Robert Alard

System-oriented supply chain risk management

Due to increasing turbulence in global sales and supply markets, todays supply chains are exposed to numerous risks. Companies have discovered that a systematic management of potential incidences, e.g. supplier failures and unexpected demand changes, holds a competitive advantage. However, risk management in global supply chains is very complex. This article contributes to the existing literature by making this complexity more manageable through the introduction of a system-oriented view into supply chain risk management (SCRM). Two new, interrelated modelling approaches are proposed: a Supply Chain Risk Structure Model describes the system that determines the causes and effects of supply chain risks, i.e. the factors and their relationships. The second model, the Supply Chain Risk Dynamics Model, is used to model the possible dynamics of the risk development. This article also demonstrates how these models integrate into a SCRM process framework. A case study with three companies shows the feasibility of the approach.

Design quality: a key to improve product quality in international production network

In many industries, enterprises are seeking to improve product quality, cut costs and shorten the concept-to-market time. With the development of supply chain management methodology, it is indispensable for companies to make the best of outside resources and collaborate with their partners on the supply chain in order to improve their end-product quality. The design phase is crucial for product quality improvement since design quality is a key determinant on the final product quality. This article provides insights into poor quality of design and manufacturing and the impact of design and manufacturing on final product quality. Based on our research, we present a quality relationship model showing our interpretation of the leveraged relationships between design, manufacturing and product quality, and explain the uses and limitations of the model. Finally, two cases from the toy and automobile industries are analysed to illustrate the formula. We test the proposed quality relationship using survey data collected from toy and automobile industries and find support for the model.

Cost-transparent sourcing in China applying total cost of ownership

Asia, eminently China, is gaining in importance regarding manufacturing especially for high- volume, low-cost production. The request from industry in Switzerland to comprehend all costs related to global sourcing projects concerning China leads to the approach of total cost of ownership (TCO). In this paper, first a literature review regarding existing concepts with special focus on industry incentives, benefits, barriers and methods of structuring cost objects is conducted. Thereafter, an enhancement of the TCO approach is presented in order to achieve a holistic and transparent cost evaluation that takes supply chain risks into account. Concluding, methods for quantification of cost objects are discussed and evaluated critically.

Reference process for global sourcing

Global sourcing is gaining more and more importance. For European companies, Asian procurement markets and especially China are becoming first choice destinations regarding procurement and manufacturing. Global sourcing, however often poses a lot of challenges and risks for the buying company due to very strategic implications of procurement from suppliers located worldwide. Therefore, the traditional strategic procurement process focusing on local or regional markets has to be adapted to cope with those challenges. In this paper, we present an enhanced reference process for global sourcing including important strategic aspects related to global sourcing.

Total Cost of Ownership Considerations in Global Sourcing Processes

Even within the financial crisis Global Sourcing is gaining more and more importance. Although a lot of European companies have already a long experience with international supply markets, uncertainties about the consequences and the costs related to a specific international supplier selection still remain. The Total Cost of Ownership concept is an interesting approach in order to cope with this problem. In the present paper key requirements for a Total Cost of Ownership concept from an industrial perspective are described. In the following, a Total Cost of Ownership concept is presented which allows conducting detailed Total Cost of Ownership calculations structured in different key modules. These key modules base on macroeconomic and microeconomic aspects which can also be largely used independently.

Sourcing from china - the challenges of Swiss companies

Global sourcing and especially sourcing from China is growing rapidly in importance worldwide. This is also true for Switzerland. This paper presents the challenges facing Swiss companies of different sizes and depth of experience when sourcing from China, based on a case study of 8 companies. The 34 challenges are structured along a global sourcing process and the type of distance (psychic or geographical). The results show that severe problems remain not only in areas that attract current research interests, but also in areas that are well-established in literature. Scholars therefore face the double challenge of enhancing the state of the art in research, as well as transferring effectively already established concepts into the industrial practice.

Kooperation und Partnerschaft im Wertschöpfungsnetzwerk

Wesentliche Veranderungen des Umfelds und der Wettbewerbsbedingungen wie die Globalisierung der Markte, die verstarkte Konzentration auf Kernkompetenzen, der Wandel von Produzentenzu Kaufermarkten, die immer kurzer werdenden Produktlebensund Innovationszyklen sowie die hohe Geschaftsdynamik und schnelle Reaktion auf die Wunsche des Abnehmers haben die Unternehmen in den letzten Jahren vor neue Herausforderungen gestellt. In der Vergangenheit wurden vorwiegend die unternehmensinternen Potentiale angegangen und in grossen Teilen auch ausgeschopft. Das Unternehmen selbst und dessen Wettbewerbsfahigkeit sind jedoch immer starker von den Leistungen der Partner in der Wertschopfungskette und des Wertschopfungsnetzwerks abhangig geworden. Nicht einzelne Unternehmen stehen heute im Wettbewerb zueinander, sondern ganze Wertschopfungsketten konkurrieren miteinander.

Improving the Application of Financial Measures in Supply Chain Management

Many companies (especially SMEs) still feel poorly prepared and notice a deficiency of financial know-how when facing situations such as limitations in working capital. To reduce the amount of capital employed, close linkage of financial measures to the daily operations within the companies is required. Yet, supply chain performance measures are often not directly linked to overall financial targets (e.g. cost of capital vs. service level). This paper proposes taking financial parameters into consideration when making supply chain management decisions. It outlines supply chain finance (SCF) solutions available to bigger corporates, analyses current financial metrics for supply chain management and proposes concepts for a greater linkage between finance and supply chain performance measures. Finally, this paper will also reveal gaps where current concepts and metrics have limitations and future research is needed.

An Asian Perspective on Global Sourcing

Over the last years, analyses of the industrial sector often dealt with supply chains from Asian suppliers to Western producers or were concerned with market entry opportunities of Western companies in Asia. In this study, a previously neglected field is tapped by conducting an exploratory analysis of the sourcing practices of supply chains characterized by Asian buyers and Western suppliers. The analysis bases on 10 case studies conducted in 4 Asian countries and reveals that sourcing practices differ in terms of supplier integration, sourcing processes, and supplier performance. The insights can be used by researches and practitioners as a reference point for further elaboration of this novel topic.

Collaboration in the Design-Manufacturing Chain: A Key to Improve Product Quality

Supply china management (SCM) is a well-established discipline that involves the coordination of an organization’s internal planning, designing, manufacturing, and procurement efforts with those of its external partners (i.e. designer, manufacturer, supplier, retailers, etc.). To reduce inefficiencies in a supply chain, organizations are increasingly using information systems to integrate the systems and processes throughout their supply chain. Effective supply chain integration and synchronization among partners can eliminate excess inventory, reduce lead times, improve customer satisfaction, reduce cost and increase sales (Mclaren et al, 2002). Collaboration is a trend in SCM that focuses on joint planning, joint designing, coordination, and process integration between suppliers, customers, and other partners in a supply chain. Its competitive benefits in include cost reductions and increased return on assets, and increased reliability and responsiveness to market needs. During the past 10 years there has been a significant trend of companies externalizing a wide range of functions that formerly might have been carried out in-house. There are many reasons for this trend, including increasing global competition, more rapid technical advance and the need for faster development of products with higher quality and reliability. It is almost impossible for any one firm to possess all of knowledge and technological capability needed to develop a complex product. This means that organisation has to focus on their core competencies and draw on the best expertise available world-wide to access specialties outside that core competence (Jagdev & Thoben 2001, Chung et al. 2004). Increasingly, companies are concentrating on core businesses and outsourcing other non-core activities. Consequently, quality management should be carried out across the supply chain, instead of only within the company. It is vital for companies to make the best of external resources and to cooperate with their partners on the supply chain in order to enhance their end-product quality (Wang et al. 2006). In leading-edge firms, management of the supply chain is regarded as one important way to gain a competitive advantage. Major American corporations such as Whirlpool, Boeing and Chrysler have shifted many of their design activities to key suppliers (Hartley 1997, Utterback 1974). To be effective, supply chain