Papers

Our academic partners and many of our people are recognised world experts in their field and are published widely.

The papers in this section, most of which have been published, present a small snapshot of the thinking of LCP on key business and supply chain management issues.

The papers currently available from this site are:

• Managing Risks in Global Sourcing
• The cost effectiveness of a 'build to order' strategy
• Breathing Life into S&OP
• Prepare to meet your maker, WEEE
• Supply chain risks and global sourcing
• Achieving world-class supply chain and logistics in the chemical sector
• The laws of logistics
• Factory gate pricing - focus on costs and relationships.

If you would like an idea of what the paper you are interested in covers, before deciding to read the whole paper, please scroll down to the appropriate overview below.

Papers overviews

Managing Risks in Global Sourcing

The policy of global sourcing is a strategic imperative for many businesses; it has raised the competitive 'bar' to the point where it has become a qualifier for survival rather than a competitive edge in its own right. The authors examine how a sophisticated implementation of such policies can provide sustainable competitive advantage. Managing Risks in Global Sourcing (130kb)

The cost effectiveness of a 'build to order' strategy for the production of building and construction equipment

This study outlines a method for producing an aggregate cost model, illustrating how the order fulfilment cost per unit production varies against a range of product order lead times, as applied to two products of differing complexity. Please click here to download Cost Effectiveness of a 'build to order (466kb)

Breathing Life into S&OP

Why do so many executives in companies get so frustrated that their supply and demand is not in balance? Their experience is that products are not available, resulting in lost sales when inventory is too high and manufacturing plants complain. Please click here to download Breathing Life into S&OP (107kb)

Prepare to meet your maker, WEEE

With the new Waste in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive being passed into European legislation, the message is clear for manufacturers - you make or distribute it and then you are responsible for its disposal. With some lateral thinking, this legislation can offer significant revenue opportunities for manufacturers and service organisations; but how to assess all the issues? What are the obligations? And what is the legal force? This paper discusses the issues. Please click here to download Prepare to meet your maker (92kb)

Supply chain risks and global sourcing

In the competitive environment, global sourcing is a key ingredient for corporate survival - taking advantage of low cost labour, cheap international logistics and less regulated operating environments. But global sourcing implies long-distance supply chains that have major implications for security of supply, demand responsiveness and freshness. This paper looks at the risks involved and identifies strategies to counter them. Please click here to download The Supply Chain Risks and Global Sourcing (329kb)

Achieving world-class supply chain and logistics in the chemical sector

The potential from taking an end-to-end approach to the supply chain is widely recognised. Yet for the chemical industry there are particular challenges, in part due to the massive scale of operations and the history of functional excellence. This paper examines how the industry can implement supply chain principles to identify waste and unnecessary margin erosion and achieve the functional re-alignment to eliminate it.

The laws of logistics

This paper presents a framework for identifying and unlocking value within the supply chain. It discusses seven laws of logistics - the laws of supply chain volatility; lowest total cost; logistical variety and complexity; speed quality and accuracy; organisational difficulty; supply chain asymmetry; and counter intuition.

Factory gate pricing - focus on costs and relationships

Factory gate pricing is a major initiative in the fast-moving consumer goods distribution and logistics sectors. Dominant retailers are taking control of their inbound logistics and seeking commercial terms from their suppliers to pay for it. This paper discussed how manufacturers can meet the challenges and manage the risks of introducing new commercial frameworks that could create precedents for years to come. Please click here to download Factory Gate Pricing (61kb)