Stephen Dunne, Stefano Harney and Martin Parker are “speaking out” on the irresponsibility of management (incl. ops mgmt, SCM, even critical management) intellectuals. Their analysis shows incredibly low figures for any topics related to responsibility in a variety of management journals. The point was well taken by Andrew and Margaret Taylor who called for more such research to be submitted to e.g. IJOPM. The ball has been passed on…
Gyöngyi
Here we are at the Logistics Research Network conference in Cardiff. This year’s presentations were of outstanding quality. Not surprisingly there was a big green logistics track, with anything from green SCM capabilities to CO2 emissions in cities to transportation emissions represented. Other interesting (or let’s say, unusual ones) were on food supply chains and logistics education. Humanitarian logistics figured again.
A novelty at this conference was a “best poster” award. What a great idea! People had been put down about not getting into the proceedings and “just” presenting a poster. Funny that poster sessions in say, health care, or engineering, are seen as really positive, while at logistics conferences they are less appreciated. But posters have their own place at a conference, for research in its early phase, as well as to find collaborators for new projects. So why don’t SCM academics want to present posters at a conference?
Gyöngyi
Supply chain design for carbon trading
–Perhaps a speculative statement, but not for long.
As companies can buy emission credits on auctions and marketplaces (horisontal structure of carbon trading), why not include them in trading with suppliers and customers (vertical structure of carbon trading)?
More thoughts on this very soon.
Árni
Oddly enough, most Britons have lied about the books they’ve read in order to impress others; with a study revealing the “top ten list” of books people have lied about. The authors should be happy, even though they are not read, they are regarded as socially worth while reading. A lovely case of social desirability bias – sthg ethics scholars and corporate social responsibility researchers are quite familiar with. Apart from indirect questioning etc., one way to check for social desirability bias in a business setting is to see what a company does in an economic downturn – now it’s a good time for social desirability bias research, I reckon 
Gyöngyi
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. Christmas carrolls are full of wishes for snow – alas, anyone living in the UK now doesn’t think of a white Christmas. (Nor did anyone in China a year ago.) Why is it that snow comes such a surprise that all(!) transportation modes come to a halt? It’s the same thing at Milan airport, the first snowfall of the year leads to a complete shutdown, and to infinite disruptions in any supply chain that involves companies from Milan. Hope it doesn’t affect fashion week 
What I do not understand is the “surprise” effect of snow; it snows there every year at least once! Or have we got used too much to the effects of global warming that we have forgotten about snow?
What is more, what ever happened to dynamic vehicle routing models that could be used to avoid such disruptions? Or maybe we should ask Emmett Lodree for advice how to incorporate weather forecasts in supply chain modelling? (see his latest article in Computers and Operations Research)
Well, I certainly hope that the supply chains of “snow chains” don’t suffer from snow!
Gyöngyi
BTW, according to IBM, “SNOW” will make your supply chain greener
Here is a new European Survey on Corporate Social Responsibility by Arlbjørn, Warming-Rasmussen, Liempd and Mikkelsen at University of Southern Denmark.
The survey sets out to address three questions:
1. How far are companies with implementing
CSR and which CSR activities
companies are working with?
2. What are the main challenges, drivers
and barriers for CSR?
3. How is CSR audited?
Árni
Is everything you do with your suppliers automatically supply chain management? In that case you could just outsource everything (as this article discusses). Or does it suffice if you introduce green aspects to everything you have under control? (i.e. your own operations only? or your own distribution network?) (On this note I just love GRI‘s stance of boundaries to reporting defined by control and influence. Does this mean ownership is the only thing that counts in the reports on the SC indicators?)
It seems that the “ethical purchasing” / ethical procurement, ethical sourcing, you name it / community dominates the field of green supply chain management. It is in itself a positive development that ethics has entered purchasing so strongly (now being discussed related to emerging markets, or even in Ghanaian online news); yet, this is just a part of green supply chain management, not to speak of sustainable supply chain management… A look at SCM definitions might help before adding on the green aspect.
Gyöngyi
French winemakers shipping wine from France to Ireland…by sail ship…in 2008!
It will be interesting to see if, or perhaps more importantly, how other companies follow this path of distribution and how the company itself, Compagnie de Transport Maritime à la Voile, will develope.
This reminds me of a recent Call for Papers on The sustainable agenda & energy efficiency, Logistics solutions and supply chains in times of climate change.
Skál (cheers)
Árni
Posted in Socks and sandals, Sustainability
The International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management calls for papers on “The sustainable agenda and energy efficiency: logistics solutions and supply chains in times of climate change”. Deadline Mar 31, 2009; Until it’s not on the Emerald website contact the special issue editors Árni Halldórsson and Gyöngyi Kovács to receive the CFP
Gyöngyi
Update on Sep 15: now it is on the website – you can access the CFP here.
Green is the new black in SCM…and similar conversion has taken place in Harvard Business Review.
Apparently, “no facet of doing business remains untouched”.
Where? How?
This has not been translated in many (all) of the textbooks I teach in Logistics and Operations Management.
Árni
