Supply Chain Collaboration

This paper is carried out to empirically examine managerial perceptions on the relationship between supply chain collaboration practice and operational performance. The framework suggests that collaborative practice is characterised by three distinct factors: (1) decision synchronisation, (2) information sharing, and (3) incentive alignment, which enable the chain members to effectively match supply with customer demand. An important question is whether or not collaborative practice leads to better operational performance. A survey research is employed to assess the relationship between collaborative practice and operational performance of New Zealand companies. The survey results show significant positive impacts of key factors of collaborative practice on operational performance. The findings suggest that information sharing, decision synchronisation, and incentive alignment are important determinants of operational performance. This study demonstrates that the chain members need to understand the role of different key factors of collaborative practice that can be redesigned to leverage operational performance.

Keywords: channel relationships; collaboration; incentive alignment; information sharing; New Zealand; supply chain management; survey research

Purpose -This paper proposes an integrative framework for supply chain collaboration which is based on the reciprocal approach. Design/methodology/approach -A reciprocal approach is adopted to capture the interaction phenomenon of different features of collaboration in attaining overall supply chain performance. Findings -A collaborative supply chain framework is composed of five connecting features of collaboration, namely collaborative performance system, information sharing, decision synchronization, incentive alignment, and integrated supply chain processes. Research limitations/implications -Further research could be carried out to capitalize the framework for diagnosing and improving supply chain collaboration. Practical implications -The proposed framework enables the chain members to scrutinize key features of supply chain collaboration before and during collaborative initiatives. Originality/value -Previous research on supply chain collaboration mainly assume the unilateral phenomenon of collaboration that focuses on a single feature such as information sharing or co-managed inventory. The proposed framework for the first time explicitly addresses the interaction of different connecting features of collaboration.

Supply chain collaboration enables firms to achieve better performance. It requires close arrangements of collaborative practices among the participating members. Searching for better practices and ideas that lead to superior performance means that the chain members also need to benchmark their current collaborative practices to other collaborative supply chains. Benchmarking enables them to identify the highest standards of excellence in customer services and processes and implement necessary improvements to match or exceed these standards. This article reports a benchmarking study on supply chain collaboration between retailers and suppliers, which incorporates collaborative practices in information sharing, decision synchronisation, and incentive alignment. An empirical study was carried out to benchmark the profile of collaborative practices and operational performance. The study also compared differences in the use of collaborative practices from retailer and supplier perspectives.

Many advances in the information technology (IT) area have changed modern business practices. Such phenomenon has given a notion that human collaboration in supply chain management (SCM) has become more possible. In this third era of Internet technology, social media has been widely recognized as the most promising technology to socially connect people in virtual ways. Looking at these facts, this paper investigates the potential use of social media in SCM. This paper aims to explore the drivers of the use of social media for tightening human collaboration in the whole supply chain and to provide a framework of social media integration in SCM. Also, several rule of thumbs in implementing the integration are briefly described. This paper concludes that the integration of social media into SCM have required companies to understand the characteristics of SCM integration, the functional building blocks embedded in social media, and potential effects and impacts in the new environment. Any firm has to adapt social media into all business processes, meaning that strong attentions have to be addressed to the social media integration phases into supply chain as well as the integration phase of supply chain itself. Due to the fact that this topic still on its way to be a matured knowledge, this paper throws an initiation to understand the full potential of social media as well as the integration of social media to support human collaboration in SCM.

The present paper aims to propose an integrated framework, based on two levels, able to characterise collaborative relation between two or more partners in a Supply Chain, evaluating their related performances. In the first level, related to the context point of view, the most common parameters, identified from a literature review, characterising a relationship between two partners, have been used to built an integrated analysis framework. The second level is related to the performance side and has been achieved through two main attributes: the perceived satisfaction of the relation and its perceived effectiveness. The implementation of the approach has been achieved through a survey of different companies, so as to propose a first analysis on how the characteristics of a relation impact its performance. A new dashboard is proposed as an operative tool of the proposed approach, which allows to follow all the attributes which best characterise each relation type, as well as the sensitivity of the perceived performance for each attribute.

Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to analyse the concept of supply chain collaboration and to provide an overall framework that can be used as a conceptual landmark for further empirical research. In addition, the concept is explored in the context of agri-food industry and particularities are identified. Finally, the paper submits empirical evidence from an exploratory case study in the agri-food industry, at the grower-processor interface, and information regarding the way the concept is actually applied in small medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is presented. Design/methodology/approach-The paper employed case study research by conducting in-depth interviews in the two companies. Findings-Supply chain collaboration concept is of significant importance for the agri-food industry however, some constraints arise due to the nature of industry's products, and the specific structure of the sector. Subsequently, collaboration in the supply chain is often limited to operational issues and to logistics-related activities. Research limitations/implications-Research is limited to a single case study and further qualitative testing of the conceptual model is needed in order to adjust the model before large scale testing. Practical implications-Case study findings may be transferable to other similar dual relationships at the grower-processor interface. Weaker parts in asymmetric relationships have opportunities to improve their position, altering the dependence balance, by achieving product/process excellence. Originality/value-The paper provides evidence regarding the applicability of the supply chain collaboration concept in the agri-food industry. It takes into consideration not relationships between big multinational companies, but SMEs.

Collaboration in the supply chain has been widely discussed, and a wealth of concepts is at hand. Large-scale projects like the Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) in the fast moving consumer goods sector, for example, or Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) and Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR) initiatives more generally provide a rich continuum of strategies for collaborating amongst supply chain partners. While individual successful implementations of the latter have already been reported, there has not yet been the widespread adoption that was originally hoped for. In our research, we looked at implementations across several industries and countries, and our findings show that the slow progress to date may be due to a lack of common understanding of these concepts, and the difficulty of integrating external collaboration with internal production and inventory control. In this paper, we set out to classify collaboration initiatives using a conceptual water-tank...

Supply chain is complex, it is characterized by many activities scattered across multiple functions and organizations, and this poses many different challenges for effective supply chain coordination. In order to meet these challenges, one can establish a unified system to facilitate the coordination. In addition, a variety of coordination mechanisms have been proposed for supply chain coordination to address a range of issues that arise during the supply process. This paper analyses the articles published in international journals from 1994 to 2018 and presents a systematic literature review to clarify problems and challenges in supply chain coordination and various supply chain coordination mechanisms used in supply chains. These study not only demonstrate the importance of supply chain coordination but also help researchers and policymakers use these methods effectively to solve problems in their supply chain activities.  Index Terms-supply chain management, coordination mechanisms, challenges, optimize performance of supply chain.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to provide a holistic paradigmatic lens through which the supply chain collaboration phenomena -including collaborative inventory management -can be understood and explained. Design/methodology/approach -As theory-building research, the paper explores the environmental conditions and managerial processes that promote or hinder supply chain collaboration from a variety of theoretical lenses including contingency theory, the resource-based view of the firm, the relational view of the firm, force field analysis, constituency based theory, social dilemma theory, and resource-advantage theory. Findings -To demonstrate how an integrated theoretical framework can help us understand the dynamics of supply chain collaboration, the paper uses the framework to explicate the evolution and state of collaborative inventory management. Practical implications -The framework can accurately depict and explain highly publicized collaborative failures and successes. It is also possible to draw from the model's core propositions to design prescriptive remedies for the challenges managers encounter as they seek to build collaborative inventory management capabilities. Originality/value -Supply chain collaboration is a complex and dynamic phenomenon; however, existing management theories only describe locally observed phenomenon. As a result, it is a struggle to both explain existing "collaborative" behavior and provide prescriptions for leveraging collaboration to achieve differential supply chain performance. This holistic, integrative model delineates the path to collaborative success by exploring the connections among motivations, goals, mechanisms, resistors, and learning loops.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to clarify the architecture of supply chain collaboration and to propose a design for supply chain collaboration (DfC), which enables participating members to create and develop key elements of the proposed architecture.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper offers a concept for designing the five elements of the architecture of supply chain collaboration, namely collaborative performance system, decision synchronisation, information sharing, incentive alignment, and innovative supply chain processes. A case study was carried out to illustrate the applicability of the framework.
Findings – DfC was confirmed using a case to evaluate a supply chain system in which the chain members concurrently designed the architecture of supply chain collaboration. The findings show that design for collaboration facilitates the chain members to have a broader view to develop and ensure an effective collaboration.
Research limitations/implications – Secondary data were collected to describe the collaborative practice in the company. Future research is required to elicit primary data using interview or focus group representing key players of collaboration for the purpose of model enhancement and action research.
Practical implications – The concept of DfC can be used by the chain members in the discussion forum to (re)design appropriate settings of the five elements of the architecture that lead to better overall performance.
Originality/value – Previous research has indicated the emerging school of design for collaboration. However, current researchers pay little attention to integrating and revealing the interactions of key design elements that drive the effectiveness of the chain members to realise better performance. The paper, for the first time, offers a novel framework for understanding DfC.

Keywords: Channel relationships, Decision making, Information systems, Performance measures, Supply chain management

Purpose -The purpose of this article is to provide academics and practitioners a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the benefits, barriers, and bridges to successful collaboration in strategic supply chains. Design/methodology/approach -A triangulation method consisting of a literature review, a cross-functional mail survey, and 51 in-depth case analyses was implemented. Senior managers from purchasing, manufacturing, and logistics were targeted in the mail survey. The break down by channel category interviews is as follows: 14 retailers, 13 finished goods assemblers, 12 first-tier suppliers, three lower-tier suppliers, and nine service providers. Findings -Customer satisfaction and service is perceived as more enduring than cost savings. All managers recognize technology, information, and measurement systems as major barriers to successful supply chain collaboration. However, the people issues -such as culture, trust, aversion to change, and willingness to collaborate -are more intractable. People are the key bridge to successful collaborative innovation and should therefore not be overlooked as companies invest in supply chain enablers such as technology, information, and measurement systems.

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to develop a conceptual framework for improving the effectiveness of risk management in supply networks following a critical literature review. Methodology: A critical review of 91 scholarly journal articles published between 2000 and 2018 supports the development of an integrated conceptual framework. Findings: The findings emphasize that supply chain integration (SCI) can have both a positive and negative impact on the effectiveness of risk management in supply networks. It is possible to have a positive effect when SCI can be used to develop competencies in joint risk planning within the organization and with wider supply network members and, in turn, to develop collaborative risk management capabilities. Supply network characteristics can influence whether and the extent to which SCI has a positive or negative impact on risk management effectiveness. Research implications: The conceptual framework can be used to empirically assess the role of SCI for effective risk management. Dynamic evaluation of the effectiveness of risk management and potential redesign of the supply network by considering other contingent factors are some future research avenues. Practical implications: There is a need for developing specific competencies in risk planning within organizations and joint risk planning with supply network members which, in turn, can help develop collaborative risk management capabilities to improve the effectiveness of risk management in supply networks. Network characteristics will influence whether and the extent to which SCI results in the effectiveness of risk management. Originality value: Moving beyond recent (systematic) reviews on supply chain risk management, this study develops a novel conceptual framework interlinking supply chain integration and the effectiveness of risk management while considering network characteristics.

The current intense competition forces enterprises to pay attention to supply chain collaboration with their upstream and downstream partners. Different collaborative strategies such as Quick Response (QR), Efficient Consumer Response (ECR), Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) or Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR) have been already proposed. The key to ensuring that the supply chain partners are progressing on the right track of creating the best-in-class practice lays on their ability to choose the appropriate strategy. The current paper proposes a framework, based on analysis grids and graphical representations, which help better characterizing these strategies. The analysis grids use several characterization criteria to express the collaboration nature and its extent. For a better understanding, this framework is then applied to the CPFR strategy.

I am a humble woman, born in the rural village of Matatiele in the EC, grew up among the poorest rural communities. I canuse18 language- speak, write, read, work. I hold a DSc (UKZN) in Epidemiology of human intestinal parasites (NTD) published knowledge of infectious transmission in school-going children living in poor living in urban slums. Published 35 journal articles, 3 Books, 293 Publications Citations, 82 High Confidence, 286 authored. Completed an altitudinal transect geohelminth transect of parasites associated with wasting, stunting, 3rd degree PEM children. 14yrs as National Director Epidemiology & Surveillance. Managed 33NMC & H1N1 pandemic in SA. Established largest CMN integrated web-based surveillance system currently residing at NICD piloted during the 2010FIF WC, 58 PEO to monitor importation of dangerous High threat pathogens into SA. Dev. the 2010 FIFA WC Surveillance Strategy, Guidelines, SOPs & tools for information flow across the 200 Private Hosp. Ensured that SA is on high alert not to import the 2014 EDV Outbreak. Daily reporting on June 2005 WHO IHR. As Prof. Epidemiologist wrote & improved the data accuracy of the APP used triangulation data sources outside NDoH wrote clear demographic & endemicity of the quaternary BoD & dual impact of ART, HIV & NTP. Published the HIV prev. trends 15-24years MDG Goal 6 (2008-2015). Trained in Public Health Emergency, Strategy, SDH, UHC & Political economy. Led investigations during outbreaks from 2007. Cholera, Malaria & Nutrition outcomes. Chaired expert workshops to reach consensus on baseline SA LE, MMR & CMR. Published HIV prev. 10-14yrs managed, CTOP data. Planned, Coordinated Prevention, Emergency response, Assessed & managed RA at at levels thru. the most successful collaboration of the Multi-sectorial, DP, emergency APPRRR, Prevention, Response goal to strengthen the HCS & Health & Safety for future emergency. Led H1N1 pandemic control in SA. Dev. NATHOC National EPR ACT tools. 12 years University teaching. Managed National Household HIV community survey & HIV Nosocomial HIV in Dental fatalities. Trained in genomic sequencing, impact of Climatic Change to COVID on Animal-Human interface food-chain ecosystems, & GLWES. My Zoology & Chemistry & 35yrs Research gave me a solid foundation to understand pathogen characterization, route & mode of transmission & lifecycle. Public Health Research & PH Intelligence, Policy, Global epidemic overview reporting & M &E, Policy. Conducted 24 research designs. Expert use MSExcel, MSWord, MS Power-point, SPSS, Epi Info, STATA, Atlastis, Nvivo, MS Word, MS, PowerPoint, MS Word Excel, UNAIDS HIV EPP & Spectrum.

Supply chain collaboration amongst independent firms often provides larger benefits from effectively satisfying end customer needs than working in isolation. However, a lack of awareness about the existence of constraints along the supply chain prevents the benefits of collaboration from being fully realised. This paper attempts to apply the theory of constraints approach to overcome difficulties in realising the potential benefits of supply chain collaboration. Specifically, it shows how the theory of constraints approach can be used to expose an inherent dilemma of collaboration and establish collaborative replenishment policy and collaborative performance metrics so that the chain members can work together to advance supply chain profitability. Several opportunities for future research are recommended.

Keywords: Channel relationships, Constraint handling, Performance measurement, Supply chain management

This letter presents a smart shelf configuration for radio frequency identification (RFID) application. The proposed shelf has an embedded leaking microstrip transmission line with extended ground plane. This structure, when connected to an RFID reader, allows detecting tagged objects in close proximity with proper field confinement to avoid undesired reading of neighboring shelves. The working frequency band covers simultaneously the three world assigned RFID subbands at ultrahigh frequency (UHF). The concept is explored by full-wave simulations and it is validated with thorough experimental tests.

Many business-to-business electronic marketplaces (EMs) are now offering collaboration functionalities, but the collaboration concept in an EM context has not been studied systematically. This paper is a preliminary effort to explore and categorise the different types of collaboration functionalities that may be offered by EMs. By surveying websites, we identified five types of horizontal collaboration (buying groups) and four kinds of vertical supply chain collaboration in EMs. Our findings suggest that supply chain collaboration tends to be supported more than buying groups by existing EMs, and a high percentage of EMs now offers supply chain coordination and integration. Among online buying groups, the exchange-catalogue model is the most popular, possibly since it puts fewer burdens on members and coordinators. r

Purpose -Collaboration has been referred to as the driving force behind effective supply chain management and may be the ultimate core capability. However, there is a fairly widespread belief that few firms have truly capitalized on its potential. A study was undertaken to assess the current level of supply chain collaboration and identify best practice. Design/methodology/approach -Supply chain executives provided insights into collaboration. Survey data, personal interviews, and a review of the collaboration literature were used to develop a conceptual model profiling behavior, culture, and relational interactions associated with successful collaboration. Findings -Positive collaboration-related outcomes include enhancements to efficiency, effectiveness, and market positions for the respondents' firms.

The use of information technology (IT) is considered a prerequisite for the effective control of today's complex supply chains. Despite the acknowledged importance of the use of IT in supply chain management (SCM), the number of empirical studies assessing the use of IT in the supply chain context is limited. Based on empirical data from 16 Finnish industrial and service companies this paper presents a classification of the ways in which companies use IT in SCM, and examines the drivers for these different utilization types. According to the findings of this research, the use of IT for SCM purposes can be divided into 1) transaction processing, 2) supply chain planning and collaboration, and 3) order tracking and delivery coordination. The findings further suggest that the drivers between these three uses of IT in SCM differ.

The use of information technology (IT) is considered a prerequisite for the effective control of today's complex supply chains. Despite the acknowledged importance of the use of IT in supply chain management (SCM), the number of empirical studies assessing the use of IT in the supply chain context is limited. Based on empirical data from 16 Finnish industrial and service companies this paper presents a classification of the ways in which companies use IT in SCM, and examines the drivers for these different utilization types. According to the findings of this research, the use of IT for SCM purposes can be divided into 1) transaction processing, 2) supply chain planning and collaboration, and 3) order tracking and delivery coordination. The findings further suggest that the drivers between these three uses of IT in SCM differ.

Supply chain (SC) collaboration in supply chain management literature is commonly considered a one-best-way recipe to improve performance. The basic assumption is "the more collaboration -the better the management of the supply network". This article challenges this assumption, by introducing explanations that different forms of supply chain collaboration exist and different aspects of collaboration might be important under different conditions. Using Galbraith's contingency theory as its starting point, and case-study method, this article proposes a contingency theory of SC collaboration in logistics processes. It is suggested that specific conditions -i.e. goals of the collaboration, products sold by companies involved in the collaboration, elasticity of demand, number of potential partners, and stage of development of the collaboration -can affect the information processing required to implement SC collaboration. In turn, the characteristics of the information processing determine the information and communication technologies and liaison devices used to support collaboration.

Summary/Kata Kunci: This paper is carried out to empirically examine managerial perceptions on the relationship between supply chain collaboration practice and operational performance. The framework suggests that collaborative practice is haracterised by three distinct factors:(1) decision synchronisation,(2) information sharing, and (3) incentive alignment, which enable the chain members to effectively match supply with customer demand. An important question is whether or not collaborative practice leads to better ...

Abstract: Collaboration often involves the interaction of multiple participants whose interests differ and hence are vulnerable to conflicts. The participants should explore new strategies for examining underlying assumptions during the interaction in order to reach a trustworthy agreement. However, there is a lack of understanding of how both emotive and rational behaviours of the chain members play a key role in dealing with different perceptions and preferences. The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential of drama theory in the analysis of interactive decision making which often involves conflicts amongst multiple participants for process improvements in supply chain collaboration. Drama theory provides the analysis of strategic interaction to identify dilemmas, whereas a framework for collaboration is used as a tool to find initiatives for resolving dilemmas. An illustrative case study outlined in this paper is able to structurally expose and resolve different perceptions of the chain members.

Keywords: supply chain collaboration, decision making, supply chain management, SCM, drama theory, trustworthy agreements, trust, conflicts, emotive behaviour, rational behaviour

Purpose – This study was conducted to examine supply chain discontent in an integrative way.
Design/methodology/approach – The organisational economics view is adopted as an approach to reveal multiple sources of discontent which consist of incongruent objectives, disintegrated performance measures, unsynchronised decision-making, information asymmetry, misaligned incentives, and fragmented business processes. All these sources separately or collectively contribute to reduce the potential of total profits arising from collaboration.
Findings – It is argued that to effectively mitigate supply chain discontent, the chain members need to collaboratively design antidotes for discontent. In this paper six antidotes to discontent are proposed, namely mutual strategic objectives, appropriate performance measures, decision synchronisation, information sharing, incentive alignment, and streamlined intercompany business processes. It also shows that previous studies have not addressed supply chain discontent in an integrative way.
Originality/value – This study, therefore, provides a new insight for managers to understand multiple sources of discontent as well as its antidotes.

Keywords: Business environment, Economic cooperation, Information disclosure, Supply chain management

Outsourcing has become popular in both management literature and practice, but few studies have examined the effects of two important and potentially complementary elements -contractual and relational elements -on the effectiveness of logistics outsourcing relationships. It is theorized that contract formality, the thoroughness of contract negotiations, trust and commitment increase the effectiveness of 3PL provider-client relationships. For empirical validation a survey was carried out in the 3PL industry among both 3PL providers and clients. Using PLS path modelling, we observed that for both LSPs and clients, contract formality, trust and commitment are all positively related to relationship effectiveness. The results for negotiation thoroughness are mixed. The model explains 59% (LSPs) and 60% (clients) of the variance in relationship effectiveness. It is concluded that both 'hard' contractual aspects and 'soft' relationship aspects are important for effective supply chain collaboration. Theoretical and managerial implications are provided.

The purpose of this study was to explain physical distribution service quality in the soft drinks’ demand chain using the collaboration dimensions of information sharing, incentive alignment and decision synchronization. The study was motivated by the desire to explore an area that has been understudied in Uganda and also make a contribution by providing knowledge on the factors affecting the performance of soft drinks’ distribution chains. Data was collected from manufacturers and distributors in Kampala District. The findings revealed that the collaboration dimensions were significant predictors of physical distribution service quality. Incentive alignment was found to be a significant predictor of physical distribution service quality while decision synchronization and information sharing were insignificant predictors. This study makes numerous contributions that have been highlighted and also provides implications for theory and practice.

The paper aims to find out whether appropriate choice of collaboration will enable the required order-winners, leading to improved business outcomes. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed with cross-sectional data to test the hypothesised relationships among order-winners, modes of collaboration, and business outcomes. Results indicate that firms that focus on flexibility, quality, and delivery should develop strategic collaboration with suppliers to achieve market and innovation improvement. Cost-and quality-focussed firms should develop operational collaboration to achieve resource efficiency. The model allows managers to understand the right alignment of external suppliers while working on their own order-winners being pursued to win business performance.

The management of interorganizational material and information flows (supply chain management or SCM) has emerged during the last two decades as an increasingly relevant perspective and a set of tools for companies in various industries. One particular way of employing SCM is to adopt specific supply chain collaboration models, such as the vendor-managed inventory (VMI) approach. Interestingly, supply chain collaboration models, and VMI in particular, have been subject of only little empirical research. There is a clear lack of studies examining the phenomenon in multiple industries from the point of view of both parties -suppliers and buyers. This paper evaluates the application and impact of VMI by means of a comparative multiple-case study with an exploratory stance. Data, both qualitative and quantitative, are drawn from five supplier-buyer VMI-dyads representing different kinds of industrial settings. We observe that while considered successful in all the cases examined, VMI did not invariably result in operational benefits. We propose that the companies have adopted two different ways to take advantage of VMI: the collaboration-centric and the servicecentric mode. While in some dyads buyers and suppliers jointly seek system level improvements, in the others VMI is more of a tool for the buyers to enhance efficiency of their purchasing operations and for the suppliers to offer a service to the buyers in order to differentiate from competition. The results suggest different flavors within the application of VMI, and more generally, within the SCM perspective.

With the emergence of innovative (networked) organization forms such as enhanced supply chain collaboration and modern forms of public-private partnerships (PPP), effective and efficient collaboration among network participants becomes crucial but often difficult to achieve. One of the leading factors which cause such defective collaboration is the asymmetric information issue among the network participants. Two identifiable problems resulted by the asymmetric information are the moral hazard and adverse selection problems. Former studies mainly positioned asymmetric information problems within the context of traditional business environment; in this paper we suggest that similar problems may also occur in the Government to Business (G2B) context. We discuss these issues via a collaborative pilot case study (hereafter, Beer Living Lab) between the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration (DutchTCA) and a Dutch beer company (Beer Co.). The paper reveals that both moral hazard and adverse selection problems may occur during the G2B interactions and tamper the relationships between the two. In addressing these problems, we propose an advanced information technology (IT) solution, drawing upon an effective and efficient information sharing schema that can on the one hand minimize the moral hazard by enhancing supply chain management for the business and on the other hand preventing tax fraud for the government. Further we argue that the application of the advanced IT may serve as a strong signaling and screening tool for overcoming the adverse selection problem during the PPP forming and result in a win-win situation. The insights learned should benefit those involved in various inter-organizational business networks, partnership as well as supply chain management settings.

Collaboration is a recent trend in supply chain management (SCM) that focuses on joint planning, coordination, and process integration between suppliers, customers, and other partners in a supply chain. Its competitive benefits include cost reductions and increased return on assets, and increased reliability and responsiveness to market needs. Recent advances in inter-enterprise software and communication technologies, along with a growing use of strategic partnering and outsourcing relationships, has resulted in a confusing assortment of alternative information systems approaches for supporting collaborative SCM. This paper analyzes the alternatives and presents a framework for understanding the expected costs and benefits of each type of system. These costs include not only the total cost of ownership of the system, but also the partnership opportunity cost -the cost of being tied to a partner due to system inflexibility. The benefits of collaborative SCM include process, inventory, and product cost reductions as well as increased cycle times, service levels, and market intelligence.]

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to develop a conceptual framework for improving the effectiveness of risk management in supply networks following a critical literature review. Methodology: A critical review of 91 scholarly journal articles published between 2000 and 2018 supports the development of an integrated conceptual framework. Findings: The findings emphasize that supply chain integration (SCI) can have both a positive and negative impact on the effectiveness of risk management in supply networks. It is possible to have a positive effect when SCI can be used to develop competencies in joint risk planning within the organization and with wider supply network members and, in turn, to develop collaborative risk management capabilities. Supply network characteristics can influence whether and the extent to which SCI has a positive or negative impact on risk management effectiveness. Research implications: The conceptual framework can be used to empirically assess the role of...

This paper examines the specific retail challenges associated with supplying island communities around the United Kingdom. It examines the main difficulties in supplying short shelf life products to both remote as well as larger urban island conurbations. Using a qualitative research methodology, the paper interviews individuals who have either strategic or operational responsibility for island retailing and supply. The research identifies a variety of factors that disproportionately influence the efficiency and effectiveness of a retailer's operations. It also notes that island retailers operate under a significantly different cost base from that of a mainland operation. While national multiple retailers may choose to absorb this additional expense into their overall cost base, many local retailers have followed a conglomerate strategy and operate wholesale or multi service functions.

The current intense competition forces enterprises to pay attention to supply chain collaboration with their upstream and downstream partners. Different collaborative strategies such as Quick Response (QR), Efficient Consumer Response (ECR), Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) or Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR) have been already proposed. The key to ensuring that the supply chain partners are progressing on the right track of creating the best-in-class practice lays on their ability to choose the appropriate strategy. The current paper proposes a framework, based on analysis grids and graphical representations, which help better characterizing these strategies. The analysis grids use several characterization criteria to express the collaboration nature and its extent. For a better understanding, this framework is then applied to the CPFR strategy.

This paper discusses the information flows in the supply chain, and identifies knowledge and expertise as "richer" more capable entities for its management than data or information. It briefly explores how the structure of the automotive supply chain is changing due to the pressures of increasing complexity and urgency. Then it highlights the inevitability of instability in the supply chain, through a discussion on turbulence. Agility is identified as a response for coping with this uncertainty. The tool identified for introducing agility in the supply chain is Virtual Teaming. It achieves this by forming collaborative supply chain partnerships, unconstrained by geography that can quickly apply knowledge and expertise as corrective and preventive mechanisms. A survey of the suppliers to a major automotive manufacturer has highlighted the need for this form of working.

Purpose -To investigate the practices and value of a voluntary logistics security program, C-TPAT certification, and its impact on international supply chain collaboration. Design/methodology/approach -Both case study and secondary data research methods were used to collect data from five companies (one customs broker, three importers, and one transporter/freight forwarder) at different supply chain positions. A case study protocol was designed and used to guide the interviews and data collection. Data analysis was performed at three levels: within-case analysis, cross-case analysis, and expert analysis.

The purpose of this study was to explain physical distribution service quality in the soft drinks' demand chain using the collaboration dimensions of information sharing, incentive alignment and decision synchronization. The study was motivated by the desire to explore an area that has been understudied in Uganda and also make a contribution by providing knowledge on the factors affecting the performance of soft drinks' distribution chains. Data was collected from manufacturers and distributors in Kampala District. The findings revealed that the collaboration dimensions were significant predictors of physical distribution service quality. Incentive alignment was found to be a significant predictor of physical distribution service quality while decision synchronization and information sharing were insignificant predictors. This study makes numerous contributions that have been highlighted and also provides implications for theory and practice.

Confinement of the detection region is a critical issue for some important RFID applications where object coarse location is required along with its identification. It is a challenge at the UHF band to confine antenna radiation to reasonably sharp interrogation volumes <10Ć3 without resorting to physical barriers. This paper presents a novel approach for RFID reader radiating structures that self-confine tag detection to a desired volume avoiding undesired readings outside the interrogation volume. The proposed solution covers simultaneously the three world assigned RFID frequency sub-bands at UHF. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the solution, the proposed configuration is integrated into bookshelves, a conveyor belt system, and a proximity point reader which form, together with appropriate control application, the building blocks of a smart store with automatic inventorying and billing capability. The radiating structure concept is explored by full-wave simulations and it is validated both with near-field measurements and with tag reading scores. Short demonstration videos are available on-line.

The present paper aims to propose an integrated framework, based on two levels, able to characterise collaborative relation between two or more partners in a Supply Chain, evaluating their related performances. In the first level, related to the context point of view, the most common parameters, identified from a literature review, characterising a relationship between two partners, have been used to built an integrated analysis framework. The second level is related to the performance side and has been achieved through two main attributes: the perceived satisfaction of the relation and its perceived effectiveness. The implementation of the approach has been achieved through a survey of different companies, so as to propose a first analysis on how the characteristics of a relation impact its performance. A new dashboard is proposed as an operative tool of the proposed approach, which allows to follow all the attributes which best characterise each relation type, as well as the sensitivity of the perceived performance for each attribute.

Supply chain collaboration amongst independent firms or business units often provides larger benefits from effectively satisfying end customer needs than working in isolation. However, a lack of awareness about the existence of constraints along the supply chain prevents the benefits of collaboration from being fully realised. This paper attempts to apply the Theory of Constraints approach to overcome difficulties in realising the potential benefits of supply chain collaboration. Specifically, it shows how the Theory of Constraints approach can be used to expose an inherent dilemma of collaboration and establish collaborative replenishment policy and collaborative performance metrics so that the chain members can work together to advance supply chain profitability. Several opportunities for future research are recommended.

The paper details the results of a questionnaire survey of supply chain collaboration and management in the top the UK construction industry contractors. The results indicate the formation of a significant number of partnerships/ collaborative agreements between contractors, suppliers and clients following the publication of the Latham (1994) and Egan (1997) reports. It appears that construction supply chain management (SCM) is still at its infancy but some awareness of the philosophy is evident. Contractors identified improved production planning and purchasing as key targets for the application of SCM in construction. Barriers to success included: workplace culture, lack of senior management commitment, inappropriate support structures and a lack of knowledge of SCM philosophy. Training and education at all levels in the industry are necessary to overcome these barriers.