Browsing by Author "Sawyerr, Emmanuel"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Addressing the food supply chain challenges for UK disadvantaged communities
    (The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, 2023-09-09) Sawyerr, Emmanuel; Bourlakis, Michael
    Introduction: In pursuit of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), many developed countries have invested various resources to address hunger as specified under the UN SDG2: Zero Hunger. Even in the West, there is a growing population of disadvantaged persons (such as single-parent households, low-income families, lone and vulnerable adults, the physically and mentally disabled, among others) who disproportionately suffer from diet-related ill-health, food insecurity and food poverty. The UK is no different. Despite various practical and research interventions, the role of logistics and supply chain management in addressing these challenges in the UK has been underexplored. Consequently, this research investigates the supply chains that deliver food to the disadvantaged to identify the processes, infrastructure and challenges, and to highlight ongoing attempts and propositions for addressing these. The paper starts with a literature review of food waste and surplus food redistribution and food supply chain mapping in the UK. This is followed by a discussion of the data collection and analysis approaches for mapping the food supply chain serving disadvantaged consumers. The findings and discussions section presents an overview of the processes and infrastructure in the supply chain and presents recommendations for the various actors and stakeholders for process optimisation. The paper concludes with the research and practical implications.
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    Mapping food supply chains for UK disadvantaged communities: a focus on Plymouth
    (The Decision Sciences Institute, 2022-11-21) Bourlakis, Michael; Sawyerr, Emmanuel; Pettinger, Clare
    Regardless of many efforts by the government and people of the United Kingdom to address food insecurity and poverty, food inequalities in the country continue to worsen. Having identified the limited research on the role logistics and supply chain management could play in addressing this challenge, this study coproduces a food product for disadvantaged communities using Plymouth as a case study and maps the supply chain for it to identify the processes and key challenges therein. Accessibility is not a major challenge in Plymouth, but limited demand, affordability and inconvenience are.
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    Resilience in healthcare supply chains: a review of the UK’s response to the COVID19 pandemic
    (Emerald, 2022-07-11) Sawyerr, Emmanuel; Harrison, Christian
    Purpose The purpose of this explorative research is to analyse the resilience of the United Kingdom's (UK) healthcare supply chains from a customer’s perspective in the light of the coronavirus pandemic. Design/methodology/approach Using the capabilities of preparedness, robustness, recovery and adaptability as the foundational percept for supply chain resilience, 22 healthcare professionals in 17 of the UK's National Health Scheme (NHS) Trusts were interviewed to explore their personal and organisational approaches adopted relative to the provision of eye protection, gloves, gowns, aprons, masks and respirators. The Dynamic Capabilities View is mapped to the resilience capabilities and used to analyse the data from a transformational supply chain research perspective. Findings The supply chains were largely unprepared, which was not particularly surprising even though the availability of gloves was significantly better compared to the other personal protective equipment (PPE). Techniques adopted to ensure robustness and recovery revealed the use of unsanctioned methods such as extended use of PPE beyond recommended use, redefinition of guidelines, protocols and procedures by infection control and the use of expired PPE – all of which compromised customer well-being. Research limitations/implications As the paper views resilience through the lens of customers, it does not provide the perspectives of the supply chain practitioners as to the reasons for the findings and the challenges within these supply chains. Practical implications The compromise of the well-being of healthcare workers due to the vulnerabilities of healthcare supply chains is highlighted to managers and prescriptions for post-disruption adaptability are made. Originality/value This paper introduces transformative research to supply chain resilience research by uniquely looking at resilience from the customers' well-being perspective.
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    Supplying food to disadvantaged communities in the UK: Insights for the food supply chains
    (2022-06-10) Bourlakis, Michael; Sawyerr, Emmanuel
    Purpose Despite the UK being ranked 6th out of 113 countries in 2021 on the Economist Intelligence Unit’s global Food Security Index, there are about 10.2 million British residents living in food deserts, approximately 12% of these in deprived areas. This paper takes a closer look at the food systems in four UK cities (Plymouth, Tower Hamlets, Whitley-Reading and Brighton and Hove) and how food supply chains (FSC) can better supply food to the disadvantaged in these communities. Design/methodology/approach The report gathers and analyses under a systematic manner secondary data from academic literature, books, reports, online publications, government reports and local newspapers on the state of the local food systems as they are experienced by the disadvantaged in these communities. Findings Findings indicate that, despite the variety and uniqueness of the challenges in the four communities, the role that FSCs play within the current systems and how the principles of supply chain management could help address them are woefully underexplored. Social and Practical implications The findings give a better understanding of the food systems in terms of access and affordability inequalities in the UK and provides a strong basis for appropriate practical interventions. Original/value The paper presents one of the first studies into the role of supply chain management in food supply to disadvantaged communities in the UK by exploring existent food systems from a supply chain perspective.