
Martin ChristopherCranfield University · Cranfield Centre for Logistics and Supply Chain Management (CLSCM)
Martin Christopher
B.A., M.Sc., PhD
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142
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Introduction
Publications
Publications (142)
Leading Procurement Strategy shows you how to unleash full business value through procurement. The broad perspective of different industries, underpinning academic theory and short case studies will help you to gain a clear understanding of the impact of procurement on competitive advantage. Through tackling the key issues that procurement practiti...
The purpose of this paper is to identify, conceptualise and operationalise the role of marketing in creating a supply chain orientation (SCO) and the development of a supply chain management (SCM) philosophy. A survey design was employed and data from 116 supply chain managers from a cross-industry sample was collected in order to test four proposi...
For most of its 30-year history, the description of our discipline as “supply chain management” has tended to encourage a supply-focused viewpoint in which production push rather than demand pull is the dominant logic. We argue the emerging case for demand chain management, in which new manufacturing techniques (such as additive manufacturing) and...
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the alignment between product design and the supply chain and to identify how this alignment impacts on a firm's supply chain responsiveness and resilience. Design/methodology/approach – An in-depth case study methodology was adopted to uncover the strategies undertaken by one of the UK's fastes...
Purpose
Whilst there are a plethora of theoretical ideas regarding a segmented approach to supply chain strategy, there is paucity of empirical data. This paper aims to present the results of a field‐based case study in a fast moving consumer goods company (FMCGCo) that sought to identify the most relevant basis for supply chain segmentation.
Desi...
As the number of supply disruptions is increasing in frequency and severity, firms should not wait idly until an event occurs to act on it. This paper empirically identifies the key capabilities that the PSM function develops and maintains in order to increase resilience in the supply-side of the buying firm. Dyadic case studies were conducted with...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an update to the Supply Chain Volatility Index (SCVI), and expand on prior work by presenting a conceptual framework illustrating how firms can deal with persistent volatility, the ensuing risk and mitigate the cost implications for their supply chain operations.
Design/methodology/approach
The aut...
Demand for standard products has fragmented in markets as diverse as fast foods, sunglasses, breakfast cereals and banking, where niches are smaller and constantly changing. In fact, the niches are the market (Pine, 1993). The concept of mass customisation assumes that such trends will continue well into the next century, and that the challenge is...
It could be argued that the management of reputational risk should be a key business priority. Yet despite recognition in previous studies that the risk related to reputation is critical, concrete reputational risk management approaches remain poorly developed. This paper presents a theoretical framework with the key steps for companies to become m...
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to reflect upon the impact of the original work and provide an updated model to reflect the changing environment for supply chains. In 2000, a migratory model for supply chain evolution was proposed.
Design/methodology/approach
– The authors start by analysing the content of the papers that have cited the ori...
To stay ahead in an increasingly competitive business environment, organizations need agile supply chain systems that are holistically designed and managed. The experiences of SKF, a Swedish multinational firm, point to the benefits of reengineering upstream capabilities to create value downstream. To foster the flexibility, responsiveness, and oth...
Many forces have combined to make today's supply chains more complex than ever before. These forces include the significant trend to out-sourcing; the growth of offshore manufacturing and procurement; the rising demand for customer-specific solutions and the globalisation of markets. The paper highlights the challenges that organisations must addre...
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to develop a transport portfolio framework (TPF) and explore its use as a decision support tool for shippers wanting to improve their transport system in terms of reducing their carbon footprint.
Design/methodology/approach
– The TPF has been designed on the basis relevant theoretical frameworks in logistics...
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to understand the role of procurement in identifying and managing the intra- and inter-organisational issues which impact supply chain resilience. Achieving resilience along the supply chain in today’s turbulent business environment requires efforts from both internal and external elements of the extended ente...
Purpose
– Sustainability and the search for solutions that are both efficient and ecologically sound (eco-efficient) have become topics of great interest. However, companies seeking to develop supply chain solutions that are eco-efficient are often hampered by their ability to control the wider supply chain and they may need to draw on external sup...
Eminent throught leader Martin Christopher provides a historical analysis of the evolution of the field of supply chain management, identifying three key elements that have changed this landscape, viz., globalization of supply chains, continued outsourcing, and widespread adoption of 'lean' practices. He then analyzes the impact of these three key...
Purpose
Global sourcing can bring many benefits to organisations, but it can also expose them to a number of risks. The purpose of this study is to understand how managers assess global sourcing risks across the entire supply chain and what actions they take to mitigate those risks.
Design/methodology/approach
A multiple case study approach was us...
Purpose – An underlying principle of supply chain management is to establish control of the end-to-end process in order to create a seamless flow of goods. The basic idea is that variability is detrimental to performance as it causes cost in the form of stock-outs, poor capacity utilisation, and costly buffers. This paper questions this approach an...
The study aims to investigate the effectiveness of information sharing and coordination mechanisms in reducing uncertainty. Supply chains are constantly subject to unpredictable events that can adversely influence its ability to achieve performance objectives. This paper primarily aims at managing uncertainties originating from unexpectedly large d...
The latter part of the 20th century saw the lean production paradigm positively impact many market sectors ranging from automotive through to construction. In particular, there is much evidence to suggest that level scheduling combined with the elimination of muda has successfully delivered a wide range of products to those markets where cost is th...
The development of closer relationships in supply chains is investigated from a change management perspective. Based on theory and previous research, five critical elements of the interaction process between parties in the supply chain are identified. Specifically, these elements relate to the interface between organisation-internal processes and t...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review and structure the literature on the integration between marketing and supply chain management (SCM) and to contribute to the body of knowledge by developing a framework for integrating marketing and supply chain strategies.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws its insights and conclusions from...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding of demand chain management (DCM) by investigating how it has been structured and executed in an international manufacturing company.
Design/methodology/approach
The main emphasis has been on producing descriptive results and the applied research strategy has been an embedded single...
Purpose
In the twenty‐first century business scenario, most organisations supply a range of products to multiple markets, so participate in several often quite different supply chains. Just as the linear chain is a simplification of a supply network, the single channel is a simplification of the true complexity many organisations face. When all pro...
The emerging paradigm of network competition is increasingly in evidence across many industrial sectors and provides further support for the idea that ‘supply chains compete, not companies’. It can be argued that network competition requires a much greater focus on managing the interfaces that connect the individual players in that network and exch...
Recent years have seen a rapid decline in the UK textile and clothing manufacturing industry and those companies that have survived have been forced to outsource or move production offshore to low labour cost economies as demands from retailers for lower prices puts margins under pressure. The way in which these companies manage their design capabi...
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to address the increasingly important issue of the impact of product design on supply chain risk management in an era of global supply arrangements. The need to include product design considerations in the development of global supply chain strategies is highlighted. Design/methodology/approach – The research...
Managing supply chains in a dynamic business environment is a challenging task, particularly in the case of multi-product, multi-national supply networks, where different products with very different demand patterns share common resources, specifically production and distribution facilities. This calls for higher levels of resilience and flexibilit...
The sourcing of products from across the global marketplace is an increasing trend associated with economic development. This trend is the result of many independent decisions taken by firms around the world looking for new sources of competitive advantage. However, these decisions can also have unintended consequences, exposing the firms to hidden...
This paper endorses demand chain management as a new business model aimed at creating value in today's marketplace, and combining the strengths of marketing and supply chain competencies. Demand chain design is based on a thorough market understanding and has to be managed in such a way as to effectively meet differing customer needs. Based on a li...
Recent years have seen an increasing focus, both in business and academia, on the totality of supply chains. There is a recognition that supply chain management can have a significant impact on both costs and revenues and that there is a direct correlation between the way that supply chains are designed and shareholder value. Our paper explores one...
This paper endorses demand chain alignment as a competence that supports effective product life cycle (PLC) management. Demand chain alignment integrates the demand creation (historic domain of marketing) and demand fulfilment processes (domain of supply chain management), to develop and to deliver products that convey superior customer value while...
Complexity is often viewed as principally concerning qualitative, evolutionary change over time. While this is true we look here at how multi-agent modelling, which is part of complexity science, can be used to explore the performance under fluctuating conditions of a given, structurally stable system composed of interacting agents, In a real organ...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to address the increasingly important question of supply chain design for global operations. With the rise of off‐shore sourcing and the simultaneous need for improved responsiveness to customer demand, the choice of supply chain strategy is critical.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws its conclusions...
Analogies can be a powerful way of understanding and improving industrial performance. This paper exploits the similarities between Formula 1 competition and racing car design and supply chain competition and supply chain design, as a way of understanding and managing change. Just as the performance characteristics of a racing car must be aligned t...
Tel : +44 (0)1234 751122 Fax : +44 (0)1234 752158 e-mail : m.g.christopher@cranfield.ac.uk Journal of Business Logistics, Vol 26, No. 2, 2005, pp 73-96 2 Authors James Aitken spent the first 12 years of his industrial/commercial experience involved in all aspects of the supply chain ranging from the installation of a manufacturing postponement faci...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the development, extension and use of the “six markets” model and to outline a framework for analysing stakeholder relationships and planning stakeholder strategy.
Design/methodology/approach
The “six markets” stakeholder model is examined. Refinement of the model and improved understanding as a resu...
As markets become more volatile and the business environment more turbulent, supply chains become more vulnerable to disruption. This paper maintains that organisations need to manage supply chain risk in a systematic way, identifying and continuously monitoring the risk profile, assessing critical paths through the network and, if necessary, build...
Continued deflationary trends in many markets around the world are creating greater pressure for cost reduction in order that margins can be maintained. Customers and consumers are increasingly value driven and consequently less brand or supplier loyal. In this challenging world, there is a growing recognition that creative pricing strategies combi...
Aims to show that material flow concepts developed and successfully applied to commercial products and services can form equally well the architectural infrastructure of effective healthcare delivery systems.
The methodology is based on the "power of analogy" which demonstrates that healthcare pipelines may be classified via the Time-Space Matrix....
Fashion markets are synonymous with rapid change and, as a result, commercial success or failure is largely determined by the organisation's flexibility and responsiveness. Responsiveness is characterised by short time-to-market, the ability to scale up (or down) quickly and the rapid incorporation of consumer preferences into the design process. I...
In today's uncertain and turbulent markets, supply chain vulnerability has become an issue of significance for many companies. As supply chains become more complex as a result of global sourcing and the continued trend to 'leaning-down', supply chain risk increases. The challenge to business today is to manage and mitigate that risk through creatin...
Today's marketplace is characterised by turbulence and uncertainty. Market turbulence has tended to increase for a number of reasons. Demand in almost every industrial sector seems to be more volatile than was the case in the past. Product and technology life-cycles have shortened significantly and competitive product introductions make life-cycle...
In recent years the issue of supply chain risk has been pushed to the fore, initially by fears related to possible disruptions from the much publicised “millennium bug”. Y2K passed seemingly without incident, though the widespread disruptions caused by fuel protests and then Foot and Mouth Disease in the UK, and by terrorist attacks on the USA have...
This paper reports on research conducted by the authors, and others, on how appropriate supply chain strategies can be developed which are contingent upon market characteristics and which seek to achieve simultaneously higher levels of customer responsiveness yet at less total cost to the supply chain as a whole. Lean and agile principles are then...
Relationship marketing has taken off over the past 10 years with a burst of vigour. Were relationships staring marketers in the face and were we too preoccupied to see them? We begin with a short historical perspective on the origins of relationship marketing. A discussion on future directions and theory development based around the concept of valu...
Assuming no prior marketing knowledge, Marketing: A Complete Guide provides a concise yet comprehensive view of marketing within the context of business and society for anyone seeking a general introduction to the topic. Drawing on their substantial teaching and research experience, Martin Christopher and Malcolm McDonald focus on the important and...
The issues underlying the appropriate matching of pipelines to marketplace needs under conditions of demand volatility and price pressure are examined. The authors describe a scenario where the philosophy of “one size fits all” does not apply to pipeline design, implementation, and control. Research conducted by the authors and others is used to sh...
The latter part of the twentieth century saw the lean production paradigm positively impact many market sectors ranging from automotive through to construction. In particular there is much evidence to suggest that level scheduling combined with the elimination of muda has successfully delivered a wide range of products to those markets where cost i...
Agility is increasingly mentioned as one of the coming challenges to the international business world, given volatile markets and increasingly dynamic performance requirements. Existing literature, however, mainly presents agility as a general management or a strongly manufacturing biased concept, but does not explicitly relate the concept to the s...
Shows how the lean and agile paradigms may be selected according to marketplace requirements. These are distinctly different, since in the first case the market winner is cost, whereas in the second case the market winner is availability. Agile supply chains are required to be market sensitive and hence nimble. This means that the definition of was...
The author enumerates and discusses seven fundamental business transformations that need to take place to make the virtual supply chain a reality. Agility is tending to displace our earlier focus on 'leanness' and shared information and collaborative planning are now the enablers for the logistics manager in a virtual world.
The idea of managing supply chain partnerships for competitive advantage is receiving considerable interest amongst both academic researchers and industry executives. This article describes some current practices in several industries with respect to managing supply chain relationships. Focus group interviews and multiple case studies were conducte...
Turbulent and volatile markets are becoming the norm as life cycles shorten and global economic and competitive forces create additional uncertainty. The risk attached to lengthy and slow-moving logistics “pipelines” has become unsustainable, forcing organizations to look again at how their supply chains are structured and managed. This paper sugge...
In the last few years there has emerged a strongly held view that the ultimate purpose of the firm is to maximize shareholder value, that is the long run worth of the business to its owners. Many influences clearly impact upon shareholder value, but there is a growing recognition that the supply chain strategy employed by the firm can have a signif...
The fashion industry has been beset by the problems of volatile and difficult to predict demand. Many companies involved in manufacturing and retailing in fashion markets have seen the profitability severely affected by their inability to match supply with demand. Traditionally, it was assumed that the problem lay with inaccurate forecasts and that...
L’instabilité inhérente des chaînes logistiques complexes est bien comprise et fait l’objet d’une importante documentation ; les avantages que l’on obtient en retirant du temps à la chaîne en termes de réduction des stocks et des coûts d’exploitation sont substantiels. Tous les dirigeants d’entreprises et les professionnels savent“ce qui doit être...
The emergence of the ‘network organisation’ is a recent phenomenon that has given rise to much comment and analysis. These ‘virtual’ organisations are characterised by a confederation of specialist skills or capabilities provided by the network members. It is argued that such collaborative arrangements provide a more effective means of satisfying c...
The emergence of the ‘network organisation’ is a recent phenomenon that has given rise to much comment and analysis. These ‘virtual’ organisations are characterised by a confederation of specialist skills or capabilities provided by the network members. It is argued that such collaborative arrangements provide a more effective means of satisfying c...
Many commentators have recently questioned the validity of the traditional precepts on which the marketing concept is based, and have suggested that marketing has failed to deliver its long promised prize in the form of sustainable competitive advantage. Suggests that the need for marketing today is as strong as ever. However, the practice of marke...