|
|
Global Supply Chains
A global supply chain spans several countries and regions of the globe. Trade liberalisation (European Union, NAFTA) and information technology have accelerated the growth of global supply chains, whereby a firm can invest and trade across national borders. In some ways, global supply chains are similar to domestic supply chains but the opportunities and challenges are abound in the global scenario. The strategic, tactical, and operational decisions in global supply chains need to take into account new factors related to national boundaries and economies. With global reach and the lean nature, the supply chain also becomes vulnerable to risks which were once ignored irrelevant. Our research focus is on the design and analysis of global supply chains in both manufacturing and services, with special focus and risk mitigation.
PERC Model
The PERC model provides a unique framework for analysis and design of global supply chain networks. The model considers the following four factors: 1) process/product modularity, 2) economic integration, 3) resources and management, and 4) connecting technologies as the integral forces, whose interplay results in the evolution of global supply chain networks. This framework is used for MNC’s location choice, investment climate, and market attractiveness determination. Several performances related issues and supply risk and innovations in emerging countries can be analysed in this framework.
Global Supply Chains under Uncertainties/Risks
With the advent of Internet, IT, and trade liberalisation, the firms evolved to be truly global by adopting integrated management strategies, whereby a set of factories in different countries are treated as a part of the same supply chain. This makes the supply chain highly vulnerable to exogenous random events that create deviations, disruptions, and disasters. Much writings in the recent past as white papers, thought leadership papers, and case studies on supply chain risk management have emphasised that redundancy and flexibility are preemptive strategies that can mitigate loses under random events. But this is against the leanness principles of global supply chains and increases the cost. It is required to tradeoff between the leanness under normal environment and robustness under uncertain environments. Following risk
– exchange rate fluctuations;
– macro-economic changes;
– transportation link failure;
– supply deviation;
– supplier bankruptcy;
– demand uncertainties;
– factory shutdowns;
Taking into consideration the above risk sources, our research foucs is on the following problems:
– Design of Robust Global Sourcing Networks
– Design of Global Production Networks
– Development of Sourcing Contracts
Orchestrator Model
The orchestrator is a management literature metaphor to describe the role of a player who organises and manages a set of activities in a network, by ensuring value-creation opportunities in the system and value appropriation mechanisms for each player. The orchestrators do not own factory floors but have a large pool of service providers in the various stages of the supply chain. The relationship with these providers is loosely-coupled without any strict contracts. Examples of orchestrators are Li & Fung (Hong Kong) in retail and Medion (Germany) in personal computing. In logistics, orchestrators are also referred as 5PL, Global Trade Orchestrator, and IKL (Integrated Knowledge based Logistics Providers). Our research focus is on:
– Service delivery of orchestrators
– Social Network Analysis of the service providers
Procurement of Logistics/Transportation Services
Shippers usually procure transportation services from carriers using periodical contracts. Combinatorial auctions have been found useful in industrial procurement and also in procuring transportation services. One of the issues that have received less attention is the robustness of the winner determination in the auctions. The carriers are subject to the usual uncertainties of bankruptcy and capacity unavailability, and the logistics network as such is vulnerable to disruptions. We focus on designing robust and resilient procurement solutions for buying logistics services.
|
|
|
(1).jpg)