Implementing strategies and polices and maintain standards are essential to improving supply chain systems. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies miniconvenience store managers used to mitigate supply chain disruptions to sustain productivity and increase profits. The population was 4 managers of miniconvenience stores within gas stations located in the southeastern region of the United States who successfully maintained productivity during a supply chain disruption. The conceptual framework for this study was resource dependency theory. Data were collected using company documents, face-to-face interviews and semistructured, open-ended questions. Two themes were identified from the data analysis: building relationships and effective communication. The findings from this study could contribute to positive social change by providing miniconvenience store managers with strategies to increase supply chain capabilities while reducing the impact disruptions have on business performance, customer satisfaction, and profitability. Store managers who minimize supply chain disruptions might improve organizational operative purchasing, decrease prices, increase customer gratification, and improve the standard of living for customers in the communities served.

In Nigeria, seaport companies have lost significant revenue since 2000 because of supply chain disruptions. If not mitigated, supply chain disruptions at Nigerian seaports will significantly affect organizational output and profitability. The purpose of this research was to explore strategies some seaport business leaders use to mitigate supply chain disruptions in Lagos, Nigeria. Supply chain management theory was the conceptual framework for this single case study. Data were collected using semistructured interviews with 4 participants from a Nigerian seaport company tbat adopted successful strategies to mitigate supply chain disruptions and review of company documents for methodological triangulation. Using thematic analysis, the 5 primary themes were corruption, seaport congestion, bureaucratic bottleneck, equipment failures, and employee disputes. Customer satisfaction and business profitability were 2 primary strategies the business leaders in the study used to mitigate supply chain disruptions. By implementing the strategies identified in the study, business leaders in the Nigerian seaport sector may be able to bring about positive social change by increasing business profitability. The strategies could increase employment opportunities for people in seaport cities, thereby decreasing the poverty level and leading to a better standard of living for residents.

D. Tech. (Logistics management, Faculty of Management Science), Vaal University of Technology / Nowadays, the business environment is characterised by faster technological development, customer satisfaction, shorter product life cycles, and more intense global competition. This new competitive landscape has forced firms to acquire new ways to achieve competitive advantage actively since a firm's competitive advantage is now dependent on operating efficiency and productivity across functional areas of the firm. The most successful manufacturers seem to be those that have carefully linked their internal processes to external suppliers and customers in unique supply chains. The manufacturing sector represents 15 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) of the South African commercial industry. Competitive challenges in the modern business environment have resulted in the need for firms to collaborate their business processes strategically across other business units within the supply chain. Supply chain network theory, dynamic capabilities theory, and the resource-based view theory are discussed to better understand the importance of firms' supply chain capabilities, supply chain agility, and firm performance. The primary objective of this research study was to investigate the association between supply chain capabilities (supply chain network design, supply chain information competency, and supply chain integration) and supply chain agility on firm performance in the manufacturing sector of the Gauteng province in South Africa. It also aimed to ascertain the kind of relationships between supply chain network with supply chain agility, supply chain network with firm performance, supply chain information competency with supply chain agility, supply chain integration with supply chain agility, supply chain integration with firm performance, and finally supply chain agility with firm performance. Structured questionnaires were distributed to various manufacturing firms in the Gauteng province. The data were collected from manufacturing firm managers and owners. SPSS 25.0 was used to analyse the data, and AMOS 25.0 used to perform the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and path analysis. The structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to assess the proposed model fit and to test the statistically significant relationship between the various hypotheses. The research study results revealed that supply chain technologies and supply chain vi agility positively influence firm manufacturing performance. This study contributes new knowledge to the existing literature by providing a research framework that can enhance manufacturing firms' performance and also offer practical recommendations based on the research findings for manufacturing firms and future research. Furthermore, as one of the first studies to address the association between supply chain capabilities and supply chain agility on firm performance in the Gauteng province, this study generates new insights and information, as well as outlines the strategic reasons for manufacturing firms' managers and owners to improve on their organisational relationships. Hence, the study found that firms have realised significant supply chain coordination through supply chain capabilities and supply chain agility and that firms have been able to attain strategic goals, reduce risks and improve internal and external coordination of operational processes. Keywords: supply chain network design; supply chain information competency; supply chain integration; supply chain agility; firm performance.

Motivation: Previous research has shown that the focal firm’s supply chain leadership styles could have an impact on the outcome of green supply chain management. However, previous studies of focal firms, such as multinational corporations, have shown that many govern their supply chains through an indirect approach, which needs further research due to the lack of research in the combination of different supply chain leadership and followership styles. Previous research has also indicated that little research has been done on barriers to green supply chain management from the supplier's perspective, especially concerning the followership style and governance mechanism. The context of the study is in the electric-automotive industry, and more specifically, on an original equipment manufacturer's multi-tier supply chain, where the increased use of printed circuit boards has shown to have a tremendous negative impact on the climate. Purpose: The study set out to investigate how supply chain leaders and followers, together with their respective styles and governance mechanisms, are cascading green sustainability throughout the printed circuit board’s multi-tier supply chain. An additional purpose is to find out the barriers to green supply chains from the suppliers’ perspective. Methodology: The study takes a qualitative approach with a single case study design. Further, the different members in the OEM's multi-tier supply chain were interviewed with a semi-structured interviewing method, and respondents were found by a snowballing technique. Finally, the interviews were recorded, transcribed, and then coded and thematized in NVivo. Findings: Interesting findings showed that all supply chain members used an indirect approach as the governance mechanism, which led to the suppliers simultaneously assuming both a leadership role and a followership role. Further, contrasting to previous research was that all the closest tier one suppliers assumed an opposite followership style than the OEM’s leadership style; however, what partly confirms previous research is that the supplier’s leadership style was the same as the OEM. In addition, interesting behavior from the tier two suppliers showed that they assumed a different leadership and followership style than the tier one, which was discussed as a potential reason that the tier one suppliers have lesser influence than the OEMs. Lastly, several barriers to reaching green supply chains were discovered. One of the most problematic was the transparency barrier, which complicated collaboration further down the multi-tier supply chain. Another finding indicated that the use of third-parties could harm the motivation of the followers.

Analysis of the supply chain is necessary to improve performance. For this reason, supply chain management (SCM) has received a lot of attention recently and supply chain design (SCD) is a concept that forms an integral part of the adoption and implementation of SCM. Effective SCD contributes towards better supply chain integration (SCI) which, in turn, contributes towards improved supply chain performance. The focus of this study is on the analysis of SCD practices. Designing the supply chain structure is a complex and demanding undertaking that needs to be aligned with the needs of the supply chain’s end customers, because their needs ultimately have to be satisfied. This study proposes a conceptual framework that has been developed from literature to assist organisations in the analysis of their SCD practices, with the aim of improving supply chain performance. The conceptual framework was exploratively tested by means of empirical research to determine whether it can be used as an assessment tool to assess the SCD practices of organisations. The study concluded that the conceptual framework that was developed in this study can be used as an assessment tool with which organisations can analyse their SCD practices. / Business Management / D. Com. (Business Management)

Analysis of the supply chain is necessary to improve performance. For this reason, supply chain management (SCM) has received a lot of attention recently and supply chain design (SCD) is a concept that forms an integral part of the adoption and implementation of SCM. Effective SCD contributes towards better supply chain integration (SCI) which, in turn, contributes towards improved supply chain performance. The focus of this study is on the analysis of SCD practices. Designing the supply chain structure is a complex and demanding undertaking that needs to be aligned with the needs of the supply chain’s end customers, because their needs ultimately have to be satisfied. This study proposes a conceptual framework that has been developed from literature to assist organisations in the analysis of their SCD practices, with the aim of improving supply chain performance. The conceptual framework was exploratively tested by means of empirical research to determine whether it can be used as an assessment tool to assess the SCD practices of organisations. The study concluded that the conceptual framework that was developed in this study can be used as an assessment tool with which organisations can analyse their SCD practices. / Business Management / D. Com. (Business Management)

Wiss. Hochsch. für Unternehmensführung, Diss.--Vallendar, 2004.

Le supply chain management fait l'objet d'une attention particulière de la part des entreprises et des chercheurs notamment en sciences de gestion. Il s'articule autour de la mutualisation de ressources et des compétences de chaque membre de la supply chain et la synergie qui subsiste entre eux afin de créer collectivement une valeur supérieure à la somme des valeurs créées séparément par chacun. Cette alliance, qui nécessite la coopération collective dans la création et le partage équitable de la valeur, est caractérisée par des comportements opportunistes qui entraînent des défaillances comme l'effet Bullwhip. Ainsi, notre objectif est d'analyser ces comportements afin de comprendre leur dynamique au sein de la supply chain. A cet égard, nous nous appuyons sur la perspective des dilemmes sociaux pour proposer deux mécanismes : un mécanisme motivationnel (partage de l'identité de la supply chain) et un mécanisme structurel (investissement dans les ressources relationnelles) pour à la fois réduire et décourager l'opportunisme. Afin d'appuyer notre raisonnement, ces mécanismes sont articulés pour créer un capital social qui, en facilitant le supply chain management, permet d'améliorer la performance de la supply chain. Cela a donné lieu à la conception d'un modèle intégrateur de la dynamique sociale de la supply chain. Celui-ci a été validé auprès d'un échantillon de 130 répondants (Responsables supply chain, directeurs logistiques, etc.). Les données collectées ont été analysées tout d'abord par une analyse univariée, suivie d'une analyse en composantes principales afin d'épurer nos échelle de mesure. En second lieu, nous avons fait appel aux modèles d'équations structurelles PLS-PM (régressions aux moindres carrées partiels), pour estimer d'une part, la validité convergente ainsi que la validité discriminante des échelles de mesures, et d'autre part, valider nos hypothèses de recherche relatives aux antécédents et aux conséquences du capital social de la supply chain. Les résultats d'analyse nous ont permis de valider toutes les hypothèses selon lesquelles les deux mécanismes de résolution du dilemme social permettent de développer un capital social au sein de la supply chain qui, en agissant comme un lubrificateur des relations inter-organisationnelle, permet d'améliorer la performance de la supply chain. / Supply chain management is subject of particular interest to professionals and researchers especially in management science. It revolves around the sharing of resources and expertise between supply chain members, and the synergy that exists between them to collectively create value that is more than the sum of the values created separately by each member. This alliance, which requires collective cooperation in the creation and the equitable sharing of the value, is characterized by opportunistic behaviors that lead to failure, as illustrated by the Bullwhip effect. Thus, our objective is to analyze these behaviors in an attempt to understand their dynamics within the supply chain. In this regard, we rely on the perspective of social dilemmas to propose two mechanisms: a motivational mechanism (sharing the identity of the supply chain) and a structural mechanism (investment in relational resources) to discourage and reduce opportunism. To support our reasoning, these mechanisms are articulated to create social capital, facilitating supply chain management, in turn improving supply chain performance. This leads to the design of an integrative model of supply chain social dynamics. This was validated with a sample of 130 respondents (supply chain heads, logistics managers, etc.). The collected data were analyzed first by univariate analysis followed by principal component analysis to refine our scale. Second, we used PLS-PM (partial least squares regression) structural equation models to estimate, on one hand, the convergent and the discriminant validity of the measurement scales validity, and on the other hand, validate our research hypotheses on the antecedents and the consequences of social capital in the supply chain. The results of these analyses have allowed us to validate all the assumptions that the two mechanisms for resolving social dilemma help develop social capital within the supply chain, and act to lubricate inter-organizational relations, allowing improved supply chain performance.

In order to succeed with the Sustainable Development Goals, the mining of minerals will need to not only continue, but increase in the coming years. The extraction of minerals such as gold and cobalt is often associated with human rights violations and the financing of criminal enterprises. This has led to increased pressure on firms to implement effective responsible sourcing practices. While often seen as a major challenge to many firms, if leveraged correctly, responsible sourcing can be turned into significant competitive advantages and increased supply chain visibility. Given the need for more research in this area, the aim of this study is to understand what responsible sourcing practices are used among manufacturing companies so that an approach for responsible sourcing of minerals can be developed. Using a qualitative research design and following a systematic combining approach, interviews with large industrial manufacturers were conducted. Using thematic analysis, this thesis identifies the main drivers, enablers, barriers, and strategies used by manufacturing companies. While the findings show that responsible sourcing is on the agenda for all companies, it is clear that some firms take responsible sourcing more seriously than others. Therefore, it is suggested that firms need to depart from a cost-centric perspective and instead see the benefits and long-term value generated from responsible sourcing. Furthermore, the findings suggest that some companies are becoming increasingly aware of the need to know their supply chain, and how responsible sourcing practices can be beneficial by providing supply chain visibility. However, the current practices are limited because they are an inherently static representation of a dynamic system. The implementation of a supply chain digital twin is therefore presented as a potential way for firms to improve their responsible sourcing practices while at the same time gaining substantial business value. / För att lyckas med målen för hållbar utveckling måste brytningen av mineraler inte bara fortsätta, utan även öka under de kommande åren. Utvinning av mineraler som guld och kobolt är ofta förknippad med kränkningar av mänskliga rättigheter och finansiering av kriminella organisationer. Detta har lett till ett ökat tryck på företag att införa effektiva metoder för ansvarsfullt inköp. Även om det ofta ses som en stor utmaning för många företag kan ansvarsfullt inköp, om det används på rätt sätt, omvandlas till betydande konkurrensfördelar och bidra till ökad synlighet i leveranskedjan. Med tanke på behovet av mer forskning på detta område är syftet med den här studien att förstå vilka metoder för ansvarsfullt inköp som används bland tillverkningsföretag, så att ett tillvägagångssätt för ansvarsfullt inköp av mineraler kan utvecklas. Genom en kvalitativ forskningsdesign och enligt en systematisk kombinationsmetod genomfördes intervjuer med stora tillverkande företag. Med hjälp av tematisk analys identifieras i denna avhandling de viktigaste drivkrafterna, möjliggörarna, hindren och strategierna som används av tillverkningsföretag. Resultaten visar att ansvarsfullt inköp står på agendan för alla företag, men det är tydligt att vissa företag tar ansvarsfullt inköp på större allvar än andra. Därför föreslås det att företag måste avvika från ett kostnadsfokuserat perspektiv och istället se fördelarna och det långsiktiga värdet som genereras av ansvarsfullt inköp. Dessutom tyder resultaten på att vissa företag blir allt mer medvetna om behovet av att känna till sin leverantörskedja och hur ansvarsfulla inköpsmetoder kan vara fördelaktiga genom att ge större synlighet i leverantörskedjan. De nuvarande metoderna är dock begränsade eftersom de är en statisk representation av ett dynamiskt system. Implementeringen av en digital tvilling i försörjningskedjan presenteras därför som ett potentiellt sätt för företag att förbättra sina metoder för ansvarsfulla inköp samtidigt som de får ett betydande affärsvärde.

Introduktion- Den miljömässiga varianten av Supply chain management, även kallad Green supply chain management, har som mål att minimera eller eliminera negativ miljöpåverkan. Onödiga transporter innebär negativ miljöpåverkan. Trots transporters påverkan på miljön, finns lite forskning om samband mellan transporter och Green supply chain management. Syftet med studien är därför att utforma en strategi för att uppnå Green supply chain management och minska på onödiga transporter med fokus på osäkerhet, variation och transparens.   Metod- För att möjliggöra ett besvarande av syfte har en fallstudie bedrivits med hjälp av litteratur och ett fallföretag.   Resultat, analys, diskussion och slutsats - Fallföretaget påverkas negativt av osäkerhet, variation och har även brist på transparens i försörjningskedjan. Onödiga transporter genom återkallningar skapas på grund av kvalitetsbristerskapar hinder för en effektiv supply chain management strategi. Ett systematiskt tillvägagångssätt genom PDCA kan hjälpa fallföretaget att skapa en stabil grund och uppnå Green supply chain management. Det är viktigt att Plan-Do-Check-Act bedrivs med god kommunikation för att skapa transparens, hindra osäkerhet och variation. Green supply chain management kan uppnås genom en kombination av ISO 9001, ISO 14001 och Lean. Dessa delar ska bedrivas med Plan-Do-Check-Act för att minska på onödiga transporter. / Introduction- The environmental variant of Supply Chain Management, also known as the Green supply chain management, aims to minimize or eliminate negative environmental impacts.  Unnecessary transports are a negative environmental aspect and means negative environmental impact. Although transports affect the environment, there is little research on the relationship between transport and Green supply chain management. The purpose of the study is therefore to design a strategy for achieving Green supply chain management and reduce unnecessary transport with a focus on uncertainty, variability and transparency. Method- To enable the answering of purpose, a case study conducted with the help of literature and a case company. Results- The case company is negatively affected by uncertainty, variety, and also by a lack of transparency in the supply chain. Unnecessary transportations through recalls are created because of quality defects. This creates obstacles for a supply chain management strategy to be more effective. A systematic approach by Plan-Do-Check-Act can help the case company to create a stable basis and achieve green supply chain management. It is necessary to conduct Plan-Do-Check-Act with good communication in order to create transparency, prevent uncertainty and variation. Green supply chain management can be achieved through a combination of ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and Lean. These parts should be conducted with PDCA, which can reduce unnecessary transportation.