Meysam Maleki

The links between supply chain disturbances and resilience strategies

The purpose of this paper is to establish links between supply chain disturbances and corresponding strategies of resilience to counter them. To this end, an inductive research approach is used, examining a sample of 38 cases. Secondary data from the cases is used to identify disturbances which affected the corresponding supply chains and the resilience strategies used by managers. The empirical evidences shows that the negative effects of supply chain disturbances can be categorised into a number of supply chain failure modes. In addition, a set of resilience strategies was identified that could be used to overcome those failure modes. A conceptual model, with links between supply chain disturbances, failures and resilience strategies, is proposed. The limitations of this research result from the use of secondary data sources. The findings are only valid for the selected case studies and, consequently, may not be applicable in other scenarios. Future research should focus on detailed case studies that investigate cross-functional applications across the organisation and the supply chain.

Development of Supply Chain Integration model through application of Analytic Network Process and Bayesian Network

Today, supply chain experts are concerned to develop an integration model to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of supply chains. There are theoretical arguments in the literature supporting the idea that development of a comprehensive model to cover all aspects of supply chains is not feasible at the moment. However, as recent scholarly works have shown, it is possible to shed light on some aspects. The current research seeks to identify correlations among supply chain practices and customer values. The proposed model combines the Analytic Network Process (ANP) and Bayesian Network. The model may be used by supply chain decision makers to produce a quantitative measure to monitor the influence of practices on expectations of end customers. Finally, a case study in the fashion industry is presented to clarify the application of the proposed model.

Integration of practices and customer values in a supply chain

The ultimate goal of supply chains is to satisfy their end customers. To do so, they implement a set of practices along their chain in order to generate value for customers. Therefore, aligning supply chain practices with customer values is a core objective of supply chains. The current research employs Bayesian Networks (BNs) and Analytic Network Processes (ANPs) to integrate practices and customer values in a supply chain as well as quantifying their mutual correlations. In the first phase, it collects and analyzes data about six specific customer values; in the second phase, the importance of practices is evaluated by experts in the respective industry using ANPs; and in the final phase, the output of the two analyses meet in a BN to generate a model which is capable of quantifying their mutual correlations given the input data. In addition, the proposed approach can handle scenarios for identifying whether a specific customer value is preferred by the end customer and what practices should be implemented; or vice versa, in cases where a specific practice is implemented, identifying how it contributes to customer values. This approach is applied to a case study in the food industry in order to present its application empirically.

E-Procurement Platform Implementation Feasibility Study and Challenges: A Practical Approach in Iran

The current research investigates implementation feasibility and challenges of e-procurement platform in Iran. In order to do so, it reviews the literature regarding e-procurement implementation challenges in general. Thereafter it looks into key important figures which have direct or indirect influence of the success of this platform. Indicators such as population age, population distribution and number of internet users are discussed to support the hypothesis that Iran presents strong potential for an e-procurement platform. The literature review indicates most of implementation challenges are similar to those reported in other countries, however there is a few critical national factors which are identical to Iran. Analysis of key figures proves although the environment seems to be ready and it is feasible to implement an e-procurement platform, challenges have to be considered and solutions to deal with them should be planned in advance.

Quantifying Mutual Correlations Between Supply Chain Practices and Customer Values: A Case Study in the Food Industry

Supply chains set their ultimate aim as to satisfy their end customers. In other words, they implement a set of practices along their chain in order to generate value for customers. Therefore, aligning supply chain practices with customer values is a core objective of supply chains. The current research employs Bayesian Network (BN) and Analytic Network Process (ANP) to quantify mutual correlations between supply chain practices and customer values. In the first phase, it collects and analyzes data about six specific customer values; in the second phase, the importance of practices is evaluated by expert in the respective industry using ANP; and in the final phase, the output of the two analysis meet in a BN to generate a model which is capable of quantifying their mutual correlations given the input data. In addition, the proposed approach can handle scenarios to identify in case a specific customer value is preferred by the end customer what practice should be implemented; or vice versa, in case a specific practice is implemented how does it contribute to customer values. This approach is applied to a case study in the food industry to present its application in practice.