Describes a research project carried out within the Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI) to evaluate and improve the recycling and disposal of pharmaceutical products. Discusses supply chain management practices in the National Health Service and, in particular, focuses on the concept of reverse...

Outsourcing is one of the fastest‐growing and arguably most important areas of business activity. This article examines the differing motivations behind and approaches to outsourcing of public and private sector organisations in the UK, and what they can learn from each other. It compares the...

Purpose – This paper seeks to examine the factors which influence the ability of SMEs to align their enterprise‐planning systems with the requirements and constraints of supply chain relationships in order to meet their own and their customers' strategic and operational requirements. The...

This article examines the changes in the relationship between government departments and the UK construction industry brought about by the privatisation of the Property Services Agency (PSA). In particular, it shows that while there has been some encouragement for closer, and more long‐term,...

Purpose – This article aims to explore the arguments that citizens of future cities will increasingly live in virtual communities as well as bricks and mortar ones, and that some previously physical supply chains will become virtual networks or communities. In examining these arguments, the...