Research Proposal

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Supply chain management 2.0 in the specialization era (information transfer)

Literature review summary:

The topic of the research involves the main concepts and trends related to the network approach applied on Supply Chain Management. We are talking here mainly about the development of a Supply Chain management over three main axes: from raw material to end consumer, from factory worker to company management, and chronologically. (Cameron, 2011) We started analyzing the main „eras” in which supply chain management was developed, from 1982 when Keith Oliver used the term in an interview for Financial Times, over through the late 90’s, when the term was used predominantly to describe the supply and demand management within and across companies, until the late 2000’s, when the term got a more customer-oriented use, being described as the key business processes that are assembled together in order to create value for customers and stakeholders. (Chilengi, 2009) The other axis taken into consideration, the process of getting the raw material to the end consumer, revealed the fact that is not a linear chain, as initially thought. As mentioned in the literature review, a valid example would be a car manufacturer and the supplier for the car seats. Even if the car manufacturer can create the mechanical parts, and get the car out of the production line, it still depends on the car seats manufacturer. That shows how important the connections between different supply chains are. Finally, the most important axis is the one where information is transmitted from the manual workers, shipping companies, and resellers to supply chain managers. In this situation, the timely transfer of information is extremely important, as the entire process is based on an efficient and effective flow of information and services. This led to a structured development to a description of security management systems in ІЅΟ/ІΕϹ 28000 and ІЅΟ/ІΕϹ 28001.

Gaps in literature:

According to literature review, there are some major gaps encountered in the SCM development and implementation. Mainly, the literature related to understanding SCM fails to explain or point towards a theoretical support for the existence or boundaries of supply chain management. We also have certain gaps, according to the literature review, related to information related to different coordination conditions and trade-offs that happen every so often between different suppliers. From another perspective, there are gaps linked to supplier-buyer relationships, such as planning and control, information flow facility structures, and so on. All of the above, from my perspective should be set under the framework of informational nodes, specifically Customer Relationship Management.

Main gap: Information transfer in supply chain management

That is why the main focus of this study will be set on information transfer in the supply chain. Basically, the transfer of information would refer to the information related to customer request, shopping habits and preferences, customer satisfaction, product availability, manufacturer production cycle, location of products over the course of transportation. Also, we will focus on how the channels used for this information to be as transparent and offer information in a timely and efficient manner. This part of the supply chain is significant as it represents the red thread that connects the manufacturer to the customer and, eventually, to the end consumer.(Dubois, 2007)

Purpose for this study:

Therefore, the purpose of this study will be to minimize the gaps between different links in the supply chain. In other words, the purpose of this paper is to understand the link between a dynamic information network and a profitable, sustainable suррly-сhaіn management 2.0. Our main aims will be understanding the way the information is transmitted through multiple channels throughout the supply chain, quantify the information, and find ways to make the transferred information easier to analyze and interpret, in order to apply it.(Forza, 2002)

Necessary steps needed for this study:

We have decided to divide the necessary steps in 3 major objectives, containing multiple sub-points. This way, we can divide the tasks easier, and have the main objectives available at all times. (Golicic, 2012)

First, we will need to understand how the information is transmitted through different channels, therefore:

We will research how CRM is implemented in each node

We will research how many consumers are surveyed about their satisfaction

We will research how many surveys and how often are made between the links of the supply chain. This is done because not only the end user needs to be satisfied, but also every business partner.

What are the main communication channels between the parts of the supply chain?

Then, we will need to find out specifics about the above information:

What are the main KPIs used in each survey?

What level is considered average, what level is desired, and which one is critical?

How often is the information transmitted through different channels?

What is considered an acceptable delay of update, and what is considered critical?

What information is considered important, and what can be neglected?

The last point we will need to focus is how to improve the process:

How can the process be simplified?

What is the information format that can be accessed on all platforms, by all links of the chain?

What can be removed, and what (if anything) could be added to the information process?

Methodology and justification:

The first phase of the research, as mentioned above, will be done by looking up information available in the public domain, available databases, electronic journals, and financial and specialized articles. What we will focus mainly will be on finding out quantifiable information, numbers and KPIs that represent the way the information is transferred from one link to another. Once we will have found out the KPIs, we will summarize them in a list, based on their importance from our perspective at that moment.

We will focus on private companies, as we want to analyze the dynamic of a competitive supply chain. Also, private companies might have changed suppliers in the past, and can offer more information on why their decision changed, and if it had anything to do with the way the information was managed.

The second phase will be completed via face to face interviews with managers and employees situated at different levels of the supply chain. We will try to have someone from each part of the supply chain: manufacturer, shipper, retailer, and customer. This way, we will have a broader perspective on how the information is transmitted. The questions in the interview will focus on the following:

What information is transmitted?

What are the channels used?

How often is the information transmitted?

In what format is the information sent and received?

What are the security norms related to information transfer?

Is information provided in only one direction, or both links send information back and forth?

During the interviews, the answers will be collected via note taking and audio (if possible, video) recording. The use of recording will ensure the data collected is accurate, and there is no misinterpretation or lack of details.

Once the details gathered from the interviews will be completed, they will be analyzed, in order to understand the different perspectives of different links in the supply chain management. Based on the discrepancies noticed in the interviews, an online survey, based on the differences in each link’s description will be made available to all persons who participated in the interview, to customers, and to consumers. Due to the fact the survey will be readily available for everyone, we will get more details on different perspectives.

After all the information is gathered, it will be summarized and analyzed statistically, in order to determine the extent the way the information is transferred affects the entire process. After we will have all the details synthesized, and understand what happens related to the transfer of information, we will simulate different ways in which the process can be improved. Once the potential solutions are found, we will run multiple simulations to decide whether or not they could be implemented, or if the process would improve by making the changes we envision.

Research ethics:

As mentioned before, interviews will be recorded via audio channels, if possible also recorded video (depending on each interviewee being comfortable with this). An Informed Consent will be signed after explaining the methods of the research, as well as its purpose. All the information gathered from online sources, libraries, or databases, will be checked through at least two independent sources, and verified with the industry standard. No information will be distorted in order to get a specific result. Also, the final solutions offered to the companies will not include company suggestions, or channels that should be used in order to implement the options we will offer. There will be no attempt to gain any financial incentive from this process.

All the information for which we will have permission to make public, will be available via a Google Docs file, where the progress of the research will be available to anyone wishing to verify it. All the references will be available, in order to honor the original publishers or creators of different ideas.

Conclusion:

The dissertation is focused towards the best ways in which information transfer can offer added value to a supply chain, while looking at the potential ways through the perspective of Supply chain management improvement. The research will be done in a professional manner, making sure the information is accurate. After revising the literature review, the research method and approach were chosen to make sure we have everything covered in regards to the subject matter. We have made sure the results would be quantifiable, as we will focus on existing KPIs, analyzing them and trying to improve them.

This paper also includes a Gantt chart, shown below, drawing out the essentials of the research.

References

Cameron, R. and Molina-Azorin, J.F. (2011), “The acceptance of mixed methods in business and management research”, International Journal of Organizational Analysis, Vol. 19 No. 3, pp. 256–271. Chilengi, R. (2009), “An ethics perspective on responsibilities of investigators, sponsors and research participants”, Health Research in Africa: Ethical and Practical Challenges, Vol. 112 No. 1, pp. 53–62. Dubois, A. and Araujo, L. (2007), “Case research in purchasing and supply management: Opportunities and challenges”, Special Issue—Methods, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 170–181. Forza, C. (2002), “Survey research in operations management: a process-based perspective”, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 22 No. 2, pp. 152– 194. Golicic, S.L. (2012), “Implementing mixed methods research in supply chain management”, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 42 No. 8, pp. 726–741. Halldórsson, Á. and Aastrup, J. (2003), “Quality criteria for qualitative inquiries in logistics”, European Journal of Operational Research, Vol. 144 No. 2, pp. 321–332. Kyrö, P. (2004), “Benchmarking as an action research process”, Benchmarking: An International Journal, Vol. 11 No. 1, pp. 52–73. Meredith, J. (1998), “Building operations management theory through case and field research”, Journal of Operations Management, Vol. 16 No. 4, pp. 441–454. Myers, M.D. (2013), "Qualitative research in business and management". London: SAGE. Pedrosa, A.d.M., Näslund, D. and Jasmand, C. (2012), “Logistics case study based research: towards higher quality”, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 42 No. 3, pp. 275–295. Seuring, S.A. (2008), “Assessing the rigor of case study research in supply chain management”, Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, Vol. 13 No. 2, pp. 128–137. White, L. (2009), “Challenge of Research Ethics Committees to the nature of operations research”, Ethics and Operations Research, Vol. 37 No. 6, pp. 1083–1088.