L Burns’s research while affiliated with University of Alabama in Huntsville and other places

Purpose Using the constructal law of physics this study aims to provide guidance to future scholarship on global supply chain management. Further, through two case studies the authors are developing, the authors report interview findings with two senior VPs from two multi-national corporations being disrupted by COVID-19. This study suggests how this and recent events will impact on the design of future global supply chains. Design/methodology/approach The authors apply the constructal law to explain the recent disruptions to the global supply chain orthodoxy. Two interviews are presented from case studies the authors are developing in the USA and UK – one a multi-national automobile parts supplier and the other is a earth-moving equipment manufacture. Specifically, this is an exploratory pathway work trying to make sense of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on supply chain scholarship. Findings Adopting the approach of Bejan, the authors believe that what is happening today with COVID-19 and other trade disruptions such as Brexit and the USA imposing tariffs is creating new obstacles that will redirect the future flow of supply chains. Research limitations/implications It is clear that the COVID-19 response introduced a bullwhip effect in the manufacturing sector on a scale never-before seen. For scholars, the authors would suggest there are four pathway topics going forward. These topics include: the future state of global sourcing, the unique nature of a combined “demand” and “supply shortage” bullwhip effect, the resurrection of lean and local production systems and the development of risk-recovery contingency strategies to deal with pandemics. Practical implications Supply chain managers tend to be iterative and focused on making small and subtle changes to their current system and way of thinking, very often seeking to optimize cost or negotiate better contracts with suppliers. In the current environment, however, such activities have proved to be of little consequence compared to the massive forces of economic disruption of the past three years. Organizations that have more tightly compressed supply chains are enjoying a significant benefit during the COVID-19 crisis and are no longer being held hostage to governments of another country. Social implications An implicit assumption in the press is that COVID-19 caught everyone by surprise, and that executives foolishly ignored the risks of outsourcing to China and are now paying the price. However, noted scholars and epidemiologists have been warning of the threats of pandemics since the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus. The pundits would further posit that in their pursuit of low-cost production, global corporations made naive assumptions that nothing could disrupt them. Both the firms the authors have interviewed had to close plants to protect their workforce. It was indicated in the cases the authors are developing that it is going to take manufacturers on average one month to recover from 4–6 days of disruption. These companies employ many thousands of people, and direct and ancillary workers are now temporarily laid off and face an uncertain future as/when they will recover back to normal production. Originality/value Using the constructal law of physics, the authors seek to provide guidance to future scholarship on global supply chain management. Further, through two case studies, the authors provide the first insight from two senior VPs from two leading multi-national corporations in their respective sectors being disrupted by COVID-19. This study is the first indication to how this and recent disruptive events will impact on the design of future global supply chains. Unlike the generic work, which has recently appeared in HBR and Forbes, it is grounded in real operational insight.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how the sourcing process of the electric sports car sector is changing with respect to competitive advantage, required capabilities and emerging opportunism. Design/methodology/approach The case study data collection covered the period from January till August 2017, which implies a total period of eight months. The empirical analysis implies a sequence of 20 conducted interviews with senior managers, team leaders and operational employees from various organizational departments and functions within Company A, various suppliers and experts from the automobile industry as well as primary and secondary literature. Findings This work makes a contribution to the operations capability literature. It highlights the important role that sourcing will play to achieving strategic advantage in the electric sports car segment. Four key operational capabilities are emerging in the operating model. The first links to “capacity” and the ability of suppliers to be locally based so that they can deliver high-quality products and services in the minimum time (optimizing the “time-value” configuration). The second is the “design” of the supplier network. The third relates to “supplier management.” Finally, the fourth capability relates to the ability of the firm to “integrate” and “align” their marketing and IT planning processes with their sourcing process. Research limitations/implications Throughout the adaption of a sourcing framework and its extension to consider operational capabilities, the authors have begun to answer the research question of how the sourcing process for the supply of new electric powertrain components is being transformed. These initial findings, the authors intend to expand with more advanced case study work with the firm that will involve empirical modeling of process efficiency and inventory management. Practical implications The work closes the gap regarding the need for practical application tools, designed for process managers, who are being confronted by turbulent, unpredictable and fast moving technological-driven market environments. Although the sourcing framework was developed to test the impact of the electric mobility trend, it can likewise be applied for the sourcing of components in other fast changing environments as well. Social implications The paper raises the issues of the social role of the smart city planners in providing city spaces to enable the servicing of electric vehicles and to assist their production by developing the skills, capacity and capabilities of local city populations which will be needed to sustain and scale up any locally based operating model of electric vehicle production and servicing. Originality/value Although much has been written about the technological challenges of electric vehicles and the rise of new entrants such as Tesla to challenge the dominance of the sports car manufacturer’s very little work to data have explored the business-to-business (B2B) dimensions. The focus has been largely with the business-to-consumers (B2C) market.