Now showing 1 - 10 of 15
  • Publication
    Supply-side resilience: a practice-based view
    (IPSERA, 2022-04-10)
    This study attempts to structure and define supply-side resilience for both researchers and practitioners. Through a systematic literature review, 135 supply chain resilience practices are identified. A survey with CPOs from manufacturing firms illustrates that around 68% of mentioned SCRES practices are relevant for purchasing and supply management. Finally, three cases of practice adoption are investigated in terms of ease and effectivity. A practice typology is developed to describe the adoption context. The Practice-Based View is used as a theoretical underpinning to provide a framework to structure and make sense of the results.
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  • Publication
    Towards Predicting Supplier Resilience: A Tree-Based Model Approach
    With looming uncertainties and disruptions in today’s global supply chains, such as lockdown measures to contain COVID-19, supply chain resilience has gained considerable attention recently. While decision-makers in procurement have emphasized the importance of traditional risk assessment, its shortcomings can be complemented by resilience. However, while most resilience studies are too qualitative in nature and abstract to inform supplier decisions, many quantitative resilience studies frequently rely on complex and impractical operations research models fed with simulated supplier data. Thus there is the need for an integrative, intermediate way for the practical and automated prediction of resilience with real-world data. We therefore propose a random forest-based supervised learning method to predict supplier resilience, outperforming the current human benchmark evaluation by 139 percent. The model is trained on both internal ERP data and publicly available secondary data to help assess suppliers in a pre-screening step, before deciding which supplier to select for a specific product. The results of this study are to be integrated into a software tool developed for measuring and tracking the total cost of supply chain resilience from the perspective of purchasing decisions.
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  • Publication
    TradeIX: Blockchain-Enabled Trade Finance in Global Supply Chains (Teaching Note)
    (Ivey Cases, )
    Hofmann, Erik
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    Fallegger, Sara
    In accordance with the announcement of its new strategy, Global 3PL—one of the largest logistics companies worldwide—began an initiative through Robert Barnes — CEO of TradeIX — to optimize its working capital management in 2017. However, the potential for improvement in the realm of trade finance was heavily restricted by not only a complex network of suppliers but also by siloed inter-organizational data flows. For this reason, Global 3PL initiated a pilot project with TradeIX, a Dublin-based startup that offered a blockchain-based platform managing trade finance, especially receivables finance. Essentially, the platform solution, called Marco Polo platform, connected bank and insurance to a secure network, enabling full transparency during interim financing of accounts receivables. Despite the success of a trial run of using the Marco Polo platform, it had to be assessed on a technological and strategic level, whether this proved a long-term sustainable solution for full operation across Global 3PL's global trade finance system landscape. In this decision-oriented teaching case based on a real situation, students are asked to put themselves in the role of the protagonist, Robert Barnes. They need to analyze the challenge faced and evaluate the solution pursued by the protagonist. The teaching case takes place in the field of trade finance. The key topics are trade finance, working capital management, supply chain management (SCM), data management, process optimization and blockchain technology (BCT). This publication represents the corresponding teaching note of the case: "TradeIX: Blockchain-Enabled Trade Finance in Global Supply Chains"
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  • Publication
    modum.io (B): Bidding Farewell to Crypto
    (Harvard Business School, 2021-03)
    Huang, Laura
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    Murray, Alex
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    Hofmann, Erik
    After a successful initial coin offering (ICO) in the fall of 2017, the Switzerland-based supply chain technology company modum.io began trading its MOD token on various exchanges. The financial resources generated from the token sale set up the modum.io team to focus on operations, launch the company’s product, increase revenue, onboard new customers, and hire new staff. In the course of the cryptocurrency bear market of 2018–2019, however, the value of the MOD token deteriorated to the point where it was delisted from major exchanges. Mainly caused by the lack of regulatory compliance of security tokens on the exchanges, these delistings partially killed the liquidity of the MOD token. In light of market and regulatory developments, and with external pressure increasing, modum.io scrambled to identify alternatives to solve its predicament. In 2019, cofounder Marc Degen and his partners decided to elaborate different options in order to secure the future of modum.io while simultaneously offering a satisfactory solution for all stakeholders. In their discussions, they saw three potential paths forward from which they must choose: (1) continue as is, (2) convert outstanding tokens into some form of company equity, or (3) liquidate the company and distribute the proceeds to the share- and tokenholders. Because this decision was strategically crucial for the future of modum.io, the board of directors did not want to rush to a conclusion; they preferred to thoroughly review the benefits and pitfalls of each option.
  • Publication
    PharmaQuick: Implementation of a blockchain-based temperature monitoring system (Teaching Case)
    (The Case Centre, 2020-08)
    Hofmann, Erik
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    Fallegger, Sara
    After the revision of guidelines by the European Commission in March 2013 requiring continuous temperature monitoring of medicinal products during transport, the Swiss logistics service provider PharmaQuick faced the challenge of not only modifying their business practice to fulfill the guidelines, but also to simultaneously gain a competitive advantage with the implementation of superior technology. According to the new guidelines, the company would have to be able to provide evidence for complying with the allowed temperature ranges pre-defined by the manufacturers. Compliance for the transport of products that required low ambient temperatures usually remained unchecked, as clients of PharmaQuick refused to pay the fee for active temperature monitoring. This refusal was mostly communicated orally or unofficially, providing no hard evidence in case of a dispute. In the face of rising regulatory pressure, PharmaQuick implemented a short-term solution based on active temperature controlling and cellular data transmission with cooling trucks. However, this change multiplied the costs and, in the eyes of Dean Sprouts—business development manager at PharmaQuick, was not economically sustainable for the company. For this reason, Sprouts had to find a long-term solution that allows for compliance with the GDP’s requirements and improves transparency and traceability along the transportation supply chain at the same time. In particular, he had to assess whether blockchain technology within a cooperation with Modum constituted such a long-term solution. The presented case study is based on a fictitious company that represents a customer of the Swiss startup Modum. In this decision-based case, students are asked to put themselves in the role of the protagonist, Dean Sprout. They need to analyze the challenge faced and evaluate the solution pursued by the protagonist. The case takes place in the pharmaceutical sector in Switzerland in the year 2017. The key topics are supply chain management (SCM), external influence factors, data management, process optimization and blockchain technology (BCT).
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  • Publication
    PharmaQuick: Implementation of a blockchain-based temperature monitoring system (Teaching Note)
    (The Case Centre, 2020-08)
    Hofmann, Erik
    ;
    ;
    Fallegger, Sara
    After the revision of guidelines by the European Commission in March 2013 requiring continuous temperature monitoring of medicinal products during transport, the Swiss logistics service provider PharmaQuick faced the challenge of not only modifying their business practice to fulfill the guidelines, but also to simultaneously gain a competitive advantage with the implementation of superior technology. According to the new guidelines, the company would have to be able to provide evidence for complying with the allowed temperature ranges pre-defined by the manufacturers. Compliance for the transport of products that required low ambient temperatures usually remained unchecked, as clients of PharmaQuick refused to pay the fee for active temperature monitoring. This refusal was mostly communicated orally or unofficially, providing no hard evidence in case of a dispute. In the face of rising regulatory pressure, PharmaQuick implemented a short-term solution based on active temperature controlling and cellular data transmission with cooling trucks. However, this change multiplied the costs and, in the eyes of Dean Sprouts—business development manager at PharmaQuick, was not economically sustainable for the company. For this reason, Sprouts had to find a long-term solution that allows for compliance with the GDP’s requirements and improves transparency and traceability along the transportation supply chain at the same time. In particular, he had to assess whether blockchain technology within a cooperation with Modum constituted such a long-term solution. The presented case study is based on a fictitious company that represents a customer of the Swiss startup Modum. In this decision-based case, students are asked to put themselves in the role of the protagonist, Dean Sprout. They need to analyze the challenge faced and evaluate the solution pursued by the protagonist. The case takes place in the pharmaceutical sector in Switzerland in the year 2017. The key topics are supply chain management (SCM), external influence factors, data management, process optimization and blockchain technology (BCT). This publication represents the corresponding teaching note of the case: "PharmaQuick: Implementation of a blockchain-based temperature monitoring system"
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