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Despite the ongoing calls for the incorporation of the cloud utility model, the effect of the cloud on elements of supply chain performance is still an evolving area of research. The purpose of this paper is to develop the architecture of a cloud-based supply chain management (C-SCM) ecosystem and explore how it enhances supply chain responsiveness (SCR).

First, the authors discuss the potential benefits that cloud computing can yield, compared to existing mature SCM information systems and solutions through a comprehensive literature review. The authors conceptualise SCR in terms of the level of visibility in the supply chain, supply chain flexibility and rapid detection and reaction to changes, and then the authors build the detailed architecture of a C-SCM system. The proposed ecosystem introduces a view of SCM and the associated practices when transferred to cloud environments. The potential to enhance SCR through the cloud is explored with scenarios on a case of supply chain operations in fashion retail industry.

The findings show that the proposed system can enhance all three dimensions of SCR. Implications for supply chain practice and how companies can migrate to a cloud supply chain are drawn.

Given that the development, creation and delivery of goods and services are increasingly becoming a joint effort of several parties in a supply chain, the authors contribute to the existing literature by introducing a comprehensive C-SCM system and show how companies can enhance their SCR.

The purpose of this paper is to define supply chain management (SCM) in facilities management (FM) and in generic business context, and extensively review critical elements to ensure the success of SCM and collaborative innovation in FM as a service delivery system.

The paper employs comprehensive literature reviews from a number of publications retrieved from electronic databases, journals and books.

SCM helps organisations to execute strategic purchasing for sustainable market position in a rapidly changing and competitive environment. Facilities will be effectively managed by adopting strategic alliances in SCM with FM suppliers through faster service delivery, increase in service efficiency and cost savings.

Limited literature available on SCM in FM prevents comprehensive results, underlining further discussions on the critical aspects that can be adopted to ensure success in SCM in the context of FM service delivery.

This paper provides an in‐depth analysis of SCM and the significance of adopting critical elements within SCM to ensure the success of a business in an environment that is constantly changing due to various expected or unexpected factors.

This paper presents literature updates on the needs of SCM in ensuring an organisation's sustainability, and in creating effective business collaborations to obtain profits through a common objective in FM.

It is necessary to determine the processes affecting cloud computing service applications in supply chain management (SCM) systems in order to facilitate cloud computing service exchanges and transmission of data among supply chain members. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Drawing on the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) and integrating the commitment trust theory, this paper develops a theoretical model using argument advantage and source credibility constructs to examine the relationships among perceived usefulness, attitude, trust and usage intention.

The results indicate that both the central route and the peripheral route of the ELM have a positive influence on perceived usefulness. The argument advantage has a strong influence on perceived usefulness as compared to source credibility while source credibility has a strong impact on trust. Furthermore, the perceived usefulness of cloud computing services plays a pivotal role in attitude and intention, whereas trust has a weak effect on usage intention.

The proposed model not only explores the argument that potential user evaluations of both the advantages of cloud computing services and source credibility influence their affective states, which in turn affect their usage intention, but it also examines the mediating factors that influence processes related to cloud SCM acceptance.

This study aims to indicate the advantages of using cloud computing services, including the ways in which firms use cloud-based services to achieve accessibility, better communication, flexibility and effective provision of services. However, little evidence has been obtained related to the effectiveness of applying cloud computing services to supply management chains.

In this study, a sample of 223 top 1,000 manufacturing firms in Taiwan that had implemented cloud-based supply chain management systems (CSCMs) was surveyed to determine what kind of internal resources in these companies were allocated to this implementation effort, how collaborative relationships were established in the existing supply chain to help make the transitions successful, how well their systems are working now that they have been implemented and whether these new systems have improved cycle time performance and the overall performance of their organizations. The study also examines the interrelationships among these variables.

The results reveal that, from the perspective of the managers who were surveyed, an effective allocation of internal organizational resources does have a positive, strong effect on external CSCM conditions. They also showed that when the relationship between internal and external resources is well constructed, the result is that CSCM improves supply chain management cycle time performance, which, in turn, leads to positive organizational performance.

The study reports some useful insights from the managers of CSCM systems related to how the execution of CSCM solutions can improve cycle time and organizational performance by enhancing internal organizational management and joint collaboration among supply chain partners. The findings from this survey will be useful to managers who are considering creating cloud-based supply management systems in the future.

The purpose of this paper is to present a case study to assess the customer service within supply chain management (SCM). In particular, the paper emphasizes an interest in an integrated approach to considering customer service performance in an efficient way. Indeed, information systems as technical support play an essential role in the SCM of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The reasons for pursuing such research can be explained by the fact that the customers are the first concern of any firm that seeks to be competitive. Indeed, the author seeks to answer the following question: Which are the main explaining factors of the customers’ service performance within Alpha SCM?

A qualitative research methodology is used based on 11 semi-structured interviews with professionals and direct observation as part of a telecommunications network SME in France.

This empirical case study is to delineate the concept dimensions. These dimensions allow the drawing up of a framework of actions to improve SME customer service performance evaluations in the SCM.

The paper is a single case study, not generalizable, but might be useful in general way. Another issue that the author can reflect on is the key performance indicators (KPIs). The KPIs selected are rather subjective and not generic relating to supply chain as “process”. The answers correspond to the managers’ perception and the international dimension is not taken into account in this work.

The results contribute to the existing body of knowledge regarding services for improving the relationship with the customers; improve operational reporting; improve invoice control and indicator follow-ups with the project manager; and improve cost management.

The human factor is an important and current issue and is discussed in context of the case study.

The paper adds to the understanding by showing that the human motivation and intellectual capital management are critical success factors in the Alpha SCM case study. It offers a new perspective that customers are among the major actors in the telecommunications market, along with the corporate customers and administration involved in implementation or service quality follow-up and telecommunications use. The group offers a wide range of skills to help the customers to make the most of technology.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the humanitarian service management categories that influence long-term transformation within complex community-based service ecosystems.

This study utilizes mixed methods to present a dynamic model that provides insight into the complexities of supplying, distributing and transporting charitable resources to underserved communities. The interdisciplinary study draws on the theory of service-dominant logic and service science, presents critical elements of transformative service research and uses system dynamics approach to propose a visual causal loop model.

This study develops a dynamic model for studying humanitarian service and value propositions in underserved communities. This paper combines the extant literature to emphasize key humanitarian service categories that influence, and are influenced by, service exchanges within community-based contexts.

This paper is limited in providing quantitative methods in analyzing the case study data. However, the research is still helpful in providing acumen via the causal loop diagram to specifically look into each variable and see their cause and effect relationships in the community-based ecosystem. The research represents an opportunity to model the humanitarian aid and relief scenarios to help make more effective decision-making interventions.

The model serves as a managerial tool to determine critical services that optimize resource utilization within the community-based service ecosystems. Insights from this research are broadly applicable to the contexts of humanitarian logistics and supply chain management (HLSCM) solutions for community-based ventures.

This paper conceptualizes how the management of service-for-service exchanges, logistics services and charitable donation management provides transformational humanitarian services and value propositions within underserved communities. This study further provides fundamental contributions by addressing research gaps in the HLSCM domain by supporting service research and the community-based context.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework of sustainable service supply chain management (SCM) processes and practices in the multi-dimensional construct. It tries to provide a template for those sustainability general key practices that can be scheduled and budgeted in different service sectors.

To provide an applicable framework, its adaptability to most service settings should be ensured. In this regard, at first, the related literature on service SCM processes and sustainability practices of SCM are reviewed. To modify and confirm the extracted list, it is distributed to experts. After summarizing experts’ opinions, an initial list of the sustainable service supply chain practices (SSSCPs) is provided. Finally, the Fuzzy Delphi Method is applied to construct the framework for hospital supply chain (SC).

It suggests that the SSSCPs can be constructed in terms of seven major processes: managing the sustainable supplier, sustainable employee, sustainable customer, sustainable service performance, sustainable service operations, sustainable external relations, and sustainable knowledge, information and technology.

The framework can be employed as a template of sustainability practices for individual member firms of service SCs to identify and implement the key practices toward sustainability.

Reviewing the literature indicates that determining what is unique about the sustainable SCM in the service sector is immature. The paper is a preliminary effort to identify the general sustainability practices, in incorporating all sustainability dimensions in service SC processes.

Lean has long been developed and utilised in the manufacturing setting. Today, lean seems to be applicable in all organisational settings; and recently, lean has been applied in the municipal sector. The purpose of this paper is to investigate lean practices in the municipal sector in a service supply chain management (SCM) context.

This paper analyses lean implementation in Danish municipalities through the use of two sets of questionnaire surveys from 2008 to 2009. Furthermore, data based on three confirmative case studies of lean implementations are included.

The paper outlines a model that illustrates under which conditions lean is deemed most appropriate according to the type of service delivered. The surveys and case studies show that lean is mainly implemented as “toolbox lean,” such as with value stream mapping, kaizen and information boards. In addition, the analyses show that the lean philosophy can be used by the public sector to be more effective in terms of cost reduction and service improvements if the assumptions for implementing lean exist.

From a supply chain perspective, data are collected only from a focal firm perspective (municipalities). Future research must investigate lean applications in public service supply chains from interorganisational perspectives.

This paper provides guidance on the concept of lean and on under which circumstances it may be applied in a public service SCM context. Furthermore, it stresses the importance of defining the customers and clarifying their demands in terms of value requirements.

This paper is the first to study the lean philosophy in the public sector from a service supply chain perspective.

There are cloud computing (CC) services available for various applications within the supply chain management (SCM). These services offer, for example, consistent global networking platforms and enable quick decision making, which may strengthen competitive advantages. The specification of the single-related elements and the coordination mechanisms between actors and information flows is complex. In this paper, the authors argue that reference models can accelerate understanding these processes. The purpose of this paper is to gain an understanding of the current state of the underlying research field and to present a reference model that supports theory and practice in adopting CC services at SCM.

This paper provides a cross-discipline systematic literature review from the research perspectives of information systems and SCM. Based on 102 papers, the authors designed a reference model showing the interrelations between various elements of CC and SCM.

The authors discover the most important chances and risks for CC implementations in supply chain (SC) processes and pay special attention to SC sustainability aspects of CC. Until now, SCM research in the realm of CC usage is still in its infancy both in theory and practice.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there is no systematic literature review that consistently focusses CC usage within SC processes while integrating specific aspects of strategic theory. The obtained insights lead to the first SCM-related reference model for CC usage.

The aim of this study is to better understand service supply chain management by analysing the professional service supply chain in professional service firms (PSFs) and exploring how the high performance work systems (HPWS) influence professional service supply chain performance. In addition, this study seeks to examine the relationship between professional service supply chain performance and the overall organizational performance.

Analysis of PSF suggests a three‐step of professional service supply chain as the clients' requests, partners forming working teams or so‐called team formation and utilization, and delivering of solutions or services to clients. Based on extensive literature review, the authors hypothesize that HPWS have a positive impact on the professional service supply chain performance and the team formation and utilization mediates the link. They also hypothesize the positive link between the professional service supply chain performance and the overall organisational firm performance. Employing survey method, data was collected from 93 accounting firms at two time points. In May 2010 (Time 1), a survey including questions on HPWS, team formation and utilization and professional service supply chain performance were sent out to the managing partners and HR directors in accounting firms based in Ireland. Around one year later (Time 2), another survey measuring firm performance was sent out. This data allowed the authors to establish causal pattern in their results. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to analyse data to test hypotheses.

The results indicate the positive link between HPWS and the professional service supply chain performance. The team formation and utilization mediates the above relationship. In addition, professional service supply chain performance was found to be positively linked to the firm performance.

The present study is limited in terms of sample size, single industry and self‐report data. Future research also needs to examine more mediators or moderators – the mechanisms through which HPWS work on the professional service supply chain.

Firms using higher level of HPWS experience better professional service supply chain performance. Human resource management practices that promote employees' ability, motivation and opportunities which allow teams to be formed more effectively to work with clients enhance organizational performance and higher profit levels. Managers able to effectively adopt and implement these teamwork‐based HR practices and encourage and support employees' collaboration through such practices enhance the firm's professional service supply chain effectiveness and its organisational performance.

The authors' study focuses on the service supply chain management operations within the professional service firms. In doing so, their research answers the call by Ellram et al. for more supply chain management research with respect to the service sector. It addresses a significant research gap identified by Rahman and Wu, namely, “relatively little attention has been given to the service suppliers' perspective”. By linking service supply chain management and human resource management, this study also answers a few calls for more research on the interaction of human resource management and supply chain management, service supply chain and human resource management in professional service firms.

This is one of the few studies to analyse the professional service supply chain management and assess the human resource management and supply chain management link. Moreover, it is the first study which empirically establishes the link between human resource management and professional service supply chain performance in PSFs.