Researchers are interested in value chain analysis to identify the different opportunities for cost savings. The literature have been narrow in scope and addressed specific problems; however none has addressed the need for a general framework that can be used as a standard template in the supply chain cost management and optimization, though Dekker and Goor (2000) said that the goal was to develop a model that would allow direct comparison of specific activities between firms, such as warehousing activities costs. There was no indication in the literature of a cost model that can identify all costs and cost drivers through the supply chain. Some firms built models to analyze the effect of changes in activities but only with limited activities such as logistics. The purpose of this research is to create a general framework that can express the cost data for the partners of the supply chain in similar terms. The framework will layout the common activities identified within the firm and the relationship of these activities between the partners of the supply chain, and the framework will identify the effect of changes in activities on other partners within the supply chain. Cost information will help in making decisions about pricing, outsourcing, capital expenditures, and operational efficiency. The framework will be able to track cost through the chain, which will improve the flexibility of the supply chain to respond to rapidly changing technology. The framework will help in developing product strategy paradigms that encompass the dynamics of the market, in particular with respect to the technology adoption lifecycle.

It is believed that the critical next step from examinations of operations and the environment is the study of sustainability and supply chains (Linton, Klassen, and Jayaraman (2007)). Environmental quality and preservation as well as meeting the stress of emission reductions is rapidly becoming an important issue for public policy (Wilkinson, Hill, and Gollan (2001)). However, Lambertini and Mantovani (2007) note the disregard, unrelated to regulatory requirements, of research practitioners to the potential benefits of appropriate competition policy measures and consumer pressures (Srivastara (2007)). In addition, a firm’s success, notably, in terms of financial and/or environmental practices, has been tied, in part, to the strength of its ability to coordinate and integrate activities along the entire supply chain (Spekman, Kamauff Jr., and Myhr (1998)), and to effectively implement multicriteria decisionmaking tools to aid in their strategic decisions. I present five essays in this dissertation. For each model I utilize the theory of variational inequalities, derive the formulation, present qualitative properties, and provide numerical examples. The first essay develops the multitiered sustainable supply chain network model with multicriteria decision-making. In the second essay I construct a modeling and computational framework that allows for the determination of optimal carbon taxes applied to electric power plants in the context of electric power supply chain (generation/distribution/consumption) networks. The third essay considers electric power supply chain networks and develops a model of tradable pollution permits in the case of multiple pollutants and spatially distinct receptor points. In the fourth essay, I quantify and assess, from a system-optimized sustainable supply chain network perspective, the environmental effects resulting when a horizontal supply chain integration occurs. In the fifth and final essay, I extend the work of Nagurney (2009) to the multiproduct supply chain network domain to quantify the impacts. This dissertation is heavily based on the following papers: Nagurney, Liu, and Woolley (2006), Nagurney, Liu, and Woolley (2007), Woolley, Nagurney, and Stranlund (2009), Nagurney and Woolley (2009) and Nagurney, Woolley, and Qiang (2009).

Yes / This paper aims to focus on systematically analysing and synthesising the extant research published on supply chain integration (SCI) area, given the significance of SCI research area. More specifically, the authors aim to answer three questions: “Q1 – What are the factors (e.g. both driving and inhibiting) that influence SCI?”, “Q2 – What are the key developments (e.g. both in research and industry) in SCI area?” and “Q3 – What are the approaches employed/discussed to integrate supply chains?”. Over the past decade, SCI has gained increasing attention in the supply chain management (SCM) context, both from the practitioners’ perspective and as a research area. In realising the global transformations and competitive business environment, a number of organisations are collaborating with their supply chain (SC) partners, to conduct seamless SC operations. A systematic and structured literature review is carried out to observe and understand the past trends and extant patterns/themes in the SCI research area, evaluate contributions and summarise knowledge, thereby identifying limitations, implications and potential directions of further research. Thus, to trace the implementation of SCI practices, a profiling approach is used to analyse 293 articles (published in English-speaking peer-reviewed journals between 2000 and 2013) extracted from the Scopus database. The Systematic Review Approach proposed by Tranfield et al. (2003) was followed to analyse and synthesise the extant literature on SCI area. The analysis presented in this paper has identified relevant SCI research studies that have contributed to the development and accumulation of intellectual wealth to the SCI and SCM area. Each of the 293 papers was examined for achieving the aim and objectives of the research, the method of data collection, the data analysis method and quality measures. While some of the papers provided information on all of these categories, most of them failed to provide all the information, especially for Q2 and Q3 that resulted in 23 and 21 papers, respectively. This study would have benefited from the analysis of further journals; however, the analysis of 293 articles from leading journals in the field of operations and SCM was deemed sufficient in scope. Moreover, this research has implications for researchers, journal editors, practitioners, universities and research institutions. It is likely to form the basis and motivation for profiling other database resources and specific operations and SCM-type journals in this area. This systematic literature review highlights a taxonomy of contextual factors driving and inhibiting SCI for researchers and SC practitioners to refer to while researching or implementing SCI. It also exemplifies some areas for future research, along with the need for researchers to focus on developing more practical techniques for implementing SCI and improving organisational performance. The prime value and uniqueness of this paper lies in analysing and compiling the existing published material in relation to Q1, Q2 and Q3, including examining other variables (such as yearly publications, geographic location of each publication, type of publication, type of research methods used), which lacks in the recent published five SCI literature review-based articles (by Kim, 2013; Leuschner et al., 2013; Alfalla-Luque et al., 2013; Parente et al., 2008; Fabbe-Costes and Jahre, 2007). This has been achieved by extracting and synthesising existing publications using “Supply Chain Integration” keyword. This paper provides a critique of the conceptual and empirical works in SCI discipline and offers research agendas that can stimulate future researchers to carefully explore the topic.

Cette recherche s’inscrit dans le contexte de la santé en France, dans lequel la prise en charge de la population croissante des usagers atteints de maladies chroniques, nécessite une articulation cohérente des interventions pluridisciplinaires, provenant de multiples d’acteurs hétérogènes. Cette prise en charge personnalisée est très consommatrice de ressources. Dans un contexte de raréfaction des ressources, le dilemme coût-qualité se pose dans leur prise en charge. La recherche d’une réponse à ce dilemme nous a conduit à nous intéresser au concept de la Personnalisation de Masse (PM), largement étudié en Supply Chain Management (SCM) et Management des Opérations (OM), ainsi qu’à sa réalisation dans le contexte de la santé. Selon ces deux domaines de littérature, la réalisation de la PM repose sur le développement de la Capacité de PM (CPM). En outre, l’intégration de la Supply Chain (SCI) et la modularité ont été identifiées comme les deux plus importants facteurs facilitant ce développement. Ainsi, cette recherche vise à étudier le rôle de la SCI et de la modularité, ainsi que leur relation dans le développement de la CPM en santé. En se basant sur les relations étudiées et celles insuffisamment étudiées, entre ces trois concepts en SCM et OM (contexte général), un modèle conceptuel de recherche a été établi, et nous cherchons à éprouver ce modèle dans le contexte de la santé. Pour ce faire, un cas exemplaire a été identifié : la MAIA Marseille. À travers cette étude de cas, notre recherche a permis d’une part d’éprouver et de raffiner le modèle de recherche préétabli, et d’autre part de mettre en avant les leçons à en tirer dans le développement de la CPM en santé. / This research is conducted in the French healthcare context, in which the care of the growing population of health service users with chronic diseases, requires a coherent coordination of multidisciplinary interventions from multiple providers. This personalized care is resource consuming. In a context of resource scarcity, the cost-quality dilemma arises in the care of this growing population. The search for an answer to this dilemma has led us to focus on the concept of Mass Customization (MC), widely studied in Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Operations Management (OM), as well as its implementation in the healthcare context. According to these two fields of literature, MC can be achieved by developing Mass Customization Capability (MCC). Moreover, Supply Chain Integration (SCI) and Modularity-based practices have been identified as the two most important factors facilitating its development. Therefore, this research aims to study the role of SCI and modularity, as well as their relationship in the development of MCC in the healthcare context. Based on the relationships studied and those insufficiently investigated between these three concepts in SCM and OM literature (general context), a conceptual model has been established, and we seek to test this model in the healthcare context. For this purpose, an exemplary/critical case has been identified: MAIA Marseille. Through this case study, our research enabled us to test and refine the pre-established conceptual model, and to highlight the lessons to be learned in the development of MCC in the healthcare context.

Background: Supplier integration is becoming increasingly important due to the increased globalisation in the business world nowadays. Today’s focal firm does not operate independently, but as a part of its supply chain which competes with other supply chains in the market. The number of the focal SMEs in Europe comprises 99% of companies operating throughout the continent. However, the vast majority of the existing literature is investigating supplier integration from MNEs’ perspectives. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to generate a new supplier integration theory for SMEs. The study aims to compare how SMEs and MNEs conduct supplier integration, spotting the similarities and differences in their approaches and finding out the reasons behind these varying approaches. Method: We choose a relativist ontology and a constructionist epistemology. Within the boundaries of these research assumptions, we follow an inductive multiple case study approach with exploratory characteristics. The case study consists out of 12 cases, six out of the plant engineering industry and six from the mechanical engineering industry. Each industry is represented by three SMEs and three MNEs. Our findings are gathered through coded and categorised interview transcripts, based on which a critical comparative discussion is done. Conclusion: Through our study we find size and industry related differences in conducting supplier integration. Next to obvious circumstances such as limited resources, we identify personal contact, trust creation and industry specifics as main drivers for variation in supplier integration approaches. Furthermore, we conclude that SMEs fit in particular cases better into the reviewed supplier integration literature, since their focus in relationships leads to a more sustainable interest into the partner’s economic well-being. Finally, our findings show mimetic behaviour in SMEs adopting MNEs’ managerial approaches, characterised by classification, evaluation and strategizing.

In the rapid pace of globalization and new market competition, the New Product Development (NPD) and the Supply Chain Management (SCM) represent today a frontier to obtain competitive advantages to companies. One interface between NPD and the SCM, the Supplier Integration (SI) has proved to be effective as competitive advantage. However, there is a lack of research on how human variables, such as national culture, can moderate the effectiveness of Supplier Integration on those fields. Therefore, this study investigates the relationships between Supplier Integration from the Product-Process-Supply Chain triad and the National Culture Dimensions. I conducted an exploratory case study in 3 companies in the automobilist industry that operates as a Modular Consortium (MC) in Southern Brazil and used the Hofstede´s (2001) national culture dimensions to model national cultural factors. The findings show an evident relation between Supplier Integration with the Low Power Distance, Low Individualism and High Uncertainty Avoidance poles, while no Masculinity and Longterm Orientation pole was distinct for the Supplier Integration in the case study. The managerial implications of this study is to provide a better understanding of the potential impact of human factor to the Supplier Integration in companies that will have operations in Brazil. / No ritmo acelerado da globalização e nova concorrência no mercado, Desenvolvimento de Novos Produtos (NPD) e Supply Chain Management (SCM) representam hoje uma fronteira para obter vantagens competitivas para as empresas. Uma interface entre o NPD e o SCM, a Integração do Fornecedor (SI) provou ser eficaz como vantagem competitiva. No entanto, há uma falta de investigação sobre como variáveis humanas, tais como cultura nacional, pode moderar a eficácia da integração do fornecedor (SI) nesses campos do conhecimento. Portanto, este estudo investiga as relações entre fornecedor Integração da Cadeia na tríade Produto-Processo-Cadeia de Suprimentos e as Dimensões da Cultura Nacional. Para tal foi realizado um estudo de caso exploratório em três empresas do setor automobilístico que operam no Consórcio Modular (MC) no Sudeste do Brasil e usaram-se as dimensões culturais de Hofstede\'s (2001) para modelar fatores humanos. Os resultados mostram uma evidente relação entre a integração do fornecedor com a baixa Distância do Poder, baixo Individualismo e elevada Aversão à Incerteza, no entanto não foram obtidas relações evidentes para as dimensões Masculinidade e Orientação a Longo Prazo para a Integração do Fornecedor no estudo de caso. A principal colaboração deste trabalho é o fornecimento de uma melhor compreensão do potencial impacto do fator humano para a integração do fornecedor em empresas que possuem operações no Brasil.

Business Administration, Business Process & Supply Chain Management, Degree Project (master), 15 higher education credits, 4FE06E, Spring 2013 Authors: Doruntina Pacarizi and Ya-Hui Hsu Tutor: Petra Andersson Title: Conflicting Goal and its Impact on the Level of Supply Chain Integration between Supply Chain Partners in the Automotive Industry – From Manufacturing SME’s Perspective Background: Supply chain integration assists SMEs to improve their operational performance, however the existing theories in supply chain integration are mostly from the LEs perspective. Therefore this thesis chose to focus on the level of supply chain integration from manufacturing SMEs perspective. Nevertheless supply chain integration is not simple due to conflicting goal, which exists between supply chain partners. Based on previous knowledge, the level of supply chain integration is affected by conflicting goal, which exits between supply chain partners. We believe that this is based on how the conflicting goal has been managed. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to obtain an understanding if the level of integration in the automotive industry between the manufacturing SME and its customer is affected by how the conflicting has been managed. Method: This thesis is a multiple case study and was conducted with a deductive approach. The empirical findings were gathered through qualitative interviews with semi-structured interview guides. Conclusions: The conclusions of this thesis are that the level of supply chain integration, which exists between manufacturing SME and its customer, is low/medium. Furthermore, the conflicting goal, which exists between these partners, are that the demand of delivery and volume flexibility, storage flexibility, demand of quality level and the relatively high manufacturing complexity as well as downstream complexity. Finally, the result of this thesis shows that the level of supply chain integration is affected by how the conflicting goal has been managed.

In the rapid pace of globalization and new market competition, the New Product Development (NPD) and the Supply Chain Management (SCM) represent today a frontier to obtain competitive advantages to companies. One interface between NPD and the SCM, the Supplier Integration (SI) has proved to be effective as competitive advantage. However, there is a lack of research on how human variables, such as national culture, can moderate the effectiveness of Supplier Integration on those fields. Therefore, this study investigates the relationships between Supplier Integration from the Product-Process-Supply Chain triad and the National Culture Dimensions. I conducted an exploratory case study in 3 companies in the automobilist industry that operates as a Modular Consortium (MC) in Southern Brazil and used the Hofstede´s (2001) national culture dimensions to model national cultural factors. The findings show an evident relation between Supplier Integration with the Low Power Distance, Low Individualism and High Uncertainty Avoidance poles, while no Masculinity and Longterm Orientation pole was distinct for the Supplier Integration in the case study. The managerial implications of this study is to provide a better understanding of the potential impact of human factor to the Supplier Integration in companies that will have operations in Brazil. / No ritmo acelerado da globalização e nova concorrência no mercado, Desenvolvimento de Novos Produtos (NPD) e Supply Chain Management (SCM) representam hoje uma fronteira para obter vantagens competitivas para as empresas. Uma interface entre o NPD e o SCM, a Integração do Fornecedor (SI) provou ser eficaz como vantagem competitiva. No entanto, há uma falta de investigação sobre como variáveis humanas, tais como cultura nacional, pode moderar a eficácia da integração do fornecedor (SI) nesses campos do conhecimento. Portanto, este estudo investiga as relações entre fornecedor Integração da Cadeia na tríade Produto-Processo-Cadeia de Suprimentos e as Dimensões da Cultura Nacional. Para tal foi realizado um estudo de caso exploratório em três empresas do setor automobilístico que operam no Consórcio Modular (MC) no Sudeste do Brasil e usaram-se as dimensões culturais de Hofstede\'s (2001) para modelar fatores humanos. Os resultados mostram uma evidente relação entre a integração do fornecedor com a baixa Distância do Poder, baixo Individualismo e elevada Aversão à Incerteza, no entanto não foram obtidas relações evidentes para as dimensões Masculinidade e Orientação a Longo Prazo para a Integração do Fornecedor no estudo de caso. A principal colaboração deste trabalho é o fornecimento de uma melhor compreensão do potencial impacto do fator humano para a integração do fornecedor em empresas que possuem operações no Brasil.

El texto completo de este trabajo no está disponible en el Repositorio Académico UPC por restricciones de la casa editorial donde ha sido publicado. / El texto completo de este trabajo no está disponible en el Repositorio Académico UPC por restricciones de la casa editorial donde ha sido publicado. / This research analyzes the Peruvian organic production coffee industry, the relationship between Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Supply Chain Integration (SCI) concerning the performance of the Cooperatives and the Coffee Associations in Junin Region of Peru. It also analyzes the current scenario of the Coffee Sector and the participation of the Supply Chain (SC) in the processing and distribution of Organic Coffee in Junin, Peru. A diagnosis was made to the certified organizations from the market. The diagnosis and the surveys indicated that they do not have a correct flow of information, shared goals and objectives, strategic decisions, and sourcing materials among the different parties demonstrating the lack of interrelationship among the members. The final objective of this research is to improve the competitiveness of these organizations through the increase in the performance of the SC, for which a model of supply chain integration is proposed. / Revisión por pares

D. Tech. (Logistics, Faculty of Management Science), Vaal University of Technology / The strategic importance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and their role in stimulating economic growth and competitiveness in many countries are well documented in literature. The same applies to South Africa, where the SME sector has grown tremendously to become an important contributor to social and economic development through employment creation and constant input to the gross domestic product. However, in spite of these contributions, South African SMEs face numerous challenges, which negatively impact their prospects for growth and success. Some of these challenges include the limited access to financial capital, the lack of infrastructure and the lack of skills, which play a significant role in the high mortality rate of SMEs. One of the proposed solutions to address these operational challenges is the adoption of supply chain management strategies to strengthen the operational and long-term capabilities of SMEs. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between supply chain management best practices, supply chain agility, risk management and supply chain performance in South African SMEs. The study applied a quantitative approach in which a cross-sectional survey design was used to collect data to test direct and indirect relationships between different constructs (buyer-supplier collaboration, supply chain integration, total quality management, IT adoption, supply chain agility, supply chain risk management and supply chain performance). A structured survey questionnaire was developed using adapted measurement scales and administered to 407 randomly selected SME owners, managers and professional employees who had some knowledge about supply chain management. The collected quantitative data were analysed using the Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS version 24.0) and the Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS version 24.0) statistical software. The actual data analyses techniques applied included descriptive statistics and inferential statistics using structural equation modelling. The latter included a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to test the psychometric properties of measurement scales and the testing of the six hypotheses using the path analyses technique. The results of the study showed positive and significant relationships between all supply chain management practices and supply chain agility. Specifically, buyer-supplier collaboration and total quality management exerted a moderate and significant influence on supply chain agility. Moreover, IT adoption had a strong positive and significant relationship with supply chain agility iv while supply chain integration had a weak but significant relationship with the same factor. More results provided from the analysis confirmed the existence of a very strong and significant relationship between supply chain agility and supply chain risk management. In turn, supply chain risk management had a strong positive relationship with supply chain performance. The study also takes note of its contributions to highlight its merits. From a theoretical perspective, it provides an in-depth examination of some driving factors to supply chain agility, supply chain risk management and supply chain performance within SMEs. Given that a study of this nature has not been performed before amongst South African SMEs, the results are an essential addition to the existing body of literature within the area of supply chain management within SMEs in developing countries such as South Africa. From a management perspective, the study suggests that specific attention should be directed to all of the four supply chain management practices (buyer-supplier collaboration, supply chain integration, IT adoption and total quality management) considered as possible avenues to address operational challenges in SMEs.