Trends re-shaping logistics and supply chain management landscape

• Autores: Enrico Massaroni
• Localización: Creativity and survival of the firm under uncertainty / coord. por Attilio Celant, Txomin Iturralde, 2009, ISBN 978-84-692-5174-4
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Purpose With the growing acceptance of logistics and supply chain management as critical business concerns, there is an emerging attention to those mega-trends that are re-shaping the competitive landscape. This paper explores the challenges for management awareness and development that arise as organisations face the new scenario and seek to bridge the gap between current capabilities and those required for future success.

    Design The paper has a theoretical nature. In the study a conceptual framework is proposed, based mainly on academic and professional literature.

    Findings Mega-trends are now mainly [Christopher 2008; Melnyk et al. 2007]: the changing balance of power (growing dependency on external suppliers through increased out-sourcing, especially logistics service providers), the growing demand for customised solutions (drawing board and design products and services for postponed customisation), the impact of changing demographics (changing in age profile, increasing cross-border migration, urbanization in new development countries), the effect of �Peak Oil� on energy costs (oil impacts not just transport, but also raw material and packaging costs) and how sustainable supply chains are (when sustainability means more than �green�, protecting the natural environment isn�t the whole story so that companies must consider their social, economic, and cultural impact as well [Werbach 2009]).

    Practical implications The study, identifying the principal trends in logistics and supply chain management, offers a conceptual framework that could serve both as theoretical reference point for future research, and as a tool for practitioners, enabling them to design, govern and manage logistics processes in a systemic approach, in a compatible way with the strategic objectives of the firm.

    More attention is needed to develop appropriate managerial skills and competencies for logistics and supply chain managers facing the new scenario [Mangan and Christopher 2005].

    Value The study takes a multidimensional and systemic view of logistics and supply chain management challenges. In fact, the interest is given to how the strategy makers project and govern along the time the evolutive dynamics of firm�s logistics system, with an holistic and integrated approach (internal and external) and not only by the simply sum of individual and not correlated decisions.

    Christopher