Mary J. Meixell

A review of the transportation mode choice and carrier selection literature

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to categorize transportation choice research (mode choice and carrier selection) leading to insight on themes in the literature and directions for future researchDesign/methodology/approach – The proposed transportation choice research categorization framework is based on a comprehensive literature review of the peer‐reviewed journal papers published over the past 20 years, supplemented with a review of practitioner articles to identify current challenges in the logistics field. The academic papers are analyzed in terms of research purpose/question, methodology, findings, and challenges addressed.Findings – The review reveals that several important themes are under‐represented in the transportation choice literature: environmental and energy use concerns; security in the supply chain; supply chain integration; international growth; and the role of the internet and emerging information technologies. This review also found that simulation, case study, and interview met...

Stakeholder pressure in sustainable supply chain management

– The purpose of this paper is to summarize and analyze what is known regarding the ways in which stakeholder pressure may influence supply chain sustainability. The authors extend this understanding to develop a number of research questions and propositions for future investigation on this topic. , – The authors used a systematic review process to study the empirical evidence pertaining to how a stakeholder perspective helps to understand sustainability in the supply chain management domain. , – The review has three main findings: stakeholder pressure on sustainability in supply chain management may result in sustainability awareness, adoption of sustainability goals, and/or implementation of sustainability practices; different types of stakeholders have dissimilar influence in the sustainable supply chain decision areas; different stakeholders appears to be more or less influential depending on whether the sustainability issue is environmental or social. , – This synthesis contributes to the literature by developing insight into the processes by which stakeholder pressure influences SSCM decisions.

A Methodology for Assessing the Value of Knowledge in a Service Parts Supply Chain

In this paper, we investigate the value of knowledge [V(K)] in a service organization where knowledge is strictly uncodified and used as a supplement to data and information in the decision logic in a service parts replenishment problem. An earlier case study by the authors has revealed that automotive service parts managers often have considerable knowledge about special supply chain events that alter demand-such as a recall for a failing component, production rate changes, and discontinuation notices. Likewise, service parts managers know about local conditions that will influence service part sales, including weather conditions and changes in the service and body shop schedules. In this paper, we develop a methodology for assessing the value of this knowledge, including a service parts demand model with parameters that are estimated and updated using a Bayesian approach. We demonstrate how the V(K) can be quantified via a simulation of the effect of knowledge in the replenishment process for six selected service part categories. As the V(K) is an important input to the economic justification of information technologies, the development of a methodology that quantifies its value is an important contribution to the management of information systems.

Integrating carrier selection with supplier selection decisions to improve supply chain security

Supply chain security is a major concern for logistics managers who have responsibility for inbound and outbound shipments to and from both domestic and international locations. We propose here that logistics decisions concerning security in the supply chain will be made more effectively when made in concert with decisions in related supply chain processes, especially supplier and carrier selection. Indeed, managers may minimize cost, transit time, and security risk by integrating decision processes internally, as well as with their carriers and suppliers operations. Thus, we account for both intra-firm collaboration between logistics and purchasing managers, as well as inter-firm collaboration among buyers, suppliers, and carriers in a supply chain. In this paper, we propose a decision process that features a set of security rules and a multi-objective optimization model to accomplish this aim. We then provide an illustration to demonstrate the potential usefulness of these concepts in practice.

The effects of production outsourcing on factory cost performance: an empirical study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the performance implications associated with production outsourcing. Specifically, the paper analyzes the cost of goods sold for firms who outsource core manufacturing processes, using empirical data from a variety of industries. The paper seeks to better understand the influence of outsourcing on factory cost by looking at these in the context of related strategies, such as supplier integration, information technology (IT) implementation, and manufacturing process decisions. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on transaction cost economics, manufacturing strategy, and supply chain management literature to aid in predicting the performance to be expected when outsourcing production activities. Furthermore, the paper investigates the moderating effects of manufacturing strategies, supplier integration, and IT expenditures on outsourcing. The primary model is a two-way panel model for the cross-sectional and longitudinal data drawn from the MPI...

Assessing security risk in global supply chains

Supply chain security has become a primary concern for supply chain practitioners, and especially so for global supply chains where security related risk is a particular concern. The challenges of security-related risk may be viewed through the lens of the risk management process, which involves identifying, assessing, mitigating and controlling the vulnerabilities that are faced by supply chain managers in practice. The main purpose of this paper is to develop a methodology for the second step of the process, assessing security risk in global supply chains. The two-part assessment methodology reported here includes a scoring system for evaluating each of the participants in the supply chain in turn, and an aggregation mechanism based on graphic modeling that results in a single supply chain risk index value for a specific supply chain of interest. The main premise of this paper is that pairing these mechanisms provides a useful framework for measuring the potential threat resulting from a combination of individual risk and element interactions. We demonstrate the usefulness of this approach with an example involving two risk intensive stages of supply chains - loading port and ocean carrier.