapprovisionnement. Cette présentation permettra d’introduire une discussion sur les implications organisationnelles de l’utilisation d’un mode de réapprovisionnement donné et, plus particulièrement, sur la répartition des activités entre l’unité de soins et le service des approvisionnements.