Robert Lorin Cook

Why all the changes

Purpose – The events of September 11, 2001 heightened the awareness of supply chain professionals to the threat of man‐made disasters on the security of supply chains. According to institutional theory, the environment in which an organization operates creates pressures (normative, coercive, and mimetic) to adopt “institutionalized” norms and practices in order to be perceived as “legitimate.” Using an institutional theory perspective, this paper identifies and explores the environmental drivers that motivate firms to engage in supply chain security (SCS) practices to thwart man‐made supply chain disasters.Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative research in the form of 19 depth interviews with mid‐to‐high level supply chain management professionals is conducted.Findings – The findings of the qualitative research indicate that four primary drivers of SCS exist: government, customers, competitors, and society. Implications and suggestions for future research are provided.Research limitations/implications ...

Hiring practices in US third‐party logistics firms

Reports the results of a survey of 41 US third-party logistics (3PL) firm practices for hiring entry-level managers. Reveals the recruiting, selection, and compensation methods used for 96 different positions and related compensation data (e.g. mean starting salary = US

Understanding satisfaction with supply chain management careers: an exploratory study

34,358). Recommends that 3PL firms use the information to benchmark current practices and offers specific ideas to improve recruiting effectiveness. Also proposes research results-driven job search strategies for individuals seeking positions with 3PL firms.

Subscription Supply Chains: The Ultimate Collaborative Paradigm

Purpose – Career shifts and talent shortages in supply chain management (SCM) are evident at most occupation levels and need further attention and understanding. The purpose of this paper is to present factors that shape SCM career expectations, choices, and satisfaction and to advance career theory and research that is currently absent in SCM literature.Design/methodology/approach – This study administered open‐ended surveys to individuals educated and working in SCM to elicit the satisfaction and dissatisfaction that professionals derive from various aspects of their SCM careers. Resulting data were content analyzed and categorized into major themes representing career satisfiers (likes) and dissatisfiers (dislikes).Findings – This exploratory study found evidence of traditional career components and the presences of objective and subjective components that transcend organizational boundaries. The results indicate an emergence of the boundaryless career concept in SCM, as the SCM career appears less dep...

Best Practice Customer Value and Satisfaction Cultures

Supply chain practitioners have made great strides in forming collaborative partnerships, yet the end consumer is often left out of these plans. Being an important member of the supply chain, we propose that supply chains need to get closer to the end consumer ‐ forming collaborative relationships that center around demand planning. Developing subscription relationships with end consumers will lead to increased planning time, which will result in dramatic cost reductions and superior consumer value and satisfaction through lower costs, increased convenience, and improved availability of supply. Being a new and unique strategy, not all consumers will adopt subscription supply chains. However, we argue that some consumer segments will receive tremendous value and satisfaction purchasing certain types of products and services through subscriptions. Tremendous opportunities await those supply chains who target the right consumers, marketing the right products and services through a subscription supply chain.

Entry‐Level Logistics Management Hiring Issues

To use customer value and satisfaction data effectively, the company culture must embrace, support, and encourage customer value and satisfaction initiatives. The purpose of this article is to discuss the nature of a customer value and satisfaction culture and to model how best practice companies transform their cultures. The research results make a contribution to the literature by revealing unique insights into the nature of a customer value and satisfaction culture and by offering practitioners a model of how to manage such a culture.

US Corporate Substance Abuse Policies: A Benchmark

Successful job placement of logistics graduates is highly beneficial to organizations offering logistics positions as well as to university logistics programs. A critical aspect of successful job placement involves understanding the preferences and perceptions of both students and employers regarding logistics positions. In this paper, we report the results of surveys of U.S. undergraduate logistics student and employer preferences and perceptions regarding logistics positions. The research results provide employers and logistics educators with information that can be used to improve job placement success.

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT: THE PURSUIT OF A CONSENSUS DEFINITION

Since logistics employee substance abuse can have a significant negative effect on logistics efficiency and effectiveness, logistics managers should develop policies and procedures effectively to control logistics employee substance abuse. This article provides a benchmark for managers who seek to develop such policies by reporting the results of a survey of current US corporate logistics substance abuse policies and practices. Forty per cent of the respondents reported not having a written substance abuse policy. The most widely used detection methods were management observation followed by drug testing. Only 50 per cent of the firms employed pre‐employment screening and less than 40 per cent screened current logistics employees. Of those who did drug test, more than two‐thirds tested for cause only, in all logistics occupations except truck driver, airline pilot and vehicle mechanic. Logistics management should aggressively pursue substance abuse policy development, pre‐employment screening, detection m...