The raison d'être for this article is simple: traditional ways of researching, theorizing, and practicing purchasing and supply management (PSM) are no longer sufficient to ‘meet the moment’. Scholars need to advance a “business-not-as-usual” footing approach to their work, if they are to make a meaningful contribution to addressing the current and future emergencies, as highlighted by recent extreme weather and the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, what can this, or should this, mean for a field rooted in traditional business thinking? This article builds on the Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management's (JPSM) 25th Anniversary Special Issue editorial (2019);members of the JPSM's editorial team advance their unique perspectives on what “business-not-as-usual” means for PSM. Specifically, we advocate both thinking much more widely, in scope and ambition, than we currently do, and simultaneously building our ability to comprehend supply chains in a more nuanced and granular way. We explore whether the bias toward positivist work has omitted potentially interesting findings, and viewpoints. This leads to a call to re-think how we approach our work: should the key criteria always be to focus on theory development or testing? Should academics “think bigger”? Turning to specific research themes, illustrations of how our current thinking can be challenged or broadened by addressing the circular economy, and role of purchasing and innovation. Specifically, the focus on the PSM function as an intrapreneur within the larger organization, and the role of innovation and technology in PSM work. Taken together, we hope the ideas and arguments presented here will inform and inspire ambitious and novel approaches to PSM research with significant and enduring impact on the transformation of business.

This paper investigates the in-plant logistics processes in automotive manufacturing and specifically, the material flows between the storage facility, the production lines, and the internal returns area. The aim is to improve the efficiency of the plant by looking at the current material flows of the case study company. Qualitative and quantitative data was collected through interviews and personal observations and was analysed. Using discrete event-based simulation, the current material flows were investigated. Our analysis showed that in plant's internal returns area efficiency gains are possible by reducing traffic congestion. A solution with minor changes in the layout was proposed and tested which showed an increase in the capacity of the system and a reduction in delays.

AbstractCompanies operate in a macro-environment that is changing considerably due to large, transformative global forces namely megatrends and trends. The wave of these megatrends and trends generates new prospects as well as challenges for the future of supply chains. This chapter provides a review of 23 major megatrends and 72 trends identified in multiple dimensions along Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental (PESTLE) dimensions. The results are based on a systematic literature review and an experts’ workshop, and can be used to generate future supply chain scenarios.

This research aims to explore ways to improve transport efficiency in retail multi-tier supply chains by integrating raw material sourcing of suppliers into the transport network. The performance of the proposed scenario is assessed using a discrete-event simulation (DES) model that includes the additional pick-up and drop-off points of an extended transport network. The results suggest an improvement in the transport network efficiency, evidenced in the reduction of empty running levels and costs. This study supports the idea that the integration of raw material sourcing of suppliers into a retailer's transport network can bring significant benefits.

Purpose To study how supply chain decision makers gather, process and use the available internal and external information when facing supply chain disruptions. Design/methodology/approach The paper reviews relevant supply chain literature to build an information management model for disruption management. Afterwards, three case studies in the vehicle assembly sector, namely cars, trucks and aircraft wings, bring the empirical insights to the information management model. Findings This research characterises the phases of disruption management and identifies the information companies use to recover from a variety of disruptive events. It presents an information management model to enhance supply chain visibility and support disruption management at the operational level. Moreover, it arrives at two design propositions to help companies in the redesign of their disruption discovery and recovery processes. Originality/value This research studies how companies manage operational disruptions. The proposed information management model allows to provide visibility to support the disruption management process. Also, based on the analysis of the disruptions occurring at the operational level we propose a conceptual model to support decision makers in the recovery from daily disruptive events.

Aston Logistics & Systems Institute, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Aston University, Aston Triangle, Birmingham, B4 7ET, UK, Email: kalaitzd@aston.ac.uk and a.matopoulos@aston.ac.uk 2 Institute of Industrial Technologies and Automation (ITIA-CNR), Via Alfonso Corti, 12 20133 Milano, Italy, E-mail: irene.marchiori@itia.cnr.it 3 MIT International Logistics Program, Zaragoza Logistics Center, C/ Bari 55, Edificio Náyade 5 (PLAZA) 50197, Zaragoza, Spain. E-mail: vmuerza@zlc.edu.es 4 INESCT TEC Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science, Campus da FEUP, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200 465 Porto, Portugal. E-mail: kerley.s.pires@inesctec.pt 5 Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics, Joseph-von-Fraunhofer-Str. 2-4, 44137 Dortmund, Germany. Email: saskia.sardesai@iml.fraunhofer.de

This paper explores the importance of perceived organisational justice in times of crises, when supplier commitment has the potential to offset the negative impact of external pressures on business performance. We draw data from a survey of 117 suppliers of a major Greek grocery retailer. The grocery retail sector in Greece suffered considerably during the peak of the financial crisis, in 2016, providing a unique opportunity to explore the role of fairness in buyer-supplier relationships in times of crisis. The paper makes a distinct contribution by exploring the role that POJ plays in mitigating the impact of a financial crisis on suppliers’ performance, both operational and financial. Moreover, we explore the role of commitment as a mediator between POJ and performance, in the specific context of a financial crisis. Our findings indicate that organisational justice influences firm performance through commitment and that the financial crisis moderates the relationship.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the implications of supply chain strategies that manufacturing companies can use to minimise or overcome natural resource scarcity, and ultimately improve resource efficiency and achieve competitive advantage. The relationship between resource efficiency and competitive advantage is also explored. Design/methodology/approach The proposed research model draws on resource dependence theory. Data were collected from 183 logistics, purchasing, sustainability and supply chain managers from various manufacturing companies and analysed by applying the partial least squares structural equation modelling technique. Findings The results indicate that both buffering and bridging strategies improve resource efficiency; however, only bridging strategies seem to lead to firm’s competitive advantage in terms of ownership and accessibility to resources. The relationship between resource efficiency and competitive advantage is not supported. Research limitations/implications Future research could confirm the robustness of these findings by using a larger sample size and taking into account other supply chain members. Practical implications This research provides guidance to managers faced with the growing risk of resource scarcity to achieve a resource efficient supply chain and an advantage over competitors. Originality/value Studies have explored the appropriate strategies for minimising dependencies caused by the scarcity of natural resources in the field of supply chain management; however, there is limited empirical work on investigating the impact of these strategies on resource efficiency and competitive advantage.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate dependencies that arise between companies during the ramp-up of production volume in the electric vehicle (EV) supply chain. Design/methodology/approach An inter-company case study method has been used. Data were collected via tours of manufacturing plants, workshops and interviews from multiple tiers in a supply chain, namely, a niche EV manufacturer, as well as two of its tier-one suppliers and five of its tier-two suppliers. Findings As production volumes increased, a more relational approach was found to be necessary in inter-company relationships. The authors’ research showed that key suppliers, in addition to providing the parts, pursued a supply chain orchestrator’s role by offering direct support and guidance to the niche EV manufacturer in designing and executing its development plans. Research limitations/implications The resource dependence theory (RDT) is used to analyse and explain the changing dependencies throughout the planning and execution of production ramp-up. Practical implications This study will help supply chain managers to better manage resource dependencies during production ramp-up. Originality/value This study explores dependencies during the early stages of the production ramp-up process in the EV sector, which is in itself in the early stages of evolution. RDT is used for the first time in this context. This study has moved beyond a simple dyadic context, by providing empirical insights into the actions taken by an EV manufacturer and its suppliers, towards a multi-tier supply chain context, to better manage resource dependencies.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the implications of natural resource scarcity (NRS) for companies’ supply chain strategies. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on the resource dependence theory (RDT), a conceptual model is developed and validated through the means of exploratory research. The empirical work includes the assessment of qualitative data collected via 22 interviews representing six large multinational companies from the manufacturing sector. Findings: When the resources are scarce and vitally important, companies use buffering strategies. Buffering and bridging strategies are preferred when there are a few alternative suppliers for the specific resource and when there is limited access to scarce natural resources. Research limitations/implications: The research focuses on large multinational manufacturing companies so results may not be generalised to other sectors and to small- and medium-sized firms. Future research needs to examine the implications of NRS for organisational performance. Practical implications: This research provides direction to manufacturing companies for adopting the best supply chain strategy to cope with NRS. Originality/value: This paper adds to the body of knowledge by providing new data and empirical insights into the issue of NRS in supply chains. The RDT has not been previously employed in this context. Past studies are mainly conceptual and, thus, the value of this paper comes from using a qualitative approach on gaining in-depth insights into supply chain-related NRS strategies and its antecedents.

In conjunction with the European Union (EU) targets, the United Kingdom (UK) Government has introduced a range of mechanisms to foster the development and deployment of low carbon energy technologies and markets. This study focuses on the three main financial incentive schemes to promote renewable energy sector in the UK for electricity, heat and fuel production from renewables, namely feed-in tariff (FiT), Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) and Renewables Obligation Certificate (RoC), considering the fact that optimal policy design depends on effective analyses of the impacts of incentives on the performance of renewable energy systems. The effects of potential changes in these incentive schemes on the economic and environmental performance of bioenergy sector are investigated using an analytical methodology. The methodology integrates fuzzy decision making and multi objective mathematical modelling in the same framework to capture uncertainties in the system parameters as well as economic and environmental sustainability aspects. Computational experiments are performed on bioenergy production using the entire West Midlands Region in the UK as case study region. The results reveal that the changes in incentive policies have a significant impact on the profitability of the supply chain, whereas environmental performance of the supply chain in terms of total GHG emissions is the least affected performance indicator by the changes in the incentive policies.

The design of waste to bioenergy supply chains (W-BESC) is critically important for meeting the circular economy (CE) goals, whilst also ensuring environmental sustainability in the planning and operation of energy systems. This study develops a novel optimization methodology to aid sustainable design and planning of W-BESC that comprise multiple technologies as well as multiple product and feedstock types. The methodology identifies the optimum supply chain configuration and plans the logistics operations in a given region to meet the energy demand of specified nodes. A scenario based fuzzy multi objective modelling approach is proposed and utilized to capture the economic and environmental sustainability aspects in the same framework. We test the proposed model using the entire West Midlands (WM) region from the United Kingdom (UK) as a case study. In this scope, a comprehensive regional supply chain is designed to meet the energy and biofertilizer demand of specific nodes considering available waste and crop type biomass in the region. Further analysis is conducted to reveal the impacts of main economic and technological parameters on the supply chain performance indicators.

Developing and employing effective design methodologies can significantly improve the economic and environmental viability of renewable production processes. This study contributes by presenting a novel bi-level decision support system (DSS) to aid modelling and optimization of multi technology, multi product supply chains and co-modal transportation networks for biomass based (bio-based) production combining two multi-objective mathematical models. Considering the supply chain configuration optimized by the first level of the DSS, in the second level, the transportation network is designed specifying the most appropriate transportation mode and related transportation option under transfer station availability limitations. A hybrid solution methodology that integrates fuzzy set theory and ε-constraint method is proposed. This methodology handles the system specific uncertainties addressing the economic and environmental sustainability aspects by capturing trade-offs between conflicting objectives in the same framework. To explore the viability of the proposed models and solution methodology, a regional supply chain and transportation network is designed using the entire West Midlands (WM) region of the UK as a testing ground. Additionally, scenario and sensitivity analyses are conducted to provide further insights into design and optimization of the biomass based supply chains.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand how reverse resource exchanges and resource dependencies are managed in the service supply chain (SSC) of returnable transport packaging (RTP). Design/methodology/approach A single case study was conducted in the context of automotive logistics focusing on the RTP SSC. Data were collected through 16 interviews, primarily with managers of a logistics service provider (LSP) and document analysis of contractual agreements with key customers of the packaging service. Findings Resource dependencies among actors in the SSC result from the importance of the RTP for the customer’s production processes, the competition among users for RTP and the negative implications of the temporary unavailability of RTP for customers and the LSP (in terms of service performance). Amongst other things, the LSP is dependent on its customers and third-party users (e.g. the customer’s suppliers) for the timely return of package resources. The role of inter-firm integration and collaboration, formal contracts as well as customers’ power and influence over third-party RTP users are stressed as key mechanisms for managing LSP’s resource dependencies. Research limitations/implications A resource dependence theory (RDT) lens is used to analyse how reverse resource exchanges and associated resource dependencies in SSCs are managed, thus complementing the existing SSC literature emphasising the bi-directionality of resource flows. The study also extends the recent SSC literature stressing the role of contracting by empirically demonstrating how formal contracts can be mobilised to explicate resource dependencies and to specify, and regulate, reverse exchanges in the SSC. Practical implications The research suggests that logistics providers can effectively manage their resource dependencies and regulate reverse exchanges in the SSC by deploying contractual governance mechanisms and leveraging their customers’ influence over third-party RTP users. Originality/value The study is novel in its application of RDT, which enhances our understanding of the management of reverse exchanges and resource dependencies in SSCs.