We investigate how the network position of organisations in an extended supply chain network impacts their financial performance. The paper argues that performance measurement tools should incorporate a network (external, connectedness) perspective in addition to an internal financial perspective. We merge local networks of companies in a supply chain into a single, extended network in which the transactional value-flows on arcs are known. Network position characteristics of focal companies are determined using social network analysis. The impact of these characteristics on financial performance is studied using regression analysis. In the context of our case study, there is some evidence that profitability is related to connectedness and market share. In this way, the paper describes how organisations might enrich their performance measurement tools with connectedness metrics.

A novel state-space model of a multi-node supply chain is presented, controlled via local proportional inventory-replenishment policies. The model is driven by a stochastic sequence representing customer demand. The model is analyzed under stationarity conditions and a simple recursive scheme is developed for updating its covariance matrix. This allows us to characterize the "bullwhip effect" (demand amplification) in the chain and to solve an optimization problem for a three-node model involving the minimization of inventory subject to a probabilistic constraint on downstream demand.Finally, issues related to estimation schemes based on local historical data are briefly discussed.

Ti t l e Co pi n g wi t h d e m a n d vol a tility in r e t ail p h a r m a ci e s wi t h t h e ai d of bi g d a t a e x plo r a tio n A u t h o r s P a p a n a g n o u, C a n d M a t t h e w s-Am u n e , O

The lack of systematic processes for stakeholder identification and the omission of key stakeholders in UK hospitals cause significant delays in purchasing processes. This is reinforced by the strict tender processes that follow in making their purchases as a matter of assurance of fairness and competition. This paper presents a descriptive analysis of decision-making processes when the public hospitals purchase diagnostic equipment, and it discovers how the hospitals use stakeholder identification and salience during the purchase of diagnostic equipment. With the aid of purposeful case studies and semi-structured interviews, we explore how stakeholder salience is concentrated on the administrative personnel who had the role to implement organisational policy, and technical experts who make sure that the right equipment was bought. Last, this study provides an insight into how stakeholder groups share the premises of the public hospitals' decision-making process by considering the attributes of power, urgency, legitimacy, and proximity.

Closed-loop supply chains are complex systems as they involve the seamless backward and forward flow of products and information. With the advent of e-commerce and online shopping, there has been a growing interest in product returns and the associated impact on inventory variance and the bullwhip effect. In this paper, a novel four-echelon closed-loop supply chain model is presented, where base-stock replenishment policies are modelled by means of a proportional controller. A stochastic state-space model is implemented, initially to capture the supply chain dynamics while the model is analysed under stationarity conditions with the aid of a covariance matrix. This allows the bullwhip effect to be expressed as a function of replenishment policies and product return rates. Next, an optimisation method is introduced to study the impact of the Internet of Things on inventory variance and the bullwhip effect. The results show that the Internet of Things can reduce costs associated with inventory fluctuations and eliminate the bullwhip effect in closed-loop supply chains.