Prabir K. Bagchi

Supply chain integration : a European survey

Purpose – The major goal of this study was to identify the underlying factors of supply chain integration in European firms with particular emphasis on the role of information sharing and interorganizational collaboration.Design/methodology/approach – In order to get an overall view of the state of supply chain integration in European firms, a mail survey was done to investigate the extent and nature of supply chain integration in 149 companies. Using statistical analysis, the study attempts to comprehend if increasing levels of the intensity of supply chain integration show concomitant rise of operational performance.Findings – European firms are starting to be aware of the strategic importance of integration across the boundaries of the supply chain. Both correlation analyses and multiple regression analyses have clearly shown that supply chain integration affects operational performance and the degree of integration also influences cost and efficiency. An interesting and surprising finding from our sur...

Understanding the causes of the bullwhip effect in a supply chain

Purpose – This study attempts to determine the relative contribution of each of the causes of the bullwhip effect and to identify which causes of the bullwhip effect have relatively significant impacts on the variability of orders in supply chains.Design/methodology/approach – Computer simulation models are developed. A fractional factorial design is used in collecting data from the simulation models. Statistical analyses are conducted to address the research objectives.Findings – When all of the nine possible causes of the bullwhip effect are present in the simulation models, the following six factors are statistically significant: demand forecast updating, order batching, material delays, information delays, purchasing delays and level of echelons. Among these six factors, demand forecast updating, level of echelons, and price variations are the three most significant ones.Research limitations/implications – Simulation models for the beer distribution game are developed to represent supply chains. Diffe...

European Logistics Alliances: A Management Model

European business environment is experiencing major changes. The process of integration in Europe, the GATT agreements, the developments in Eastern Europe, and above all, global competition are pushing European businesses to become more competitive. One area that is receiving increasing attention of managers is logistics. The gradual deregulation of the transport marketplace and the lifting of border controls have added to the efforts to become more efficient in logistics.

Role of benchmarking as a competitive strategy: the logistics experience

As companies strive to create better value for their customers in today’s competitive marketplace, managers are begining to realize the important role logistics plays. As they seek new ways to compete, one technique that has made headlines in the management community is benchmarking. Discusses the use of benchmarking in logistics in a few companies. Highlights the processes used, the obstacles faced and the gains made in these companies. Analyses the ways these obstacles were overcome. Based on these case studies, presents a generalized benchmarking process model and identifies and discusses the steps involved. Finally, provides practical suggestions for successful implementation of a benchmarking project.

The role of public‐private partnership in port information systems development

Development and management of ports is a major objective of economic development in many countries. As ownership and operations of seaports have traditionally been in the public sector, restructuring has often been slow and frustrating. Public‐private partnership has been offered by many as a solution. This paper reviews a project at Pusan port, South Korea where close public‐private partnership was the key to success. Relying on the experience gained from the Pusan port, a process model has been offered that many other ports in developing countries can use to achieve successful public‐private collaboration.

Dynamic Vehicle Scheduling: An Expert Systems Approach

The dynamic vehicle scheduling problem for a shipper involves managing transport of freight originating at various locations to minimise transport costs. The job involves dynamic assignment of vehicles contracted from carriers to loads available at multiple locations on a real time basis. A framework for building a PC‐based expert system to be used as a decision support system is provided. An example expert scheduling system (EXLOAD) built on VP EXPERT, a PC‐based expert system shell is also shown.

Key Success Factors, Performance Metrics, and Globalization Issues in the Third-Party Logistics (3PL) Industry: A Survey of North American Service Providers

This paper reports on a survey of North American third-party logistics (3PL) service providers. Although current research on 3PL provides valuable insights into the 3PL industry, it is primarily descriptive in nature and does not explore the underlying relationships among several factors and key issues related to the industry. This paper presents an exploratory study of the North American 3PL industry in terms of the key success factors, performance metrics, and globalization issues. Respondents to the survey are categorized based on their ratings of key success factors, and the differences in perceptions among categories are highlighted. Also, the factors with respect to which respondents are significantly underperforming are identified. Importance of the key success factors for various performance metrics is established through dependency relationships, which provide a guideline to managers for allocation of scarce resources. Factors responsible for growing globalization, important issues in connection with setting up 3PL operations in a foreign country, and growth strategies adopted by 3PL firms are also analyzed from the point of view of the respondents. Finally, the contribution to logistics research, implications of the survey findings for logistics managers, and directions for future research on 3PL are presented in the concluding section.

European Logistics in Transition: Some Insights

Europe is in the midst of major changes that have a significant impact on the business environment. As a result, logistics is undergoing radical redesign in most major European corporations. Relying on case studies, discussions with logistics professionals and contemporary literature, the authors present several propositions which capture the major trends in European logistics. The authors analyze the logistics strategies of leading European companies and offer a methodology for classification of companies according to logistics excellence. Europe as a homogeneous market is far from a reality. In leading companies executives realize the geographical differences and manage logistics accordingly.

The mediating effect of logistics integration on supply chain performance : A multi-country study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of individual logistics-related factors, namely, supplier involvement (SI), length of supplier relationship (LSR), use of information technology (IT), and logistics integration (LI) on a firms supply chain performance (SCP) and test for the mediating effect of LI in a multi-country survey conducted in Brazil, Korea and India. The paper also develops a composite variable, supply chain competency (SCC), as an overall measure of the quality of a firms supply chain and demonstrate its effect on a firms SCP. Design/methodology/approach – The research methodology was based on designing and administering a survey instrument. Data collected from 187 organizations in Brazil, Korea and India were analyzed using the partial least squares structural equation modeling methodology. Findings – Results show that for the combined data, the direct effects of SI, LSR and IT on SCP are insignificant while LI has a very significant direct effect on SCP. On the ot...

Logistics benchmarking as a competitive strategy: some insights

As companies strive to create better value for their customers in today’s competitive marketplace, managers are beginning to realize the important role logistics plays. As they seek new ways to compete, one technique that has made headlines in the management community is benchmarking. Discusses the use of benchmarking in logistics in a few companies. Highlights the processes used, the obstacles faced and the gains made in these companies. Also analyses ways in which these obstacles were overcome. Based on these case studies, presents a generalized benchmarking process model, and identifies and discusses the steps involved. Finally, provides practical suggestions for successful implementation of a benchmarking project.