Shams Rahman

RFID-enabled process reengineering of closed-loop supply chains in the healthcare industry of Singapore

Abstract Due to an increasing global awareness of the need for sustainable development in academia and business, closed-loop supply chains in hospitals have become an important area of focus. Process reengineering in purchasing, materials management, work practices, and waste management can reduce environmental hazards and contain costs at the healthcare facilities. This paper demonstrates an application of the RFID-enabled process reengineering in sustainable healthcare system design, and presents a case study in the linens division of central sterilization services department at a Singaporean hospital using ARENA simulation.

The task environment, resource commitment and reverse logistics performance: evidence from the Taiwanese high-tech sector

The purpose of the study was to construct a model in order to understand the empirical effects of the task environment on reverse logistics resource commitment and the resulting performance. The Taiwanese computer, communication, and consumer electronics (3C) manufacturing and retail industries were investigated by questionnaire administration. Structural equation modelling was employed to model relationships among the latent constructs of the task environment, resource commitment, and environmental and economic performances. From 349 valid responses, it was found that the task environment has a positive and significant influence on resource commitment. In turn, resource commitment positively and significantly influences the economic and environmental performances of reverse logistics separately. Additionally, environmental performance significantly and positively influences economic performance, thus showing that it pays to be green. Under a climate of increasingly strict international regulations, governmental legislation and the increase in consumer environmentalism, firms are advised to appropriately reappraise their RL resource commitments.

Supply chain resilience: role of complexities and strategies

This article introduces the relationship between complexities and proactive management practices in supply chain resilience, particularly due to global sourcing (GS) strategies. The main objectives of this paper are as follows: (i) explain the various aspects of GS rather than reporting the trends and implications described in the literature, (ii) view GS in terms of complexity theory and (iii) investigate the resilience of supply chain due to GS complexity and suggest strategies to overcome complexities. We propose a GS resilience framework for future researchers to analyse the impact of GS complexity factors on supply chain resilience with respect to three outcomes: (i) risk and innovation, (ii) benefit in terms of sales promotion and (iii) challenges and responsiveness. Based on the framework, this introductory article summarises the papers appear in this special issue. This article would be useful to researchers and practitioners to further explore the role of complexities, proactive management strategies on GS resilience.

Logistics outsourcing in China: the manufacturer‐cum‐supplier perspective

Purpose – This study aims to investigate differences among Chinese manufacturers‐cum‐suppliers in their logistics services provided to different local and foreign customers and assess the management areas that they must address in order to satisfy the logistics requirements of their customers.Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire‐based survey was conducted amongst managers of manufacturing firms in four industries, automotive, telecommunication and computer, household appliance, and electronics, located in the Shanghai region of China. A five‐point Likert scale (1 – least important, 5 – most important) was used to measure the importance of services provided, and assess customer satisfaction level, impact on management of manufacturers, and difficulties and challenges faced by the manufacturers.Findings – The results indicate that foreign customers place significant emphasis on different services from those of their local counterparts. Results also indicate that many challenges need to be addressed...

An exploratory study of outsourcing 3PL services: an Australian perspective

Purpose – Over the last two decades, a large number of studies have been conducted in the field of outsourcing third‐party logistics (3PL) services and the field is growing. The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which 3PL services are outsourced by Australian firms. Specifically, it investigates the motivation for outsourcing, the average length of 3PL contracts, types of logistics services used and the impact of the use of outsourcing logistics services on customer satisfaction, logistics costs and employee morale of the user companies.Design/methodology/approach – This study is based on a questionnaire survey conducted in Australia. The sample was drawn from companies listed in Dun & Bradstreets 500 largest Australian firms. Banks and other financial firms, insurance companies and real estate companies were excluded from the list of firms and a total of 210 firms were identified for this study. Data were collected against a number of items pertaining to the extent of 3PL use and its imp...

Supplier assessment based on corporate social responsibility criteria in Indian automotive and textile industry sectors

Mandatory disclosure of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting forces supply chain members to consider CSR issues in developed countries. Researchers have viewed CSR content within different themes, such as human (social), ethical and environmental perspectives. So far, in India, very little research has been done to study the impact of human issues in employment (social), ethical issues in business operations and pollution (environmental) issues at both regional and specific sector level. This paper emphasises the perspective view of supplier selection, considering CSR issues as opposed to traditional methods using conventional selection criteria such as cost, quality, delivery and service. It employs six CSR criteria such as discrimination, abuse of human rights, child labour, long working hours, unfair competition and pollution to assess small- and medium-sized suppliers who produce and deliver products to the automotive and textile industry sectors. The results of this study indicate that to prevent discrimination against pay variation, minimise cases of abuse of human rights and incidence of child labour, suppliers must put in place proper policies and procedures regarding employment contract, identification and verification records. Furthermore, to reduce unfair competition, suppliers of both automotive and textile sectors may introduce processes for investigating reports of unethical conducts and take severe disciplinary action. The suppliers of both automotive and textile sectors believe that the competitive advantage can be achieved through environmental oriented business practices. However, they differ in their approaches in attaining this objective.

Salient task environment, reverse logistics and performance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of the salient task environment on reverse logistics (RL) practices and organizational performance in the context of Taiwanese computer, communication, and consumer (3C) electronics retail industry. Design/methodology/approach – A hierarchical regression analysis was employed to test relationships between four constituents of the task environment and RL, as well as relationships between RL and environmental/economic performance. In addition, a regression analysis was used to examine the mediating effect of RL on relationships between the constituents of the task environment and environmental/economic performance. Data and information collected from a sample of 284 companies from the Taiwanese 3C retail industry were used for analysis. Findings – Results suggest that three out of four constituents of task environment including government agencies, suppliers, and customers are associated positively with RL activities. In other words, as the sa...

Graduate students' perceptions of supply chain skills for supply chain managers

Purpose – The aim of this research is to identify the relevant skills and their relative importance, required by supply chain managers, and to suggest the key skill items that require improvement. Design/methodology/approach – Using a survey questionnaire, data were collected against 41 supply chain management skills. Using expert opinion, these skill items were then grouped to create four higher level supply chain skill-categories. These are supply chain general management (SCG) skill-category, supply chain analytical (SCA) skill-category, supply chain information technology (SCIT) skill-category, and supply chain environmental-related (SCE) skill-category. Subsequently, the importance-performance matrix (IPM) analysis was conducted to these higher level skill-categories to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the offered skills as perceived by the respondents. Findings – The analysis revealed that in order to prepare supply chain managers to face up to the future challenges educational institutions ar...

An investigation into critical determinants of e-government implementation in the context of a developing nation

Over the last decade governments of many developing nations have undertaken initiatives to adopt e-Government. There is evidence that these nations faced many challenges during the phase of implementation. The aim of this research is to investigate the critical determinants associated with the implementation of e-Government in Bangladesh. The results indicate that currently there exist a high degree of political commitment and administrative leadership. What is required is to improve skills of the human resources within the implementing agencies, and to develop awareness of both public agencies and general citizens. The results also highlight that the implementing agencies must develop right organisational structures and formulate appropriate regulatory framework. Previous studies on e-Government predominantly used case studies and qualitative approaches. This is one of the rare studies which applied a quantitative method using data from four categories of stakeholders. The findings of the research can be applied in many developing nations.

An investigation into critical service determinants of customer to business (C2B) type product returns in retail firms

Purpose – In spite of regular occurrence of product returns, research into determinants of returns services in retail businesses is still limited. To fill the gap, the purpose of this paper is to investigate critical determinants of customer to business type product returns services in the retail industry. Design/methodology/approach – The authors develop a framework of product returns services that consists of three major service categories and 16 returns service determinants. The criticality of the determinants of product returns management are assessed employing the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) based multi-criteria decision-making approach. Under AHP set up the authors interview retail operations managers of major retail firms in Australia to identify critical determinants of product returns services. Findings – Results indicate that the most important returns services dimensions are the way in which returns services are handled through interaction, and the outcome of service delivery. The top five...