Browsing by Author "Godsell, Janet"
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Item Open Access Developing Customer Responsive Supply Chain Strategy: An Empirical Investigation of the Relationship between Market Segmentation and Supply Chain Strategy(Cranfield University, 2008) Godsell, Janet; Harrison, AlanThe concept of the ‘supply chain’, rather than a set of independent functions, has been around for more than 25 years. Despite its theoretical longevity, many organisations still struggle to make the supply chain a reality. The supply chain is an integral part of business strategy and is the means by which customer demand is fulfilled. Alignment between marketing and supply chain strategy is critical to fulfilling customer demand in a cost-effective way. This is the primary objective of customer responsive supply chain strategy (CRSC). Over the last 10 years, research into CRSC strategy has primarily been focused on two different academic perspectives: the synthesis of lean and agile thinking, and strategic alignment. The resulting frameworks are prescriptive in their nature and not sensitive to the context-specific nature of supply chain management; a field of study that is hindered by a lack of consensual definition, limited empirical evidence, and studies limited in scope to dyadic relationships. The opportunity therefore exists to carry out empirical research that reaches beyond the dyad, looking at the development of CRSC strategy − the basis for this study being the relationship between market segmentation and supply chain strategy. The research design that was developed to address this opportunity was a multiple case study design. This provides the opportunity to look for theoretical replication of the guiding principles and generative mechanisms that underpin the development of CRSC strategy. The rigour of the research design was improved by the use of a five stage (define research parameters, instrument development, data gathering, data analysis, dissemination & theory development), three phase research design (pilot case, core cases, cross-case comparison). The research was based on the study of three contrasting supply chains, from the perspective of the focal firm. The focal firms included a small UK manufacturer of toiletry and detergent products, a large leading logistics provider (LLP) managing the European supply chain operations for a global electronics manufacturer, and a large UK retailer of health and beauty products. An important aspect of the research design is its boundary spanning nature. It crosses a minimum of two organisational boundaries and includes at least three different organisations within a given supply chain. A process-orientated unit of analysis is used based on the supply chain operations reference (SCOR ® ) model to consider the conversion of demand into supply across the supply chain. The primary research instrument is semi-structured interviews with secondary documentary sources being used for data triangulation where appropriate. The research concluded that traditional methods of segmentation (e.g. by sales value) do not provide a natural link to supply chain strategy and limit customer responsiveness. The challenge for management is to identify the right bases for customer segmentation that enable it to drive supply chain strategy. The primary output of the research was a framework for developing CRSC strategy. Concepts key to developing CRSC strategy and included within the model are: contextual drivers, supply chain strategy drivers and internal mechanisms.Item Open Access Developing Supply Chain Strategy: Balancing Shareholder and Customer Value - A Management Guide(Cranfield University, 2007-01) Harrison, Alan; Godsell, Janet; Skipworth, Heather; Wong, Chee Yew; Julien, Denyse; Achimugu, NemileItem Open Access How does servitization impact inter-organisational structure and relationships of a truck manufacturer's network?(Cranfield University, 2013-06) Cakkol, Mehmet; Johnson, Mark; Godsell, JanetNetwork relationships play a significant role in the provision of servitized offerings. To date, little empirical research has been conducted to investigate the link between servitization and inter-organisational relationships. The objective of this doctoral thesis is to explore the implications of servitization on a manufacturer’s network. Particular emphasis is placed on the impact on the network structure and relationship attributes. An exploratory in-depth case study was conducted within the truck manufacturing industry using a multi-organisational perspective. An abductive research approach was adopted which was underlined by pragmatism. As part of this approach, 43 interviews were conducted in a total of 11 companies. The findings of the study suggest that managers need to be aware of the different customer needs, related offerings and resultant implications on the network structure and relationships. To this end, the findings show that as the offerings move towards advanced servitized offerings the network becomes more complex in terms of its structure and relationships. The research contributes to the literature by providing a more nuanced description of what actually occurs in a network when a manufacturer provides servitized offerings in conjunction with other product-based offerings. In particular, it identifies the relationship attributes that need to be managed in order to drive the right behaviour for the provision of each of these offerings. Moreover, it is the first known study to uncover triadic as well as tetradic network structures in a servitization context. Equally important, it provides a framework that captures the interplay between the different offerings and the resultant network structure and relationship attributes. In all of these capacities, this research is one of the first known studies to uncover some of the complexities surrounding the way in which inter-organisational relationships are enacted in a servitization context.Item Open Access The influence of market structure, collaboration and price competition on supply network disruptions in open and closed markets(Cranfield University, 2013) Greening, Philip; Godsell, JanetThe relaxation of international boundaries has enabled the globalisation of markets making available an ever increasing number of specialised suppliers and markets. Inevitably this results in supply chains sharing suppliers and customers reflected in a network of relationships. Within this context firms buyers configure their supply relationships based on their perception of supply risk. Risk is managed by either increasing trust or commitment or by increasing the number of suppliers. Increasing trust and commitment facilitates collaboration and reduces the propensity for a supplier to exit the relationship. Conversely, increasing the number of suppliers reduces dependency and increases the ease of making alternative supply arrangements. The emergent network of relationships is dynamic and complex, and due in no small part to the influence of inventory management practices, tightly coupled. This critical organization of the network describes a system that contrary to existing supply chain conceptualisation exists far from equilibrium, requiring a different more appropriate theoretical lens through which to view them. This thesis adopts a Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) perspective to position supply networks as tightly coupled complex systems which according to Normal Accident Theory (NAT) are vulnerable to disruptions as a consequence of normal operations. The consequential boundless and emergent nature of supply networks makes them difficult to research using traditional empirical methods, instead this research builds a generalised supply network agent based computer model, allowing network constituents (agents) to take autonomous parallel action reflecting the true emergent nature of supply networks. This thesis uses the results from a series of carefully designed computer experiments to elucidate how supply networks respond to a variety of market structures and permitted agent behaviours. Market structures define the vertical (between tier) and horizontal (within tier) levels of price differentiation. Within each structure agents are permitted to autonomously modify their prices (constrained by market structure) and collaborate by sharing demand information. By examining how supply networks respond to different permitted agent behaviours in a range of market structures this thesis makes 4 contributions. Firstly, it extends NAT by incorporating the adaptive nature of supply network constituents. Secondly it extends supply chain management by specifying supply networks as dynamic not static phenomena. Thirdly it extends supply chain risk management through developing an understanding of the impact different permitted behaviour combinations on the networks vulnerability to disruptions in the context of normal operations. Finally by developing the understanding how normal operations impact a supply networks vulnerability to disruptions it informs the practice of supply chain risk management.Item Open Access Interactions between the content, context and, process of organizational change: a systematic literature review(Cranfield University, 2012-06) Palmer, Christina; Godsell, JanetResearch into the phenomenon of change has attracted interest from a range of management disciplines; organizational, management, behavioural and operations. Each discipline brings with it a perspective which informs the theoretical debates and empirical research, resulting in different ideas, meaning and approaches taken in studying the phenomenon of change. Ideas about the meaning of the content of change, why contextual factors might influence the process of change and, how does the process of change unfold over time, are three important aspects to understanding the phenomenon of change. This literature review draws on the three concepts of the content, context and process of change to explore the extant change literature. Evidence based literature reviews have a strong tradition within the medical field and have been shown to be a rigorous method for determining efficacy of clinical trials. This review applies the principles of this method but within a management research context and reviews 52 papers. Variations in the aspects of organizational context and process of change empirically studied confirm that context plays a significant and influential role in processes of change and change outcomes. There is little evidence to support the idea that the content of change influences the process of change activities and this is an area that needs further research. Further research is also needed to develop the idea of the importance of emergent change activities within planned change frameworks.Item Open Access Supply chain alignment for improved business performance: an empirical study(Emerald, 2015-08-10) Skipworth, Heather; Godsell, Janet; Wong, Chee; Saghiri, Soroosh; Julien, DenyseThis study aims to explain how supply chain alignment, which remains a major challenge for supply chains, can be achieved and its implications for business performance (BP) by testing the strengths of the relationships between previously identified enablers, supply chain alignment and BP. Design/methodology/approach A literature review develops hypotheses on the relationships between enablers, alignment and BP. A survey of medium-to-large UK manufacturing companies was conducted where the sample comprised 151 randomly selected companies, and the response rate was 56 per cent. Partial least square regression was used to test the hypothesis. Findings Two types of supply chain alignment are defined – shareholder and customer – but only customer alignment (CA) has a direct positive impact on BP, while shareholder alignment (SA) is its antecedent. Top management support was shown to be an enabler of both shareholder and CA, while organisation structure, information sharing and performance measurement system enabled SA, while internal relational behaviour enabled CA. Research limitations/implications Supply chain management research lacks knowledge on exactly how supply chain alignment can be achieved and what BP implications it has. This research provides a tested conceptual model to address this gap. Practical implications The refined conceptual model provides precise guidance to practitioners on how to improve BP through supply chain alignment. Originality/value Whilst the strategic management literature emphasizes the importance of SA, this study reveals another crucial alignment – CA – and shows its direct positive impact on BP.Item Open Access Supply Chain Management: Putting the end customer first.(2003-07-01T00:00:00Z) Harrison, Alan; Godsell, JanetThis paper explores aspects of alignment in the supply chain by extending the boundaries of operations management theory into the supply chain. Instead of a focus on manufacturing processes in isolation, the paper proposes that a broader, supply-chain view of alignment with product characteristics in the market place needs to be undertaken. Our views are illustrated by a case study that investigated the European 3PL operation involving the supply, sortation and despatch of parts and subassemblies for a manufacturer we have called ElecCo. Flexible capabilities had been developed – unnecessarily in our view – in order to cope with the high variability of demand placed on the supply chain by ElecCo’s desire to provide the stock market with higher priority than the end cusItem Open Access Towards a theory of supply chain alignment enablers: a systematic literature review(Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2012-06-01T00:00:00Z) Wong, C.Y.; Skipworth, Heather; Godsell, Janet; Achimugu, NemilePurpose - The importance of supply chain alignment has been discussed since the birth of Supply Chain Management. Yet it remains a major challenge for supply chains. This paper aims to systematically review the cross disciplinary literature on supply chain alignment in order to identify, and develop constructs for enablers to alignment, and an associated set of hypothesise culminating in a theoretical model. Design/methodology/approach - A systematic approach has been taken to the literature review which ensures it is auditable and repeatable. The selection criteria are clearly aligned with the review question ensuring all literature pertinent to the question is identified and reviewed. Relevant information is extracted from the selected papers and synthesised into a theoretical model. Findings - Six main constructs for the enablers of alignment are identified and defined. While the literature is disparate, across different disciplines there is good support for these enablers. The relationships between supply chain alignment and shareholder and customer value are also argued with the support of the literature. Though each of the enablers is argued to positively affect shareholder and customer value, their interactions with each other are not well supported in the literature, either theoretically or empirically, and therefore this could be an area for further research. Research/practical implications - While the model remains theoretical, it is now possible to test this model and understand the relative significance of the various enablers to alignment. Further, the significance of shareholder and customer alignment on the delivery of shareholder and customer value can be examined, thus building a theory of supply chain alignment. This is needed since in practice companies are struggling with supply chain alignment. Originality/value - The existing literature on supply chain alignment is disparate and multi-disciplinary as our descriptive analysis shows, with 72 papers published in 43 different journals. Moreover, most of the papers focus on particular enablers, while this paper brings together six key enablers from the literature to produce one theoretical model.Item Open Access The use of visual analytics in decision making in operations and supply chain management : a systematic literature review(Cranfield University, 2013-08) Kharlamov, Alexander Alexandrovitch; Godsell, JanetThe field of Operations & Supply Chain Management (O&SCM) deals with large and complex structures. Evidence from practice suggests that management still runs in silos and decisions are often focused on specific functions as the totality of the problem and the impact on the broader organisation is not always understood. To manage such structures, managers have been investing in information technology to improve data availability and quality. Finally, good data is available with potential to enable holistic decision-making (DM). The field of analytics answers the need to transform data into information to support DM processes. Visual analytics rely specifically on visual representations to support DM processes. As visual analytics is still at its infancy, the aim is to identify what types of visual analytics has been used in empirical research, to support what decisions and its impact in O&SCM context. Evidence based literature review, also known as systematic literature review (SLR) method is used to review 41 papers. The most common type of visual analytics identified is modelling, mapping and visual interfaces between data and managers. These most often support Plan and Make type decisions. Vast majority of applications are identified as positive, enabling better understanding of the problem, greater management involvement in the process and better communication. Future research is needed to define the term “visual analytics” as the field is still at its infancy. Development and empirical testing is required of whether the identified visual tools are an enabler for holistic decisions in the O&SCM context.