Journal of Enterprise Resource Management

1st Quarter 2002 Volume 9

Squaring Lean Supply with Supply Chain Management - Richard Lamming, UK

The Scope of Supply Chain Management Research - Stephen J. New, UK

Addressing the Conflicts between Production and Marketing - Marjorie J. Cooper, USA

How a measurement System Change Motivates Performance Improvement - Gerhard Plenert, USA

Leading a Lean Conversion: Lessons from Experience at Steelcase, Inc. - David W. Mann, USA

Implementing a Quality Management Program - three Cs of Success: Commitment, Culture, Cost - George P. Laszlo, Canada

Using the Internet as a Channel for Commerce - David Walters and Geoff Lancaster, Australia

Practical Item Numbering System - Pervez Appoo, Australia

A Hands-On Approach to Teaching Operations Management - Richard E. Pesche, USA

The scope of Supply Chain Management Research
Abstract
The article advocates an expanded scope for supply chain management research, which accounts for the social function and the political and economic implications of supply chain developments. It argues that the research agenda must not be driven by the notion of efficiency alone, but should also be developed around the concept of the just supply chain. The paper also provides a framework, which sets out the range of issues, which may contribute to this approach. It believes that the objectives and ideological assumptions of research need to be open to challenge and debate.

Addressing the Conflicts Between Production & Marketing
Abstract
Ben Shapiron in his (1997) Harvard Business review article "can Marketing and Manufacturing Coexist?" recognised the need for cooperation between the production and marketing functions. The article focuses on the pervasive conflicts between the two functions, citing eight specific conflict issues. Further, evidence exists that the conflicts between marketing and manufacturing occur more frequently than between other functional areas (Hayes and Wheelwright 1984) and that marketing managers perceive greater dependence on manufacturing than manufacturing does on marketing (Kahn and Mantzer 1994)

The purpose of this paper is to discuss briefly why it is essential that companies achieve collaboration between manufacturing and marketing, including the consequences of continuing to exist in a conflicted environment. It is then demonstrated that the apparent extensive list of functional and cultural differences, which are often attributed to fuelling conflicts between the two groups, may , in fact, be largely reduced to a single core conflict. The paper covers the root causes of this conflict and the necessary conditions for addressing manufacturing/marketing conflicts to achieve collaboration in the pursuit of a company's strategic imperatives.

Article: Leading a Lean Conversion: Lessons from Experience at Steelcase, Inc

Successful mass-to-lean conversions turn primarily on the quality of local line leadership - that's the lesson Steelcase is learning as it converts its 12 main North American plants from mass to lean production. Case study material from 17 mass-to-lean projects in ten Steelcase plants over the past four years illustrates this lesson. We've learned there are seven key attributes of leader in successful lean implementations and we've converted these lessons into practices and procedures to help leaders be more effective in leading lean conversions.

Implementing a Quality Management Program - three C's of success: Commitment, Culture, Cost.
Abstract
This article presents the point of view that there are three fundamental prerequisites that are required for the successful implementation of a quality management approach within any organization - commitment, culture, and cost. The case is made that quality management is not just an extension of other quality-related initiatives because a distinct shift in culture is needed to embrace its unique precepts that transcend the quality function into strategic and process management. The scope includes people, customers, suppliers, and society in addition to the traditional emphasis on financial performance.

Article: Practical Item Numbering Systems
Abstract
This paper briefly describes the attributes of a good, practical item numbering scheme. It mentions some of the common mistakes people make when they design item number formats and how to avoid them. It also points to commercial software now available in the market, which can help the flow of material in supply chains.

A Hands-On Approach to Teaching Operations Management
Abstract
A challenge in education is to find some way to get the students involved in the learning process. Lectures are not very effective, not, it seems are other passive modes of learning. The following is from an old Native American proverb and describes the situation quite nicely.

Tell me and I will forget.
Show me and I may not remember.
Involve me and I will understand.

The authors Operations Management (OM) class is a required course for all of the business degree programs and for a few other programs a well. Since the students aren't getting degrees in OM , the objective is to give them an overview of what the operations function is all about, how operations fits into the organization as a whole, and what is involved in managing the operations function.

An integral part of the course consists of hands-on activities that get the students actively involved in the learning process. These exercises are used to introduce new concepts and to set the stage for discussions that follow. This paper provides a brief description of these hands-on excercises.