The Role of Logistics in Retailers′ Corporate Strategy-a Driver for Growth and Customer Value

Abrahamsson, Mats; Rehme, Jakob

doi:10.1080/16258312.2010.11517243

Cited by 13 publications

(20 citation statements)

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“…These resources and the development of more advanced service offerings is not unique to retail purchasing groups, however, it can be argued that these are more difficult to imitate, transfer or substitute by mega-retailers who have more rigid and standardised processes (Abrahamsson and Rehme, 2010;Sandberg, 2013). The move towards more advanced service offerings also follows a general trend embedded in what is, in academia, labelled 'the service-dominant logic of the firm' (c.f.…”

Section: Service-based Competitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring strategic strengths and weaknesses of retail purchasing groups

Sandberg

Mena

2014

The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer R

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Retail purchasing groups consist of small, independent, specialised stores that join together and collaborate on purchasing and other areas. In comparison to large-scale corporate retail chains, often labelled mega-retailers, retail purchasing groups are based on collaborative external integration between a central unit and the independent, local dealers. The overall purpose of this research is to explore the specific characteristics that underscore a retail purchasing group. The paper has two research questions: (1) What are the strengths and weaknesses of a supply chain structure based on external integration?, and (2) In what areas is the purchasing groups' ownership structure particularly advantageous in comparison to the mega-retailers' vertically integrated organisations? This exploratory research is empirically grounded in a case study of two Swedish purchasing groups. The paper argues that under certain market conditions, a decentralised supply chain, which relies on collaborative external relationships, can provide a competitive alternative to a more traditional centralised structure. The paper elaborate three areas where the structure is particularly advantageous: (1) servicebased competition in an industry otherwise focused on cost leadership, (2) indepth understanding of local conditions and presence, and (3) the ability to incorporate entrepreneurial strengths and innovations in the supply chain.

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Section: Service-based Competitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring strategic strengths and weaknesses of retail purchasing groups

Sandberg

Mena

2014

The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer R

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“…l Studies describing current practice, typically in the form of case studies (n = 43). 45,46,48,49,[52][53][54][55][56][57]59,60,67,69,70,72,73,78,83,[86][87][88][89][90]92,94,[96][97][98][99][100][101]103,105,106,[108][109][110][111][112][113][114][115] Primary studies were set mostly in the USA (n = 20), 48,[52][53][54]57,70,87,88,…”

Section: Description Of Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Evidence reviewed in this study pointed to the role of the 'softer' features of SCM and procurement activities which may influence their effectiveness. Less than half of the studies were empirical case studies (n = 8); 69,70,72,73,78,83,86,87 the remainder comprised hypotheses testing (n = 10) 71,74,76,77,79-82,84,85 and one literature review. 75 The studies are summarised in Table 7.…”

Section: Collaboration and Relationshipsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Learning for the NHS on procurement and supply chain management: a rapid evidence assessment

Hinrichs

Jahagirdar

Miani

et al. 2014

Health Services and Delivery Research

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BackgroundProcurement of clinical and non-clinical goods has been identified as one area for efficiency savings for the NHS. There is a need for robust evidence to help the NHS make informed decisions about how to make such savings and there is potential for lessons to be learned from activities and initiatives implemented elsewhere to enable the adoption of good practice. The work presented in this report seeks to contribute to this process by advancing our understanding of the evidence on procurement and supply chain management (SCM) in sectors within and outside health care that can inform practice in the NHS.ObjectivesPrincipally drawing on a rapid evidence assessment (REA), we sought to (1) describe approaches to procurement and SCM in selected areas (including, but not limited to, manufacturing and automotive sectors, defence, information and communication technology, and pharmaceutical industries) and (2) identify best practices that may inform procurement and SCM in the NHS.Data sourcesSearches were conducted across MEDLINE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsycINFO, Academic Search Complete, Social Sciences Abstracts, Military and Government Collection, EconLit and Business Source Complete from January 2006 to November 2013, and Google Scholar, Web of Science and Business Source Complete for articles on specific sectors.MethodsWe conducted a REA of the published and grey literature in a range of non-health-care and health-care sectors from 2006 onwards. The review was complemented by interviews with a small set of purchasing stakeholders working within and with the NHS to help place the findings of the evidence review in the current NHS context, and a review of select experiences of procurement and SCM in New Zealand and France (chosen because of the likely application of their experiences in the NHS).ResultsWe identified a total of 73 studies for review. Findings highlighted that there is awareness in scholarly research and industry that SCM and procurement are areas for creating efficiencies and cost savings. We found that collective approaches to purchasing, improving relationships with suppliers, building capabilities and skills for purchasing decisions and the use of technology for data and materials management may lead to more efficient procurement and potentially save costs. Existing empirical evidence was scarce and, where available, tended to be weak in design and execution.LimitationsGiven the nature and variety of subject areas covered, an iterative process was conducted to narrow the searches and apply a fairly restricted combination of search terms and cut-off date. Although this still yielded a large number of studies (13,191), it is possible that this approach missed studies that would have been of relevance for this review. Studies that reported empirical findings only were included for final review, but this definition was broadened to include single case studies in order to capture the limited cases of interventions in practice and find examples of what can be learned from practice rather than theory.ConclusionsMany of the studies identified are only described as before-and-after studies and do not include evaluations of their effects. We identified four recommendations for further research. First, there is a need for further research using rigorous methodology to assess the effectiveness of different types of interventions in different settings for improving purchasing and SCM. Second, empirical research on current practices in health-care purchasing and SCM, or evaluation of new practices in health-care settings, should be implemented. Third, an evaluation of the Department of Health’s 2013 Procurement Development Programme and its recommendations provides an opportunity to focus future evaluation efforts. Finally, there is a need for increased interdisciplinary work across health-care management and SCM.FundingThe National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research programme.

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“…For instance, internationalisation incentives (Corstjens and Lal 2012), market selection (Swoboda, Schwarz, and Hälsig 2007), market channels (Agatz, Fleischmann, and Van Nunen 2008;Appel 2016;Huang and Sternquist 2007), entry mode strategies (Doherty 1999;Picot-Coupey, Burt, and Cliquet 2014), and retail format (Swoboda and Elsner 2013) are all topics that have been addressed extensively. Alongside these business and marketing-oriented research streams, logistics has been acknowledged as a crucial prerequisite and a key ingredient for successful geographical expansion (Abrahamsson and Rehme 2010;Creazza, Dallari, and Melacini 2010;Marchet et al 2016;Swoboda, Foscht, and Cliquet 2008). For instance, logistics has been considered to be 'the backbone of the internationalisation process' (Marchet et al 2016, p. 74) and Abrahamsson, Aldin, and Stahre (2003) argue that the retailer's logistics operations should 'support strategic market moves' of the company such as expansion into a new market.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring key logistics characteristics supporting embeddedness in retailers’ geographical expansion

Haag

Sandberg

2019

The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer R

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The purpose of this paper is to explore how the logistics organisation and operations support embeddedness in retailers' geographical expansion. More specifically, this study identifies four key logistics characteristics that are crucial for geographical expansion and describes how each of these supports retailers' embeddedness related to their geographical expansion. The findings illustrate how the characteristics: Centralised logistics control, Centralised logistics structure, Standardised logistics operations and Continuous learning and improvement, support societal, network and territorial embeddedness related to the geographical expansion of retailers. The paper is empirically grounded in an explorative, qualitative, multiple case study of three Swedish retailers that have geographically expanded their businesses. Company visits and interviews with a variety of informants, ranging from company owners to operational logistics staff, have been conducted.

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The Role of Logistics in Retailers′ Corporate Strategy-a Driver for Growth and Customer Value

Cited by 13 publications

References 1 publication

Exploring strategic strengths and weaknesses of retail purchasing groups

Exploring strategic strengths and weaknesses of retail purchasing groups

Learning for the NHS on procurement and supply chain management: a rapid evidence assessment

Exploring key logistics characteristics supporting embeddedness in retailers’ geographical expansion

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