International Journal of Operations & Production Management

Christine Harland; Louise Knight; Richard Lamming; Helen Walker

2005 International Journal of Operations & Production Management

doi: 10.1108/01443570510613929

Purpose – This research aims to assess the risks and benefits of outsourcing for organisations, sectors and nations. The literature on outsourcing contains little evidence of research on holistic issues of its impact at systems levels beyond the firm, notably sectors and nations. Design/methodology/approach – A Delphi study with senior strategists from private and public sectors captured perspectives and specific observations on benefits and risks of outsourcing. Emergent issues on outsourcing policy, strategy and decision‐making processes were synthesised into a framework for analysing factors associated with outsourcing. Findings – The findings suggest that a more holistic view of outsourcing is needed, linking local, organisational issues with sector and national level actions and outcomes. In this way, aggregate risks and benefits can be assessed at different systems levels. Research limitations/implications – Future research might address the motivations for outsourcing; currently there is little research evidence to assess whether outsourcing is a mechanism for failing to solve internal problems, and moving responsibility and risk out of the firm. Additionally most outsourcing research to date has concentrated on an activity either being “in” or “out”; there is little research exploring the circumstances in which mixed models might be appropriate. Practical implications – The framework provides an aid to research and an aide memoire for managers considering outsourcing. Originality/value – This paper contributes to knowledge on understanding of outsourcing at different systems levels, particularly highlighting the implications of outsourcing for sectors and nations. Previously most research has focused at the level of the firm or dyadic relationship.

Chien Leachman; C. Carl Pegels; Seung Kyoon Shin

2005 International Journal of Operations & Production Management

doi: 10.1108/01443570510613938

Purpose – Many studies examine manufacturing performance along individual benchmarking dimensions. This study aims to develop a performance metric based on quality and output volume among other variables to assess a firm's manufacturing competitiveness in relation to its major rivals. Design/methodology/approach – The relative manufacturing performance is measured by data envelopment analysis (DEA). Several key manufacturing practices are examined for their impact on performance. They are research and development (R&D) commitment, time compression during production, and degree of outsourcing. The results are based on a sample from the world automobile industry. Findings – The empirical results suggest that a strong R&D commitment and ability to compress production time explain 37 percent of the manufacturing performance differences among major volume automobile producers. A nonlinear convex relationship is also found between outsourcing rate and manufacturing performance. The results show how the resulting performance ratings can then be utilized to assess the effects of a selected group of practices on manufacturing performance. Research limitations/implications – Since, there is a common basis for the sources of competitiveness among industries, the findings derived from this study are probably transportable to other industries. Also, the proposed metric and analytic approaches are generic and thus can be broadly applied to other industries. The results also suggest the need for further analysis of where improvements can be made within a given company, according to its firm‐specific characteristics. Originality/value – Examines manufacturing performance along individual benchmarking dimensions and develops a performance metric based on quality and output volume to assess a firm's manufacturing competitiveness in relation to its major rivals.

Marek Szwejczewski; Fred Lemke; Keith Goffin

2005 International Journal of Operations & Production Management

doi: 10.1108/01443570510613947

Purpose – Effective management of suppliers is one of the ways manufacturing companies can improve their performance. Typically, it has been argued in the literature that close relationships with suppliers should be developed, in contrast to the traditional price‐driven transactional relationships. However, there has been relatively little empirical research on how supplier management is applied. Design/methodology/approach – This paper presents research probing how manufacturers manage their suppliers and takes a sample from Germany – which has a large manufacturing sector. In‐depth interviews with purchasing managers were used to understand whether relationships with suppliers were being utilised. Findings – The analysis of the data indicates that a significant portion of the companies surveyed had experienced a change in their relationship with suppliers in the last few years. In the main, relationships had become closer and the use of partnerships was in evidence. Practical implications – The research results have implications for German manufacturing companies, as they indicate the potential for improving performance through the greater adoption of best practices in the area of supplier management. The research results indicate the need for German manufacturers to adopt leading‐edge practices in the area of supplier management. Originality/value – Although exploratory in nature, the investigation demonstrated the need for researchers to better understand the range of relationships in a typical manufacturer's supplier base.

Purba Rao; Diane Holt

2005 International Journal of Operations & Production Management

doi: 10.1108/01443570510613956

Purpose – Green supply chain management is a concept that is gaining popularity in the South East Asian region. For many organizations in this region it is a way to demonstrate their sincere commitment to sustainability. However, if green supply chain management practices are to be fully adopted by all organizations in South East Asia, a demonstrable link between such measures and improving economic performance and competitiveness is necessary. This paper endeavors to identify potential linkages between green supply chain management, as an initiative for environmental enhancement, economic performance and competitiveness amongst a sample of companies in South East Asia. Design/methodology/approach – For this purpose a conceptual model was developed from literature sources and data collected using a structured questionnaire mailed to a sample of leading edge ISO14001 certified companies in South East Asia followed by structural equation modelling. Findings – The analysis identified that greening the different phases of the supply chain leads to an integrated green supply chain, which ultimately leads to competitiveness and economic performance. Future research should empirically test the relationships suggested in this paper in different countries, to enable comparative studies. A larger sample would also allow detailed cross‐sectoral comparisons which are not possible in the context of this study. Originality/value – This paper presents the first empirical evaluation of the link between green supply chain management practices and increased competitiveness and improved economic performance amongst a sample of organizations in South East Asia.

Jalal Ashayeri; Willem Selen

2005 International Journal of Operations & Production Management

doi: 10.1108/01443570510613965

Purpose – This paper aims to present a unified approach for effective capacity management, with the flexibility to position the organization across differing market‐orientations, anywhere from produce‐to‐stock to purchase‐and‐produce‐to‐order. Design/methodology/approach – The unified planning system combines capacity management with the external market through the customer order decoupling point (CODP). The approach starts by determining the CODP, using commonality and effect‐cause‐effect analysis. The resulting CODP information is then used to determine the optimal master production schedule (medium‐term), as well as the detailed schedule (short‐term) at the bottleneck resource, using mathematical programming; to support decisions across different planning horizons in an integrated fashion. Findings – This unified approach was applied to an electronics manufacturing company in the Netherlands. The unified capacity planning system not only reduces the number of capacity problems to be solved by production planners, but also more importantly enhances the organization's capabilities to respond faster and more focused to market changes. Research limitations/implications – Further studies may test the robustness of this planning approach with additional empirical evidence. Practical implications – The structured unified approach provides a comprehensive solution to a complex capacity management problem, in competitive environments where organizations have to be able to respond to dynamically changing market conditions, given the process choices within which they are operating. Originality/value – Provides a unified approach for effective capacity management.