Order Management in the Customization-Responsiveness Squeeze*

Competitive Improvement through Integrated Management of Sales and Operations

Several authors agree on the importance of integrating sales and operations (S & OP) when it comes to improving the management of organisations. Thus, the relationship between S & OP can be critical from a competitive point of view, and therefore strategic. However, most of the literature on this topic focuses on the field of repetitive manufacturing. Consequently, this work aims to enhance the scarce literature related to S & OP in organisations that produce make-to-order (MTO). The present study is an analysis of cases of two industrial companies managed according to the theory of constraints. In both cases, the relationship between sales and operations was initially poor. Their approaches were mainly founded on their experience and intuition, as well as on simple data. The development of a new approach, integrating S & OP, has demonstrated the potential advantages of integrated management. As a result, we have identified some aspects of interest from a managerial perspective. Furthermore, we consider the findings of this study to be relevant to improving the competitiveness of this kind of organisation.

Sustainable Supply Chains with Blockchain, IoT and RFID: A Simulation on Order Management

The digital transformation of supply chains should revolutionize entire management processes and improve various aspects of sustainability. In particular, the plans of Industry 4.0 aim towards a digitization of several procedures by exploiting emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things, RFID and blockchain. The purpose of this study is to highlight how order and disruption events processes can be improved with the adoption of emerging technologies and how this reflects on the improvement of sustainability aspects. The study is based on the comparison of two simulation scenarios between three actors in the cheese supply chain. In particular, a first traditional scenario “as is” is simulated without the use of new technologies and is compared to a second scenario “to be” that adopts IoT, RFID and blockchain. The results show an improvement in time performance for managing both perfect and non-compliant orders. The developed framework highlights the impact of new technologies on sustainability aspects, showing further managerial implications.

Middle-range theorizing on logistics customer service

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how a systematic application of middle-range theorizing, which pays particular attention to contexts and mechanisms, can be used to extend current knowledge on logistics customer service (LCS) in a number of critical areas.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper applies Stank et al.’s (2017) framework for middle-ranging theorizing in logistics to develop a research framework and agenda that can guide future LCS research. Results are generated through a review of the LCS literature and an application of the main concepts of middle-range theorizing.

Findings

The paper outlines opportunities for middle-range research that would extend LCS knowledge in the areas of human and behavioral factors, time-based competition, supply chain complexity, and digitization and technological innovation.

Research limitations/implications

Describing the main characteristics of middle-range theorizing and how middle-range theorizing can be fruitfully applied to LCS research should help to stimulate new knowledge creation in this important area of supply chain logistics management.

Practical implications

By focusing on why and when questions, middle-range theorizing engages with the practical realities of LCS that interest managers and students. Middle-range theorizing moves researchers toward developing a detailed understanding of what actually has to change in order for desired LCS-related outcomes to occur and the contextual factors likely impacting the change process. The paper should, therefore, allow managers to better translate LCS theory into action.

Originality/value

Middle-range theorizing remains new to the supply chain logistics field. The application of middle-range theorizing to LCS research, and logistics research more generally, demands new perspectives on established relationships with the potential to drive original research in areas most relevant to managers.

Cluster analysis in empirical OM research: survey and recommendations

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, the authors provide a survey of operations management (OM) research applications of traditional hierarchical and nonhierarchical clustering methods with respect to key decisions that are central to a valid analysis. Second, the authors offer recommendations for practice with respect to these decisions.

Design/methodology/approach

A coding study was conducted for 97 cluster analyses reported in six OM journals during the period spanning 1994-2015. Data were collected with respect to: variable selection, variable standardization, method, selection of the number of clusters, consistency/stability of the clustering solution, and profiling of the clusters based on exogenous variables. Recommended practices for validation of clustering solutions are provided within the context of this framework.

Findings

There is considerable variability across clustering applications with respect to the components of validation, as well as a mix of productive and undesirable practices. This justifies the importance of the authors’ provision of a schema for conducting a cluster analysis.

Research limitations/implications

Certain aspects of the coding study required some degree of subjectivity with respect to interpretation or classification. However, in light of the sheer magnitude of the coding study (97 articles), the authors are confident that an accurate picture of empirical OM clustering applications has been presented.

Practical implications

The paper provides a critique and synthesis of the practice of cluster analysis in OM research. The coding study provides a thorough foundation for how the key decisions of a cluster analysis have been previously handled in the literature. Both researchers and practitioners are provided with guidelines for performing a valid cluster analysis.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no study of this type has been reported in the OM literature. The authors’ recommendations for cluster validation draw from recent studies in other disciplines that are apt to be unfamiliar to many OM researchers.