Browsing by Author "Aitken, James"

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    Assessing adoption factors for additive manufacturing: insights from case studies
    (MDPI, 2022-06-10) Handfield, Robert B.; Aitken, James; Turner, Neil; Boehme, Tillmann; Bozarth, Cecil
    Background: Research on Additive Manufacturing [AM] provides few guidelines for successful adoption of the technology in different market environments. This paper seeks to address this gap by developing a framework that suggests market attributes for which the technology will successfully meet a need. We rely on classical technology adoption theory to evaluate the challenges and opportunities proffered by AM. Methods: We apply a framework of technology adoption and assess these parameters using seven case studies of businesses that have successfully adopted AM technology. Results: We find that successful business adoption is highly associated with the relative advantage of AM to rapidly deliver customized products targeted to niche market opportunities. Conclusions: Our findings provide a decision framework for AM equipment manufacturers to employ when evaluating AM technology across various market environments. All five adoption characteristics were found to be important however, the primary decision criterion is based on the relative advantage of AM over other, traditional, technologies. From a practitioner perspective, our research highlights the importance of AM in attaining a competitive advantage through responsive, customized production which can address the needs of niche markets.
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    Covid-19 response of an additive manufacturing cluster in Australia
    (Emerald, 2021-07-22) Boehme, Tillmann; Aitken, James; Turner, Neil; Handfield, Robert B.
    Purpose The sudden arrival of Covid-19 severely disrupted the supply chain of personal protective equipment (PPE) in Australia. This paper aims to examine the development of a geographical cluster, which, through the application of additive manufacturing (AM), responded to the PPE supply crisis. Design/methodology/approach This longitudinal case study focuses on an AM cluster, which was developed to supply PPE in a responsive and flexible manner from 2019/2020. The study gathered data over three stages of cluster evolution: pre, during and post-peak Covid-19. Findings The type and nature of exchanges between organizations involved in the cluster established important insights into success factors for cluster creation and development. Using an established complexity framework, this study identifies the characteristics of establishing a cluster. The importance of cluster alignment created initially by a common PPE supply goal led to an emerging commercial and relational imperative to address the longer-term configuration after the disruption. Practical implications Clusters can be a viable option for a technology-driven sector when there is a “buzz” that drives and rapidly diffuses knowledge to support cluster formation. This research identifies the structural, socio-political and emergent dimensions, which need to be considered by stakeholders when aiming at improving competitiveness using clusters. Originality/value Covid-19 has rapidly and unexpectedly disrupted the supply chain for many industries. Responding to challenges, businesses will investigate different pathways to improve the overall resilience including on-/near-shoring. The results provide insights into how clusters are formed, grow and develop and the differentiating factors that result in successful impacts of clusters on local economies.
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    Designing and managing multiple pipelines
    (Council of Logisticts Management, 2005-01-01T00:00:00Z) Aitken, James; Childerhouse, Paul; Christopher, Martin; Towill, Denis R.
    There is now a growing recognition that supply chains should be designed from ‘the customer backwards’ rather than from ‘the company outwards’. If such a view is accepted then the implication is that since the organisation will likely be serving multiple markets or segments there will be the need to design and manage multiple ‘pipelines’ to serve those different customers. To assist decision makers in their choice of appropriate supply chain design a framework is proposed based upon multiple criteria. A case study is presented which highlights the benefits of selecting, engineering and operating multiple pipelines tailored to the needs of the
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    A framework for understanding managerial responses to supply chain complexity
    (Emerald, 2018-06-04) Turner, Neil; Aitken, James; Bozarth, Cecil
    Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature of supply chain complexity and extend this with literature developed within the project domain. The authors use the lens of ambidexterity (the ability both to exploit and explore) to analyse responses to complexity, since this enables the authors to understand the application of known solutions in conjunction with innovative ones to resolve difficulties. This research also seeks to investigate how managers respond to supply chain complexities that can either be operationally deleterious or strategically beneficial. Design/methodology/approach The authors develop a descriptive framework based on the project management (PM) literature to understand response options to complexity, and then use interviews with supply chain managers in six organisations to examine the utility of this framework in practice. The authors ask the research question “How do managers in supply chains respond to complexities”? Findings The case study data show first that managers faced with structural, socio-political, or emergent supply chain complexities use a wide range of responses. Second, over a third of the instances of complexity coded were actually accommodated, rather than reduced, by the study firms, suggesting that adapting to supply chain complexity in certain instances may be strategically appropriate. Third, the lens of ambidexterity allows a more explicit assessment of whether existing PM solutions can be considered or if novel methods are required to address supply chain complexities. Practical implications The descriptive framework can aid managers in conceptualising and addressing supply chain complexity. Through exploiting current knowledge, managers can lessen the impact of complexity while exploring other innovative approaches to solve new problems and challenges that evolve from complexity growth driven by business strategy. Originality/value This study addresses a gap in the literature through the development of a framework which provides a structure on ways to address supply chain complexity. The authors evaluate an existing project complexity concept and demonstrate that it is both applicable and valuable in non-project, ongoing operations. The authors then extend it using the lens of ambidexterity, and develop a framework that can support practitioners in analysing and addressing both strategically necessary supply complexities, together with unwanted, negative complexities within the organisation and across the supply chain. Keywords
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    Social enterprise housing supply chains for resource-constrained communities: a complexity lens approach
    (Emerald, 2023-07-21) Boehme, Tillmann; Fan, Joshua; Birchnell, Thomas; Aitken, James; Turner, Neil; Deakins, Eric
    Purpose: Delivering housing to resource-constrained communities is a complex process beset with difficulties. This study employs a complexity lens to examine the approach taken by a social enterprise in Australia to develop and manage a housebuilding supply chain for resource-constrained communities. Design/methodology/approach: The research team employed a longitudinal case study approach from 2017 – 2022, which utilised mixed methods to understand the phenomenon and gain an in-depth understanding of the complex issues and problem-solving undertaken by a social enterprise start-up. Findings: Balancing mission logic with commercial viability is challenging for a social enterprise. The supply chain solution that evolved accommodated the particulars of geography and the needs of many stakeholders, including the end-user community and government sponsors. Extensive and time-consuming socialisation and customisation led to a successful technical design and sustainable supply chain operation. Originality: This longitudinal case study contributes to knowledge by providing rich insights into the roles of social enterprises and how they develop and operate supply chains to fit with the needs of resource-constrained communities. Adding a contextual response dimension to an established complexity framework helped to explain how hybrid organisations balance commercial viability demands with social mission logic by amending traditional supply chain and governance practices. The case provides insights into supply chain configuration, needed changes, and potential impacts when a social enterprise as a focal actor inserts into a traditional for-profit construction supply chain. Practical implications: Analysing supply chain intricacies via a complexity framework is valuable for scholars and practitioners, assisting in designing and developing supply chain configurations and understanding their dynamics. Meeting the housing construction needs of resource-constrained communities requires the social enterprise to place societal focus at the centre of the supply chain rather than merely being a system output. The developed business model complements the engineering solution to empower a community-led housing construction supply chain.
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    Supply chain integration within the context of a supplier association : case studies of four supplier associations
    (Cranfield University, 1998) Aitken, James; Christopher, Martin
    The last three decades have seen a continuous interest from academics and practitioners in the development of theory and best practice methods in the field of supply chain management. Most of the evidence gathered within this management research area has been biased towards the role of the assembler/buyer in leading and integrating the supply chain. The role of the supplier has been of a passive recipient of the buyer's development plans and actions. Another additional bias in researching supply chain exchanges has been the single end approach of the investigations. Access difficulties have limited researchers to interviewing only one end of the buyer-supplier exchange. The purpose of this study was to overcome the aforementioned research biases and therefore, contribute to the understanding of the supply chain integration process from both a buyer's and supplier's perspective in the same exchange. The forum which was selected to conduct this research was that of the supplier association. The supplier association being defined as a group of a company's most important suppliers brought together on a regular basis for the purpose of co-ordination and development. Development through the deployment of best practice techniques in an open and co-operative environment. Against this open environment access was gained to both ends of the same exchange. Within this context a grounded, theorygenerating approach was applied to the data collected in four supplier association case studies. Through constant comparison and coding of data from multiple buyer-supplier exchanges within the same context several findings were made. The fmdings of the research are expressed as a series of propositions, tentative theoretical frameworks and a series of enabler/inhibitor factors to integration. The propositions relate supply chain improvements to the roles performed by the participants of the exchange in the context of a supplier association and the assembler's competitive environment. The tentative models depict the six stages in the organisational development of a supplier association, the trajectory of best practice knowledge within a supply chain exchange and the strategies employed by suppliers to manage their buyer's improvement intentions. Finally the enablers and inhibitors grounded from the case studies provide a guide to the relational factors which can influence the integration of a companies supply chain.
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    Temporal perceptions and tensions in production management
    (Elsevier, 2024-05-06) Aitken, James; Deakins, Eric; Skipworth, Heather; Cole, Rosanna
    This study, through conducting a micro-level analysis of temporal dimensions, identified divergent temporalities between managers who establish temporal practices, and operators who work within the established norms. Data collected from three organizations experiencing production-related temporal operating tensions were triangulated across a survey, semi-structured interviews and observations and supported by secondary data. Four temporal operating tensions, that reflect gaps between managerial and operator temporal understandings, were identified: Efficiency versus Effectiveness; Process Standardization versus Process Improvement; Synchronization versus Autonomy; and Control versus Flexibility. This research identifies resulting temporal operating tensions and potential mitigation approaches at the junction of managerial practices and operator activities, illustrating the importance of understanding tensions at the micro-level.
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    Understanding, Implementing and Exploiting Agility and Leanness.
    (Taylor and Francis, 2002-04) Aitken, James; Christopher, Martin; Towill, Denis R.
    The latter part of the 20th century saw the lean production paradigm positively impact many market sectors ranging from automotive through to construction. In particular, there is much evidence to suggest that level scheduling combined with the elimination of muda has successfully delivered a wide range of products to those markets where cost is the primary order winning criteria. However, there are many other volatile markets where the order winner is availability, which has led to the emergence of the agile paradigm typified by "quick response" and similar initiatives. Nevertheless, lean and agile are not mutually exclusive paradigms and may be married to advantage as is shown in the lighting industry case study. The outcome of our review of the characteristics of "lean" and "agile" supply is the proposition of a model for enabling change to the agile enterprise. This incorporates the three levels of principles, programmes and actions. We conclude by showing that the model encompasses the major factors executed within the case study, which covers agility throughout the product introduction process and product delivery process. It appears to be a feature of the successful implementation of agility that it is an organisation-wide shift in culture and cannot be restricted to just a few activities.