Citation
Arlbjorn, J.S. (2011), "Guest editorial", International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 41 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPDLM.00541daa.001
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Guest editorial
Article Type: Guest editorial From: International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Volume 41, Issue 4
About the Guest Editor
Jan Stentoft Arlbjørn
Professor of Supply Chain Management in the Department of Entrepreneurship and Relationship Management at the University of Southern Denmark in Kolding. He holds a PhD in Logistics and Supply Chain Management. His research and teaching interests are within supply chain management, relationship management, enterprise resource planning, strategic management, corporate social responsibility, and supply chain innovation. He has published research articles in journals such as International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, Journal of Operations Management, Operations Management Research, International Journal of Production Economics, International Journal of Integrated Supply Management, Journal of Agile Systems and Management, European Business Review, and Industrial and Commercial Training. He primarily instructs MSc, PhD, and MBA students in supply chain management, operations management, and administrative information systems. He has practical experience from positions as Director of Program Management Office at LEGO System A/S, Axapta ERP Project Manager at Gumlink A/S, and management consulting tasks in a wide number of companies.
The 22nd NOFOMA conference was hosted by the Department of Entrepreneurship and Relationship Management, University of Southern Denmark and took place at Hotel Koldingfjord, 9-11 June 2010.
The general theme of the NOFOMA conference in 2010 was “Logistics and supply chain management in a globalized economy. Over the last decades, trade has become truly globalised. Vendors need not be located within a close distance of where the service or material has to be consumed; they can be located all over the globe. Western companies both offshore and outsource production and administrative activities to Eastern European countries, the Far East, and India. A main driver for such a practice is wage advantage. Another incentive can be the presence of huge new markets and subsequent demand for the companys services or products. Finally, another motivating factor may be the knowledge or expertise that actually exists at the offshoring or outsourcing destinations. This globalization practice brings several logistics and SCM-related problem areas and trade-offs to the table such as longer lead times, inventory management, relationship management, new forms for transportation, sustainability, and cultural elements.
In all, 125 participants registered for the conference, and 88 papers were included in the conference program on 28 tracks. There were 74 competitive papers, and they have all been under a double-blind peer-review process. Revisions of the papers based on the comments of the reviewers have been necessary in order to be accepted as a competitive paper for the conference. The competitive papers competed for the DB Schenker AB Best Paper Award for senior and doctoral work, respectively. A scientific committee selected the papers for this NOFOMA special issue. The scientific committee consisted of professor Per Vagn Freytag, University of Southern Denmark; Professor Mette Præst Knudsen, University of Southern Denmark; Professor John Johansen, Aalborg University; Professor Anders Thorstenson, Aarhus School of Business-Aarhus University; and Professor Jan Stentoft Arlbjørn, University of Southern Denmark.
The day before the main NOFOMA conference was a day of dedication to PhD students under the names of Nordlog and Educators Day. The theme for the Nordlog day was “Clarifying your research: how to handle reviewers and it was chaired by Dr Frederik Zachariassen and Dr Dennis van Liempd. How to “sell ones research is believed to be an important issue for PhD students, both those writing a monograph and those writing an article-based thesis. Clarifying the research to the audience both verbally and in writing has become an increasingly necessary skill in order to stay on top of “the game. At this Nordlog day, we were proud to have Professor James R. Stock, University of South Florida as a Guest Speaker and involved discussant.
The theme for the Educators day was “Games in teaching logistics and supply chain management and it was chaired by Dr Henning de Haas. Todays students in logistics and supply chain management are accustomed to computer games and other interactive means for entertainment, and in learning situations they gravitate towards means other than the classical lecture or classroom teaching situation. For some time, problem-based learning has been a way of addressing the need for student involvement in the learning situation. At this Educators Day, we were proud to have Professor Jens O. Riis, Aalborg University as a Guest Speaker and interactive discussant.
Articles in the special issue
The four papers featured in this special issue have all been selected based on rigorousness and relevance criteria for the discipline. All papers touch on the theme for the conference in their own way. The papers are quite different with regard to methodology (quantitative, qualitative, and mathematical) and topic area (traditional vs hot spot topics).
The first paper “Problems in the onward and upward phase of APS system implementation: why do they occur? by Linea Kjellsdotter Ivert and Patrik Jonsson, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, studies what problems exist in the onward and upward phase of implementing advanced planning and scheduling systems and how the individual, technical, and organisational dimensions in the implementation phases influence the problems in the onward and upward phase.
The second paper “Sourcing in global health supply chains for developing countries: literature review and a decision making framework by Ala Pazirandeh, Lund University, Sweden, presents an extensive review of strategic sourcing literature that identifies the criteria and available models in making strategic sourcing decisions. The paper develops a decision-making framework for future empirical study of humanitarian aid networks, more specifically sourcing and distribution of vaccines in developing countries.
The third paper “Conflict and its governance in horizontal cooperations of logistics service providers by Carl Marcus Wallenburg and Jan Simon Raue, Technische Universität Berlin, Germany, investigates how nature (dysfunctional vs functional) and extent of conflict impact the outcome of horizontal cooperations of logistics service providers (LSPs) based on a large-scale survey data of German LSPs.
The fourth paper “Helicopter routing in the Norwegian oil industry: including safety concerns for passenger transport by Fubin Qian, Irina Gribkovskaia, and Øyvind Halskau Sr, Molde University College, Norway, is concerned with the Norwegian offshore oil industry. In this industry, helicopters have been used for decades as a major mode of transporting personnel to and from offshore installations and represents one of the major risks for offshore employees. The paper studies the safety of helicopter transportation in terms of the expected number of fatalities on an operational planning level.
Each of the four papers addresses important issues related to the overall conference theme of logistics and supply chain management in a globalised economy.
Jan Stentoft Arlbjørn
Guest Editor