A Truly Transformative SCM Master Program
Supply chain management (SCM) master’s programs often emphasize functional silos, as reflected in course titles such as “Operations Management” and “Logistics and Distribution Management”. While these traditional elements are important, they risk overlooking transformative perspectives necessary in the face of today’s global challenges. Supply chains are entwined with wicked problems like climate change, human and animal rights, and geopolitical tensions. Thus, the need to incorporate broader disciplines, such as geography, geopolitics, and earth science, is more critical than ever. Furthermore, exploring the history of globalization, studying supply chain laws, and understanding the circular economy can guide us toward sustainable and ethical practices. It is equally essential to study the role of digitalization in shaping global commerce. All these diverse elements should be woven into new narratives, embodying an integrated, holistic approach to SCM education. In this transformative era, social sciences and humanities hold the key to these narratives, playing an increasingly critical role in shaping future SCM professionals.
The Tragedy of Deforestation in Our Global Supply Chains
Forests are not only a vital resource for maintaining a healthy and stable climate, but they also provide numerous ecosystem services such as biodiversity conservation, soil conservation, and water regulation. However, supply chains that rely on unsustainable practices are a major threat to the world’s forests. This BBC video emphasizes that immediate action is needed to address the drivers of deforestation and promote sustainable supply chains.
Tenth Anniversary of the Rana Plaza Disaster
Ten years ago, on April 24, 2013, the world was shocked by the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh. The tragedy claimed the lives of 1,134 garment workers and injured thousands more. The building housed several garment factories that supplied clothing to major global brands. Rana Plaza highlighted the dominant supply chain logic: that a T-shirt can only be sold at a very low price at the downstream end of the supply chain because the real cost is paid by the workers at the upstream end, who sacrifice their health or even their lives. In the aftermath, many apparel brands committed to improving working conditions in their supply chains. Yet, progress has been slow and uneven. Ten years on, there is still much to be done to ensure that garment workers are treated fairly and with dignity. As we remember the victims of the Rana Plaza tragedy, we, supply chain academics, have a crucial role to play in the transformation of fashion supply chains.
Circular Supply Chain Transformation
We have just released a new report, entitled Circular Supply Chain Transformation: Challenges, Opportunities, and Trade-Offs for Circular Smartphones and Computers. It highlights the importance, opportunities, and potential trade-offs associated with circular supply chains for electronic devices in a way that makes it easier for decision makers to understand and navigate the circular transformation. Importantly, the report emphasizes that everyone – from manufacturers and purchasers to distributors, recyclers, and policy makers – has a role to play in the transformation toward circular devices, and that it is possible to implement many of these circular initiatives in a way that reduces the environmental, social, and economic costs of electronic devices. By providing concrete examples and societal reflections, the report serves as a foundation and guide for decision-makers who want to reduce the negative impact of their electronic devices. The report is a result of the Reimagining Supply Chains Initiative – a collaborative research effort between Copenhagen Business School, Nordakademie, and Nordakademie Foundation.
JSCM Paper Development Workshop in Copenhagen
The Journal of Supply Chain Management is conducting a paper development workshop (May 25–26) wherein participants may submit a working paper to obtain constructive feedback. The workshop shall provide training in crucial areas that are essential for publication in a premier academic journal, help participants to develop their working papers into mature papers that are ready for submission, and offer networking opportunities. The workshop will be hosted by Andreas Wieland, Co-Editor-in-Chief of JSCM. To apply for the event, send an abstract (max. 750 words) of your working paper by April 9. Acceptance of the abstract is a prerequisite for registration. The workshop is restricted to a maximum of 20 participants. The registration fee for this event is DKK 1000 (ca. € 135) and includes coffee, lunch, and a joint dinner on Thursday. After registration and prior to the event, participants are expected to share their working papers (max. 10,000 words) with their peers and prepare written feedback on three other papers. After the workshop, the most promising papers of the participants will be invited for submission to JSCM. For more information download our workshop flyer: JSCM Paper Development Workshop (PDF)
The Dark Side of the Cobalt Supply Chain
Cobalt Wars is one of the most interesting ARTE.tv documentaries I have seen recently. It looks at the supply chain of cobalt, a key ingredient in the batteries of our smartphones and electric cars, and the political, environmental and social challenges associated with that supply chain. (French with English subtitles, also available in German. Not available in all regions.)
Teaching Cases – “Global Sourcing at Nike” and “IKEA Goes Online”
It is always exciting to discover new teaching cases, especially when they are of very high quality. Two cases have just won awards in the 2023 Case Center Awards and Competitions. The first is called Global Sourcing at Nike and takes the perspective of Amanda Tucker, Vice President of Sourcing at Nike (authors: Michael W. Toffel, Nien-hê Hsieh, and Olivia Hull). It “explores the evolution of Nike’s efforts to improve working conditions at its suppliers’ factories”, addressing several key supply chain challenges. The second case is entitled IKEA Goes Online: Implications for its Manufacturing (authors: Jan Olhager and Kasra Ferdows). It focuses on the introduction of an app that allows customers to use their mobile phones to visualize and order products in a virtual room, and a second app that allows customers to shop remotely. Congratulations to all the winners. (See also last year’s winner: Apple Inc: Global Supply Chain Management.)
Thinking Differently About Supply Chain Resilience
Today I would like to introduce you to our new article entitled Thinking Differently About Supply Chain Resilience: What We Can Learn From Social-Ecological Systems Thinking, which is the result of an exciting collaboration with Mark Stevenson, Steven A. Melnyk, Simin Davoudi, and Lisen Schultz. We argue that the supply chain resilience literature should be expanded to include insights from the social-ecological systems literature. Five practical examples of disruptive events are used to demonstrate how current theoretical lenses fail to capture the complexity of supply chain resilience. The article presents three manifestations of resilience (persistence, adaptation, and transformation) and seven principles of resilience thinking that can be applied to supply chains. We believe that a social-ecological interpretation of supply chains offers many new avenues for research, which may rely on the use of innovative research methods to advance our understanding of supply chain resilience. Our article has been published in the International Journal of Operations & Production Management.
Wieland, A., Stevenson, M., Melnyk, S.A., Davoudi, S., & Schultz, L. (2023). Thinking Differently About Supply Chain Resilience: What We Can Learn From Social-Ecological Systems Thinking, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 43(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOPM-10-2022-0645
A Brief Introduction to Grammarly and Deepl Write
As the recent debate about ChatGPT has shown, artificial intelligence tools are advancing rapidly. Today, I would like to introduce two AI tools that can be used to improve the language of academic texts. The first tool, Grammarly, can be integrated into programs like Word and suggests improvements, both in terms of errors and style. Grammarly has already found a large following among academic writers. The second tool is called Deepl Write and is currently in beta. It allows users to type text into an input field and get an improved text back. I tested this tool today by using it to improve the text of this blog post. While such tools may not be perfect, I believe they can help increase participation in SCM research by non-native speakers and those who cannot afford expensive proofreading services. The development is moving fast and I am excited to see what comes next.
Gap-Spotting or Problematization
How should researchers construct research questions for their academic work? One intuitive answer is by spotting a gap in the existing academic literature. This is certainly an effective approach that follows the Popperian scientific method. In addition to gap-spotting, there is a second approach that deserves a little more attention: problematization. Alvesson and Sandberg (2011) describe this approach in their famous article Generating Research Questions Through Problematization (a must read!). They write that “[t]he dominance of gap-spotting is surprising, given it is increasingly recognized that theory is made interesting and influential when it challenges assumptions that underlie existing literature.” This is what problematization does: it is about identifying and challenging assumptions that underlie existing theories and generating research questions that lead to the development of more interesting and influential theories. Of course, we will still need gap-spotting in the future. But I do believe that SCM research could benefit from more problematization.
Alvesson, M., & Sandberg, J. (2011). Generating Research Questions Through Problematization. Academy of Management Review, 36(2), 247–271. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2009.0188
