Supply Chain Sustainability - Essay Example

Sustainable chain management Name Course Instructor Institution Date Introduction Sustainable chain management has greatly evolved from an initially perceived fringe topic to a mainstream research topic. However, there still remains an answered question pertaining to creation of a truly sustainable chain management. According to (Pagell & Shevchenko, 2014), answers to such questions can only be effectively answered only if such researches consider sustainable chain management as a distinct entity and not as a constituent of supply chain management. For instance, sustainable chain management as the management of materials, information and capital flows as well as cooperation among companies along the supply chain as well as taking goals from economic, environmental and social dimensions from customer and stakeholder requirements into account. This critical review will thus begin by highlighting the importance of separating sustainable chain management from supply chain management and later on explain some of the approaches towards achieving sustainable chain management. Summary The article begins by differentiating sustainable supply chain management from supply chain management on the basis of their key involvements and composition. The concept of sustainable supply chain, according to the articles has been often missed out due to the consideration of sustainable supply chain as a sub-stream of supply chain management during research. On this regard, the article elaborates on the key benefits that will accrue from subsequent consideration of sustainable supply chain as a distinct research stream. After an exhaustive of such benefits, this article further presents key approaches for realization of sustainable supply chain. In its conclusion, the authors of the article leave the door open for researchers, to either embrace change or perish with outdated research approaches and methodologies on sustainable supply chain. Critical Review Importance of treating sustainable supply chain management as a distinct research stream Treating sustainable chain as a distinct and separate research stream will subsequently make the concept to necessitate discussions in conferences and journal departments. Although there has been initial efforts and gesture towards such provisions, no substantial forum has treated sustainable chain management as a fully-fledged topic of discussion. The current research exploits often tend to dwell more on unsustainable supply chain management. (Cetinkaya, 2010). Such researches often assume important aspects like the consequences of supply chain management on both the environment and the society as a whole. This therefore makes the idea of sustainable supply chain management an incomplete research topic due to the accorded limit scope and subsequent attention. Independent research on sustainable supply chain management will thus make it compulsory that future supply chain management treat pay equal attention to the supply chain’s social and environmental performance as they do to economic performance. In fact, proponents of sustainable supply chain argue that such research is basically aimed at will necessitate the realization of such anticipated change. In order to foster subsequent research in sustainable supply chain, an evaluation of key factors is required. To begin with, there is need to understand that efforts to reduce harmful practices do not necessarily culminate into complete eradication of the same impacts. In this regard, researchers should therefore realize that researching on how to reduce the unsustainability of unsustainable supply chain management does not eventually result into sustainable supply chain management. Such efforts only help reduce the social and environmental effects of such management chains. If there is a dire need to engage in profitable trade and deals, then organizations should just take no shortcuts but rather adopt and switch over to new policies that offer no negative or uncertain impacts on the economic bottom line. (Thomas, 2011). The second consideration should thus be having the stakeholder tastes and preferences at the heart of organizational operation. It pays to operate on expensive new policies which will in turn greatly improve the firm’s economic, social and environmental performance. This is based on the fact that most stakeholders are not keenly interested in then economic performance of any supply chain but rather pay much attention to the subsequent effects on such chains on the environment and society. Any supply chain that therefore aims to achieving economic objectives as the core mission will therefore not sufficiently respond to social economic implications and eventually becoming unsustainable. This therefore makes it prudent to adopt non-synergetic practices in some instances. It is also advisable to consider the organization culture of supply chain management. Building a foundation on establish and familiar practices enhances swift transition and cost effective switch to sustainable supply chain management. It is easy to update or modify existing practices than introducing a new practice for implementation. Aspects such as purchasing portfolio and lean production are common phenomenon in both sustainable chain management and supply chain management and therefore should form a basis for most researches. However, this should not constrain the research on sustainable supply chain management so as to fail to establish new strategies and strategies. (Lenssen, Gasparski, Rok & Lacy, 2006). This goes hand in hand with another key understanding of sustainable supply chain management, the emphasis to keep within the limits of empiricism as it is the most practiced hence familiar. The inability to understand quality management and lean production has for a long time served as the fundamental concepts onto which supply chain management has been developed and thrived. Recommendations for achieving sustainable supply chain After a lengthy and elaborative discussion on the necessities of sustainable chain management, this article therefore puts forward a number of carefully thought recommendations on achieving sustainable chain management. The authors suggest and recommend an immediate change in norms, measurements, methods and research questions on sustainable chain management. A change in norms will aim at changing the traditional objectives and hypothesis of the researches and therefore expose the concerned personnel to a different set of data. The analysis of such data should be sufficient enough to establish inferences that are inclined towards encouraging sustainable chain management. There exist some flaws in current supply chain management measurements. The origin of such flaws can be attributed to the different perspectives from which different researches on supply chain are conducted. In some cases, the non-prohibitive nature of some date contributes to such data (Morana, 2013). It is only through provision of standardized perspectives of measurement taking that sustainable supply chain management can be achieved. The nature of data obtained for analysis greatly affects the outcomes of any research undertaking and subsequent conclusions hence recommendations. A wider gap between laboratory experiments and workplace experiences in fields often result in policy disparities. A common observation is that attempts to introduce new technologies from lab experiments ends up leading to implementation of technologies that least contribute to workplace realities. (Palevich, 2012). There should an established partnership between lab and work field data as an approach by supply chain researchers to improve the odds of innovations. An alternative approach could be emphasizing in participatory studies in the development of new business models or designing new metrics for recording the supply chains’’ impact on the environment and society. Conclusion In its conclusion, the article urges on the consideration of the differences between sustainable supply chain management and supply chain management rather than the similarities between them in order to broaden the general understanding of sustainable supply chain management. In the same regard, researchers should strive to embrace and implement strategies that respond to impacts of sustainable chain management on the environment rather than direct on what ought to be the effects. Such strategies include two major approaches to research; participatory research and use of simulation tools to test assumptions. (Lenssen, Gasparski, Rok, & Lacy, 2006). Participatory research involves efforts to bring all stakeholders on board in then process of designing and developing new practices. On the other hand, use of simulation tools provides ground to ascertain and gauge the expected effects as well as reactions before implementing a certain supply chain management policy. Sourcing as well as supply chain management can thus help achieve the true sustainable supply chains, or alternatively, researchers can researchers can still carry on with their backward research approaches and hence make existing chain less unsustainable. References (2011). Sustainable Supply Chain Management theoretische Reflexion und Anwendungsfeld Bioenergie. Kassel, Kassel, Univ. Press. Cetinkaya, B. (2010). Sustainable supply chain management: practical ideas for moving towards best practice. Berlin, Springer. Lenssen, G., Gasparski, W., rok, B., & Lacy, P. (2006). Corporate responsibility and competitiveness. Bradford, England, Emerald Group Publishing Morana, J. (2013). Sustainable supply chain management. Palevich, R. (2012). The lean sustainable supply chain: how to create a green infrastructure with lean technologies. Upper Saddle River, N.J, FT Press Thomas, O. (2011). Sustainable Supply Chain Management in the chocolate industry. München, Grin Verlag GmbH Read More