Research by the Value Chain Innovation Initiative

In a world of globalization and outsourcing, environmental legislation became a main driver for doing eco-design. Eco-innovation and green money are concepts to create marketing advantages and differentiation from their competitors, transforming…

For many years, business process outsourcing (BPO) has been identified as a strategic trend. This study examines the business and technical benefits of global business-to-business e-commerce outsourcing. Areas covered include the elements of…

Global Trade Management (GTM) software solutions allow companies to automate import and export processes, provide higher visibility to goods at supplier sites and in-transit materials, address compliance issues, and improve their inventory…

Esquel Group is one of the world’s leading producers of premium cotton shirts, and among the most dynamic and progressive global-scale textile and apparel manufacturers. The company was founded in 1978 in Hong Kong. Over the years Esquel, which…

In 2006, Rio Tinto Iron Ore (RTIO) faced a number of challenges. The iron ore business had traditionally been dominated by a few large suppliers, who sold to a relatively few large steel producers. The business environment was changing, however,…

In October 2005, in an auditorium filled to capacity, Wal-Mart President and CEO Lee Scott made the company’s first speech to be broadcast to 1.6 million employees in all 6,000+ stores worldwide — and shared with its 60,000+ suppliers. Scott…

Political unrest, natural disasters and many other unforeseen events such as product contamination and adulteration, shortages, border closings and strikes by ports, have made firms more aware of the vulnerability of their supply chains, and…

With 26 casinos in 13 U.S. states and $4.5 billion in revenue in 2003, Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. was one of the leading brand names in the casino entertainment industry. Bill Harrah, the founder of Harrah’s, was passionate about getting to know…

In 2005, Erez Meltzer, the president and CEO of Netafim (the world leading manufacturer of drip irrigation equipment), was wondering whether Netafim’s supply chain was strong enough to support the change in strategy he was planning for the…

Building a strong supply chain is essential for business success. But when it comes to improving their supply chains, few companies take the right approach. Many businesses work to make their chains faster or more cost effective, assuming that…

(This article originally appeared in Management Science, April 1997, Volume 43, Number 4, pp. 546–558, published by The Institute of Management Sciences.)

Consider a series of companies in a supply chain, each of whom orders from…

Information integration efforts between manufacturers and retailers, in the form of information sharing, synchronized replenishment, and collaborative product design and development, have been cited as major means to improve supply chain…

In a business environment that requires more responsiveness and focus on the bottom line, supply chain performance management is vital to competitive advantage and sustainable business improvement. SCPM enables companies to identify performance…

Companies that have mastered demand chain excellence are widening their margin of market leadership and shareholder returns. They are using scientific replenishment methodologies that incorporate statistical and operations research techniques to…

This paper explores the impact confidence has on supply chain performance and its related costs. Businesses tend to concentrate on the traditional tangible elements of the supply chain, and fail to recognize the damaging effect that the lack of…

As a result of e-business, many core supply chain concepts and principles have become much more effective. These concepts include information sharing, multi-party collaboration, design for supply chain management, postponement for mass…

Demand-Based Management is critical to an enterprise in managing its supply chain, product development, technology strategy, service support, and organization design. Managing to demand involves carefully selecting marketing instruments and…

When a company seeks to evaluate its impact on society, there are two lenses that can be used: the company can consider the impact of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) function by appraising its financial and in-kind contributions or it…

Supply chain managers face a rapidly evolving and often bewildering array of competing standards, approaches and regulations. They require practical approaches to quantifying greenhouse gas emissions, both for voluntary disclosure and management…

Forthcoming in Production and Operations Management.

This paper explores the relationship between supplier penalties and incentives and performance.