1,721,004 research outputs found
International Development Projects by Non-Governmental Organizations: an evaluation of the need for specific project management and appraisal tools
No full textManaging inventories in global sourcing contexts: A contingency perspective
No full textOne of the key problems of global supply chains is how to keep inventories low. Even if there is an evidence that supply chain management tools can help in this direction, an under-investigated point is how companies in different contexts experience the effects of global sourcing and the outcomes on their material inventory level. Based on a model proposed by (Golini and Kalchschmidt, 2011, Int. J. Prod. Econ. 133 (1), 86-94.) the aim of this paper is to verify whether different companies - in terms of contingency variables - experience different impacts of globalisation and supply chain management on the material inventory level. In this work, several contingency variables were selected from the literature i.e., company size, product complexity, type of production, type of purchases, number of suppliers and number of suppliers per item. The results show that when considering groups of companies characterised by different contingent variables, the relationship between globalisation, supply chain investments and material inventory levels is valid only for some groups, whereas it loses its significance for others
Moderating the impact of global sourcing on inventories through supply chain management
No full textIn recent years, companies have paid growing attention to supply chain management at a global level. With regard to the upstream part of the supply chain, the need for better suppliers, the research into specific competences and concerns related to international competition have forced companies to improve their ability to cope with suppliers located in different countries around the world. The literature suggests that the geographical distance of suppliers should create higher inventory levels primarily because of longer and more uncertain lead times. However, as this paper aims to demonstrate, companies can limit this effect by means of specific investments in the supply chain and in their relationships with suppliers. The empirical analysis is based on data from the last edition of the International Manufacturing Strategy Survey (IMSS). The results show that companies performing global sourcing have invested in supply chain management (SCM) and that this has been helpful in keeping their inventories under control. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Designing an expert system to support competitiveness through global sourcing
No full textPerforming global sourcing-which is defined as the amount of purchases made by a plant outside its continent of origin-effectively is highly complicated because of several concurring variables (e.g. number of suppliers, supplied goods, and the location of the buyer and supplier, among other factors). However, the findings available in literature-which are often focused on few variables-can be difficult to be applied by managers to take decisions in this domain. Because of this limitation, we built an expert system (called global sourcing expert system [GSES]) to suggest what type of supply management (e.g. supplier base management, supplier selection and supplier integration) practices are most suitable given the level of global sourcing, strategy and other characteristics of the company. To build the theoretical grounding of the GSES, we performed a deep literature review to identify the highest number of variables that can be related to a global sourcing strategy. Next, we built the GSES exploiting data from the International Manufacturing Strategy Survey (IMSS) as a knowledge base. This data-set is composed of 725 companies surveyed in 2009 in the assembly manufacturing industries (ISIC code range 28-35) distributed across 19 countries. Finally, the system was validated by means of simulations and five real cases to verify that the expert system was actually usable by practitioners and provided robust insights. The paper also includes a detailed description of how the tool is built to allow future replications
Do supply management and global sourcing matter for firm sustainability performance?: An international study
No full textPurpose – The aim of this paper is to explore the impact that sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) has on company’s sustainability performance (both environmental and social), the direct and the indirect impacts that traditional supply management (SM) has on such performance and the effect that global sourcing exerts on the relationships involving SM, SSCM and firm sustainability performance. Design/methodology/approach – Empirical data were obtained from the fifth edition of the International Manufacturing Strategy Survey. The sample consists of 336 assembly manufacturing companies from 21 countries. Data were collected in 2009. The authors apply a moderated mediation analysis to analyse the role of SM and SSCM, and also perform a multi-group analysis to verify the moderation effect played by global sourcing. Findings – First, SSCM improves sustainability performance (both environmental and social) of the company that implements it. Then, SM plays a complex role, as it fosters the adoption of SSCM and makes SSCM more effective. Interestingly, these results are valid for both Locals (i.e. companies sourcing mainly within their continent) and Globals (i.e. companies that have relevant international supply relationships). However, for Locals only, SM also produces a direct effect on sustainability performance of the company. Originality/value – Findings provide empirical evidence that supports previous theoretical works. Furthermore, this paper expands the literature by shedding light on the multifaceted role of SM and on the moderating role of global sourcing. Results are useful to practitioners and researchers interested in developing their understanding of how sustainability at the company level is related to supply chain management
Adoption of project management practices: the impact on international development projects of Non-Governmental Organizations
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