E-supply chain is the use of information technology, electronic means, or cyberspace to bring together widely dispersed suppliers and buyers, to enhance coordination and knowledge sharing, and to manage upstream and downstream value chain channels. ""E-Supply Chain Technologies and Management"" offers the most comprehensive analysis of the concepts, models, and IT infrastructures of electronic supply chains. This Premier Reference Source provides a broad understanding of issues pertaining to the use of emerging information technologies and their impact on supply chain flexibility and management. Professionals, researchers, and practitioners who want to explore the concepts and principles of e-supply chain, or want to apply various e-supply chain models and systems to solve business problems, will find this reference book to be an indispensable tool.

This book synthesizes the current state of knowledge on logistics infrastructures and process modeling, especially for processes that are exposed to changing and uncertain environments. It then builds on this knowledge to present a new concept of dependable product delivery assurance. In order to quantitatively assess dependability, a service continuity oriented approach as well as an imperfect knowledge based concept of risk are employed. This approach is based on the methodology of service engineering and is closely related to the idea of the resilient enterprise, as well as the concept of disruption-tolerant operation. The practical advantages of this concept are subsequently illustrated in three sample applications: a modified FMECA method, an expert system with fuzzy reasoning, and a simulation agent-based model of logistic network resilience. The book will benefit a broad readership, including: researchers, especially in systems science, management science and operations research; professionals, especially managers; project managers and analysts; and undergraduate, postgraduate and MBA students in engineering.

This concise volume explains when to procure new equipment, how to prepare specifications for floating inquiries, and guidelines for detailed technical discussions with vendors in the chemical and related industries. It covers the common equipment and supplies used in chemical plants, refineries-please delete reference to refineries, and effluent treatment facilities such as pumps, blowers, reactors, heat exchangers, waste heat recovery boilers, heat and acid resistant lining etc. The book serves as a checklist to the plant managements for procurement of the correct equipment in the most efficient timeframe insuring that projects are not delayed due to long time required for procurement of new equipment.

This book examines the successful private, public and civil society models of agriculture value chains in India and addresses relevant challenges and opportunities to improve their efficiency and inclusiveness. It promotes the value-chain approach as a tool to improve access to finance for small holder farmers and discusses the possible structure of and regulatory framework for the 'National Common Agricultural Market'- a term that featured in the Indian Finance Minister's 2014-15 budget speech, and which is aimed towards standardizing and improving transparency in agricultural trade practices across states under a single licensing system. The book deliberates on the potential of developing innovative financial instruments into the value chain framework by supporting tripartite agreements between producers, lead firms and financial institutions. Its fourteen chapters are divided into three parts-Agriculture Value Chain Financing: Theoretical Framework, Agriculture Value Chain Financing in Cases of Select Commodities; and Institutional Framework for Agriculture Value Chain Financing. Since the concept of value chain financing is being considered as a future policy agenda, the book is of great interest to corporations dealing with agricultural inputs and outputs; commercial, regional, rural and cooperative banks; policy makers; academicians and NGOs.

This book provides readers a holistic and pragmatic approach towards supply management in China. It elaborates on how supply management should integrate the optimum level, and a combination of quality, cost and delivery. In addition to serving as a guide on how to address cultural barriers, apply supply tools and concepts, it also illustrates the best practices in supply management in China. It draws from a large number of best practices of companies from automotive to railway, to convince other functional departments and higher management that supply management plays the most fundamental role in any organization due to the high number of value adding activities which are coming from suppliers. These practices have been derived by a multi-methodical approach including interviews with supply management leaders from industry and experts in academia, making it as unique and a suitable a guide for practitioners and academics.

Information systems are shaped by the environment in which they operate, and e-Procurement in Emerging Economies: Theory and Cases explains how e-procurement is shaped in emerging economies. Contributors from Italy, China, India, Turkey, Slovenia, Australia, and UK have submitted case studies and theoretical insights on e-procurement and its implications for emerging economies, covering a gamut of issues that are relevant to understand how Web-based function and services effect buyer supplier interactions in emerging economies. e-Procurement in Emerging Economies: Theory and Cases presents issues such as legal, technical, cultural and social analysis on e-procurement, and offers technical and managerial solutions to professionals in different emerging economies and industries.

Currently, the main operations of companies are either directly or indirectly interconnected in a global-world context. Competition has drifted from an individual to a supply chain basis, where digitalization plays a key role. Companies with better digital capabilities achieve sustainable competitive market advantages. In this context, companies must identify their current position in terms of digital capabilities, link these capabilities to supply chain performance, define their future desired competitive position and how their digital capabilities are going to help them to get there, and forecast their future desired performance not only at the individual company but also at the supply chain level. Increasing Supply Chain Performance in Digital Society considers innovative approaches to measure, manage, and project towards the future of the digital capabilities of both individual companies and supply chains. It also examines the relations these have with performance being a practical tool to identify not only where they are today in terms of digital capabilities but also where they should be long term and the resources needed to get them there. Covering a range of topics such as artificial intelligence and risk management, this reference work is ideal for practitioners, researchers, scholars, business owners, industry professionals, academicians, instructors, and students.

This book aims to identify and describe the practical key components of demand driven supply chains, and based on these components, develops a structured and integrated assessment framework that companies can use to assess their current and desired future supply chain states in light of the Demand Driven Supply Chain (DDSC) concepts. Another contribution of the book is the structured framework developed to design a supply chain strategy, which will consider the DDSC assessment results as one of the key inputs, and will support the implementation of the opportunities identified during the assessment. The framework presented in this book was applied in different supply chain operations of a global CPG company to validate the methodology and formalize an action plan to allow these operations move towards a DDSC. Results show clear opportunities to improve supply chain operation and become more demand driven.

This book describes the implementation of autonomous control with multiagent technology. Therewith, it tackles the challenges of supply network management caused by the complexity, the dynamics, and the distribution of logistics processes. The paradigm of autonomous logistics reduces the computational complexity and copes with the dynamics locally by delegating process control to the participating objects. As an example, shipping containers may themselves plan and schedule their way through logistics networks in accordance with objectives imposed by their owners. The technologies enabling autonomous logistics are thoroughly described and reviewed. The presented solution has been used in a realistic simulation of real-world container logistics processes. The validation shows that autonomous control is feasible and that it outperforms the previous centralised dispatching approach by significantly increasing the resource utilisation efficiency. Moreover, the multiagent system relieves human dispatchers from dealing with standard cases, giving them more time to solve exceptional cases appropriately.

This book explores food traceability in raw materials, additives and packing of the dairy sector and it provides an accessible and succinct overview of the new Extended Traceability (ExTra) software. In this work, the authors present several practical examples of extended food traceability for edible products and food-contact materials in the cheese-making industry. Readers will also discover a summary of the existing legal and regulatory requirements for food traceability in Europe. This book will appeal to a wide readership, from academic researchers to professionals and auditors in industry working in quality control, food and packing traceability, and international regulation.

This volume's focus on the environmental accounting of supply chain processes is of particular relevance because these processes supply data about the environmental impact of relationships between business organisations, an area where the boundary separating internal and external accounting is ill-defined. Here, contributors advocate what they term 'accounting for cooperation' as a more environmentally positive complement to the paradigmatic practice of 'accounting for competition'.

This book provides an overview of important trends and developments in logistics and supply chain research, making them available to practitioners, while also serving as a point of reference for academicians. Operations and logistics are cornerstones of modern supply chains that in turn are essential for global business and economics. The composition, character and importance of supply chains and networks are rapidly changing, due to technological innovations such as Information and Communication Technologies, Sensors and Robotics, Internet of Things, and Additive Manufacturing, to name a few (often referred to as Industry 4.0). Societal developments such as environmental consciousness, urbanization or the optimal use of scarce resources are also impacting how supply chain networks are configured and operated. As a result, future supply chains will not just be assessed in terms of cost-effectiveness and speed, but also the need to satisfy agility, resilience and sustainability requirements. To face these challenges, an understanding of the basic as well as more advanced concepts and recent innovations is essential in building competitive and sustainable supply chains and, as part of that, logistics and operations. These span multiple disciplines and geographies, making them interdisciplinary and international. Therefore, this book contains contributions and views from a variety of experts from multiple countries, and combines management, engineering as well as basic information technology and social concepts. In particular, it aims to: provide a comprehensive guide for all relevant and major logistics, operations, and supply chain management topics in teaching and business practice address three levels of expertise, i.e., concepts and principles at a basic (undergraduate, BS) level, more advanced topics at a graduate level (MS), and finally recent (state-of-the-art) developments at a research level. In particular the latter serve to present a window on current and future (potential) logistics innovations in the different thematic fields for both researchers and top business practitioners integrate a textbook approach with matching case studies for effective teaching and learning discuss multiple international perspectives in order to represent adequately the true global nature of operations, logistics and supply chains.

This book provides a critical insight into sustainability and fashion in a retailing and marketing context. Examining a truly global industry, Sustainability in Fashion offers international application with a view to contextualising important developments within the industry. Contributors use their diverse backgrounds and expertise to provide a contemporary approach in examining key theoretical concepts, constructs and developments. Topics include consumer behaviour, communications, circular economy and supply chain management. The individual chapters focus on sustainability and provide a range of fashion sector examples from high street to luxury apparel.

This book examines the problem of managing the flow of materials into, through, and out of a system in order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of materials management. The subject is crucial for global competitive advantage, as materials constitute the largest single cost factor in manufacturing and service, and their effective management enhances value for money. In this context, inventory is a barometer of materials management effectiveness, along with wastage of materials.
The book adopts a comprehensive, integrated systems approach and covers almost all aspects of materials, considering the specification, procurement, storage, handling, issue, use and accounting of materials to get the most out of every dollar invested. Combining conceptual clarity and quantitative rigor, it will be a highly useful guide for practicing managers, academics and researchers in this vital functional area.

This book covers topics such as digitalization of production, operations, logistics and supply chains leading to new requirements for human capabilities and collaboration. The content is relevant for research as well as industry as digitalization is shaping all value chain processes anew. A special focus is directed towards an interdisciplinary perspective, including management science, economics, sociology, work science, computer science and psychology. In order to foster the dialogue between business practice and academics as well as university teaching and research, this contributed book is addressing academic as well as professional business views on digitalization.

This book presents firsthand insights into strategies and approaches for the commercial aerospace supply chain in response to the numerous changes that airlines, aircraft OEMs and their suppliers have experienced over the past few decades. In doing so, it investigates the entire product value chain. Accordingly, the chapters address the challenges of configuration and demand, and highlight the specificities of customization in the aviation industry. They analyze component manufacturing, share valuable insights into assembly and integration activities, and describe aftermarket business models. In order to ensure more varied and balanced coverage, the book includes contributions by researchers, suppliers, and experts and practitioners from consulting companies and the aircraft industry. Taken together, they provide a holistic perspective on the transformation drivers and the innovations that have either been implemented or will be adopted in the near future. The book introduces and describes new concepts and innovations such as 3D printing, E2E demand management, digital production, predictive maintenance and open innovation in general, supplementing them with sample industrial applications from the aviation sector.

This book is about running modern industrial enterprises with the help of information systems. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is the core of business informa tion processing. An ERP system is the backbone of most companies' information systems landscape. All major business pro cesses are han dled with the help of this system. Supply chain management (SCM) looks beyond the individual company, taking into account that enterprises are increasingly concen trating on their core com petencies, leaving other activities to suppliers. With the growing dependency on the partners, effective supply chains have become as important for a com pany's suc cess as efficient in-house processes. This book covers typical business processes and shows how these processes are implemented. Examples are presented using the leading systems on the market - SAP ERP and SAP SCM. In this way, the reader can understand how business processes are actually carried out "in the real world".

The Contracting Organization offers a clear and accessible guide to the theory and practice of contracting. Well supported by numerous case studies and examples, it is ideal for academics, students and practitioners wanting to understand `make or buy' decisions. Domberger looks at the way in which organizations throughout the world are increasingly contracting out - `outsourcing' - many activities traditionally done in-house. Deregulation, cost reduction, a focus on core activities, and the growth of the service economy all drive this process and are examined within this enlightening text.

The development of a sustainable agricultural system is a critical concern for any nation in modern society. By implementing proper supply chain processes, available natural resources and food can be better utilized. Agri-Food Supply Chain Management: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice is a compendium of emerging perspectives on the development of an effective agricultural value chain and the optimization of supply chain management within the agriculture and food sectors. Highlighting theoretical frameworks, real-world applications, and future outlooks, this book is a primary reference source for professionals, students, practitioners, and managers actively involved in agricultural development.

In recent years, the supply chain has become a key element to the survival and prosperity of organisations in different industry sectors. Organisations dealing in dynamic business environments demand supply chains that support the satisfaction of customer needs. The principles of lean thinking that once permeated standalone organisations have now been transferred to the supply chain, making imperative the development of innovative approaches to supply chain management. Customer-driven Supply Chains: Strategies for Lean and Agile Supply Chain Design reviews the concept of lean thinking and its relationship to other key initiatives associated with supply chain management. Detailed industrial case studies based on the authors' experience illustrate the principles behind lean supply chains. Moreover, a series of diagrams are used to illustrate critical concepts and supply chain architectures. Special emphasis is placed on the importance of transferring lean principles from the organisational level to the supply chain level. The theory and principles behind lean supply chains are reviewed. Other concepts related to lean supply chains discussed in the book include: mass customisation, agility, information sharing and the bullwhip effect. A methodology used to measure the performance of supply chains is introduced; this methodology comprises the tools of decision timeline, data-flow diagramming, supply chain value stream mapping and a performance measurement scorecard. Readers will gain a clear picture of the competitive implications of lean supply chains. Customer-driven Supply Chains: Strategies for Lean and Agile Supply Chain Design will be a valuable resource of material to students studying supply chain/operations management as well as researchers in this field. Industry practitioners will learn how to develop sound supply chain strategies that can have a positive impact in their organisation.

Development of supply chain strategies has become a major growth industry in its own right; most organizations now see managing their supply chain as a key strategic issue. The main tenet of this book is that supply needs to be thought about as a dynamic strategic process, and not as a bureaucratic business function.

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"Strategic Supply Management: principles, theories and practice" traces the development of purchasing and supply management from its origins as a tactical commercial function into a key strategic business process. Integrating conceptual models, including the strategic supply wheel, with a host of practical examples, the authors illuminate the philosophy, concepts and techniques of supply management. They also contrast the traditional, conventional concepts of purchasing and supply management with new ideas, radical concepts, and examples of interesting practice.

Designed to provide a comprehensive course structure for teaching and studying this wide-ranging and constantly developing topic, this book guides the reader through the subject with clarity and logic. Whether used as a course textbook or a source of reference, students and practitioners will find the authors' comprehensive overviews of the topics indispensable.

"Cousins et al have drawn from their extensive experience in industry, and crafted a book that provides deep contextual insights into why supply chains are the foundation for competitive strategy, the dynamics that drive economic change, and most importantly, the importance of relationships as the glue that keeps supply chains functioning properly. Executives and students will benefit from the frameworks, examples, and discussions inthis book, which should be on everyone who has an interest in global competitiveness' bookshelves."

Rob Handfield

Bank of America University Distinguished Professor of Supply Chain Management

North Carolina State University

About the Authors

Prof. Paul Cousins is Professor of Operations Management and CIPS Professor of Supply Chain Management at Manchester Business School, The University of Manchester, and also Director of the Supply Chain Management Research Group.

Prof Richard Lamming is Director of the School of Management at the University of Southampton.

Dr Benn Lawson is a lecturer in operations management at Queen's University Belfast, and is Visiting Senior Fellow at ManchesterBusiness School.

Dr Brian Squire is a lecturer in the Decision Sciences and Operations Management Group at Manchester Business School.

This book highlights a number of social sustainability issues at different stages of the supply chain, and demonstrates how these issues can be addressed by adopting social sustainability practices in the manufacturing supply chain. In the wake of emerging social issues in developing countries, research on social sustainability has gained importance for academics and practitioners alike. The three distinguishable social sustainability dimensions in manufacturing that emerge as a result of this research provide insights for supply chain managers and practitioners who might otherwise be unaware of what constitutes social sustainability. A better understanding allows supply chain managers to address these issues more appropriately to increase their supply chain competitiveness in the market. The book presents a social sustainability scale that can be used by practitioners to measure supply chain social sustainability to benchmark their supply chains globally. The research also helps academicians to gain an understanding of the social issues related to the manufacturing supply chain, while the social measures developed serve as reference material for policy-makers and sustainability experts in emerging economies.

A consequence of business specialization is the implementation of weak processes that cross departmental and corporate boundaries. Supply chain management (SCM) addresses this issue by requiring a process view that reaches across these confines. Due to globalization and a competitive environment, those within the retail supply chains are particularly vulnerable. New ways of managing require an understanding of the entire chain by participants at every level-retailer, distributor, manufacturer, and service provider. Demonstrating the link between markets, products, and product strategies in the supply chain, Retail Supply Chain Management provides the knowledge and skills required to thrive in this environment. It demonstrates the connection between the processes involved in manufacturing, distribution, warehousing, and transportation, and how to use these connections to their best advantage. The book offers fresh insights into the financial and operational tools that are available and how to use these tools in order to deliver quality products in the most cost efficient manner. The authors' collaboration brings together expertise from both operations and retail business management, matching the solutions available from SCM with the challenges and opportunities that arise in the retail industry. The text also includes case studies and experiences from leaders in SCM as well as hard lessons learned by those trying to lead. These examples illustrate specific solutions to common situations in a retail supply chain.

Since the Rio summit in 1992, the paradigm of corporate environmental responsibility has gradually and consistently extended beyond complying with increasingly stringent environmental regulation and taking up the proactive initiatives of a few world-class companies. Research indicates that the business and financial performance of companies may depend directly on socially and environmentally responsible business practices. Many world-class companies now realize that customers and other stakeholders do not distinguish between a company and its suppliers. As a result, greening the supply chain is an innovative idea which is fast gaining attention in the industry.

Greening the Supply Chain is a compilation of important chapters written by a diverse set of international authors which incorporates a broad variety of perspectives including:

• topics on conceptual development and principles of green supply chain management;
• empirical studies which provide the reader with practices and concerns of industries throughout the world including Asia, Europe and North America;
• quantitative and analytical tools to aid in environmental supply chain design and development, and;
• case studies of implementations of green supply chain practices which describe the complexities facing organizations, supply chains and industries and how they address these environmental concerns through technical and managerial measures.

Industry practitioners and policy makers will read Greening the Supply Chain for the insights it provides into a topic of such emergent and growing concern. Undergraduate and postgraduate students and researchers in this field will alsofind this comprehensive and international view of environment supply chain management theory and practice a valuable resource.

This book presents high-quality original contributions on the fashion supply chain. A wide spectrum of application domains are covered, processing of big data coming from digital and social media channels, fashion new product development, fashion design, fashion marketing and communication strategy, business models and entrepreneurship, e-commerce and omni-channel management, corporate social responsibility, new materials for fashion product, wearable technologies. The contents are based on presentations delivered at IT4Fashion 2017, the 7th International Conference in Business Models and ICT Technologies for the Fashion Supply Chain, which was held in Florence, Italy, in April 2017, and at IT4Fashion 2018, the 8th edition of the same conference, which was held in Florence, Italy, in April 2018. This conference series represents a targeted response to the growing need for research that reports and debates supply chain business models and technologies applied to the fashion industry, with the aim of increasing knowledge in the area of product lifecycle management and supply chain management in that industry.