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Sustainability in Purchasing and Supply Management
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Sustainability in Purchasing and Supply Management

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 March 2021) | Viewed by 20311

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Nicola Costantino

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanics, Mathematics and Management, Politecnico di Bari, Via Orabona 4 - 70125, Bari, Italy
Interests: supply chain risk management; public private partnership; sustainable management of infrastructure; real options
Dr. Roberta Pellegrino

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanics, Mathematics and Management, Politecnico di Bari, Via Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
Interests: supply chain risk management; public private partnership; sustainable management of infrastructure; real options
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Recognizing the importance that the purchasing and supply management has on a firm’s goals, there is an increasing pressure of companies to take sustainability into account in their purchasing decisions. Companies are aware that their goal to obtain higher profits passes through their ability to create value for the customer and to maintain this competitive advantage over time in a sustainable manner (Johnsen et al., 2017).

This awareness means that one of the emerging issues of purchasing and supply management in both the private and public sectors is the need to embrace sustainability.

On one side, public bodies are being encouraged to procure sustainably, to reduce their social and environmental footprint, and to stimulate sustainability in the private sector (Brammer and Walker, 2011).

On the other side, private companies which focus on delivering higher return to shareholders try reducing the negative impacts that their actions have on the environment and community. Further, given the trend of many companies to outsource globally and acknowledging that companies are only as sustainable as their suppliers (Krause, Vachon, and Klassen, 2009), purchasing and supply management become crucial to developing sustainable supply chains.

This Special Issue aims to collect theoretical and empirical papers addressing advances on sustainability in purchasing and supply management, for the private and public sectors. In particular, we invite you to contribute to this issue by submitting comprehensive reviews, case studies or research articles that are neither published nor currently under review by any other journals, discussing how sustainability may be taken into account in purchasing and supply management. Papers selected for this Special Issue are subject to a rigorous peer review procedure with the aim of rapid and wide dissemination of research results, developments, and applications.

Prof. Nicola Costantino
Dr. Roberta Pellegrino
Guest Editors

References:

  • Johnsen, T.E.; Miemczyk, J.; Howard, M. A systematic literature review of sustainable purchasing and supply research: Theoretical perspectives and opportunities for IMP-based research. Marketing Manag. 2017, 61, 130–143.
  • Brammer, S.; Walker, H. Sustainable procurement in the public sector: an international comparative study. J. Oper. Product. Manag. 2011, 31, 452–476.
  • Krause, D.R.; Vachon, S.; Klassen, R.D. Special topic forum on sustainable supply chain management: introduction and reflections on the role of purchasing management. Supply Chain

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • purchasing and supply management
  • sustainability
  • public procurement

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 1877 KiB  
Article
Advance Purchase Discounts for Supply Chain Finance System Coordination
by Roberta Pellegrino, Nicola Costantino and Danilo Tauro
Sustainability 2020, 12(23), 10156; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su122310156 - 04 Dec 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2190
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to study how advanced information about customer needs obtained through an Advance Purchase Discount (APD) contract can be exploited to coordinate the capital flow and enhance the efficiency of a two-stage supply chain (SC) under decentralized control [...] Read more.
The purpose of this paper is to study how advanced information about customer needs obtained through an Advance Purchase Discount (APD) contract can be exploited to coordinate the capital flow and enhance the efficiency of a two-stage supply chain (SC) under decentralized control in cases of stochastic customer demand. We developed an APD model in the form of an option contract, where the model and evaluation include the flexibility for the upstream firm to decide whether to provide a discount for an advance purchase at its own discretion. Applying the model to a Fortune 100 company, a leader in the Fast Mover Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry, showed that under certain conditions, and with suitably chosen contract parameters, management of decentralized control via APD contracts can lead to system-wide efficiency, and the individual decision makers pursue their own best interests, ensuring a win-win condition. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability in Purchasing and Supply Management)
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23 pages, 538 KiB  
Article
Public Procurement in the South African Economy: Addressing the Systemic Issues
by David Fourie and Cornel Malan
Sustainability 2020, 12(20), 8692; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12208692 - 20 Oct 2020
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 10507
Abstract
Public procurement fulfils an important role in the economy and public expenditure of a country and can be regarded as a critical indicator of the effectiveness of a government, because it is a central aspect of public service delivery. Notwithstanding various reforms made [...] Read more.
Public procurement fulfils an important role in the economy and public expenditure of a country and can be regarded as a critical indicator of the effectiveness of a government, because it is a central aspect of public service delivery. Notwithstanding various reforms made to date to public sector procurement in South Africa and the application of Supply Chain Management as a strategic policy strategic instrument, the South African public procurement system still faces several challenges and has been strongly criticised. This paper aims to understand the current public procurement environment in South Africa, its dilemmas and challenges, and to propose that public procurement be refocused towards a strategically placed business process, implemented by well-trained and competent procurement officials. The purpose is to provide a theoretical foundation as well as practical guidance regarding the role of public procurement in the South African public sector. The methodology involved an intensive literature study and document analysis to evaluate various official policy documents and official publications to determine the status of South African public procurement. The study found that the majority of challenges faced by public procurement in South Africa can probably be attributed to the implementation of the system, rather than to the system itself. In the shorter and longer term, the public procurement system in South Africa will have no choice but to emerge as a stronger, more resilient, streamlined and efficient provider of goods and services for the greater good of all. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability in Purchasing and Supply Management)
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20 pages, 1103 KiB  
Article
The Optimal Production Decision of Competing Supply Chains When Considering Green Degree: A Game-Theoretic Approach
by Jiguang Wang, Jianhong Chang and Yucai Wu
Sustainability 2020, 12(18), 7413; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12187413 - 09 Sep 2020
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1954
Abstract
Nowadays, the green supply chain has become an exciting concept in academic societies. This paper focuses on the optimal production decisions of two competing supply chains from the perspective of green degree. The manufacturers in each supply chain have two options—producing a green [...] Read more.
Nowadays, the green supply chain has become an exciting concept in academic societies. This paper focuses on the optimal production decisions of two competing supply chains from the perspective of green degree. The manufacturers in each supply chain have two options—producing a green product or a non-green product. Game theory is applied to study four decision scenarios, which are derived from the difference in the products of the two supply chains. This study investigates the influence of inter-supply-chain competition on the wholesale price, green degree, and profits of the supply chain members. The results indicate that the inter-supply-chain competition has a negative correlation with the wholesale price. The inter-supply-chain competition has a significant impact on green degree in the four decision scenarios. In addition, green products are not always the dominant strategy of manufacturers. Both the competitors’ product decisions and the degree of inter-supply-chain competition should be considered. Finally, weak inter-supply-chain competition is beneficial to the leader supply chain, while strong competition is beneficial to the follower supply chain. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability in Purchasing and Supply Management)
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20 pages, 2299 KiB  
Article
Agrifood Chains as Complex Systems and the Role of Informality in Their Sustainability in Small Scale Societies
by Kim P. Bryceson and Anne Ross
Sustainability 2020, 12(16), 6535; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12166535 - 13 Aug 2020
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2597
Abstract
Agrifood chains are complex systems; they encompass biological, economic, social, health and political variables at different scales (e.g., on-farm, local, regional, national and global). Consequently, what enables a food system to achieve ‘sustainability’ is also complex. This is particularly the case in small-scale [...] Read more.
Agrifood chains are complex systems; they encompass biological, economic, social, health and political variables at different scales (e.g., on-farm, local, regional, national and global). Consequently, what enables a food system to achieve ‘sustainability’ is also complex. This is particularly the case in small-scale societies in developing nations which are socially constituted. In this paper we posit that a habitus of informality underpins food systems’ sustainability in these societies. We argue that conventional applications of approaches like the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) and Circles of Sustainability (CoS) frameworks fail to assist understanding of sustainability in informal socio-economic systems because they either place too much emphasis on economic growth (TBL) or underplay the strength of socio–cultural obligations and responsibilities (CoS). This is seen in international aid programs that encourage economic growth in the agrifood sector, which is challenging for villages in such societies. We review data from two Pacific Island countries—Tonga and Solomon Islands—to demonstrate the need for a more holistic way to think about sustainability in informal agrifood systems in small-scale developing nations. We demonstrate the value of employing a Hybrid Value Chain Framework for collecting information necessary to understanding how sustainability is constituted in the food systems of small-scale societies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability in Purchasing and Supply Management)
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15 pages, 3567 KiB  
Article
Using a Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process to Formulate an Effectual Tea Assessment System
by Hwai-Hui Fu, Yan-Yu Chen and Guan-Jie Wang
Sustainability 2020, 12(15), 6131; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12156131 - 30 Jul 2020
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2275
Abstract
Taiwan tea is very famous around the world. This study aims to establish a quantized tea assessment system to increase the credibility of the current tea evaluation mechanism. In this study, a new procedure using a fuzzy analytic hierarchy process integrated with linguistic [...] Read more.
Taiwan tea is very famous around the world. This study aims to establish a quantized tea assessment system to increase the credibility of the current tea evaluation mechanism. In this study, a new procedure using a fuzzy analytic hierarchy process integrated with linguistic variables is proposed to set up measurable indicators and determine their weights for a tea evaluation mechanism. An affinity diagram was used to deduce three dimensions (i.e., tea farm management, the tea-making process, and organoleptic evaluation) and 11 evaluation criteria for the construction of the tea assessment system. Sixteen experts, including 10 senior tea farmers and six national tea appraisers, were invited to participate in the one-on-one linguistic questionnaire survey. Analysis of the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process shows that tea farm management gains the most weight (0.533), followed by the tea-making process (0.329), and organoleptic evaluation (0.138). Surprisingly, organoleptic evaluation, as the assessment criteria today, places last in the three evaluation dimensions. Findings of this study can provide the Taiwan Tea Association with insightful information for enhancing the current tea assessment system. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability in Purchasing and Supply Management)
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