No abstract

The research described in this paper demonstrates how individual operational capabilities and the collective knowledge and expertise of a collaborative customer-supplier network can be harnessed to manage the challenges associated with the provision of a requisite level of product variety and customisation. It concerns the discussion and application of a previously published approach to the classification of collaborative networks, the justification of the extension to this approach and the use of the approach as a knowledge-based reference framework to demonstrate how product variety and customisation can be supported across different forms of collaborative customer-supplier networks. In addition, explanations are provided on how collaborative networks can be classified, on how their adaptive capabilities can be established, and on the characteristics and attributes that particular types of network require in order to handle their commitment to the provision of variety and customisation. IntroductionContinued success for many businesses is predicated on their ability to innovate new ideas and introduce new products. Global competition and the search for growth have created a business environment where sales can be rarely increased from a fixed range of products or markets. More often, sales growth is dependent on the ability of a business to stimulate an existing market or penetrate a different one by offering new choices. Consequently, product development has become more rapid, manufacturing systems have become more flexible and product proliferation and variety continue to increase. Differentiation of products has gone beyond the simple and prosaic categories of age, size, and gender to include regional and national tastes, aesthetics, and personal attributes and lifestyle. The management of the complexity associated with wide product diversity is often dependent on harnessing the knowledge and cooperative efforts of the members of a collaborative network (CN). This paper focuses on the utilisation of shared information and knowledge and the operational know-how involved in managing product variety across collaborative customer-supplier networks. More specifically, the aim of this research is to attempt to support decision-making in CNs by demonstrating how the effective execution of appropriate sales, production and supply-chain policies within and between network partners can be used to support the efficiency of the processes associated with the management of product variety. In addition, explanations are provided on how CNs can be classified, how their adaptive capabilities can be established and on how the characteristics and attributes that particular types of network require in order to handle their commitment to the provision of variety and customisation.Previous research on knowledge management in networks or supply chains is limited but where it does exist it has tended to focus on how (explicit) knowledge can be used to improve performance. Examples include Yuva (2002) and Wadhwa and Saxena (2005). T...

This paper aims to guide those in supply chain management who make decisions on selecting factories, transportation modes, and the number of products to be manufactured. Solutions can be found through development of an optimisation model, using mixed-integer programming. Because green supply chain issues have become important, and new legislation has to be taken into account, carbon emissions costs must be included in the total costs of the supply chain, as in the optimisation model presented, which then has the ability to minimise total costs and to provide solutions that are both cost-effective and environmentally friendly. OPSOMMING Die doel van hierdie artikel is om leiding te verskaf aan diegene in voorsieningskettingbestuur wat besluite neem aangaande die keuse van fabrieke, vervoermetodes en die aantal produkte om te vervaardig. Oplossings kan gevind word by wyse van 'n optimiseringsmodel wat gemengde-heeltalprogrammering gebruik. Aangesien "groen" of te wel omgewingsvriendelike aspekte belangrik geword het en nuwe wetgewing in ag geneem moet word, moet die koste van koolstofemissies in die totale koste van die voorsieningsketting in berekening gebring word, soos wat in die optimiseringsmodel wat voorgehou word inderdaad gebeur. Sodoende kan 'n oplossing gevind word wat nie alleen koste-effektief is nie, maar ook omgewingsvriendelik.

No abstract