An evaluation of the environmental factors for supply chain strategy decisions using grey systems and composite indicators

Abstract The purpose of this work is to assess the importance of environmental factors in a supply chain with four partners as a preliminary step to select the competitive strategies and objectives. To achieve this purpose, a real case study was carried out in a footwear supply chain, in which two approaches were used: the grey system theory and uncertainty analysis tools for composite indicators. In order to validate both approaches, a seven-phase research methodology was developed and applied to our case study. In addition, the priorization of environmental factors was calculated individually for each partner. The results allow managers to establish the competitive strategy that best suits the prioritization of the most relevant factors and to define the most appropriate objectives where the supply chain should invest its efforts and resources.

[1]  Jeffrey Forrest,et al.  General Grey Numbers and Its Operations , 2012, Grey Syst. Theory Appl..

[2]  Harvey M. Wagner,et al.  Global Sensitivity Analysis , 1995, Oper. Res..

[3]  Mohamed Saleh,et al.  An Innovative Fuzzy Logic Based Approach for Supply Chain Performance Management , 2014, IEEE Systems Journal.

[4]  Lawrence A. Gordon,et al.  Management accounting systems, perceived environmental uncertainty and organization structure: An empirical investigation , 1984 .

[5]  J. Deng,et al.  Introduction to Grey system theory , 1989 .

[6]  Stefano Tarantola,et al.  Handbook on Constructing Composite Indicators: Methodology and User Guide , 2005 .

[7]  Jiuchang Wei,et al.  Work safety evaluation in Mainland China using grey theory , 2015 .

[8]  Ghi-Feng Yen,et al.  Reexamining supply chain integration and the supplier's performance relationships under uncertainty , 2014 .

[9]  Miriam Borchardt,et al.  A SCOR-based model for supply chain performance measurement: application in the footwear industry , 2015 .

[10]  Stefano Tarantola,et al.  Uncertainty and sensitivity analysis techniques as tools for the quality assessment of composite indicators , 2005 .

[11]  Francisco Rodrigues Lima Junior,et al.  A comparison between Fuzzy AHP and Fuzzy TOPSIS methods to supplier selection , 2014, Appl. Soft Comput..

[12]  Farzad Firouzi Jahantigh,et al.  An integrated approach for prioritizing the strategic objectives of balanced scorecard under uncertainty , 2016, Neural Computing and Applications.

[13]  Xiaoyu Yu,et al.  Managing uncertainty in emerging economies: The interaction effects between causation and effectuation on firm performance , 2017, Technological Forecasting and Social Change.

[14]  Robert Phaal,et al.  How entrepreneurs manage collective uncertainties in innovation ecosystems , 2017 .

[15]  Mu-Shang Yin,et al.  Fifteen years of grey system theory research: A historical review and bibliometric analysis , 2013, Expert Syst. Appl..

[16]  Barbara B. Flynn,et al.  On Theory in Supply Chain Uncertainty and its Implications for Supply Chain Integration , 2016 .

[17]  Hau L. Lee.  The triple-A supply chain. , 2004, Harvard business review.

[18]  Jean Tsitaire Arrive,et al.  The complexity of the environment, management control and firm performance , 2018 .

[19]  S. Vinodh,et al.  Integrated Fuzzy AHP–TOPSIS for selecting the best plastic recycling method: A case study , 2014 .

[20]  S.X. Wu,et al.  A comparative study of some uncertain information theories , 2005, 2005 International Conference on Control and Automation.

[21]  R E Miles,et al.  Organizational strategy, structure, and process. , 1978, Academy of management review. Academy of Management.

[22]  M. Stevenson,et al.  Managing supply chain uncertainty with emerging ethical issues , 2016 .

[23]  Jan Olhager,et al.  Supply chain evolution – theory, concepts and science , 2016 .

[24]  Linda Hendry,et al.  Supply-chain uncertainty: a review and theoretical foundation for future research , 2012 .

[25]  Yung-Hui Lee,et al.  Applying GM (0,N) and Rough Set to Analyze the Business Influence Factor in Bed and Breakfast- A Case Study of a Taitung Bed and Breakfast , 2016 .

[26]  Deng Ju-Long,et al.  Control problems of grey systems , 1982 .

[27]  Zahirul Hoque,et al.  A contingency model of the association between strategy, environmental uncertainty and performance measurement: Impact on organizational performance , 2004 .

[28]  Yew Wong Kuan,et al.  A review of modelling approaches for supply chain planning under uncertainty , 2012, ICSSSM 2012.

[29]  Frances J. Milliken.  Three Types of Perceived Uncertainty About the Environment: State, Effect, and Response Uncertainty , 1987 .

[30]  N. Nummela,et al.  Strategic Decision-Making of a Born Global: A Comparative Study From Three Small Open Economies , 2014 .

[31]  Y. Aryani,et al.  Perceived Environmental Uncertainty, Performance Measurement Systems, and Competitive Advantage. , 2016 .

[32]  Performance management under conditions of uncertainty: some valedictory reflections , 2012 .

[33]  D. Lambert,et al.  Issues in Supply Chain Management , 2000 .

[34]  H. Ansoff,et al.  Critique of Henry Mintzberg's ‘The design school: Reconsidering the basic premises of strategic management’ , 1991 .

[35]  Ian N. Durbach,et al.  Modeling uncertainty in multi-criteria decision analysis , 2012, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[36]  E. Ngai,et al.  Supply chain flexibility in an uncertain environment: exploratory findings from five case studies , 2011 .

[37]  Riccardo Vecchiato,et al.  Environmental uncertainty, foresight and strategic decision making: an integrated study. , 2012 .

[38]  V. Ravi,et al.  Selection of risk mitigation strategy in electronic supply chains using grey theory and digraph-matrix approaches , 2015 .

[39]  Zhongsheng Hua,et al.  Environmental uncertainty, specific assets, and opportunism in 3PL relationships: A transaction cost economics perspective , 2018, International Journal of Production Economics.

[40]  Peter W. Stonebraker,et al.  Environmental turbulence, strategic orientation , 2004 .

[41]  Yingjie Yang,et al.  A summary of The progress in grey system research , 2013, Proceedings of 2013 IEEE International Conference on Grey systems and Intelligent Services (GSIS).

[42]  Ming-Lang Tseng,et al.  A causal and effect decision making model of service quality expectation using grey-fuzzy DEMATEL approach , 2009, Expert Syst. Appl..

[43]  Bin Huang,et al.  A multi-criterion partner selection problem for virtual manufacturing enterprises under uncertainty , 2018 .

[44]  P. Humphreys,et al.  Reducing supply chain environmental uncertainty through e-intermediation: An organisation theory perspective , 2008 .

[45]  Gwo-Hshiung Tzeng,et al.  Combining grey relation and TOPSIS concepts for selecting an expatriate host country , 2004, Math. Comput. Model..

[46]  GuoDong Li,et al.  A grey-based decision-making approach to the supplier selection problem , 2007, Math. Comput. Model..

[47]  García Cascales,et al.  Métodos para la comparación de alternativas mediante un Sistema de Ayuda a la Decisión SAD y “Soft Computing" , 2011 .