Perspectives on Various Issues of Interest

Taming the Counterfeiting Epidemic

In a recently published article, we present the findings of our research that suggests that successfully combating counterfeits requires the attention of a broad collection of organizational functions. It works best with a multilayered strategy encompassing diverse methods and engaging the entire organization and its partners. We recommend that organizations tackle counterfeiting with a cohesive plan for identifying, containing, and preventing it. This comprehensive process means routinely keeping tabs on contract manufacturers and charting how products move through the supply chain. It includes scoping out what is for sale in consumer markets, deploying covert markings, reviewing warranty claims, educating customers, and partnering with key agencies and competitors.

While companies may never completely eliminate bad actors from copying products or diverting goods from authorized channels, they can significantly reduce counterfeiters’ market penetration and restore lost revenue. Successful approaches may involve cutting off counterfeiters’ access to markets, eliminating their supply of unauthorized goods, or making a product more difficult to copy. Building on insights from our case studies and discussions with practitioners, we provide details on the three activities that together help in developing a robust action plan comprises: identification, containment, and prevention. Identification helps in gaining Insight Into the extent and nature of the counterfeiting problem. Containment helps in limiting the problem’s spread. And prevention helps in stopping future counterfeit operations before they start

Source: Taming the Counterfeiting Epidemic - A multilayered approach is essential to effectively combat counterfeiting and unauthorized sales. MIT Sloan Management Review, Forthcoming (Fall 2023).

 

The mutual causality between supply chain disruption and innovation in low-income markets

In a recently published article, my co-author and I argue that low-income markets have unique constraints that trigger the co-evolution of innovation and disruption in such markets. When disruptions occur in global supply chains, and in particular, in low-income markets, they spur innovations that may be necessary to address both existing and potential future disruptions. However, such innovations in turn create disruptions to existing supply chains, and they may also create new supply chains. We highlight the unique opportunities and constraints that exist in the low-income market contexts that result in interesting and unique dynamics between innovation and disruption. Further, we identify the mechanisms through which innovation-disruption mutual causality occurs—as well as the boundary conditions for these mechanisms.

Using several case examples including Chotukool, Lagos, Nigeria Apapa port, MPesa, Momo, E-Choupal, Zipline drone technology, Dabbawallah, Danone South Africa, Kobo 360, Nestlé’s miniaturized “pure water” sachets, Barefoot College, Diagnostics for all, and Haul247 we discuss how disruption and innovation reinforce each other. Our study presents an integrated framework that considers the underlying characteristics of supply chain disruption and innovation. Supply chain disruption is characterized by impact (which can be low or high), probability (which is high), and level of control (which is low). We characterize innovation by considering whether it is affordable, available, accessible, has high level of awareness/relevance, and has low resource requirement. The mutual causality between supply chain disruption and innovation is strengthened by human and social capital that organizations in low-income markets are able to develop and creative resourcing that needs to move from autonomous to directed over time. Our study also emphasizes that weak institutions can paradoxically strengthen the force with which disruption and innovation reinforce each other. In addition to these moderating factors that strengthen the relationship between disruption and innovation, we also discuss the motivations, cognitive and social mechanisms that link supply chain disruptions to innovation, as well as information availability, structural changes and social equity that link innovation to supply chain disruption. The integrated framework presented in the paper is as follows:

This study offers directions for policy makers and managers regarding the macro-level and micro-level factors that influence innovation and disruption, as well as how to navigate the interplay between disruption and innovation in LIMs. It is noteworthy that this interplay can act as both a deterrent and an opportunity. An understanding of how LIM micro-level and macro-level factors influence disruption and innovation should help in decision-making and policy formulation. In addition, this study provides guidance to policy makers to work closely with organizations, as new innovations within these companies help to manage disruptions emanating from LIM constraints, thereby requiring innovative thinking on the policy front as well. Public-private partnerships can ensure that resource-constrained innovations at the organizational level are optimized and strengthened through policy innovations at the macro level.

Source: Goke, A., Nair, A. 2023. From Chaos to Creation: The mutual causality between supply chain disruption and innovation in low-income markets. Journal of Supply Chain Management, Vol. 59, Iss. 3, 20-41.

 

Strategic supply chain technology

According to the 2022 Gartner Supply Chain Technology User Wants and Needs Survey, supply chain organizations are prioritizing (i) increasing productivity and efficiency, (ii) improving resiliency, continuity, risk and security, and (iii) fostering innovation around new operating models and processes. The report presents the following framework for broader strategic supply chain technology themes for 2023.

 

 

Technologies focused on employee engagement, mobile asset optimization, and industry cloud platforms, help in optimizing operational performance. Cyber resilient supply chains, supply chain integration services, and compassable application architecture help in scaling by securely building the connectivity, resiliency, agility and flexibility for growth and maturity. Smart operations and actionable AI are pioneering technologies that help in enhancing decision making by leveraging asset and human connections.

 

These technologies are expanding and building on technologies focused on ecosystem enablement, sustainability, and digital supply chain twin that have already evolved. These technologies are also forming the building block for new technologies such as multi agent orchestration platforms, logistics platform business models, last-mile delivery, and industrial metaverse that are entering into the landscape.

Pressing Issues Faced by Chief Financial Officers

2022 Gartner’s Annual CFO Survey reports that profitable growth, inflation, and balance sheet health are the top three pressing issues faced by CFOs.

These concerns mirror that of the Board of Directors.

Cost concerns were primarily related to total labor, unit labor and inputs costs.

Growth of Software as a Service (SaaS) & Platform as a Service (PaaS)

The Telecommunication and Information Technology Industry has seen a major growth during the six-year period from 2017 to 2022. The industry has grown from $697,958 million to $1,136,645 million. The key technology segments of this industry include: Fiber Optic (Fiber to the home or building FTTH/B), SAAS, Cable, digital subscriber line (xDSL), portable PCs, higher education, infrastructure as a service (IAAS), and Pre K-12 and K-12. Additionally, in 2017 the following technologies represent relatively smaller percent of the total market (less than 2%): Desktop PCs, Fixed Wireless Access, Data Analytics, Business Process Applications, Platform as a Service (PaaS) etc.

In 2017, Fiber Optic (FTTH/B), SAAS, Cable, and xDSL represented the top four technologies with 29.9%, 12.1%, 11.8%, and 11.7%, respectively, of the total market.

Source: MarketLine

In the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa (MEA), the dominant technology was Cable (29.9%), Fiber Optic (FTTH/B) (60.3%), xDSL (31.41%) and Portable PCs (20.89%), respectively

Source: MarketLine

Between 2017 to 2022 the percent share of xDSL dropped from 11.68% in 2017 to 4.49% in 2022 and cable technologies dropped from 11.83% in 2017 to 8.49% in 2022). However, SaaS grew from 12.1% to 17.8 and PaaS doubled from 2.4% to 4.8%.

Source: MarketLine

By 2022, SaaS was the most dominant technology in Americas, Europe and MEA.

Source: MarketLine

Business Deals Across Different Industry Sectors

Business deals can mainly take eight distinct forms – Venture Financing, Acquisition, Equity Offering, Debt Offering, Asset Transaction, Private Equity, Partnership, and Merger. Between 2019 and 2022, in terms of volume, venture financing is the dominant form of business deal followed by acquisition, equity offering, debt offering, asset transaction and private equity.

Source: MarketLine

In terms of volume, most deals were in the telecom and IT industry. This was followed by financial services, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, construction and real estate, business and consumer services and energy and utilities.

In terms of value, the sequence in descending order is debt financing, acquisition, private equity, equity offering, asset transaction and venture financing (with the exception of 2021 when venture financing was higher in value than asset transactions).

Source: MarketLine

In terms of value, financial services and telecom and IT industry represent the dominant industry sectors for business deals followed by energy and utilities, construction and real estate, pharmaceuticals and healthcare and business and consumer services. The number of deals in 2022 was lower than previous three years in these industry sectors, except energy and utilities.

Source: MarketLine

In terms of volume, the telecom and IT industry saw most of business deals in the form of venture financing, acquisition, and private equity.

(Venture Financing)

Source: MarketLine

(Acquisition)

Source: MarketLine

(Private Equity)

Source: MarketLine

Construction industry saw the most number of business deals in the form of equity offering.

Source: MarketLine

Financial services saw the most number of business deals in the form of debt offering.

Source: MarketLine

Asset transaction is the dominant mode in energy and utilities sector.

Source: MarketLine

Business deals in pharmaceutical and healthcare sector is mostly done in the form of partnerships.

Source: MarketLine

Merger is the common mode for business deal in business and consumer services, financial services and telecoms & IT.

The Impacts of digital technologies on coping with the COVID-19 pandemic in the manufacturing industry

The COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts have been devastating for the global economy, and particularly for manufacturing companies. Many firms were unprepared for a crisis of this magnitude and adapted their operations in an ad-hoc manner. Some of these adaptations were facilitated by digital technologies (DTs). In a recently accepted article, my co-authors and I examine extant literature using a systematic review methodology in order to extend our understanding of what DTs have been used in manufacturing companies during the pandemic, how DTs have helped manufacturing companies cope with the pandemic, and how these innovations can be used in the post-pandemic world. The major outcome of our study is a novel classification of DT applications in the pandemic setting in the manufacturing industry. In addition, we propose an agenda for future research.

Source: Ardolino, M., Bacchetti, A., Dolgui, A., Franchini, G., Ivanov, D., & Nair, A. (2022). The Impacts of digital technologies on coping with the COVID-19 pandemic in the manufacturing industry: a systematic literature review. International Journal of Production Research, 1-24.

Adapting supply chain operations in anticipation of and during the COVID-19 pandemic

In a recently accepted article, my co-authors and I investigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and their proactive mediation by adaptive operational decisions in different network design structures in anticipation of and during the pandemic. In generalized terms, we contribute to the understanding of the effect of preparedness and recovery decisions in a pandemic setting on supply chain operations and performance. In particular, we examine the impact of inventory pre-positioning in anticipation of a pandemic and the adaptation of production-ordering policy during the pandemic. Our model combines three levels, which is not often seen jointly in operations management literature, i.e., pandemic dynamics, supply chain design, and operational production-inventory control policies.

The analysis is performed for both two- and three-stage supply chains and different scenarios for pandemic dynamics (i.e., uncontrolled propagation or controlled dispersal with lockdowns). Our findings suggest that two-stage supply chains exhibit a higher vulnerability in disruption cases. However, they are exposed to a lower system inertia and show positive effects at the recovery stage. Supply chain adaptation ahead of a pandemic is more advantageous than during the pandemic when specific operational recovery policies are deployed. We show that it is instructive to avoid simultaneous changes in structural network design and operational policies since that can destabilize the production-inventory system and result in higher product shortages. 

Source: Rozhkov, M., Ivanov, D., Blackhurst, J., & Nair, A. (2022). Adapting supply chain operations in anticipation of and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Omega, 110, 102635.

Investiture - Eli Broad Endowed Professorship

I am thankful to the Eli Broad Endowment Fund, my mentors, research collaborators, students, and well-wishers...🙏

 

 

Innovation and supply chain management for uplifting underprivileged communities

Last month (July 2022) I spent time in an Indian village working with an organization that connects rural communities to solar, water, education, professions and advocacy to help communities and individuals take control of their lives and the well being of their communities. As part of its mission, Barefoot College International (BCI) aspires to increase economic mobility by making vocational and educational opportunities accessible to women and girls from the most marginalized communities around the world. The organization seeks to ensure that every woman and girl has the skills and knowledge she needs to be a catalyst for change to the benefit of herself, her family and her entire community. The organization is involved in four programs - Solar, Enriche, Water, Livelihoods.

The Solar program seeks to ensure that every woman and girl has the skills and knowledge she needs to be a catalyst for change to the benefit of herself, her family and her entire community. BCI achieves this by making vocational and educational opportunities accessible to women and girls from the most marginalized communities around the world. By training women to become Solar Engineers, even if they are illiterate or have no formal education, rural resilience is forged by each village at a time.

The Enriche program supports women’s aspiration to transform themselves and their communities. It provides them with the opportunity to embark on an empowerment journey; a journey to gain the confidence, skills and knowledge they need to reach their full potential as agents of sustainable change and to support their entrepreneurial aspirations.

As part of the Water program, the organization aims to harness every drop of fresh water that falls from the sky rather than relying on hand pumps, wells, and unpredictable groundwater levels. By combining traditional harvesting practices with new technologies, BCI make water accessible, clean and safe to drink for millions of people in need.

The Livelihoods program plans to address the challenges of climate change by envisioning soil-based livelihoods that generate resilience and dignified wages for small landholding farmers using Regenerative Agriculture, Permaculture Principles and Agroecology built systems to sustain life and care for land.

I primarily worked with the team that manages the supply chain for the Solar program. 

Notwithstanding the lack of formal education (in the case of many team members), I observed a strong desire to learn and improve operations and supply chain. I shared some thoughts on improving supply management, inventory management, and quality management practices with the team and also learnt from them.

My work with the organization gave me an opportunity to understand how best practices that are widely used in developed (and for-profit) contexts need to be tailored in light of the underlying contingencies.

I also learnt about the innovative ways in which educational programs are being developed for women.

Overall, an enlightening experience and I hope to continue my efforts to contribute to strengthening grassroots innovation, operations and supply chain management practices that are aimed at uplifting underprivileged communities.