No abstract

Purpose-The aim of this empirical paper is to study information sharing in fresh food supply chains, with a specific goal of reducing waste and facilitating sustainable performance. The study focuses on material and information flow issues, specifically on sharing demand and shelf-life data. Design/methodology/approach-This work has been designed as an exploratory case study in three fresh food supply chains, milk, fresh fish, and fresh poultry, in the Nordic countries. The cases are based on interviews and data from the databases of the companies involved. Each case focuses on analyzing information flow, particularly the current order patterns and forecasting and planning process, and material flow, focusing on the supply chain structure. In two cases significant changes have been made to forecasting processes and material flow, while the third case intends to identify the most beneficial uses of shared information to create a sustainable fresh food supply chain. Findings-The performance of the perishable food chain can be improved by more efficient information sharing. The key to improved operations is how and for which purposes the shared data should be used. In addition, changes in the supply chain structure were needed to speed up the deliveries and ensure shelf availability. The cross-case analysis revealed that improved performance was obtained with parallel changes in information sharing and usage and in material flow. Originality/value-Few studies approach the problem of waste and sustainability from an integrated supply chain perspective. This paper links data sharing with the sustainability performance of the supply chain as a whole.

Managing the order-delivery processes between organizations is a key issue in supply chain management. Despite the increasing application of just-in-time ( JIT), lean and agile practices and new information systems that increase the visibility in supply chains, a lot of problems still remain. Surveys among European companies indicate that no signi -cant improvements have taken place in delivery performance during last decade. Vendor managed inventory (VMI) is a recent alternative for the order-delivery process. The fundamental change is that the ordering phase of the process is abolished, and the supplier is given both authority and responsibility to take care of the entire replenishment process. Despite of its advantages VMI has not yet become a standard mode of operation in companies. In this paper the bene ts of VMI are analyzed from the viewpoint of managing the replenishment process of the entire product range, not the viewpoint Riikka Kaipia (Tech. Lic.) works as a researcher in the Department of Industrial Management in Helsinki University of Technology. Her work on supply chain relationships is a part of a threeyear e-commerce initiative participated by leading Finnish companies in telecommunications, logistics, retailing and consumer packaged goods (www.tuta.hut. /ecomlog). She received her Master of Science (Eng.) degree in 1988. Her licentiate's thesis (1997) handles cross-docking in the grocery supply chain. Previously she worked as a development manager in a big Finnish wholesale and retail company. Jan Holmstro « m, Dr.Tech, is a Senior Researcher Fellow with the Helsinki University of Technology. Previously he has worked as a consultant to the Supply Chain Practice of McKinsey & Company.Kari Tanskanen is a Professor of Logistics at the Department of Industrial Management in Helsinki University of Technology. He is specialized in logistical management of industrial enterprises, supply chain management and supplier management. As a researcher and professor of the university he has taken part in several research projects since 1988. The projects have been undertaken collaboratively with companies from several industry sectors -metalworking, electronics, construction, forest and food industries. of a single stock keeping unit. A time-based analysis method is developed for measuring the bene ts of VMI in di ¶ erent situations. The hypothesis explored that by taking the whole product range viewpoint the advantages of VMI are more readily identi ed. The hypothesis is tested by using real-life demand data from three di ¶ erent grocery supply chains.

We develop actionable design propositions for collaborative sales and operations planning (S&OP) based on the observation of contexts in which benefits are generated d or are absent d from retail information sharing. An information sharing pilot project in a real-life setting of two product manufacturers and one retailer was designed. The project resulted in one manufacturer, serving a retailer from its local factory, developing a process for collaborative S&OP, while the other manufacturer serving a retailer from more distant regional factories abandoned the process. The evaluation of the outcomes experienced by the two manufacturers allows us to examine contexts in fine-grained detail and explain why introducing information sharing in the S&OP processes produce d or fail to produce d benefits. The paper contributes to the supply chain information sharing literature by presenting a field tested and evolved S&OP design for non-standard demand situations, and by a contextual analysis of the mechanisms that produce the benefits of retailer collaboration and information sharing in the S&OP process.

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractSupply

PurposeThe study develops a structure for procurement digitalisation by identifying its context drivers, technology interventions and performance-inducing mechanisms and exploring the linkages between these variables.Design/methodology/approachThe study draws on rich interview and workshop data on 48 digital intervention projects, as reflected by mental models of managers from 12 case organisations in manufacturing, retail and service sectors. Supported by an a priori structure, the study employs an abductive cross-case analysis approach.FindingsResults suggest several categories within the elements of context, intervention and mechanism to structure procurement digitalisation and the linkages between them. Seven propositions that reflect digitalisation strategy options in procurement are developed regarding the linkages. Internal complexity dominantly drives procurement digitalisation, motivating communication support and process structuring interventions, which in turn aim at procurement coordination and control as well as process improvement. External coercive pressure and external dynamism also drive interventions for information processing and decision aiding, which appear to be linked with supply market knowledge, strategic alignment and supplier capability assessment. Therefore, an internal–external dichotomy is observed as the main thrust of procurement digitalisation.Practical implicationsThe study supports decision makers in developing digitalisation strategy options for different procurement contexts. The results also raise awareness of a possible bias in existing strategies for procurement digitalisation.Originality/valueA novel forward-looking approach is employed to enable the design and construction of systems that do not yet exist by focusing on the mental models of managers in a systematic way.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand how companies design sales and operations planning (S & OP) contingent on the planning environment (PE). Design/methodology/approach – On the basis of the literature, the paper creates an analytical framework identifying the main constructs related to the PE and S & OP design, which is the basis for gathering and analysing qualitative data from eight cases in the food industry. The findings highlight the relations between S & OP and the PE, and are used for generating three propositions. Findings – Responding to the complex and uncertain PE, the companies set up S & OP on a stock-keeping unit (SKU) level, with the possibility of re-planning and a flexible planning horizon, thus differing from what has generally been suggested in the literature. In addition, the companies are aligning the inputs, activities, and outcomes of the S & OP process to the PE. Particularly important environmental contingencies are uncertainty connected to demand and supply, frequent product launches, and production network complexity. Product-related variables have a lower impact on the S & OP design. Research limitations/implications – The present study is limited to one industry only and a comparison between industries with larger data sets would be valuable in future studies. The study selected cases based on their S & OP maturity; further studies need to explore the effect of the alignment of S & OP and the PE on the planning performance. Originality/value – In the literature, S & OP is presented as a generic process with a strict formal design that is equal for all companies. The study provides insights into how companies adjust S & OP according to the PE.

Sharing information is regarded as one of the most effective ways of improving supply chain performance. Benefiting from visibility requires the efficient use of real demand and market trend information and sharing it with your suppliers. However, to implement visibility in supply chains in practice in a manner that improves the performance of the supply chain i s challenging. The current state of visibility in the demand-supply network of an original equipment manufacturing company was studied. The project concentrated on the end-to-end view of demand information. The most relevant information from the various information sources was identified and tested in order to improve the performance of the supply chain. On the basis of the test results and a literature survey, five proposals on how to proceed in benefiting from visibility are presented.