infonet-economy

Frei nach dem Motto «Scienced-based, practice-driven»
entwickelt der Lehrstuhl für Logistikmanagement der Universität
St.Gallen gemeinsam mit Schweizer Praxispartnern
eine Evaluationsmethode zur Bewertung von Kosten- und
Qualitätskriterien von Dienstleistungen.

The focus of this research is to observe the purchaser integration within business service procurement and its impact on the collaboration with both internal customers and external service providers (suppliers). Therefore, different service types were examined in more detail occurring as a contingent factor. Based on structural equation modelling, partial least square analysis (PLS) is applied for this empirical study analyzing questionnaires from Switzerland, Germany, and Austria. In addition to service type specific differences, this research provides a better understanding of the purchaser integration and collaboration during the service procurement process. Furthermore, several implications were deduced to allow managerial support for purchasing professionals.

This paper is part of a larger research project investigating how buying companies apply practices of quality management for their externally sourced business services. Quality management for business services in professional procurement has not attracted much academic attention so far, as literature on service quality focused on consumer services and studies on quality management mainly adopted the perspective of a goods or service provider. The insights obtained can assist purchasers to decide on quality management practices to best suit certain types of business services. Service providers will benefit by better understanding which practices of quality management buying companies use and thus become able to adjust their service offerings to better match requirements. Based upon a literature review in the areas of service quality and quality management, the paper will present a research framework, preliminary propositions and a potential research methodology.

Purpose: This paper investigates how buying companies manage the quality for their externally sourced business services. It explores how quality management for business services influences the performance of the buying company and what the major determinants of quality management are. The paper presents case evidence on which a conceptual model with preliminary propositions is built upon.

Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses case study evidence from eight manufacturing and eight service companies. Drawing on the findings of these case studies, a conceptual model with propositions is presented.

Findings: The paper suggests that buying companies do not yet use quality management for externally sourced business services to its full potential. However, buying companies using quality management practices for business services report positive effects on service quality and satisfaction of internal or external customers. The major determinants affecting the intensity of quality management are the usage of the service by the buying company, the risk associated with quality failures, the degree of standardization, and volume of the purchased service.

Research limitations/implications: The research is based on information from 16 companies located in Germany and the conducted study is exploratory in nature. The collection of statistical data will be subject to future research as suggested in this paper.
Practical implications: The insights obtained from this paper can assist purchasers in their decision on how to design quality management practices. By understanding what determines the quality management practices of buying companies, service providers may better adjust their service offerings to customers' requirements.

Originality/value: Quality management for business services in professional procurement has not attracted much academic attention so far, as literature on quality management mainly adopted the perspective of a goods or service provider. Literature on purchasing of services concentrated on differences between purchasing of goods and services and literature on service quality focused on consumer services. This paper fills this gap conceptually with a multiple case study and offers guidance for further research

Die Überschwemmungen in Bangkok, der Tsunami in Fukushima oder die Brände von Textilfabriken in Dhaka verursachten grosses Leid. Daneben hatten sie auch Produktionsausfälle und Behinderungen im Warenverkehr mit kaum vorhergesehener direkter Auswirkung auf Schweizer Produktionsstätten zur Folge. In einer neuen Studie nehmen neun Schweizer Unternehmen Stellung zu den Risiken einer zunehmenden Abhängigkeit von asiatischen Vorleistungen. Die Unternehmen befinden die Produktqualität und die Lieferperformance für Vorleistungen aus Asien allgemein als gut. Sie gewichten die Chancen stärker als die Risiken fataler Lieferausfälle. Das Management solcher Risiken ­geschieht daher meist nur en ­passant.

Les inondations de Bangkok, le tsunami à Fukushima ou les incendies ravageurs des usines textiles à Dacca ont causé de grandes souffrances. Parallèlement, les pertes de production et les perturbations dans les flux de marchandises qui en ont résulté ont eu un impact direct imprévu sur les usines suisses. Dans une récente étude, neuf entreprises s'expriment sur les risques d'une dépendance croissante à l'égard des composants asiatiques. Elles jugent que la qualité des produits fournis est globalement bonne, tout comme celle des livraisons. Ces avantages ont plus de poids que les risques désastreux d'une rupture des approvisionnements. Gérer une telle éventualité ne leur apparaît dès lors que secondaire.

Sustainability in supply chains has become a research field of growing attention with increased contributions on management topics such as sustainable operations, international purchasing responsibility, closed-loop supply chains, or sustainability in supplier relations. Most scholarly papers are positioned on intrafirm supply chains and direct supplier relationships, insufficiently accounting for the true complexity facing managerial decision makers. With approximately 80% of value added being procured internationally from external vendors and their suppliers upstream, the external supply chain accounts for the majority of practices impacting societies and the natural environment around the world. The multinationality of many supply chains, where vendors and their suppliers upstream act differently in their respective local institutional field, makes aligned sustainability practices difficult to realize. The objective of this professional development workshop is to advance research on sustainable supply chain management to a new level, moving beyond the current focus on static internal supply chains and direct international supplier involvement to dynamic multinational, multi-tier end-to-end supply chains. Participants worked with prominent scholars from different disciplines in small open roundtables to identify and develop ways to address these challenges. Discussions revolved around new questions to be asked, theories not yet used in this field, and methodologies offering to capture this larger unit of analysis. At the end of the workshop, table speakers presented the results developed at each table, supported by a brief electronic documentation. We asked participants with interest in pursuing particular ideas further, to leave their contact on the documentation.

In recent years, sustainability in supply chains has become a topic of strategic priority for supply chain management. Still, doubts have been raised about the substantive commitment of large, international corporations to really improve global social welfare and to preserve the natural environment. The objective of this panel symposium was to stimulate and inspire new managerial approaches to achieve substantive sustainable improvements in supply chains. It offered a platform for exchanging first ideas and, thereby, stimulated research on sustainable supply chain management to move to the next level. The panelists, among others, discussed questions such as (1) how to enable corporations to give substantial weight to environmental protection and social welfare?; (2) how to move beyond our dominant Western perspective on sustainability and consider the values of different societies, in particular different value systems in emerging economies?; and (3) how to change the strategies and structures of supply chains such that they become truly sustainable?

Companies face a variety of risks resulting from cost reduction strategies, rationalization measures, global sourcing, and outsourcing activities. Due to the large number of actors involved, extremely close ties emerge, which significantly increase supply chains' vulnerability to disruptions - this has been shown again and again in the past few years. Against this background, the aspect of supply continuity is of increasing importance for all activities that relate to procurement, logistics, and supply chain management. Its objective is to ensure the continuous operation of supply chains, i.e., the uninterrupted flow of material, information, and coordination from the initial supplier to the end customer. Therefore, it is necessary to adopt adequate measures that take into consideration not only potential losses but also potential gains (so-called speculative risks). With this book, the concept of Supply Chain Safety Management is introduced. The concept itself is embedded in a comprehensive and dynamic management process. Depending on a supply chain's individual objectives, a set of courses of action is offered for any risk factors - whether they are identifiable and quantifiable or not. The practicability of Supply Chain Safety Management is highlighted by various case studies. The book "Supply Chain Safety Management: Achieving Security and Robustness in Logistics" targets both the areas of science and of practice. First, the state of the art in research is reflected and valuable impulses for new and respectively for further research fields are provided by taking into consideration the points of view of scientists and practitioners in the business environment. Next, theoretically well?substantiated, modern approaches and tools applicable to the business world are offered, an impetus for new ideas and fields of positioning is given and best practice examples are presented allowing a fruitful exchange of experiences between practitioners.

Die Armee der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft ist durch politische Vorgaben des Volkes, des Parlaments und des Bundesrates mit erweiterten Grundaufträgen und kontinuierlicher Budgetkürzung konfrontiert. Zur Umsetzung der vorgegebenen Kosten- und Aktivpostenreduktion prüft die Schweizer Armee, inwieweit eine eigenständige Logistik für Verpflegung, Fahrzeuge, Immobilien oder Bekleidung unterhalten werden soll, oder ob Kooperationen mit dem Privatsektor wirtschaftlichere Lösungen ermöglichen.