Week 14: Supply Chain Management

Question 1

Lee et al.

Answer 1

1997

Bullwhip Effect: Small disturbances in a supply chain can instigate increasing large imprecisions and volatility upstream. Fixed by information sharing (Slack et al 2009)

Question 1

Burnes and New

Answer 1

1997

Partnership requires long-term commitment, a “win-win” philosophy, and well-structured frameworks to determine prices and profits. Rover and TRW: Difficult partnership, but resulted in JIT implementation

Question 2

Hugos

Answer 2

2003

‘Strategic outsourcing’: assess own capabilities and use suppliers that have superior capabilities. Can then decrease costs and increase overall capabilities.

Question 3

Lambert and Knemeyer

Answer 3

2004

Partnerships must add value, otherwise can be replaced by a well-written contract

Question 3

Williamson 1981

Answer 3

Asset specificity and uncertainty

Question 4

Nishiguchi and Beaudet

Answer 4

1998

Aisin fire. P-Valve factory broke down, 200 firms self-organized a response

Question 6

Slack et al

Answer 6

2009

Supply chain must be able to deliver on five key objectives: quality, speed, dependability, flexibility, and cost. If supplier > firm on these, outsource MUST diffuse information throughout chain. Increase awareness of product demand alleviates bullwhip effect. Each manager needs supply chain oversight

Question 7

Macbeth and Ferguson

Answer 7

1994

Inventories should be liabilities on the balance sheet→ outsource and use JIT to reduce

Question 9

Coase 1937

Answer 9

Transaction costs and Fisher Bodies

Question 10

Walker and Weber

Answer 10

1984

High asset specificity → opportunistic supplier + high uncertainty → firms are better off producing in house. Also argues that the effect of transaction costs in the “make-or-buy” decision is “substantially overshadowed” by comparative production costs.

Question 11

Spekman and Johnston

Answer 11

1986

Relationship aspect of make or buy. Decisions on suppliers are made based on how well the selling company presents itself, not issues of pricing or effectiveness. Corroborated by Coase‘s (2000) analysis on GM acquisition of Fisher Bodies; GM was afraid of the potential that a stake in the company might be bought by someone “with whom it might be more difficult to deal”.

Question 12

perper and Sako

Answer 12

1995

“Exit” (find a new supplier) and “voice” (try improve current supplier) relationships

Question 13

Sako

Answer 13

2009

Outsourcing too much to the point of outsourcing your core competencies means that firms may lose their advantage