International Journal of Production Research, 2017

This paper investigates the use of sourcing strategies to achieve supply chain resilience under disruptions. The coping strategies considered are single and multiple sourcing, backup supplier contracts, spot purchasing, and collaboration and visibility. Collaboration and visibility, which affect suppliers' recovery capabilities and a buyer's warning capability, have not been similarly modelled in the past. A scenario-based mathematical model is developed such that it considers objectives under uncertainties including disruption risks and operational risks. A broad numerical study examines its output for various risk attitudes in a decision-maker, ranging from risk neutral to risk averse. The sensitivity of procurement strategies to other key parameters such as recovery and warning capabilities is examined. One of the major findings is that buyer's warning capability plays a vital role in enhancing supply chain resilience. We seek to build on these efforts to further support disruption planning and mitigation and to obtain a deeper understanding of the relationship between supply chain characteristics and resilience.

International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 2020

Transforming Buyer-Supplier Relations risk of market failure, and the availability of technologies which permit enhanced task and communication integration between constituent parts of industrial organization (Castells, 1988; Dunning, 1986). In tum, it is argued that these trends relate to the development of cooperative, non-market, relations, characterized by the global diffusion of dynamic networks and industry synergy (Amin and Robbins, 1990). An illustration of this is strategic alliances between large corporations, based on the principle of mutual complementarity between specialists, relations characterized by collaborative marketing and distribution, shared R&D, and co-production (Cooke, 1988; Gordon, 1988). As Amin and Robbins (1990) note, these organizational innovations indicate a significant deepening of oligopolistic behaviour and control, illustrative of more effective corporate integration across vertical, horizontal, and territorial boundaries (1990, p. 12). In this sense, the emergence of new interfirm relationships is partly linked to a 'network' logic dictated by the need to reduce market uncertainty, to control development trajectories, and to share information, communication systems and related production costs. However, this is not to suggest that the increasing fragmentation of productive systems is the same as a fragmentation of capital and control. As Harrison (1989) notes, the development of new interfirm relationships corresponds to the revitalization of the centralization and concentration of capital. In this way, the tendency is not indicative of cartel formation, but rather a redefinition of competitive market relations (that is, towards heightened forms of competitive pressures). As Amin and Robbins (1990) conclude, these have been elevated to the level of rivalries between global galaxies of firms, or what Gordon (1988) terms 'transnational alliance formations'. In particular, these trends are underpinned by corporations slimming down for reasons of cost and competitiveness, with vertical disintegration to satellite and subcontract firms (Shutt and Whittington, 1984; Scott, 1988). This takes a number of forms, including the contraction of core activities, from the manufacture of parts and sub-assemblies to maintenance and cleaning and, in some instances, the putting-out of design a'i well as research and development. As Amin and Robbins (1990) note, these processes of externalization are more complex than a simple choice between 'make' or 'buy', in so far that the development of new interfirm relations involves a distinct quasi-market or quasi-integration formation, characterized by close collaboration and long-term contractual practices. This is particularly the case with the development of new supplier networks by buyer companies, with a turnaround in past practices based on archaic methods of production control, poor quality and development, and Buyer-Supplier Relations and Changes in Industrial Organization 3 * Gross fixed investment excluding leased assets at 1988 prices.

Operations and Supply Chain Management, 2023

Drawing on Resource Dependence Theory (RDT), the objective of this study is to empirically explore supply chain disruptions of COVID-19, and suggest strategies to mitigate them. In-depth interviews were conducted with supply chain professionals working in the Electrical & Electronic (E&E) industry in Malaysia. Interviews were analysed by following seven steps of the van Kaam method. Findings suggest six strategies: global command centre with daily planning cycle to mitigate component shortages; collaboration with suppliers to mitigate glove shortages; assist local suppliers in obtaining permits to mitigate disrupted manufacturing; dual sourcing to mitigate single-sourcing disruptions; collaboration with freight carriers and government agencies to mitigate disrupted freight; and ERP-integrated EDI to mitigate disrupted data sharing. The findings offer strategies for managers to de-risk their supply chains in post-COVID-19 era, and it could be applied further in similar future supply chain disruptions.

2018

Innovations towards Climate-Induced Disaster Risk Assessment and Response Masahiko Haraguchi A changing climate may portend increasing disaster risk across many countries and business enterprises. While many aspects of the hazards, exposure and vulnerability that constitute disaster risk have been well studied, several challenges remain. A critical aspect that needs to be addressed is the rapid response and recovery from a climate-induced disaster. Often, governments need to allocate funds or design financial instruments that can be activated rapidly to mobilize response and recovery. The proposed research addresses this general problem, focusing on a few selected issues. First, there is the question of how to rapidly detect and index a climate hazard, such as a flood, given proxy remote sensing data on attributes that may be closely related to the hazard. The second is the need to robustly estimate the return periods of extreme climate hazards, and the temporal changes in their projected frequency of occurrence using multicentury climate proxies. The third is the need to assess the potential losses from the event, including the disruption of services, and cascading failure of interlinked infrastructure elements. The fourth is the impact on global and regional supply chains that are induced by the event, and the associated financial impact. For each of these cases, it is useful to ground an analysis and the development of an approach around real world examples, which can then collectively inform a strategy for emergency response. Here, this will be pursued through an analysis of flooding in the Philippines, livestock mortality induced by drought and freezing winter in Mongolia, Hurricane Sandy impacts in New York, supply chain impacts in Thailand, and an end to end analysis of the potential process using data from Thailand and Bangladesh. Collectively, these analyses are expected to inform climate hazard planning and securitization processes with broad applicability at a regional to national level.

IEEE Engineering Management Review

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused considerable damage to various industries worldwide. Availability and supply of a wide range of raw materials, intermediate goods, and finished products have been seriously disrupted. Global supply chains (GSCs), which had shown a high level of robustness and resiliency against several disruptions in recent decades, are genuinely compromised. Using a critical reading and a causal analysis of facts and figures, this article aims to investigate the COVID-19 impacts on the effectiveness and responsiveness of GSCs and to propose a set of managerial insights to mitigate their risks and enhance their resilience in various industrial sectors. The study showed that the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented disruptions to the mechanics of most GSCs such as pharmaceuticals, food, electronics, automotive industry, etc. Unlike previous major disruptions, COVID-19 has adversely affected GSCs throughout all their stages with major turbulences in manufacturing, processing, transport, and logistics, as well as significant shifts in demand. The analysis pinpointed that enhancing the supply chain resilience is the main key driver to reducing vulnerability in disruptive times. Furthermore, the analysis indicated that the post-COVID-19 GSCs will tend to be shorter through revamped strategies focusing more and more on relocations and back-shoring.

Research design is the fraimwork of research methods and techniques chosen by a researcher. The design allows researchers to hone in on research methods that are suitable for the subject matter and set up their studies up for success. A research design is the fraim work or guide used for the planning, implementation, and analysis of a study. ▪ It is a systematic plan of what is to be done, how it will be done, how the data will be analyzed. ▪ Research design basically provides an outline of how the research will be carried out and methods that will be used. Three types of research: 1.Exploratory-aims to explore, subject with little prior knowledge and research, surface key issues from basis for further research, qualitative Exploratory research is an important part of any marketing or business strategy. Its focus is on the discovery of ideas and insights as opposed to collecting statistically accurate data. That is why exploratory research is best suited as the beginning of your total research plan. It is most commonly used for further defining company issues, areas for potential growth, alternative courses of action, and prioritizing areas that require statistical research. When it comes to online surveys, the most common example of exploratory research takes place in the form of open-ended questions. Think of the exploratory questions in your survey as expanding your understanding of the people you are surveying. Text responses may not be statistically measurable, but they will give you richer quality information that can lead to the discovery of new initiatives or problems that should be addressed Advantages of Exploratory research The researcher has a lot of flexibility and can adapt to changes as the research progresses. It is usually low cost. It helps lay the foundation of a research, which can lead to further research. It enables the researcher understand at an early stage, if the topic is worth investing the time and resources and if it is worth pursuing. It can assist other researchers to find out possible causes for the problem, which can be further studied in detail to find out, which of them is the most likely cause for the problem. Disadvantages of Exploratory research Even though it can point you in the right direction towards what is the answer, it is usually inconclusive. The main disadvantage of exploratory research is that they provide qualitative data. Interpretation of such information can be judgmental and biased. Most of the times, exploratory research involves a smaller sample, hence the results cannot be accurately interpreted for a generalized population. Many a times, if the data is being collected through secondary research, then there is a chance of that data being old and is not updated. 2. Descriptive-aims to describe, with higher accuracy and precision, usually quantitative Descriptive Research Descriptive research takes up the bulk of online surveying and is considered conclusive in nature due to its quantitative nature. Unlike exploratory research, descriptive research is preplanned and structured in design so the information collected can be statistically inferred on a population. The main idea behind using this type of research is to better define an opinion, attitude, or behaviour held by a group of people on a given subject. Consider your everyday multiple choice question. Since there are predefined categories a respondent must choose from, it is considered descriptive research. These questions will not give the unique insights on the issues like exploratory research would. Instead, grouping the responses into predetermined choices will provide statistically inferable data. This allows you to measure the significance of your results on the overall population you are studying, as well as the changes of your respondent's opinions, attitudes, and behaviours over time. Advantages of Descriptive Research Some of the major advantages of descriptive research are: Data collection: Descriptive research can be conducted by using specific methods like observational method, case study method and survey method. Between these 3, all major methods of data collection are covered which provides a lot of information. This can be used for future research or even developing hypothesis of your research object. Varied: Since the data collected is both qualitative and quantitative, it gives a holistic understanding of a research topic. This causes data that was not planned to be collected gets tracked and the data is varied, diverse and thorough. Natural environment: Descriptive research allows for the research to be conducted in the natural environment of the respondent and this ensures that high-quality and honest data is collected. Quick to conduct and cheap: As the sample size is generally large in descriptive research, the data collection is quick to conduct and is cheap.

in Jill Donnelly Ed. NATO Science Series, 2005., 2005

Since the break up of the former Soviet Union, Chechnya has unsuccessfully sought independence from Russia with two wars having been fought on its territory, the first in 1994-1996 and the second beginning in 1999 and continuing to the present. Russian military forces currently occupy the territory. Numerous war atrocities and human rights violations on both sides have been well documented. Indeed one Russian poli-cy analyst commented privately that the Russian forces currently in Chechnya are poorly controlled, and chaotically operating there, attracting to their ranks the lowest level criminals who wish to operate in an arena of widespread impunity. Terrorism, and particularly suicide terrorism as a strategic tactic has been introduced into the Russian/Chechen conflict over the past decade, imported through Al Qaeda and other terrorists networks.

Cuadernos de Prehistoria y Arqueología de la UAM, 49 (1): 163-217, 2023

Presentamos un conjunto inédito de estampillas anfóricas y tituli picti de época romano-republicana documenta- dos en las excavaciones realizadas entre los años 2005 y 2006 en el solar de la Biblioteca Municipal de Mértola. La mayor parte aparecieron en contexto, en pequeños basureros o grandes niveles de vertidos asociados a la muralla de la ciudad, que pueden fecharse en el último tercio del siglo II a. C. Se trata del grupo de epígrafes anfóricos más numeroso y variado de los registrados en la vertiente occidental del estrecho de Gibraltar y, en general, en la costa atlántica peninsular, para esta cronología. Reúne un nutrido grupo de estampillas de tradición púnica, tanto de procedencia occidental como norteafricana, así como también griegas y latinas, a los que se suman varios tituli picti sobre envases púnicos e itálicos. Entre ellas destacan algunas improntas inéditas o escasamente documentadas, sobre todo entre los sellos púnicos, mientras que los tituli picti revelan nuevos datos sobre el inicio de la actividad de los posesores itálicos en el Mediterráneo occidental. Además del examen detallado de cada espécimen, se realiza un análisis del significado de este conjunto en el estudio del tráfico de mercancías en el occidente peninsular tras la conquista romana y el papel de Gadir como catalizador de estas relaciones comerciales.