1,721,011 research outputs found
A Comparison between Fashion and Orthopaedic Footwear Supply Networks to address the needs of specific Target Groups
No full textIn order to stay competitive, European manufacturing companies need to enter new markets implementing innovative production methodologies based on networking economy. Taking as reference the SMART network model [12] and comparing the literature and the “as-is” fashion and orthopaedic footwear supply networks through multiple case studies, this paper aims at highlighting the guidelines for designing an innovative reference model for footwear supply networks. The model will allow to industrialize fashion footwear production for new niche markets – i.e. elderly, obese, disabled and diabetic people –integrating practices of the fashion and orthopaedic supply networks
Digital supply chains for ecosystem resilience: a framework for the Italian case
Full text linkContingency where exogenous and dramatic factors (i.e. Covid) impact not only on political and social life but also on economy is changing the way business is managed. Grounded on recent works studying the relationship between digitalisation and resilience, this work aims to systematize the links between the two dimensions at Supply Chains (SC) and at ecosystem level. A conceptual framework for manufacturing companies and policy makers is proposed to cope with disruptions thanks to digital technology implementation. The work is based on the results of an explorative analysis held with the support of practitioners from the manufacturing sector, IT providers and policy makers in Italy to systematise results and to demonstrate that public–private partnership can help to face disruptions. This paper contributes to the theory of ecosystems to establish a systemic framework to go beyond the border of each SC proposing a cross-collaboration model
Unboxing the hyper-connected supply chain: a case study in the furniture industry
No full textThis work aims to investigate the role of digital technologies, specifically enhanced interconnectivity, in supply chains (SC)s and their management. With a case study of an international company leading the home furniture industry and its suppliers, we explore the development of (new and integrated) practices and routines in operational processes for heading to a hyper-connected SC. The study builds on the notion of absorptive capacity to frame the SC transformation brought by the assimilation of specific digital technologies (i.e. Internet of Things, Cloud-based platforms, Augmented and Virtual Reality, and Artificial Intelligence). We analyze how SC actors combine these technologies to develop their SC processes and routines in terms of real-time data exchange and end-to-end visibility between globally distributed companies, devices, products, and people. Key theoretical implications rely on identifying interconnection levels across SC processes that allow incorporating technological knowledge at the SC level, building on trustful collaboration and secure and reliable communications beyond the boundaries of every single factory. Results also provide practitioners with a set of collaborative practices and related challenges to integrate digital technologies at different (and complementary) levels as guidelines for a transformation towards SC hyper-connectivity aimed at improving the overall SC performance
Managing Disruptions in Inbound Logistics of the Automotive Sector
No full textManagement of the supply chain in the automotive sector is one of the most complex tasks since it involves numerous partners. Managing the inbound flow becomes more vital for large automotive manufacturers with hundreds of suppliers providing components according to just-in-time strategies. This paper presents a decision-support toolkit for monitoring and managing the disruptions in the inbound flow of the automotive sector. When a disruptive event happens, it affects the dock and transportation planning of the manufacturer. To cope with the consequent order displacements, some alternative solutions can be applied, with each alternative incurring additional costs. The paper proposes a managing strategy in which optimization models for the dock plan are utilized to deal with disruptive orders and to minimize the negative impacts on time and cost in the supply network
Performance evaluation of stochastic forward and reverse supply networks
No full textThe variability of the arrival and service processes has a strong impact on the performance of supply chain networks (SCNs), especially when the reverse flow to the manufacturer is considered. This paper proposes to use approximate analytical models to quickly evaluate the performance of SCN configurations during the design phase of the forward and reverse supply chains. The models are applied to the case of scrap-based steel production in which the role of the reverse flow is higher compared to the other reverse supply chains since a higher proportion of the raw material is provided by the reverse flow. As the solution methodology, an approach based on the queueing network model has been developed to represent general distributions of the stochastic parameters (i.e. arrival and processing rates). The accuracy of the proposed analytical models is assessed by comparing the results of numerical experiments against discrete-event simulations
From Fashion Based Production to Customer-Oriented Networks for Healthy and Fashionable Footware
No full text
How to address specific target groups: a comparison between fashion and orthopaedic footware supply chains
No full textThis research is a part of the European 7th Framework Program RTD project named CoReNet (Customer-ORiented and Eco-friendly NETworks for healthy fashionable goods), that aims at implementing innovative tools and methods for supply chain management to meet consumer needs and expectations for specific target groups – such as elderly, obese, disabled, or diabetic persons – by producing small series of functional and fashionable footwear and clothing with the following characteristics: high quality, affordable price and eco-compatibility.
This paper focuses on footwear companies and compares the fashion and the orthopaedic footwear supply chains, through multiple case studies conducted to understand how the production for the target groups mentioned before could be industrialized through an integration of these two supply chains.
Through business processes and requirements analysis, the paper proposes a supply chain topology that maps the most relevant characteristics, procedures and techniques, related to production, customization and supply chain management
Supply chain configuration towards customization: A comparison between small and large series production
Full text linkThis paper describes an approach to evaluate how a supply network is ready for customization:
starting from historical data collected from the focal firm, a configuration model of supply chain based on
discrete-event simulation is created to analyse the network structure of a company and to evaluate how it
can perform if the production switch from large to small series production. The simulation approach
relies on experimentation through executable models which allows to create what-if scenarios. This type
of approach offers several advantages: it offers a realistic observation of the supply chain behaviour and
allow an analysis of the supply chain dynamics. It provides an observation of the behaviour of the
network over time, to understand the organizational decision-making process, analyse the
interdependencies between the actors of the chain and analyse the consistency between the coordination
modes and the decisional policies. The model is then applied to a case study in the fashio
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