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Interest in product‐level carbon auditing and labelling has been growing in both business and government circles. The purpose of this paper is to examine the practical problems and costs associated with highly disaggregated analyses of greenhouse gas emissions from supply chains. It then weighs these problems and costs against the potential benefits of the carbon labelling of products.

The views expressed in this paper are based on a review of relevant literature, informal discussions with senior managers and personal experience with the practices being investigated.

Stock‐keeping unit‐level carbon auditing of supply chains and the related carbon labelling of products will be fraught with difficulty and very costly. While simplification of the auditing process, the use of data inventories and software support may assist these processes, the practicality of applying them to all consumer products seems very doubtful. The resulting benefits to companies and consumers are also highly questionable. The main conclusion, therefore, is that product‐level carbon auditing and labelling is a “wasteful distraction” and that it would be better to devote management time and resources to other decarbonisation initiatives.

To date relatively few firms have carbon audited their supply chains at a product level and so industrial experience is limited. Market research on the likely behavioural response to carbon labelling is also at an early stage. There is sufficient evidence available, however, to conduct an initial critique of product level carbon auditing and labelling.

Some companies and government agencies should reconsider their plans for the carbon labelling of products.

This is the first paper in the logistics/supply chain literature to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this new form of carbon footprinting and labelling. It is intended to stimulate debate among logistics academics and practitioners.

Audits are an essential part of supply chain management, whether they be of a single supplier's facilities or the whole supply chain. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, auditors mainly conducted supplier audits in-person and on-site. Subsequent travel restrictions have meant that auditors have had to perform these audits remotely. The purpose of this paper is to conceptually describe the emerging phenomenon of remote audits and explore the implications of this change for the future.

This exploratory research used qualitative interviews with key stakeholders (firms, auditors and regulators) to provide an empirical basis for the study. A total of 60 interviews were conducted in two rounds with 40 respondents from 26 organizations. A process perspective lens was used to explore the fundamental changes in supplier audits.

The study provides an interpretative conceptual framework of remote supplier audits grounded in key factors (audit process, use of technologies, document and record sharing) and identifies a set of contingency factors (technological sophistication, reputation for integrity, maturity of internal audit processes, and level of complexities and risk involved) that affect the effectiveness of remote audits.

Remote supplier audits have radically changed how supply chains operate. This paper presents the first empirically-grounded study on remote auditing. It provides a springboard for future research in this domain and practical implications for managers to assist them with the development of remote auditing in their firms and supply chains.

The services industry, especially the professional sector in the auditing, accounting, and financial consulting, was and still is moving toward globalization. This move was characterized by the cooperation between headquartered US firms such as the Big‐five and other related firms all over the world. The result was increasing the efficiency and effectiveness. In addition, it satisfied the multinational companies by providing the service required by the branches of those multinational clients. The efficiency and effectiveness of globalization is not a simple issue. Several factors are involved to achieve this issue. One important factor is balancing the trade‐off between decreasing the costs and increasing the quality of the services rendered. The paper proposes one way to achieve this balancing is by the appropriate coordination between the headquarters and their branches.

This paper seeks to explore the integration of social issues in the management of supply chains from an operations management perspective. Further, this research aims to develop a set of scales to measure multiple dimensions of supplier socially responsible practices. Finally, the paper examines the importance of three dimensions of supply chain structure, namely transparency, dependency and distance, for the adoption of these socially responsible practices.

Drawing on literature from several theoretical streams, current best‐practice in leading firms and emerging international standards, four dimensions of supplier socially responsible practices were identified. Also, a multi‐dimensional conceptualization of supply chain structure, including transparency, dependency and distance, was synthesized from earlier research. Using this conceptual development, a large‐scale survey of plant managers in three industries in Canada provided an empirical basis for validating these constructs, and then assessing the relationships between structure and practices.

Multi‐item scales for each of the four dimensions of supplier socially responsible practices were validated empirically: supplier human rights; supplier labour practices; supplier codes of conduct; and supplier social audits. Increased transparency, as reflected in greater product visibility by the end‐consumer was related to increased use of supplier human rights, which in turn can help to protect a firm's brands. Organizational distance, as measured by the total length of the supply chain (number of tiers in the supply chain), was related to increased use of multiple supplier socially responsible practices. Finally, as the plant was positioned further upstream in the supply chain, managers reported increased use of supplier codes of conduct.

As senior managers extend, redesign or restructure their supply chains, the extent to which social issues must be monitored and managed changes. The four categories of supplier socially responsible practices identified help managers characterize their firm's approach to managing social issues. Furthermore, managers must more actively manage the development of supplier socially responsible practices in their firms when the supply chain has more firms; and when brands have stronger recognition in the marketplace.

The paper makes three contributions to the extant literature. First, the construct of social issues is defined and framed within the broader debate on sustainable development and stakeholder management. Second, social practices are delineated for supply chain management, and a set of scales is empirically validated for assessing the degree of development of supplier socially responsible practices. Finally, the link between supply chain structure and the adoption of supplier socially responsible practices is examined. This last contribution provides a basis for understanding, so that managers can extend and reshape current views about how social issues must be managed.

Quick scan audit methodology (QSAM) has been adapted to include some change management practices. This paper seeks to relate how the company's dissemination feedback presentation sessions and implementation team‐work added value to the established QSAM by: offering a new method of demonstrating a “listening ear” to employees, providing enhanced verification of the QS results, increasing “buy in” and offering the possibility of a deeper knowledge transfer and increased audit accuracy.

This action research project is oriented around diagnosis and improvement of Company A's production‐planning process using an adapted QSAM procedure, and a qualitative investigation into the effect of increasing employee participation in QSAM with a view to increasing its potential as a change management tool. The primary research was largely conducted through semi‐structured interviews designed according to role. An important change management dimension of the primary research was to clearly explain the purpose of the audit at the beginning of each interview. A total of 16 interviews were conducted. The data collected were analysed using standard techniques including: process mapping, Ishikawa cause and effect diagrams, why‐why‐why and Pareto analysis. The accuracy of the company's existing forecasting was measured using mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). The uncertainty circle diagram was used to provide a higher level of analysis, categorising the causes of uncertainty into: supply side, process side, demand side and control side. Once the findings had been presented to the business champion and senior managers, the main findings and suggested solutions were presented throughout the company in a series of six presentations to 40 people over a period of ten days.

A human‐centred QS was successfully applied to Company A with limited resources. With the application of mathematical forecasting models, the forecasting error (MAPE) was reduced from an average of 22 to 18 per cent. Completion of production schedules was increased from 96 to 98 per cent, while packaging efficiency increased from 94 to 96 per cent. Most importantly, the company have established a “road‐map” to achieve a better and more flexible supply chain. The QSAM is a robust auditing tool, but it does not take account of potential resistance to change. Company A have adapted the QSAM to include some basic change management practices, effectively extending its feedback stages through wider dissemination, in order to build consensus and to improve the response to change.

On the basis of a single case study conducted in a UK food‐manufacturing company, “change management” appears to be compatible with supply chain audit, where this is conducted as a means of driving improvement. The effectiveness of the project is judged via “hard” rather than “soft” measures of supply chain performance. Further external verification would be necessary to generalise from this research, and future research directions are indicated in the paper.

Supply chain improvement projects involving supply chain audit can be enhanced through the integration of change management practices.

The originality of the research stems from the integration of change management practices into the established QSAM.

This research develops a set of specific modern slavery disclosure principles for organisations. It critically evaluates seven legislative Acts from five different countries and 16 guidelines and directives from international organisations. By undertaking an in-depth content analysis, the research derives an index comprising nine principles and 49 disclosure items to promote best-practice disclosure in tackling modern slavery. We promote nine active principles for organisations to implement and disclose: recognising modern slavery practices, identifying risks, publishing a modern slavery risk prevention policy, proactive in assessing and addressing risks, assessing efficacy of actions, garnering internal and external oversight, externally communicating modern slavery risk mitigation, implementing a suppliers' assessment and code of conduct to ensure transparency and specifying consequences for non-compliance. The research is motivated by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 8, which focusses on economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work. The research findings will assist practitioners seeking to discover and disclose evidence of modern slavery practices and their mitigation to minimise and encourage the elimination of this unethical and illegal practice in domestic and global supply chains and operations.

This paper seeks to examine the various stages in online and conventional retail supply chains in order to assess their relative environmental impacts. With reference to boundary issues, utilisation factors and carbon allocation, it seeks to highlight some of the difficulties in establishing a robust carbon auditing methodology.

Auditing issues are considered from the point of divergence in the respective supply chains (downstream of this point a product is destined either for conventional or online retailing channels, and will receive different treatment accordingly).

The paper explores methodological issues associated with carbon auditing conventional and online retail channels. Having highlighted the problems, it suggests resolutions to these issues.

The paper is mostly conceptual in nature.

The approach outlined in this paper, once applied, allows the identification of inefficiencies in the respective retail supply chains.

The paper is the first to discuss carbon auditing in relation to upstream supply chain analysis for both conventional and online retail channels. Previous work has tended to focus on the last mile delivery.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the differences and similarities between the manufacturing and services sectors in order to develop a methodology that can provide the opportunity for the transfer of best practice between the two sectors. This paper aims to describe an audit methodology capable of yielding objective comparisons of supply chain integration performance that can assist practitioners and academics to transfer learned solutions.

A robust, site-based, multi-method supply chain diagnostic for detecting manufacturing supply chain system uncertainty was amended for the service sector in order to yield objective comparisons of the (normalised) supply chain integration performances of 119 organisations.

The research confirms the value of using a lens enabled by the uncertainty circle model (UCM) for generating meaningful comparative supply chain performances. The research found that services do not always exhibit unique attributes which effectively bar manufacturing-based supply chain best practice from being adopted within the service sector.

Combining the UCM and Quick Scan Audit Methodology approach has the potential to assist the spread of proven good practice across both sectors. The framework provides realistic and repeatable performance vectors, capable of aligning estimates of value stream health status even when comparing supply chains with differing objectives, configurations, and performance goals.

This paper aims to provide an answer to the important question of how can accurate assessment of supply chain practice and performance be conducted? By conducting audits across a sample of value streams it is thereby possible to identify the components of “good practice” via evidence‐based procedures.

Quick scan audit methodology (QSAM) is a site‐based, team‐oriented action research‐led investigative technique for establishing meaningful “snapshots” of value stream behaviour. The participants cover both academic researchers and host organisation staff.

QSAM is found to output repeatable results enabling the transfer of technique between companies, between businesses, between market sectors, and between countries.

Care must be taken when training new auditors and QSAM teams to ensure the required degree of consistency. There is no substitute for operating a “watch one, share one, do one” regimen.

The research purpose is to establish the performance vectors to enable effective value stream health comparisons to be made. Additionally “quick hits” (not “quick fixes”) may well be identified specific to an individual host organisation.

QSAM has already made an important contribution in enabling the gap between case‐based and survey‐based logistics research to be properly bridged.

The purpose of this paper is to use a systems lens to assess the comparative performance of healthcare supply chains and provide guidance for their improvement.

A well-established and rigorous multi-method audit methodology, based on the uncertainty circle model, yields an objective assessment of value stream performance in eight Australasian public sector hospitals. Cause-effect analysis identifies the major barriers to achieving smooth, seamless flows. Potentially high-leverage remedial actions identified using systems thinking are examined with the aid of an exemplar case.

The majority of the healthcare value streams studied are underperforming compared with those in the European automotive industry. Every public hospital appears to be caught in the grip of vicious circles of system uncertainty, in large part being caused by problems of their own making. The single exception is making good progress towards seamless functional integration, which has been achieved by elevating supply chain management to a core competence; having a clearly articulated supply chain vision; adopting a systems approach; and, managing supplies with accurate information.

The small number of cases limits the generalisability of the findings at this time.

Hospital supply chain managers endeavouring to achieve smooth and seamless supply flows should attempt to elevate the status of supplies management within their organisation to that of a core competence, and should use accurate information to manage their value streams holistically as a set of interwoven processes. A four-level prism model is proposed as a useful framework for thus improving healthcare supply delivery systems.

Material flow concepts originally developed to provide objective assessments of value stream performance in commercial settings are adapted for use in a healthcare setting. The ability to identify exemplar organisations via a context-free uncertainty measure, and to use systems thinking to identify high-leverage solutions, supports the transfer of appropriate best practices even between organisations in dissimilar business and economic settings.