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The purpose of this paper is to set the benchmark for finished goods consumer supply chain companies in terms of financial metrics driven from best performing supply chains in the world.

The paper used a financial data collected from 25 large industries in Ethiopia and 25 companies from the best performing supply chains in the world as ranked by Gartner® to identify the gaps in financial metrics. This method helps in setting benchmarks for the case companies.

The result shows that the Ethiopian supply chains are performing well under revenue growth and insufficient under revenue per employee metrics. The result shows us these supply chains are accumulating inventories and are also seen inefficient and ineffective in their performances.

Even though the research is only one of the few on case considered, it is not without limitation. The strategies to narrow the performance gaps for the respective case companies are not articulated.

It is an ideal for the managers in the case companies to look into their performance gaps and take the necessary actions to stay alive in this fierce competition era. Hence, the paper shows insights to the improvement of the supply chain performances.

The research can be considered the only one of the few in a case country. It is also the first of the type in covering large fast moving consumer goods companies’ metrics at large aligning with the best practicing supply chains in the world within the same industry vertical.

The paper aims to explore the potential effects on logistic operations of implementing the Electronic Product Code Information Service (EPCIS) standard and radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to enable food traceability. A conceptual model for analysing supply chains according to EPCIS standard is also presented.

A literature review was conducted to establish a theoretical framework. A case study of a Swedish fresh fish supply chain was then carried out.

Implementation of the EPCIS standard and RFID technology to enable food traceability potentially affects the following logistic operations activities: identification, monitoring, labelling, goods handling, reporting of production, identification costs and revenue changes due to sales of goods. The conceptual model was used to analyse the effects.

The paper contributes to logistic research by studying the implementation of RFID technology and information standards to comply with food traceability requirements. The research is limited to fish supply chains; other sectors and supply chains need to be investigated for further generalisation of the results.

Regulatory requirements on food traceability stipulate the implementation of food traceability systems, placing the responsibility on companies by authorities. The research presented can support managers in understanding the potential effects of implementing such systems.

The discussion about logistics and food traceability has in part revolved around implementation of RFID technology and standardised approaches for handling information to preserve food quality and safety. This paper presents potential effects on logistic operations when implementing the EPCIS standard and RFID technology as a way of enabling traceability throughout food supply chains.

: Sustainability in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) supply chains (SC) is receiving greater than ever attention due to the increasing awareness of sustainability challenges such as climate change and labor rights. A definite solution is to integrate sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices all through the upstream and downstream entities of SC. This study identified and compared the drivers for the implementation of SSCM practices in Indian FMCG sector.

A methodology based on Grey-Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL), a hybrid multiple-criteria decision making (MCDM) technique and sensitivity analysis was used to envisage the complex causal relationships among the identified SSCM drivers and to identify the critical ones.

The results showed that regulatory and legislative pressure, competition pressure and innovativeness dominantly drive the implementation of SSCM practices in the upstream and downstream SC of the FMCG sector.

The study examined levers of sustainability in FMCG supply chains in an emerging market with most of the extant research limited to automotive and electronic supply chains.

The purpose of this paper is to identify and describe the strategic potential of logistics‐driven packaging innovation in retail supply chains, and suggest propositions for further research and development, providing practitioners with a better basis on which to make strategic packaging and logistics decisions.

An in‐depth case study was conducted at a large global retailer which had implemented an innovative unit load carrier. The case study highlights a previously inaccessible phenomenon, as this type of unit load carrier has only been implemented on a large‐scale in the studied retailer's supply chain. In order to explore the impact of the innovative unit load carrier, the case study draws on a longitudinal research approach.

The case study demonstrates the potential of logistics‐driven packaging innovation in retail supply chains. It provides detailed insights into the impact of an innovative unit load carrier on different supply chain echelons. These insights emphasise the need for a systems perspective in order to understand the total impact of packaging innovations on supply chains.

The case study focuses on the impact of a particular innovation on a particular supply chain. Even though the consequences in other supply chains may be different, this study provides detailed explanations and illustrative examples which generate insights relevant to other firms and supply chains.

This paper provides an understanding of potential trade‐offs between standardised and differentiated packaging, providing practitioners with a better basis for making decisions on packaging design and development.

The paper illustrates the need to consider packaging as a strategic component which contributes to overall supply chain performance. To support strategic packaging decision‐making propositions for packaging innovation in retail supply chains are provided.

The paper shows that it is possible to reconstruct the dynamical attractors of demand at different levels of the supply chain by using time series duplication and techniques for normalisation. The objective of reconstructing dynamical attractors is to learn more about the long‐term dynamical behaviour of supply chains. Typical patterns that can be encountered through phase space reconstruction are discussed. Based on the analysis of real life supply chains first results are presented on how attractors can be used to better understand the dynamical behaviour of supply chains. The cases show that clear attractors can be identified for consumer and retailer demand. When this demand is compared with supply the phase space analysis becomes an effective tool for identifying distortion in the supply chain. The paper concludes by presenting two examples on how a better understanding of demand attractors have been used to improve operational and tactical planning.

There is consensus among experts that the design of future supply chains will have to focus more strongly on environmental concerns. Sustainability will play a major role within the business and has an impact especially on the distant future. Thus, supply chain executives are challenged in designing sustainable supply chains for the future. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

The authors develop expert-based scenarios, which describe how future supply chains could evolve by 2030. The authors focus on the transportation and logistics industry’s perspective to provide an industry-internal view. The data collection is based on an internet-based Delphi survey. Overall, 48 top executives from 20 countries, representing academic, governmental, and industrial perspectives, participated in the survey.

The authors operationalized the research question into five concrete sub-topics relevant for investigation: energy and emissions, consumer behaviour, future transport modes, design of future supply chains, and innovation. The authors derive five Delphi-based scenarios defined by clusters of their impact and expected probability: measurement and control of CO₂-emissions; integrated low energy logistics systems; business-as-usual logistics; no-frills logistics and alternative fuels. Each cluster contributes differently to supply chain strategy.

The authors address the major issues and challenges experts expect regarding future supply chains in an energy-constrained, low-carbon world. Five scenario clusters evolved for supply chain strategy development. Finally, the authors make recommendations towards strategic planning in the transportation and logistics industry.

Consumer goods supply chains (SCs) are characterized by continuously changing customer trends. Early detection of these trends is crucial for deriving successful long-term SC strategies. The purpose of this paper is to present a systematic process to support decision makers in assessing future-relevant issues and developing strategies.

In order to contribute to the quality of long-term decision making for SC strategy, we combine strategic issue management (SIM) and corporate foresight methodology. The authors develop a procedure that integrates the Delphi technique and SIM to empirically demonstrate how “Delphi-based SIM” can support SC strategy development.

The paper demonstrates how to craft a strategy for consumer goods SCs supported by Delphi-based SIM. The authors are able to include and evaluate uncertain and ambivalent future developments. Pertinent strategic issues for the consumer goods SC include: consumer demographics, automated ordering, city supply, and concept stores. For the reference company, five different strategic paths were created and evaluated.

It is challenging for companies to be well prepared for dynamic business environments and to successfully establish a robust SC strategy. The authors develop a systematic Delphi-based SIM for detecting and evaluating signals and integrating them into SC strategy development.

To date, a structured approach to integrate uncertain and ambivalent issues into SC strategy development is missing. With SIM and corporate foresight, the authors provide novel methods for strategy development in the consumer goods SC.

The purpose of the research is to shed light on the evolution of distribution structures and its consequent implications for supply chain management (SCM) in the context of the emerging markets of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).

A structured literature review followed by two case studies, which combine qualitative and quantitative analysis. Mainly in‐depth interviews were used, with company sales data analysis in terms of variation and forecast accuracy.

It was found that CEE distribution structures are overlapping, and along complex traditional structures there exists a possibility for a more direct approach. This modern key‐account approach improves supply chain performance, mainly due to echelon elimination and information sharing. The case studies also illustrate that supply chain demand distortion originating practices create uncertainty in demand, even in the case of modern key accounts. The findings therefore suggest that general SCM approaches of the “West” are evident and appropriate also in the “East”.

Owing to the limited number of case studies, this research is considered exploratory. The presented two case studies are essentially illustrative examples of the distribution operations of two international companies in CEE markets.

For practitioners, the two case studies provide important insight on the nature of alternative distribution structures in CEE, and what the level of forecast accuracy and the demand fluctuation may be expected. It is proposed that the emerging opportunities for supply chain partnership development should be carefully reviewed.

The paper draws upon real‐life data from emerging CEE markets with an approach that is not commonly used in distribution and SCM studies on CEE.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the relevant assessment criteria for retailer supply chain capability from the perspective of foreign food manufacturers, in an emerging market context, and to evaluate the development level of Russian retail chains in this sphere.

The authors use analytic hierarchy process (AHP) for the modelling and research method, with an exploratory workshop for the specification of the model structure, a web‐based questionnaire for priority weight development, and semi‐structured interviews for the validation of results. A food manufacturing‐based focus group participated in the modelling process.

A four‐level capability assessment model was created, with operational assessment criteria allocated into management, logistics or marketing categories. The results indicate that management‐related criteria have a dominant role in assessing the supply chain capability of a retail chain company. Furthermore, the priority weight of logistics capability is only somewhat higher in comparison to marketing capability, although it is ranked significantly lower in comparison to management capability. Operational level criteria weights are also provided. In terms of the evaluation of Russian retailers, the results indicate the slight dominance of logistics capability over marketing.

The research is based on an AHP process with a focus group discussion, implying a limited level of generalisability to other contexts.

This research provides practical insight on how to assess retailer supply chain capability in general, and describes the level of development of various capabilities and functional areas among Russian food retailers.

Our research provides a framework that may be used in Russia and other emerging market settings to evaluate the capability of retail partners from the manufacturer perspective.

This study responds to the calls from the literature on identifying interactions among the sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) drivers, which influence focal firms’ SSCM decisions. It also determines how the effect of SSCM drivers differs across the upstream and downstream supply chains (SCs) entities of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) companies.

We employ a multi-method design encompassing three studies: study 1 (multiple-case study), study 2 (quantitative survey), and study 3 (multiple-criteria decision-making or MCDM modeling).

The results show that the external drivers such as customer pressure, competition, and supplier pressure and internal drivers such as top management commitment interact to influence the adoption of SSCM practices, and this interaction is diverse across upstream and downstream SC entities of the FMCG sector. The study provides empirical evidence of relationships among the SSCM drivers, which influence SSCM decisions.

Understanding these interactions will help managers derive strategies to manage the overall SSCM ecosystem and recognize the multiplier effects of upstream to downstream and vice versa.