Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to address the increasingly important question of supply chain design for global operations. With the rise of off‐shore sourcing and the simultaneous need for improved responsiveness to customer demand, the choice of supply chain strategy is critical....

Purpose – Whilst there are a plethora of theoretical ideas regarding a segmented approach to supply chain strategy, there is paucity of empirical data. This paper aims to present the results of a field‐based case study in a fast moving consumer goods company (FMCGCo) that sought to identify...

“Bullwhip” describes the general tendency for small changes in end‐customer demand to be amplified within a production‐distribution system. A 10 per cent increase in sales to end‐customers can precipitate a 40 per cent upswing in production and subsequent downswing (as excess stocks...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the differences and similarities between the manufacturing and services sectors in order to develop a methodology that can provide the opportunity for the transfer of best practice between the two sectors. This paper aims to describe an...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to use a systems lens to assess the comparative performance of healthcare supply chains and provide guidance for their improvement. Design/methodology/approach – A well-established and rigorous multi-method audit methodology, based on the uncertainty...