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Supply chain practitioners have made great strides in forming collaborative partnerships, yet the end consumer is often left out of these plans. Being an important member of the supply chain, we propose that supply chains need to get closer to the end consumer ‐ forming collaborative relationships that center around demand planning. Developing subscription relationships with end consumers will lead to increased planning time, which will result in dramatic cost reductions and superior consumer value and satisfaction through lower costs, increased convenience, and improved availability of supply. Being a new and unique strategy, not all consumers will adopt subscription supply chains. However, we argue that some consumer segments will receive tremendous value and satisfaction purchasing certain types of products and services through subscriptions. Tremendous opportunities await those supply chains who target the right consumers, marketing the right products and services through a subscription supply chain.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of demand planning practices on the disruptions induced by operational risk. The study reveals whether the negative consequences of operational risk factors (covering demand, supply, control and process risks) can be absorbed or amplified through the application of specific demand planning practices in supply chains.

The study involves the partial least squares path model procedure. Likewise, the items of the constructs in the outer model were subjected to a purification process by principal component analysis with the orthogonal (varimax) and oblique (Promax) methods of rotation.

The findings suggest that although one may not observe uniformity and standardization in the role of demand planning in alleviating the negative effects of operational risks, still some regularities can be obtained. Having said that some demand planning practices tend to mitigate or reinforce disruptions driven by operational risk, whereas the other practices simultaneously absorb and amplify disruptions driven by operational risk.

The study shows that different managerial instruments, which are not inherently dedicated to risk management, when appropriately applied, may have an indirect impact on the mitigation of supply chain risk. In particular, the concept of demand planning might be very helpful for managers when dealing with demand and control risks.

The study simultaneously examines a more detailed bundle of practices forming the demand planning process. The research attempts to investigate the link between the demand planning process and operational risk consequences, derived from all sources (supply, demand, process and control). The paper shows that risk management is not a sole tool to mitigate disruptions. Among the concepts, which contribute to decrease risks is the demand planning process. The study demonstrates that the demand planning process when applied as a component of supply chain management, may contribute to mitigate certain operational risks.

The purpose of this research is to describe how total cost concept with logistical based costing (LBC) is developed in detail and then used to build logistical models on the Microsoft Excel™ platform that are integrated from the customer's factory to the supplier's door.

The models developed in this project are deterministic, event‐based algorithms to compare logistical conduits for bulk and containerized commodities. The demand chain approach is used to derive the pathways in reverse order from the customer to the supplier. The methodology is necessary to find all possible conduits from origin to destination, including points where product may cross over between various logistics systems. The approach is applied to the bulk and container system with disconnects (elevators, ports) serving as the demarcation points. The pathways from supplier to end‐user must be identified prior to application of classification and costing techniques. A goal of this research was to compare the per unit cost of two different logistical systems – bulk versus container – in two case studies. The first case study was for a miller in Northern China and the second was for a mill in Helsinki, Finland.

The spreadsheet models produced results that were within 3 percent of real world costs. Each demand chain was shown to be unique and required customized cost functions to properly configure algorithms.

The paper suggests that, while a core algorithm may exist for all supply/demand chains, no one particular algorithm configuration suffices. Each supply/demand chain is unique, in terms of both costs and performance. The use of modular cost functions provides the customization necessary to address this issue.

This project verifies that successful implementation of a model is dependent on following a set of procedures that begins with a clear statement of what the model is to measure, along with what is to be included and what are the constraints imposed on the algorithm. Mapping the flow of the goods through logistical systems provides visibility as to where costs are incurred and how they are to be assigned to the supplier or customer. An improperly assigned variable in the early stages of a supply/demand chain reduces accuracy of subsequent calculations. LBC increases the precision of models by properly establishing the configuration of cost drivers for each stage of the supply/demand chain by avoiding the use of the cost averaging used in statistical analysis.

This paper provides a standardized approach for mapping, costing and building global supply/demand chain models. The ultimate customer, once thought of as the “end of the line”, now dictates the cost and performance requirements of logistical conduits. While this paper encapsulates methods for building total cost models from the customer's perspective, other configurations can be readily constructed to examine physical and performance characteristics.

Strategic concentration is a key issue for manufacturing companies when designing a supply chain. As a corporate strategy and a supply chain governance strategy, vertical integration relates to organisational economics and strategic supply chain management. Numerous explanations have been created for vertical integration, and transaction cost economics (TCE) provides a theoretical basis to help understand the process. However, the current popularity of vertical integration seems inspired by something more than altering industry structure and minimising cost, which are the traditionally accepted explanations for vertical integration This paper aims to explore the driving forces for vertical integration, particularly downstream integration of distribution, and the consequences of vertical integration in a manufacturer‐distributor‐reseller chain.

This study adopted an exploratory case study approach to examine a Swedish‐based timber manufacturer that vertically integrated a distribution centre in the UK, which made it a direct supplier to DIY retailers and builders' merchants. Data were collected primarily through open‐ended, face‐to‐face interviews.

The study found that the most important factors driving the manufacturer's vertical integration of distribution were the demands of large retail chains and the manufacturer's decisions to focus on developing its positioning strategy in the supply chain. Vertical integration has transformed the manufacturer into a supplier to large timber products resellers, offering the firm a greater potential to provide integrated solutions and, therefore, become a strategic partner to its customers.

This empirical study examined a building material distribution channel, a subject that has rarely been studied. Study results add empirical evidence to explanations and impacts of vertical integration, especially the integration of customer interface.

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to provide academics and practitioners a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the benefits, barriers, and bridges to successful collaboration in strategic supply chains. Design/methodology/approach – A triangulation method consisting of a literature review, a cross‐functional mail survey, and 51 in‐depth case analyses was implemented. Senior managers from purchasing, manufacturing, and logistics were targeted in the mail survey. The break down by channel category interviews is as follows: 14 retailers, 13 finished goods assemblers, 12 first‐tier suppliers, three lower‐tier suppliers, and nine service providers. Findings – Customer satisfaction and service is perceived as more enduring than cost savings. All managers recognize technology, information, and measurement systems as major barriers to successful supply chain collaboration. However, the people issues – such as culture, trust, aversion to change, and willingness to collaborate – are more intractable. People are the key bridge to successful collaborative innovation and should therefore not be overlooked as companies invest in supply chain enablers such as technology, information, and measurement systems. Research limitations/implications – The average mail‐survey response rate was relatively low: 23.5 percent. The case study analyses were not consistent in frequency across channel functions. Although the majority of companies interviewed and surveyed were international, all surveys and interviews were managers based in the US. Practical implications – This study provides new insight into understanding the success and hindering factors of supply chain management. The extensive literature review, the cross‐channel analysis, and case studies provide academics and managers a macro picture of the goals, challenges, and strategies for implementing supply chain management. Originality/value – This paper uses triangulation methodology for examining key issues of supply chain management at multiple levels within the supply chain.

Provides an introduction to some of the current work being done on electronic document delivery services within the European Libraries Programme and relates this to other national initiatives. Seeks to draw up a list of issues that must be addressed as the area develops and, in particular, to outline the considerations that must be given to initiatives within the next phase of the Framework Programme.

The EDILIBE Project – Electronic Data Interchange for Libraries and Booksellers in Europe involved libraries and booksellers in Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy and the UK. It was a project funded by the European Union as part of the European Libraries Programme and ran from April 1993 to December 1995. This paper discusses the current role of an acquisitions librarian and outlines the ways in which electronic data interchange (EDI) can be used to assist in the management of acquisitions infor mation. Practical experiences gained in implementing EDI standards and developing suitable software during the EDILIBE project are described.

Manufacturing companies today are part of a dynamic, globalized system of production and consumption. Globally dividing labor is now the predominant way of organizing business, but it is clear that the resource demands of linear supply chains have created vulnerability and harm in the system and beyond. The authors draw inspiration from ecology to explore the role of manufacturers in the transition from linear to circular supply chains. Borrowing the adaptive cycle model, originally developed to describe dynamic ecological systems, they employ case examples to illustrate the ways that supply chain management is being reimagined in the shift to a circular economy. This conceptualization uses the adaptive cycle to consider the transition from linear to circular supply chains as part of broader systems change, and the opportunities for manufacturers to play a transformative role in shaping a sustainable future.

This paper aims to investigate the characteristics of demand and supply in relation to the real-world supply chain strategies of local urban fresh food supply chains (FFSC). It generates insights into how a range of strategies is adopted by urban retailer businesses in attempting to cater for the particular requirements of food-literate urban consumers and small-scale local growers.

Using a multiple case study method, 12 urban local fresh food retailers in Sydney were studied and interview data were analyzed using thematic analysis.

Local fresh produce has characteristics of both functional and innovative products. Retailers with strong upstream and downstream collaborations adopt hybrid strategies for increased time efficiency and product variety. The dominance of strategies for time efficiency in downstream activities is aimed at maximising the product’s freshness and taste, while product range improvement strategies mean innovative retailers are working with growers to introduce new product types and offering new recipes to consumers that encourage a wider use of products. Urban retailers of local fresh produce leverage on their relationships with upstream and downstream supply chain entities in implementing hybrid strategies.

Policymakers will make use of the new knowledge generated about the real enablers of contemporary urban food systems in designing developmental policies; findings will inform urban FFSC retailers about how harmonious relationships can be leveraged for sustainability.

The study generates new knowledge on the implementation of a leagile approach by studying the adoption of innovative hybrid strategies by urban local FFSCs in relations to demand and supply characteristics and the utilization of strong vertical relationships in a short supply chain.

This paper explores how firms develop and mature sustainable supply chains (SSCs) in developing nations (DNs). The primitive resources, infrastructures and understanding of SSCs in DNs often hinder both the ability of SSCs to mature and their effectiveness in delivering environmental, social and economic goals. The purpose of this paper is to address these issues.

Through the supply chain life cycle (SCLC) lens, the authors analyzed an embedded case study of a Vietnamese end-to-end food supply chain (using 32 semi-structured interviews and archival data) and interviewed senior leadership of three other food companies in early 2019. A post hoc study including five reinterviews in the same Vietnamese case company's supply chain also further validated the study in 2021.

The authors’ analyses reveal that changes in DN stakeholders' behaviors can quickly move firms' SSCs along the SCLC closer toward a mature stage, in which firms and their network stakeholders can create more sustainable value. They also identify strategies for firms to consider when developing their SSCs to activate these behavioral changes.

While many authors discuss SSCs' benefits for the environment and society, few assess how firms can design and operate SSCs effectively given the limited resources, infrastructures and SSC knowledge in DNs. This paper offers a compelling framework focusing on engaging various DNs' stakeholders to understand the life cycle of SSCs in less developed countries, in order to accelerate DNs' firms through early development toward a more SSC.