The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the fragility of global supply chains arising from raw material scarcity, production and transportation disruption, and social distancing. Firms need to carefully ...anticipate the difficulties during recovery and formulate appropriate strategies to ensure the survival of their businesses and supply chains. To enhance awareness of the issues, this research aims to identify and model recovery challenges in the context of the Bangladeshi ready-made garment industry. A Delphi-based grey decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) methodology was used to analyze the data. While the Delphi method helped identify the major supply chain recovery challenges from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the grey DEMATEL approach helped categorize the causal relationships among these challenges. Of the 23 recovery challenges finalized, 12 are causal challenges. The study’s findings can assist decision-makers in developing strategic policies to overcome the recovery challenges in the post-COVID-19 era.
•A real time disruption recovery model is developed in a two-stage production–inventory system.•A nonlinear constraints mathematical model is developed to suggest a recovery plan.•A new approach is ...proposed that deals with a series of disruptions over a period of time.•The model is implemented in a real world case from a pharmaceutical company.•Process reliability is also considered because imperfect production processes are common.
In this research, a two-stage batch production–inventory system is introduced. In this system, the production may be disrupted, for a given period of time, either at one or both stages. In this paper, firstly, a mathematical model has been developed to suggest a recovery plan for a single occurrence of disruption at either stage. Secondly, multiple disruptions have been considered, for which a new disruption may or may not affect the recovery plan of earlier disruptions. We propose a new approach that deals with a series of disruptions over a period of time, which can be implemented for disruption recovery on a real time basis. In this approach, the model formulated for single disruption has been integrated to generate initial solutions for individual disruptions and the solutions have been revised for multiple dependent disruptions with changed parameters. With the proposed approach, an optimal recovery plan can be obtained in real time, whenever the production system experiences either a sudden disruption or a series of disruptions, at different points in time. Some numerical examples and a real-world case study are presented to explain the benefits of our proposed approach.
This research examines the moderating effect of market uncertainty on the causal effects from supply chain integration to operational performance of a typical supply chain. Based on an extensive and ...critical literature review, two exploratory conceptual hypotheses have been developed for the nonlinear relationship between the supply chain integration and operational performance of the original equipment manufacturer, and how may that relationship be moderated by a specific construct of market uncertainty. Empirical survey instrument has been designed and applied to gather the data from a wide spectrum of automotive industry in China. Confirmative factor analysis and threshold regression analysis were used as the primary research methodology to test the hypotheses. We find strong support to the hypotheses from the empirical evidence, which leads to the finding that the relationship between the supply chain integration and operational performance is ‘nonlinear’, and the ‘nonlinearity’ can be significantly moderated by the market uncertainty as one of the key environmental factors for the supply chain. This study extends the current literature by contributing for the first time the discussion of an analytical model that represents the causal effects from supply chain integration to its operational performance with respect to the market uncertainty as a moderating factor.
PurposeA recent global pandemic, known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), affects the manufacturing supply chains most significantly. This effect becomes more challenging for the manufacturers ...of high-demand and most essential items, such as toilet paper and hand sanitizer. In a pandemic situation, the demand of the essential products increases expressively; on the other hand, the supply of the raw materials decreases considerably with a constraint of production capacity. These dual disruptions impact the production process suddenly, and the process can collapse without immediate and necessary actions. To minimize the impacts of these dual disruptions, we aim to develop a recovery model for making a decision on the revised production plan.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, the authors use a mathematical modeling approach to develop a production recovery model for a high-demand and essential item during the COVID-19. The authors also analyze the properties of the recovery plan, and optimize the recovery plan to maximize the profit in the recovery window.FindingsThe authors analyze the results using a numerical example. The result shows that the developed recovery model is capable of revising the production plan in the situations of both demand and supply disruptions, and improves the profit for the manufacturers. The authors also discuss the managerial implications, including the roles of digital technologies in the recovery process.Originality/valueThis model, which is a novel contribution to the literature, will help decision-makers of high-demand and essential items to make an accurate and prompt decision in designing the revised production plan to recover during a pandemic, like COVID-19.
•A unique decision-modeling framework is developed for the ready-made garment industry in Bangladesh.•The framework integrates Delphi method and the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process.•Key supply chain ...disruption factors and drivers are identified.•Supply chain disruption factors and drivers are analyzed thoroughly.•A sensitivity analysis is also conducted to confirm the validity of the framework.
The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework to identify, analyze, and to assess supply chain disruption factors and drivers. Based on an empirical analysis, four disruption factor categories including natural, human-made, system accidents, and financials with a total of sixteen disruption drivers are identified and examined in a real-world industrial setting. This research utilizes an integrated approach comprising both the Delphi method and the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP). To test this integrated method, one of the well-known examples in industrial contexts of developing countries, the ready-made garment industry in Bangladesh is considered. To evaluate this industrial example, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to ensure the robustness and viability of the framework in practical settings. This study not only expands the literature scope of supply chain disruption risk assessment but through its application in any context or industry will reduce the impact of such disruptions and enhance the overall supply chain resilience. Consequently, these enhanced capabilities arm managers the ability to formulate relevant mitigation strategies that are robust and computationally efficient. These strategies will allow managers to take calculated decisions proactively. Finally, the results reveal that political and regulatory instability, cyclones, labor strikes, flooding, heavy rain, and factory fires are the top six disruption drivers causing disruptions to the ready-made garment industry in Bangladesh.
Wheat, one of the most important food crops, is threatened by a blast disease pandemic. Here, we show that a clonal lineage of the wheat blast fungus recently spread to Asia and Africa following two ...independent introductions from South America. Through a combination of genome analyses and laboratory experiments, we show that the decade-old blast pandemic lineage can be controlled by the Rmg8 disease resistance gene and is sensitive to strobilurin fungicides. However, we also highlight the potential of the pandemic clone to evolve fungicide-insensitive variants and sexually recombine with African lineages. This underscores the urgent need for genomic surveillance to track and mitigate the spread of wheat blast outside of South America and to guide preemptive wheat breeding for blast resistance.
PurposeSupply chain management plays an important role in sustaining businesses in today's competitive environment. Therefore, industrial managers are focusing on exploring the key performance ...improvement attributes of supply chain management to achieve a better position in the global market. Aimed at ensuring best supply chain management practices, this study presents the key performance improvement attributes, known as critical success factors (CSFs), within the context of the apparel supply chain of Bangladesh.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, the interpretive structural modeling method (ISM) has been applied to develop a structural framework to analyze the contextual relationship among the factors under consideration. MICMAC (Matriced' Impacts Croise´s Multiplication Applique´e a´ unClassement) analysis has also been performed to define the classification of the CSFs in terms of their driving and dependence power.FindingsThe research findings reveal that supply chain collaboration/partnership and customer satisfaction are of crucial importance to success in the context of supply chain management of the readymade (RMG) garments industry of Bangladesh. Further evidence suggests that these, along with other success factors, can assist in achieving a competitive advantage and better market position. A number of theoretical and managerial implications have been provided for managers and practitioners, and for further evaluation of the study.Originality/valueThis paper considers a new supply chain problem which identifies and evaluates critical success factors. This paper also develops a new structural model for evaluating critical success factors.
The increasing use of Information Technology (IT) has led to many security and other related failures in the banks and other financial institutions in Bangladesh. In this paper, we investigated the ...factors contributing to the failurein the IT system of the banking industry in Bangladesh. Based on the experts' opinions and weight on the specified evaluating criteria, an empirical test was conducted using a rough set theory to produce a framework for the IT system failure factors. In this study, an extended approach involving the integration of rough set theory based flexible Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) and the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) has beenapplied to help the managers of the corresponding field to identify the factors responsible for the failure of the IT system in the banking industries and then prioritize them accordingly, for the ease of decision-making.In this research, eleven such failure factors were identified, which were then quantitatively analyzed to facilitate managers in crucial decision-making. It was observed that cyber-attack, database hack risks, server failure, network interruption, broadcast data error, and virus effect were the most significant factors for the failure of the IT system. The framework developed in this research can be utilized to assist in efficient decision-makingin other serviceindustries where IT systems play a key role. To the best of the knowledge, this is the first study thatempirically tested key failure factors of the IT system for the banking sector using an integrated method.
Wheat blast, caused by the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae Triticum (MoT) pathotype, is a devastating disease persistent in South America and Bangladesh. Since MoT generally fails to cause visual symptoms ...in wheat until the heading stage when the infection would have advanced, disease control by fungicide application solely based on the detection of visual symptoms is ineffective. To develop an accurate and sensitive method to detect MoT at the seedling and vegetative stages for disease control, we sequenced the genomes of two MoT isolates from Brazil and identified two DNA fragments, MoT-6098 and MoT-6099, that are present in the MoT genome but not in the genome of the rice-infecting Magnaporthe oryzae Oryzae (MoO) pathotype. Using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), we confirmed the specificity of the two markers in 53 MoT and MoO isolates from South America and Bangladesh. To test the efficiency of the two markers, we first established a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) method to detect MoT at isothermal conditions, without the use of a PCR machine. Following this, we used the Cas12a protein and guide RNAs (gRNAs) to target the MoT-6098 and MoT-6099 sequences. The activated Cas12a showed indiscriminate single-stranded deoxyribonuclease (ssDNase) activity. We then combined target-dependent Cas12a ssDNase activation with recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) and nucleic acid lateral flow immunoassay (NALFIA) to develop a method that accurately, sensitively, and cost-effectively detects MoT-specific DNA sequences in infected wheat plants. This novel technique can be easily adapted for the rapid detection of wheat blast and other important plant diseases in the field.
AbstractThis study investigated the critical procurement challenges faced by international development (ID) projects in Bangladesh. Initially, a framework of challenges was developed via literature ...review. We then ranked the importance of these challenges and categorized them based on interview data and analytical hierarchy processing analysis. Interviews were conducted with procurement experts from three major ID project stakeholder groups: donor organizations, host country government policymakers, and project implementation units. The most important categories of challenges were those related to project management capacity/capability, and ethics. More specifically, the challenges deemed most important were those related to improper project planning, undue practices in procurement implementation, government bureaucracy and interference in procurement, and inexperienced procurement staff. This paper contributes to the ID project procurement literature by identifying the critical challenges to procurement, which differ from those of other project-related areas. The findings may assist the multibillion-dollar ID project procurement industry in Bangladesh by highlighting the major issues that require effective management by all stakeholders. Ultimately, this may improve procurement outcomes and overall project performance.
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