12-04-2014, 11:24 AM
Implementation and application of Logistics Information Systems in international supply chains –
challenges and effectiveness gains
Implementation and application.pdf (Size: 1.54 MB / Downloads: 95)
Logistics
• Logistics is the task of coordinating material
flow and information flow across the supply
chain (Harrison & van Hoek 2008)
• Effectiveness is about reaching goals
• The goal of logistics is to deliver
Effectiveness problems
• Demand is typically not fully met
– Typically 8 % stock-out in US grocery shops (Sloot et
al. 2005)
• Demand and supply are variable
• Supply chain instability
– Fluctuations in demand is amplified by demand
distortion
– Periods of over- and undersupply
• Typical measure to improve service: inventory
Inventory
• Inventory is expensive (waste?):
– 25 % p.a. as a rule of thumb
– Handling, storage, obsolescence, deterioration
• Much academic work within the area of logistics
aims at calculating the “right” level of inventory
• Information systems are typically used to manage
inventory
– The ISs data about demand and current inventory
often has low quality (Wagner 2002, Sloot et al. 2005)
Integration of the supply chain using IS
• Information systems could give better
information about the demand and supply
– Transfer real time information about the demand
and supply to all actors electronically
• => Electronic integration of the supply chain
processes between actors
• >Let’s look at an example from an industry
where effectiveness is a hard challenge:
fashion
Reflecting over Zara
• Effective supply chain delivering new designs in
short time
• Design center driven by high quality demand
information
• Information quality from human participation
– Orders placed by shop manager based on manual
inventory position
– Manual Business Intelligence
– Incentives to provide high quality information
– “Shared awareness”
– Relatively low IT sophistication and cost
(25 % of industry avg.)
• The role of vertical integration