Under the unifying theme of supply chain learning, this three essay dissertation extends scholarship by investigating these multi-tier relationships. Theory is emerged, grounded in data, gathered from functioning supply chains in an effort to provide scholars and practitioners with an increased understanding of the SCL phenomena. Essay 1, entitled "Supply Chain Learning: An Exploratory Literature Review" examines the current literature in an attempt to address the shortcomings and emerge areas that have been less explored and less understood. By exposing these areas of research opportunities using a grounded theory methodology, a framework was emerged allowing identification of the limitations of extant literature and providing a springboard for future research. This framework also allowed further investigation into the SCL processes and expansion of the current understanding by providing academia with a comprehensive review of the literature and revealing the shortcomings that exist related to SCL. Using the framework emerged in Essay 1, Essay 2 entitled "Toward Supply Chain Learning: A Focus on the Customers of Logistics Service Providers" explores the rationalization and cognitive processes of senior level executives of firms utilizing national or global supply chains. These respondents are directly engaged in creating, establishing and operating relationships with third party logistics (3PL) providers within a functioning supply chain. By examining the relationships and processes from the point of view of customers of third party logistics providers, a unique perspective provides insight into these relationships. Using semi-structured interviews with these executives, grounded theory was once again used to emerge theory explaining the phenomena of SCL. In particular, this research examines the elements studied from the perspective of customers of third party logistics providers as they seek to develop new processes and solutions in hopes of obtaining a competitive advantage by adaptive learning with the help of their providers and trading partners. In addition, this research increases our understanding of SCL by examining a relationship between customers and 3PL providers, their experiences and outcomes. Essay 3, entitled "Practical Application of Supply Chain Learning" focuses on the implications of the learning relationship and its impact on the practitioner. By providing the findings of the research in a context relatable to practitioners, this culmination of findings allows practitioners to relate the findings directly to their existing supply chains. Realizing that many supply chains are relationship driven, this research focuses on the findings of previous research to provide a more holistic view of the learning relationship process as it exists in multiple tiers of their existing supply chain. Providing a step-by-step explanation of the SCL process as emerged from previous research, executives are provided a tool to better identify, analyze and understand these processes as relatable in their existing environment. As a methodical analysis of the IOL process, these essays provide the foundation for understanding the relationship process that exists between learning partners in a supply chain. Essay 1 provides basis for theory development by examining current literature and exposing the shortcomings while also emerging a preliminary framework on which to build future research. Essay 2 follows up on these deficiencies and attempts to saturate understanding of the IOL process, particularly from the point of view of 3PL customers in an existing supply chain. Essay 3 delivers these findings to executives in a relatable format, providing a holistic understanding of the phenomena. In summation, this dissertation provides theory emerged from data, explaining the learning relationship from the point of view of the customers of 3PL services, the cognitive dimensions and outcomes of these decisions as they relate to learning in the supply chain.

How supply chain visibility could benefit the field of supply chain management is well-known, both within academia and among practitioners. However, less is known about the challenges that supply chain visibility may be coupled with, especially when it comes to organisational challenges for a broader market presence where actors may have conflicting incentives. This thesis tries to explore this issue and does so through a case study by analyzing organisational challenges for supply chain visibility to see greater presence in the third-party logistics market. Most importantly, the findings suggest that an ecosystem perspective is necessary inorder to fully comprehend the organisational challenges. By applying an ecosystem perspective, previously known challenges can be better understood by connecting them with market dynamics, and it also revealed previously unknown challenges related to regulatory challenges. The purpose of this thesis is not to provide definitive theory, but rather show the promise of utilizing an ecosystem perspective in the contemporary supply chain visibility field. This could prove helpful within academia as well as for practitioners. / Det är välkänt hur supply chain visibility kan gynna supply chain management, både inom akademin och för yrkesverksamma. Däremot är det mindre känt vilka utmaningar som är förknippade med marknadsetablering av supply chain visibility, särskilt när det gäller organisatoriska utmaningar. Denna uppsats syftar till att utforska dessa utmaningar genom en fallstudie, med fokus främst på de organisatoriska utmaningar som supply chain visibility skulle kunna innebära inom tredjepartslogistik. Den viktigaste insikten från denna studie är att ett ekosystemsperspektiv är nödvändigt för att fullt ut förstå de organisatoriska utmaningarna. Genom att tillämpa ett ekosystemsperspektiv kan tidigare okända utmaningar bättre förstås genom att kopplas samman med marknadsdynamik. Dessutom upptäcktes en ny kategori av utmaningar som tidigare forskning inte har redogjort för, nämligen juridiska utmaningar. Syftet med denna uppsats var inte att skapa ett definitivt ramverk utan att visa möjligheterna med tillämpning av ett ekosystemsperspektiv inom det för närvarande heta ämnet supply chain visibility. Detta kan vara till nytta både för forskare och yrkesverksamma.

This research builds off previous research conducted in 2009 which included a survey of healthcare professionals assessing their organization’s levels of supply chain maturity (SCM) and data standard readiness (DSR) from 1 to 5 [Smith, 2011]. With the survey data, Smith developed a 0-1 quadratic program to conserve the maximum amount of survey data while removing non-responses. This research uses the quadratic program as well as other machine learning algorithms and analysis methods to investigate what factors contribute to an organization’s SCM and DSR levels the most. No specific factors were found; however, different levels of prediction accuracy were achieved across the five different subsets and algorithms. he best accuracy prediction SCM model was linear discriminant analysis on the Reduced subset at 50.84% while the highest prediction accuracy for DSR was stepwise regression on the PCA subset at 45.00%. Most misclassifications found in this study were minimal.

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The proposed research investigated specific cultural attributes of supply chain teams that enable the transformation of a firm’s working supply chain into a high-performing supply chain (what is considered “best-in-class” in its peer group), thereby increasing the overall firm value. The findings of the research indicate that throughout global supply chains, the practice of leadership is considered more impactful and more value creating than the practice of process. Moreover, specific leadership influences cultural attributes and, when practiced, can also generally increase firm value. A comprehensive review of current literature about supply chain teams and organizational culture as well as supply chain team engineering was conducted to determine the significance of culture in high-performing firms, regardless of industry. In the discipline of supply chain management (SCM), significant research exists for the usual business focus areas of improving cost, quality, and service. However, there is limited research about the construct of culture and, in particular, high-performing supply chain culture. Furthermore, this research examined the extent to which the combination of supply chain team culture, as influenced by leadership and a highly engineered supply chain team process contribute to a firm’s success. Data were collected from senior supply chain executives from a cross-section of low, mid, and large market capitalization firms. Additionally, stakeholder value-added metrics of two-year firm performance were used to define successful, sustainable public firm performance. The implications of this research, when practiced, can act as enabler for increasing firm supply chain performance, thereby assisting firms with a successful value-creating framework. / Business Administration/Interdisciplinary

The Hardwood Industry in United States has been challenged by low-cost competition from overseas. Although cost reduction strategies have had minimal success, the proximity of industry to the domestic market has large implications on a more customer-focused strategy. The problem arises that individual companies and supply chains evolved based on the principles of economies of size and not on the flexibility to adapt to customer needs and changing resource constraints. An increased rate at which material and information flows through the hardwood supply chains is the key to the industries' ability to be customer-focused. Information systems may offer benefits for the industry, but changes in material flow of a company or supply chain cannot necessarily be predicted when implementing information systems. It was hypothesized that by understanding the dynamics between information flow and material flow throughout the supply chain, performance improvement would be possible through more effective release and use of information. A case study analysis of a hardwood supply chain was utilized to identify the effect of increased information flow on the material flow of the supply chain. Value Stream Mapping was utilized to benchmark the current state of lead times of information flow and material flow. System Dynamics was utilized to understand the relationships between the information flow and the material flow. Finally, simulations were performed to identify the specific effects on material flow as increased information flow is released through different information strategies. The study showed that increased information flow between supply chain members increased material flow through the supply chain. For a case study supply chain, an increase in information flow, through advanced knowledge of customer demand by a supplier, was found to reduce the inventory buffers throughout the supply chain by up to 38 percent and increase the total material flow through the supply chain by 10 percent. In addition to the increased information flow caused by the advanced knowledge of demand (18 percent), information flow would increase (by an additional 7 percent) based on the reductions in buffer inventory within each company of the supply chain. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study is to examine apparel manufacturers' inventory performance, which is one of the major performance indicators of supply chain management (SCM) with the consideration of company characteristics. The objectives of the study are (a) to identify the level of SCM activities of apparel manufacturers, (b) to examine the differences of apparel manufacturers' characteristics (i.e., product characteristic, production system, fabric suppliers, retail customers) according to the level of SCM activities, and (c) to illustrate how the SCM activities and apparel manufacturers' characteristics relate to the inventory management performance in terms of levels within the type (i.e., raw material, work-in-process, finished goods). Through an intensive literature review six SCM dimensions and 26 SCM activities were identified and four company characteristics selected for the study were found to influence the company performance. Inventory levels within the type were compared as a result of levels of SCM activities and company characteristics. Data were collected via a self-administered mail questionnaire sent to a random proportional stratified sample of 1,195 US apparel manufacturers in SIC 231 to 234. In the data analyses, 93 returned surveys were used with the adjusted response rate of 9.49%. Cluster analysis was used to identify the SCM activity groups who showed different levels of SCM activities. Factor analysis was used to determine the number of SCM dimensions and SCM activity scales, and to identify the SCM activity level of each cluster. ANOVA, Chi-square, Tukey-test, matched sample t-test, t-test, regression, and correlation were employed to determine the relationships between SCM activity level, company characteristics and inventory levels within the type. Statistical analyses supported the research hypotheses. Apparel manufacturers' SCM activity level differs and company characteristics are significantly related with the SCM activity level. Company characteristics and SCM activity level are significantly related with the inventory performance. Findings imply that basic goods manufacturers are more likely to see the benefits of SCM activity implementation in inventory performance. Lead-time for fashion goods procurement, production, and delivery takes longer than basic goods and is hard to be shortened. Limitations of the study and suggestions for future study were discussed. / Ph. D.

In a three paper essay series we address the human impact in SCRM from the microeconomic and macroeconomic perspectives. First, using a positivist theory building approach, we synthesize behavioral risk management and supply chain risk management theory to propose behavioral supply chain risk management as a new topic area. This paper is microeconomic in nature and focuses mostly on individuals as the unit of analysis in a SCRM context. Second, we introduce cross-impact analysis as a scenariobased supplier selection methodology. We demonstrate how cross-impact analysis can be used to provide supply chain decision-makers with probability estimates of the future viability of the members of a given set of possible suppliers in a backdrop of macroeconomic risk. The third and final paper in the series incorporates the probability estimates resulting from a cross-impact analysis exercise into a hybrid stochastic mixed-integer programming (SMIP) technique CIA-SMIP. We demonstrate how the CIA-SMIP approach can be utilized as a single-source supplier selection model. In its totality, this dissertation represents a step towards the theoretical framing of the human impact on SCRM into two main distinguishable areas: microeconomic and macroeconomic. / Ph. D. / In this three paper essay series we address the human impact in SCRM from the microeconomic and macroeconomic perspectives. First, using a positivist theory building approach, we synthesize behavioral risk management and supply chain risk management theory to propose behavioral supply chain risk management as a new topic area. This paper is microeconomic in nature and focuses mostly on individuals as the unit of analysis in a SCRM context. Second, we introduce cross-impact analysis as a scenario-based supplier selection methodology. We demonstrate how cross-impact analysis can be used to provide supply chain decision-makers with probability estimates of the future viability of the members of a given set of possible suppliers in a backdrop of macroeconomic risk. The third and final paper in the series incorporates the probability estimates resulting from a cross-impact analysis exercise into a hybrid stochastic mixed-integer programming (SMIP) technique CIA-SMIP. We demonstrate how the CIA-SMIP approach can be utilized as a singlesource supplier selection model. In its totality, this dissertation represents a step towards the theoretical framing of the human impact on SCRM into two main distinguishable areas: microeconomic and macroeconomic.