Purpose The business implications of additive manufacturing (AM) are explored; specific focus thereby lies on the impact of AM technology adoption in customized parts production. Design/methodology/approach Based on two explorative case studies from the hearing aid industry, the impact of AM technology adoption on supply chain business processes and management components is analyzed. General systems theory and a supply chain management framework serve as theoretical underpinning. Findings Not only primarily manufacturing firms’ internal processes and management activities, e.g. in material flow management, are affected by a changeover to AM, but also business processes and management components relating to the supply- and demand-side of a company’s supply chain. Research limitations/implications It is proposed that AM’s ability to economically build custom products provides the potential to alleviate the common dilemma between product variety and scale economies. Practical implications Manufacturing firms are encouraged to consider the potential effects of AM on supply chain processes and management components when deciding about the adoption of AM technologies in the manufacturing of industrial parts. Original/value The research adds to the widely unexplored effects that AM technology usage in customized parts production has on supply chain business processes and management components. Moreover, the general lack of case studies analyzing implications of AM technology adoption from a supply chain perspective is addressed. The resulting propositions may serve as a starting point for further research on the impact of AM in engineer-to-order supply chains. Keywords: additive manufacturing, 3D-printing, supply chain management, customization, engineer-to-order, business processes, management components

We investigate the value of accounting for demand seasonality in inventory control. We consider a single-location, single-item periodic-review lost sales inventory problem with cyclic demand in a retail environment. Customer demand has seasonality with a known season length, the lead time is shorter than the review period, and orders are placed as multiples of a fixed batch size. Our cost structure comprises a fixed cost per order, a fixed cost per batch and a variable cost per unit, which are used to model retail handling costs. We consider four different settings which differ in the degree of demand seasonality that is incorporated in the model: with or without within-review period variations and with or without across-review periods variations. In each case, we calculate the policy which minimizes the long-run average cost and compute the optimality gaps of the policies which ignore part or all demand seasonality. We apply the problem to a real life setting, using Point-of-Sales data. We find that it is most beneficial to incorporate demand seasonality for high-velocity products with low batch size for which demand across-review periods varies substantially.

Fast-moving retail items follow a cyclical demand pattern depending on timing and marketing efforts. In our research, we observe the occurrence of intraday sales patterns. We therefore model an inventory policy accounting for intraday sales patterns by refitting the review period. We include lost sales, inventory holding and handling costs, and marketing efforts. Using actual transaction data, we compare this new policy to current practice, evaluating effects on customer service and total cost.

Despite experiencing immense growth in the past decade, additive manufacturing (AM) technologies are still rarely used in industrial parts manufacturing. This paper identifies factors that determine the decision to adopt AM technologies for the production of functional parts. Eight potential adoption determinants were identified, which can be classified into four interdisciplinary categories: AM technology-related factors, supply chain-related factors, firm-related-factors, and market structure-related factors. An empirical study among 195 firms suggests that demand-side benefits and compatibility are the main determinants of AM technology adoption. This highlights that intra- and inter-organizational factors should be considered when investigating the adoption of innovative technologies.

The aim of this study is to highlight the Business Social Compliance Initiative's (BSCI) development at the occasion of its tenth birthday by reviewing its history, presenting its current activities, investigating its achievements, and providing scenarios on expected developments from a neutral scientific organisation. For the purpose of this study, we employ qualitative and quantitative research techniques. Formal and informal interviews are conducted with BSCI Secretariat officials, BSCI Steering Committee members, BSCI Stakeholder Council affiliates, BSCI country representatives, participants and auditors. Thereby, we investigate the initiative's nature, scope and challenges as well as the participants' and stakeholders' expectations. Quantitative data is analysed to examine the structure of the participant base and the producers' audit results. Further, the qualitative and quantitative research is accompanied by reviews of supplementary documentation. The study is available for free download at: http://www.fta-intl.org/sites/default/files/bsciachievementstudy_master_final.pdf.

Our current understanding of MNC organization has traditionally focused on the hierarchical interdependence between headquarters and subsidiaries. Yet, the pressure caused by globalizing markets and the rise of emerging market MNCs has forced all MNCs to escalate their search for ways to add value and to reduce costs. This effort has pushed firms to go beyond headquarter subsidiary integration, aligning multiple business functions and their typically interdependent activities through cross-functional integration along business processes. In this paper, we argue that the horizontal process organization is a distinct key component of any MNC's organizational structure, requiring equal consideration beyond the hierarchical structural organization perspective established in the integration responsiveness (IR) framework used to create typologies of MNCs' international strategy and structure (Bartlett and Ghoshal, 1987; Prahalad and Doz, 1987). To describe MNCs in a more meaningful way, one should consider not only the hierarchical interdependence between headquarters and subsidiaries but also the cross functional integration along business processes. We combine the literature on MNC's organizational structure in international business with the operations management literature on process organization to develop an extended integration framework. We then hypothesize eight typologies of MNCs and discuss respective examples from business practice. We conclude that the traditional focus on headquarter-subsidiary integration in the IR framework ignores a substantial variance among MNCs that could be better accounted for by considering MNCs' integration of business functions along their business processes.

Early hype about B2B exchanges' potential to revolutionize buyer/seller relationships is now giving way to a much more sober assessment. According to industry sources, only 23% of the hundreds of B2B marketplaces which have been announced have conducted their first trade. Different types of exchange are emerging with different specialist offerings. There is no single best way forward. As a result, companies cannot sit back and wait for consolidation to simplify their choices as to which exchanges to work with. Successful companies will skilfully orchestrate a multiple-channel environment -- private exchanges to enable tailored processes and give competitive advantage; consortium exchanges to multiply standard processes and have wide reach; integrated exchanges to offer seamless processes; and meta-markets to give access to a multitude of exchanges. Companies will also need better ways to judge the strengths and weaknesses of different exchanges; to find out how exchanges can be seamlessly connected; how networks are best governed; and how companies can generate competitive advantage when they share exchange infrastructures with their competitors.

A study carried out by a team of researchers from the University of St.Gallen's Chair of Logistics Management shows that the airfreight flows which pass through Swiss airports are a decisive element in Switzerland's appeal as a business location, and that airfreight contributes significantly to strengthening the Swiss economy and safeguarding domestic jobs.