Musings on research in

supply chain management

S G DeshmukhABV-Indian Institute of Information Technology & Management , Gwalior International Conference on Operations & SCM

Symbiosis Institute of OM (SIOM) , Nashik

11 Aug 20161

Acknowledgement This presentation is based on extensive knowledge

sharing sessions with

Prof Abid Haleem (Jamia) ,Prof N K Sharma (IITK), Dr

Jitesh Thakkar (IITKgp), Prof Manoj Tiwari(IITKgp),

Prof Ravi Shankar(IITD) and Prof R P Mohanty (ICFAI)

Thankful to numerous research scholars and faculty

members from various institutes participating in our

FDPs and Dr Manoj Dash (ABVV-IIITMG)

You may look at some of my presentations available at

http://www.slideshare.net/SanjeevDeshmukh/presentations

2

Speaking points..

Opening remarks..

Context & historical view

About research..

Various perspectives

Visibility and research opportunities

Closing remarks..

3

Opening remarks:

IT is making world flatter !(Thanks to Friedman)

Outsourcing dominated paradigm

Geography has become history: Time and distance are no longer the important variables

Mobile dense and multimedia rich environment has accelerated digital environment.

Internet is changing the way we communicate with –

Disruptive models of business –Flipkart/Anazon etc.

Source : Friedman, T L, The World is flat: Farrar, Straus & Giroux , 2005http://video.mit.edu/watch/the-world-is-flat-9145/

4

Observations ..1.. Everywhere transformation(digital !) taking

place

Traditional ways of conducting research and

disseminating outcomes have also changed

The way we communicate and disseminate has

changed.

Contemporary research in SCM is no exception

to this !

5

Observations ..2…

Supply Chain Management has matured as a

discipline

Developments in IT have made integration

possible: The fundamental premise on which SCM

is based !!

Basic concerns in SCM : Management of Material

Flow, Information Flow and Money Flow

These concerns are valid in a variety of contexts ,

hence plethora of opportunities available ,

especially in emerging economies like India

What is happening today..

An increasing focus on interdisciplinary/

multidisciplinary/trans-disciplinary research

SCM , by design provides an ideal platform for this !

An enhanced importance on large scale problems,

rather than techniques; Thanks to data

science/analytics !!

Greater emphasis on collaborative work

Research in SCM : Integrative, crossing discipline

boundaries

7

Research in supply chain

management domain …

Huge scope for integration

Empirical and case based ?

Context/culture based?

Applied ?

Opportunity to make some contributions to

society ?

History- Generations of researchers !

1G Prof A Subash Babu

2G Dr S G Deshmukh

3G Dr Arshinder

4G Dr P Kalpana

Continuity

Change

Methodology

Tools

Most importantly :

Problem areas…

Supply chain of researchers !!

Generation gap?..

G Name Title of the Phd Thesis Year

G1 A Subash Babu Optimal Policies for Spares in Multi-Echelon

Repair-Inventory Systems (IIT Delhi)

1980

G2 S G Deshmukh Evaluation of Effectiveness of a Class of

Integrated Procurement-Production Systems

( IIT Bombay)

1989

G3 Arshinder An Integrative Framework for Supply Chain

Coordination (IIT Delhi)

2008

G4 Kalpana Split Ordering decisions in Single Period

Supply Chain with Contracts and Information

Sharing (IIT Madras)

2013

Change in focus Inventory control/Materials Management

Production-procurement systems

Supply Chain Management

Supply Chain Analytics

Role of information sharing

Fragmented to Integrated ?

Myopic to long term?

Tool centric to issue centric?

Model based to practice based?

Research in SCM

Passion

Deeply influenced by

subject matter

Driven by choice

Desire to make an impact

Driven by “will to excel”

Process

Mechanistic part

Definite expectations to be

met

Skeleton or frame

Typical example:

documentation

12

Various perspectives …

ARC Perspective on Research

Music Perspective on Research

Railway track Perspective on Research

ARC perspective on research

Attributional

Relational

Classificational

Source: Deshpande R S, Institute for Social & Economic Change, B’lore

14

ARC Perspective (contd) Attributional:

Attributing a measurement (definition) to a particular

Concept.

Growth, Logistic efficiency, Inventory turns

Relational: Relating a phenomenon with its determinants

Explaining performance measurement vis-à-vis human

motivation ?

Logistical performance !

Classificational: Understanding by categorizing on the basis of some

indicators

Taxonomy: Innovators Vs Followers, Leaders Vs Laggards 15

Music Perspective :

AROHA and AVAROHAA - Algorithm

A – Approach V - Variables

R – Review A - Arrangement

O - Objectives R - Results

H - Hypothesis O - Objectivity

A - Analysis H – Humanistic

A – Analytical Rigour

16

Source: Deshpande R S, Institute for Social & Economic Change, B’lore

Dance your Ph D…

http://gonzolabs.org/dance

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/0

6/science-launches-2016-dance-

your-phd-contest

Railway Track PerspectiveUseful for understating of the “process of research “

Credit: Prof N K Sharma(IITK)

18

Remarks..

Railway: Symbol of progress and confidence

in technological modernity.

Railway track symbolizes a fixed and definite

path

Railways even enter our everyday language:

we 'fast-track', 'side-track' and 'go off the rails’

It also represent “Process” part of the research

(fixed, methodical, systematic )!

19Revill, George (2012). Railway. Objekt Series. London: Reaktion

Railway Track Perspective:

Typology?

T11 T12 T13

T21 T22 T23

Research in SCM is guided by

some aspects of boundary

Discipline Boundary (Maths, Computer Science,

HR, Finance !!)

Time or Resource Boundary

Information or Data Boundary (availability, form

and content )

Contextual boundary(guided by the situation)

15 21

Importance of Research in SCM

For gaining acceptance by the academic

community

For enhancing quality of pedagogy (especially

in Business schools)

For increase in reach and visibility

For making some difference & impact since

SCM affects and gets affected by a whole array

of disciplines cutting across the discipline

boundaries !22

How Emerald measures impact *?

Citations/Usage

Inclusion of research in courseware/

Training material

Implementation in Practice

Transformation of Research for new

audience

Awards

*Source http://www.emeraldinsight.com/authors/impact/index.htm

23

Altmetrics : a tool for visibility !altmetrics is the creation and study of new metrics based on the Social Web for analyzing, and informing scholarship. www.altmetrics.org

Supplement to traditional peer-reviewed metrics

Looks at downloads

“Crowdsource peer-review

Many tools currently available: Google Scholar Profile/citations

Mendeley

Total-Impact

ReaderMeter

24

Observations..

Our thinking & way of working is shaped by

environment and the context within which we

operate

Research in SCM is governed by ‘Context”!

We are “Textual” rather than ‘Contextual”

Insightful remark by Mr K P Fabian, Ex-

ambassador, (4 Aug 2016 at ABV-IIITM Gwalior)

25

Research in SCM …

It is crucial to make sure that your research in

SCM is visible

Visibility from Academia point of view and from

Society point of view

If your papers are available on the web, it is

more likely that other researchers will read your

papers and cite you.

26

Networks for researchers

One can share and

disseminate

Contributions in terms of

publications, downloads,

datasets etc.

Platforms : Research Gate,,

Academia , Mendeley

27

Pegrum, M., "'I link therefore I am': network literacy as a core digital literacy",

E-learning and Digital Media 7(4), 346-354 2010

doi:10.2304/elea.2010.7.4.346

Sharing platforms..

Visibility earned by sharing &

Collaboration

With Industry Transfer of knowhow from you to industry (may be outcome

of your consultancy! : example: transshipment model to a

leading tyre company )

Translating the needs of industry; Logistics, finance etc

Establishing a dialogue with industry & Sharing of research

outcomes

Building case studies and improving management pedagogy

With society

Relevance of your research to society

Synchronization with the societal view 28

Issues for considerations..

1. How research and its visibility are evaluated

today will not be the same in five years ahead

2. What are good indicators of visibilty? What can

we measure? What should we be measuring?

3. How should we be measuring them? What do

they mean?

4. Measurements in future will allow for greater

granularity.

29

Opportunities for Research in SCM

: Classification view (Recollect ARC perspective !)

Technology Oriented

Social Networking

Information security

Service Oriented Architecture

People Oriented Humanitarian Logistics

Unorganized Sector/SMEs

SCM in mission mode

Humanitarian Logistics & Disaster

Management : Research Posers

How to define “Responsiveness” for disaster supply chains?

What are the dimensions of “flexibility” in such supply chains?

What are the behavioral implications of disaster supply chains?

Are service chains different from the production chains in the context of disaster supply chains?

How to locate and dislocate facilities on a short term basis for such supply chains?

How to develop Performance Measurement System for such chains?

Attributional & relational view

SCM for SMEs: context

Vital contributor to Indian economy

Low levels or absence of organizational hierarchy;

Involvement of CEO/Chief in operational decisions rather than strategic decisions as in large scale organizations ;

“blurred” departmental walls;

Tremendous scope for implementing concepts of “Lean or agile “ manufacturing and consequently “Lean/agile” supply chains

By design, SMEs are prone to “sustainability” due to their size and much less danger to the environment

Faster rate of changes in business environment which affect SMEs to a great extent than in LSEs : SMEs are also able to respond to these changes positively.

SMEs : Research Posers

Is there any difference between IT applications of SCM required for SMEs as compared to LSEs?

What are the behavioral implications of performance measurement systems in SMEs?

Does the “Scale” matters for sustainability?

What are the relevant dimensions of “Sustainability” for SMEs?

What are the societal costs for sustaining the supply chains?

What are the coordination issues as far as coupling of LSE and SME are concerned?

Attrubutional & relational view

AROHA & AVAROHA view

SCM for Unorganized Sector:

Context Estimation of contribution of unorganized sector in

economy

Assessment of training needs of unorganized sector

from SC point of view

Inter-linkages of production, distribution, quality

systems and service for unorganized sector

Evolution of SC best practices for unorganized sector

Design and development of performance

measurement systems for unorganized sector

SCM in Unorganized Sector:

Research Posers What are the linkages between the supply chains of organized sector

vis-à-vis unorganized sector?

Are there any opportunities to borrow some good practices from organized sector and map them into unorganized sector?

What are the dimensions required in the performance measurement systems of such supply chains?

How to leverage huge human potential existing in our country to make these supply chains more responsive yet financially viable?

What are the learnings from the other developing countries (such as East Asian or SAARC countries)

Cuthbertson R and Piotrowicz, 2011, Performance measurement systems in Supply chains: A framework fro contextual analysis, Int J of Productivity & Performance Measurement , 60(6),583-602

SCM in

Swachhata Abhiyan : Context Mission mode project, launched by the prime minister

in Oct 2014

Supply chain of garbage, waste, debris, disposables

etc.

Material flow, information flows

Huge scope for improvement

A social supply chain & Community led supply chain

Reverse supply chain for waste recycle ?

Attributional & Relational view https://swachhbharat.mygov.in/

36

Closing remarks.. “Passion” & “Process” : both are necessary

ingredients for research in SCM

Various perspectives on research

There are various imperatives for making a

researcher visible

Research in SCM offers opportunities to make

meaningful impact

Immense research opportunities in “People led

SCM” in unorganized and mission mode

projects 37

References Digital Researcher http://www.vitae.ac.uk/researchers/315321/Digital-

Researcher.html

Cann, A., Dimitriou, K., Hooley, T., "Social Media : A guide for researchers",

(February), 2011

http://www.rin.ac.uk/our-work/communicating-and-disseminating-

research/social-media-guide-researchers

Pegrum, M., "'I link therefore I am': network literacy as a core digital literacy",

E-learning and Digital Media 7(4), 346-354 2010

doi:10.2304/elea.2010.7.4.346

iGoogle http://www.google.com/ig

38

Thank you..

deshmukh.sg@gmail.com

http://www.slideshare.net/SanjeevDeshmukh

http://sgdeshmuk.blogspot.in/

39