مدیریت تأمین بین المللی: تعادل بین هزینه های کل و خدمات مشتری

Many trading companies have taken a global approach to their supply markets, sourcing from low-cost foreign countries in order to achieve cost reductions. There remains, however, a lack of evidence that sourcing internationally actually leads to improved economic performance. This can be explained by two key challenges in terms of how to achieve a balance between: (1) purchasing and logistics costs, and (2) customer service. The purpose of this paper is to examine the organisation and management of international supply from a total cost perspective, taking into account both purchasing and logistics costs, as well as customer service and agility. Previous research into a number of Norwegian companies that have sourced from China has identified four configurations for managing international supply. This paper utilises the supply management literature and an example of a Norwegian retail and wholesale company to analyse and discuss these configurations and their effects on total costs and customer service. The paper's theoretical contribution is the conceptualisation of a total cost perspective on international supply management and the discussion of such costs in relation to customer service. This contribution may, in turn, aid companies that source from foreign, low-cost countries.

The present business landscape is characterised by global competition and high cost pressures, both of which have motivated companies to take a global approach to their supply markets. The last few decades have seen a dramatic increase in foreign sourcing, which has been made possible by changes in global economic policy and technological revolutions in transport and telecommunication (Skjøtt-Larsen et al., 2007 and Trent and Monczka, 2003). Sourcing in low-cost countries such as China has created the opportunity for cost reductions due to fewer regulatory controls and significantly lower wages (Christopher et al., 2006 and Nassimbeni and Sartor, 2007). However, companies that source in such countries face several challenges relating to the organisation and management of supply. Despite lower purchasing prices, sourcing in these countries often implies that while logistics costs, such as inventory and transport costs, may increase the ability to react to changes in customer demands – that is, a company's agility – may decrease due to longer lead times and uncertainty in supply (Trent and Monczka, 2003). The purpose of this paper is to examine different ways to organise and manage international supply. The basic assumption that underpins the paper is that obtaining the benefits from sourcing in low-cost countries presupposes an organisation of supply operations that considers the logistics costs and also ensures agility and quick response to changes in customer demands. The paper analyses and discusses four international supply management configurations, which have been identified in prior research on Norwegian companies that have purchased from China. As an example, the paper uses a Norwegian retail and wholesale company that uses all four configurations based on different considerations. The four configurations are distinguished according to how the supply operations are organised in terms of the structure and interdependencies between the logistics activities and resources involved, and how the different actors relate to each other. The configurations are discussed in terms of their subsequent results for logistics costs and customer service level. The paper is structured as follows: Section 2 provides the theoretical basis for an understanding of international supply management, based on the literature of supply management and strategies; Section 3 uses the theoretical discussion to analyse and discuss the four different international supply configurations, using the retail and wholesale company as an example; Section 4 outlines the main theoretical and practical implications of the discussion and the paper concludes by identifying the limitations of the paper and proposing suggestions for future research.

This paper started with the purpose of examining the organisation and management of international supply, based on a review of supply management literature and the example of a Norwegian retail and wholesale company that buys hard-discount products from China. The paper has presented and analysed four different supply management configurations. In line with suggestions in the literature, a total cost perspective has been applied (Trent and Monczka, 2003) and typical trade-off challenges between logistics costs and marketing objectives (Lee, 2004 and Stock and Lambert, 2001) have been identified and discussed. The discussion has revealed that it is vital to coordinate the various actors' activities and resources to generate efficiencies in terms of the proper flow of goods (i.e. lean), cost effectiveness of the overall solution and customer service in supply (Persson and Håkansson, 2007). Supply chain management has traditionally centred on utilising sequential interdependencies (Håkansson and Persson, 2004) and creating efficiency (Lee, 2004). The example and discussion in this paper have illustrated how pooled interdependencies can also be exploited by shipment consolidation methods, such as cross-docking, coordination and collaboration among suppliers and customers, which also generates economic benefits. In particular, the entrance of new types of actors, such as third- and fourth-party logistics providers, with their competence in planning and coordination using advanced technology and systems, offers new possibilities to utilise the specific resources and competencies of these actors. Apart from providing economies of scale and scope through pooled interdependencies, shifting the responsibility for supply operations to external professionals allows customers to reduce supply risk. In order to gain cost benefits through consolidation, while still ensuring agility, the paper has shown the need for coordination and collaboration among various suppliers and customers. Distributive and functional collaboration (Persson and Håkansson, 2007) between suppliers, customers and third parties makes it possible to coordinate and integrate different supply activities and to utilise resources that have the potential to reduce logistics costs and increase efficiency. In addition, systemic collaboration may encourage the development of new solutions across parties in the network, such as just-in-time solutions, which improve agility and the ability to respond quickly to changes in customer demand. In sum, the discussion reveals that, in order to balance between different objectives, it is vital to have proper organisation of the flow of goods accompanied by a proper organisational structure and technology (Persson and Virum, 2006). Table 3 summarises the discussion of the identified aspects of the supply chain configuration alternatives. Table 3. Summary of the discussion of the four international supply management configurations. Configurations Efficiency (lean) Effectiveness (total costs) Agility Supply risk Supply strategy Alternative 1 Yes, but requires high volumes Yes, but requires high volumes Lack of flexibility, long lead time Delays and obsolescence Functional collaboration to exploit sequential interdependencies Alternative 2 Yes, but requires high volumes No, adds extra inventory cost in the buying country Yes No Functional collaboration to exploit sequential interdependences, but distributive to exploit pooled interdependencies in the buying country Alternative 3 Yes Yes Lack of flexibility, long lead time Delays Functional and distributive collaboration to exploit sequential and pooled interdependencies Alternative 4 Yes No, adds extra handling and inventory cost Yes No Functional and distributive collaboration to exploit sequential and pooled interdependencies Table options The main managerial implication of this paper is that companies must be aware of the potential pitfalls of buying cheap products in foreign low-cost countries. Purchasing managers may be blinded by the substantial reduction in purchasing costs that producers' in such countries offer. However, as this paper has shown, managers should also be aware of the logistics costs and pay particular attention to the trade-off between transportation and inventory costs. Furthermore, a total cost perspective must be viewed in relation to implications for customer service. The literature has especially recognised the fact that the choice of global supply strategies depends on different supply characteristics, where the type and complexity of the products are important (e.g. Christopher et al., 2006 and Nassimbeni and Sartor, 2007). In line with the theory, the current paper provides an example of a Norwegian retail and wholesale company that has pursued various supply chain configurations according to the volume demand and value of the product. Despite this, as the company most frequently applies Configuration 2 with a DC in Norway, this suggests that the company has prioritised customer service over higher inventory costs. This is in contrast to Lee (2004), who argued that most companies seem to pursue efficiencies and cost effectiveness over agility. Another challenge for these companies is that many of them are relatively small. This can mean that they are not as attractive to Chinese suppliers, which may influence their choice of strategy. The question, nevertheless, is how companies such as the retail and wholesale company can reduce their total costs while still maintaining sufficient customer service. Nassimbeni and Sartor (2007) suggested that companies must distribute the tasks among different actors and define the existing reciprocal interdependencies. In other words, the organisational structure must be designed properly. This is in line with Persson and Håkansson's (2007) argument for different types of collaboration to exploit interdependencies. Furthermore, companies must be conscious of the need for proper communication and relationship handling when sourcing in geographically, socially and culturally distant locations (Nassimbeni and Sartor, 2007). Such sourcing requires relationship-handling competencies, which is best catered for by engaging local agents or establishing purchasing offices in China. This means that creating a supply network, characterised by proper task distribution, utilisation of different types of competencies and collaboration among the actors could generate efficiency, cost effectiveness and agility.