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This editorial embodies a series of essays from the current and past editors of the Journal of Business Logistics in marking the 40th anniversary of the journal. The compendium is intended to illustrate the evolution in logistics thought and practice as well as the journal's role in documenting and advancing the field. Key trends are identified in each era. Further, each editor expresses opinions of the current and future state of the discipline. This review reflects on the evolution of the Journal of Business Logistics and envisions the futures of the logistics field and supply chain discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article (re)introduces the supply chain management academic audience to the critical relationship between transportation infrastructure, freight traffic, economic market drivers, and regional economic development. With the growing importance of transportation, logistics, and supply chain economics to support industrial activities, specific supply chain asset investments can significantly impact national, local, and regional economies. At the same time, the relative availability, quality, and cost of a range of transportation services, particularly those relevant to essential intermodal activities and infrastructure influence firms' location decisions. By introducing an economic-geography perspective to a thus-far transportation-centric conversation, this article explores how states and their regions compete based on economic value propositions adopted on a much broader scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many predictions were made in the growing field of supply chain management at the turn of the twenty-first century to establish the state of key concepts in the field as well as to motivate discussion, help guide resource allocation and implementation initiatives, and spark research to enhance understanding of many revolutionary supply chain management topics. The environment for supply chain activities has changed considerably since 2000, and many experts predict that even more significant change will occur over the next decade. This article will review industry progress on a set of 10 megatrends originally proposed in 2000, as well as extrapolate what the state of these trends may be over the next decade. In addition, new trends are identified that were not yet on the horizon in 2000, but will likely be influential in driving the changing supply chain over the next 10 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global competition has intensified geographic repositioning of supply chain activities with implications for the economic prosperity of specific regions and geographies affected by such shifts. Despite recent advancements made in the theory and practice of facility location decisions, a gap exists in understanding how these decisions are influenced by regional geographies and their respective supply chain capabilities. As economic development agencies recognize the value inherent in location-specific and geographically concentrated supply chain capabilities, this research explores how these affect regional prosperity and economic development. Through a combination of exploratory Delphi panels, web content analysis, and cluster mapping procedures, the research suggests a framework highlighting the potential role of regional supply chain capabilities and public sector strategies on economic development outcomes. Findings indicate that regional geographies are differentially and uniquely qualified to serve as supply chain hubs by capitalizing on these capabilities through actionable public- and private sector interventions. Regional differentiation lies in supply chain elements that are place-luck embedded and as such difficult to acquire, change, or modify. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Supply chain disruptions pose an increasingly significant risk to supply chains. This research develops a framework to examine the threat of potential disruptions on supply chain processes and focuses on potential mitigation and supply chain design strategies that can be implemented to mitigate this risk. The framework was developed by integrating three theoretical perspectives—normal accident theory, high reliability theory, and situational crime prevention. The research uses a multi-method approach to identify key safety and security initiatives (process management, information sharing, and supply chain partner and service provider relationship management) that can be implemented and the conditions under which each initiative is best suited. The research results illustrate that the depth and breadth of security initiatives depends on top management mindfulness, operational complexity, product risk, and coupling. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Many firms are increasing their focus on sustainability. However, this focus has primarily emphasized environmentalism and ethics. Enterprise value chains must develop and support a broader sustainability perspective to ensure that its consumer, business, supply chain, community and environmental relationships and interactions remain viable. Using public documents and Internet sites of major global firms, this article suggests a framework to define the dimensions of sustainability and the categories of initiatives within each dimension. The article then offers examples regarding how major firms are implementing each sustainability dimension to enhance their competitiveness. Building on the framework, the article illustrates the sustainability initiatives applied by different categories of sustainability leaders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper compares firms purchasing and/or selling food products internationally to those with domestic supply chains in order to determine if international firms: place greater managerial importance on security; and are more likely to engage supply chain partners in security-related verification and information exchange. The purpose of this paper is to explore the link between security initiatives and firm performance in terms of security outcomes, product quality, and customer service. Design/methodology/approach - A series of one-way ANOVA tests are used to assess the differences between firms with international and domestic supply chains. Additionally, cluster analysis is conducted to group firms based on their performance levels. Findings - Initial results indicate respondents with international supply chains perceive that their firms place more importance on security and are more likely to assess the security procedures of supply chain partners. Results further indicate that, in general, respondents in international firms perceive better security performance is achieved in terms of the ability to detect and recover from security incidents. Once firms are grouped by performance, respondents in the high-performance cluster, represented predominantly by international firms, perceived significantly higher performance in the areas examined. Originality/value - This paper is the first to compare, the differences in security measures employed by firms maintaining internationally oriented as opposed to domestically oriented supply chains and also relates the implementation of supply chain security measures to security and firm performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research assesses whether, and under what conditions, firms are willing to trade off price and delivery reliability for greater supplier security. Specifically, international sourcing and concern over security incidents occurring at the respondent's firm are proposed as conditions that may increase demand for supplier security. This research suggests to managers the trade offs their customers may be willing to accept for increased security. The results are useful for firms evaluating whether they should invest in supply chain security measures. Results provide academic insight into the relative importance of security as a supplier selection criterion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research develops a framework for organizational value creation from agile IT applications. Based on the four themes in the business value research—business process perspective, complementarities, application level of analysis, and extent of use—three antecedents (organizational fit, process assimilation, and network adoption) are identified as pre-requisites for realizing the value of agile supply chain applications. Advanced planning and scheduling (APS) systems are used as examples, and two case studies for their implementation in the electronics and consumer goods industry are reported to support the propositions. The theories of diffusion of innovation, complementarities, network externalities, and technology structuration are applied to develop the propositions for fit, assimilation, and network effects. Information sharing and industry clockspeed are identified as the moderating factors in the proposed model. The framework has both managerial and research relevance. The research guides managers regarding ways to more fully realize the value of agile applications and forms a basis for future research on the business value of IT applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article argues that performance measures should be chosen for their ability to detect performance consistent with the logistics organization's specific mission, goals, and environment. Performance measurement is an issue of continued interest in logistics and supply chain management. One way firms differentiate themselves in the marketplace is through their goals, and those goals determine the nature of firm operations. In turn, these goals affect the type of measures the firm should select for its logistics system. The potential exists for a disconnect between the logistics organization's measurement needs and the information reporting capabilities covering performance measures chosen by the firm. Disconnects between measurement needs and measure choice can take at least three forms. In the first situation no measures are chosen to evaluate performance and could result in a lack of guidance about system performance. This situation is clearly problematic and, in most cases, unlikely. The second situation occurs when bad information is consulted. This can occur where a company consults measures that are unreliable, inconsistent, or possibly invalid. Because information is being collected, the company may be misled into decisions which are not appropriate given the true state of performance. The third situation is the result of consulting the wrong measures. This occurs when measures are chosen without regard for the true needs of the company.

Transit time and service reliability are increasingly important for rail shippers and carriers alike. This is particularly true for chemical firms, which tend to be large rail users. Yet the chemical industry lags behind other industries in overall supply chain performance. This research addresses how chemical firms could improve their supply chain performance by managing railcar assets more effectively. Factors influencing transit time and variability are identified: the difference between hopper cars and tank cars; the service reliability of multi-carrier versus single-carrier shipments; and the impact of distance on transit time and variability. Lastly, the discussion focuses on the impact of unreliable rail transit on raw material inventory requirements at customer plants. Analysis suggests that even minor improvements in railcar transit time and variability can substantially reduce customers' needs for holding safety stock, which would significantly reduce shippers' railcar and product inventory. Managerial implications for rail carriers and chemical shippers are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines cross-functional curriculum for supply chain education at Michigan State University (MSU) East Lansing, Michigan. Supply chain organizations require individuals who can effectively comprehend and manage integrated operations both within enterprises and between supply chain partners. Faculty in purchasing, production/operations management, and logistics/ transportation operate independently, often duplicating teaching, research, and outreach efforts. Separate programs prohibit students from understanding critical elements of supply chain management in favor of in-depth knowledge in one area. MSU business faculty enjoy a rich history of cross-functional collaboration. The first step toward integration was the creation in 1978 of a program in materials and logistics management that emphasized the relationships among procurement, production, and logistics. While the start-up costs of developing new classes and courses are high, the prospective value gained by students, recruiters, and faculty appears thus far to justify the effort.

This article reports simulation research that empirically investigates and compares supply chain performance under varying conditions of information exchange and demand uncertainty. There is substantial research suggesting that integrated management and information sharing can improve supply chain capabilities and performance. The recent World Class Logistics research completed at Michigan State University has identified seventeen capabilities characteristic of firms demonstrating a high level of logistics performance. This paper reports simulation research that empirically investigates and compares supply chain performance under varying conditions of information exchange and demand uncertainty. The research objective is to quantitatively document the characteristics and performance impact of information exchange. The research uses a personal computer-based simulation tool to model a typical consumer product supply chain consisting of one supplier, one manufacturer, two distributors and three retailers under various conditions of information-based integration and demand uncertainty.

Ensuring a supply chain is secure from intentional as well as unintentional incidents is critical in today's global economy. However, some firms place a greater level of strategic importance on supply chain security than others. This research compares firms in the food industry that place a high level of strategic importance on security to firms that do not place a high level of strategic importance on security. The research assesses the measures employed by each group and resulting performance. Findings indicate that firms considering security to be a strategic priority perceive higher levels of security implementation and better security performance. Firms that place a high strategic priority on security show a greater ability to detect and recover from security incidents both inside the firm and across the supply chain in comparison to firms that place a low strategic priority on security. Cluster analysis grouped firms into high and low security performance categories in a manner consistent with the strategic priority construct and demonstrates the security measures that are likely to define high and low security performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article cites a study which reports on the academic relevance of the 21st century logistics framework by assessing the unidimensionality, reliability, and internal consistency of measures used to assess supply chain logistics integration competence. Also, the study offers a deeper investigation into the relationship between logistics integration and performance. The study focuses on three objectives. First, it offers an empirical assessment of the conceptual makeup of the supply chain logistics integration competencies portrayed in a framework introduced by researchers. Second, the study investigates the empirical association between logistics integration and superior performance. Finally, the study seeks a deeper understanding of the relative influence of logistics integration competencies on individual elements of logistics performance. Discussion focuses on how the results can be used to guide academic and managerial thinking regarding supply chain change and suggests directions for future research.