The IPSERA Special Interest Group (SIG) in Purchasing and Innovation was created in recognition of the growing interest amongst practitioners and researchers in how purchasing can contribute to the creation of innovations within organizations.

Just before the COVID-19 lock-down Florian Schupp organized an event at Schaeffler Automotive in Buehl (near Baden-Baden in Germany). This brought together a group of SIG researchers and a large group of participants from Schaeffler. The interplay between researchers and practitioners worked really well and it was great having not only Schaeffler procurement but also R&D participants taking part in the discussions. Thank you, Florian, for organizing this great event!

During the COVID-19 crisis the SIG has been unable to meet physically, but the group has still been active. The call for papers for the Special Topic Forum (STF) in Purchasing & Innovation in Journal of Purchasing & Supply Management (JPSM) was published and submissions received at the end of August. Manuscripts are currently undergoing review and we look forward to the outcome of this process.

The SIG in Purchasing & Innovation is now planning a joint PDW with the IPSERA SIGs ‘Supply Chain Finance’ and ‘Internet of Things’. On the initiative of the IPSERA board and facilitated by Leonardo, the joint event will be dedicated to digitalization in purchasing and discuss transversal themes across the SIGs. The date for this event has not yet been confirmed but it will most likely be in December so watch this space!

The SCM team of the Open Universiteit (SCM@ou.nl) has been a solid presence at many past IPSERA conferences. Typically, throughout the year, we help and motivate our best MSc students to turn their theses into IPSERA submissions, while encouraging them to present their work in person. During these challenging COVID times we were forced to turn virtual in everything we do.

The Open University of the Netherlands is a world leading organization in online education and research, with students from the Euregion. The yearly Dutch and Flemish student enrolment is around 15.000. The OU is one of the top universities in the Netherlands in official University Selection Guide with respect to its master programmes. The educational programmes in management and science rank highest in the country, with several having the predicate ‘topopleiding’ (top programme). The research is formulated within the program “Learning and Innovation in Resilient Systems” (LIRS). It focuses on multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary aspects in the domains of sustainability, services and supply chain, social learning and learning regions.

The Supply Chain Management team (core members: Kees Gelderman, Paul Ghijsen, Harold Krikke, Wim Lambrechts, Jelle Mampaey, Kim Janssens, Jos Schijns, Janjaap Semeijn) at the OU is particularly dedicated to the following themes and areas: Public Procurement/Ethical and Sustainable Sourcing/Circular Business Models/Circular Purchasing/Performance Based Contracting/Procurement in Higher Education/Sustainable Supply Chain Management/Closed Loop Supply Chains.

Research output

Each year, we are supervising about 40 new thesis students in the areas of Supply Chain sustainability, purchasing management, public procurement, co-creation, circular purchasing and the like. Our popularity with the distance learning students (at bachelor and master level) at the OU keeps us busy during these challenging Covid-19 times. We regularly publish with our MSc graduates as well. We supervise PhD students who focus on sustainability, circularity and public procurement. This year, we witnessed the successful PhD defenses of Victor Verboeket (3D printing & Supply chain disruption) and Petra Neessen (Circular Purchasing). Rob Vluggen is making excellent progress towards the completion of his dissertation: Public sector procurement and sustainability development.

Publications this year appear in the Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, Journal of Cleaner Production, Sustainability, British Food Journal, Journal of Public procurement, Behavioral Sciences, etc.

The Dutch Research Council (NWO) recently approved our proposal named CoLoSus (Compentences inLogistics & Sustainability). The project is granted within the Future of Work funding instrument, which is part of the NWO’s Human Capital program. The projectfocusses on innovations in learning communities in logistics and supply chain sector. We are now ready to engage two ambitious scholars in December 2020 (one PhD student and one Post Doc researcher) to explore required individual competences (related to sustainability, empowerment and resilience) for a future of sustainability in logistics and supply chains.

Conference contributions

The SCM team of the OU has been present at the pastIPSERA conferences, both with faculty members and master students presenting their work. Members of the team have been session chairs in the area of public procurement, buyer-supplier relationships, and sustainable supply chain management.

In 2020, A thematic session on “Aligning elements of circular business models” was prepared at the annual and virtual NBM Conference (chairs: Harold Krikke & Wim Lambrechts). The session included the following presentations:

• The role of buyer-supplier relationship management as a means to enhance the implementation of circular business models;
• Can circular touch points create customer values in healthcare?

We submitted 4 competitive papers to the IPSERA conference 2020, to be held in Knoxville. Although the conference was cancelled due to the Covid-19 crisis, two papers received a special award. The paper “Successful circular purchasing: about the purchasers’ role, behaver, drivers and constraints from an individual perspective” by Neessen et al. received the overall Best Paper Award.  The  paper “The impact of buying power on corporate sustainability - the mediating role of suppliers’ traceability information” by Van Hal et al. received the IFPSM Award for Paper with Strong Managerial Implications.

Our plans for the near future include a thematic session at the next LIRS Symposium (2021), covering topics of circular/sustainable/ethical purchasing.

In 2016, Professor Louise Knight and Dr Jo Meehan conducted a piece of research with the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) to explore how the future supply landscape might change, and what this might mean for purchasing and supply management (PSM), as a field, and for practitioners.

This was the first major academic study CIPS has commissioned on the future of the profession since 2003. The acceleration of a number of megatrends – for example, the climate emergency, artificial intelligence, robotics, and health and wealth inequalities formed the backdrop to the study. From the start of the study, the ambition was not to just come up with a list of issues, but to promote a rich, diverse, and critical conversation that brings academic and practitioners together.  The research has led to two reports published by CIPS, and a Notes and Debates paper in the Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management (JPSM) on the potential of scenario methods to PSM futures research.

Jo and Louise adopted a method commonly used in strategy, natural sciences and engineering research, but not used in PSM - scenario development. Scenarios do not attempt to predict the future.  The method allows participants to develop several plausible futures. Doing so helps reveal the often-hidden critical uncertainties that need attention. Rather than looking backwards at dominant themes/voices to linearly predict futures, scenarios encourage consideration of complex, interacting factors with an explicit recognition that the future is malleable and open to influence.

Working with CIPS has enabled an ongoing effort to disseminate the findings and use the findings in practice.  The empirical research was conducted before Covid-19, yet the work remains a popular and influential resource for CIPS and its members. More than ever businesses are grappling with unprecedented uncertainty. The issues explored in the research’s contrasting scenarios – technology and supply markets – resonate with topics trending in the news today including the market power of big business and the role of regional business communities.

As stated in the JPSM paper (p.8), “Science is not limited to meticulously developing a better understanding of what is extant or has previously occurred. It is a fundamental function of science to imagine and engage with the unknown and what has not (yet) happened. Scenario planning is a valuable research technique to anticipate, shape and develop the future of PSM”. A good scenario is not about prediction – it should be thought provoking to seed rich debates. Sheena Donaldson, CIPS’s Knowledge Manager said: “The paper remains a core compass to our changing profession and is very much standing strong”.

Supply market orientation: A dynamic capability of the purchasing and supply management function

Kai Foerstl, Anni-Kaisa Kähkönen, Constantin Blome & Matthias Goellner (2020). Supply market orientation: A dynamic capability of the purchasing and supply management function. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, DOI 10.1108/SCM-06-2019-0233

Open access: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/SCM-06-2019-0233/full/html

Capabilities to sense supply markets are now more important than ever due to the supply chain management challenges caused by the global pandemic. As the situation has evolved companies have been able to move from mere reaction to proactive strategies and, for example, to manage and mitigate risks. However, how to develop capabilities to tackle the market dynamism is the big question.

In our article, we conceptualize supply market orientation for the firm’s purchasing and supply management function. By studying large manufacturing and service firms in Germany, we show how supply market orientation capabilities are developed and how their application differs within and across firms. Our research can be used as a blueprint for the development of a supply market orientation capability that accommodates a firm’s unique contextual antecedents’ profile.

Firms can pursue their strategies more effectively through supply market orientation as they sharpen their strategic focus and can thus channel efforts and investments into the most relevant resources and practices at the function and category level.  The degree of outsourcing, purchase complexity, supply base complexity, and supply market dynamism drive the emergence of supply market orientation, while the scope and focus may well differ within the same firm. For instance, depending on the purchase task (or category) firms may either focus on innovation sourcing, whereas in other categories the focus is rather on managing risks and attaining higher levels of supply base transparency.

Firms with more advanced supply market orientation also practice internal integration more effectively as they are enabled to integrate and reconfigure internal resources and teams to reflect the needs of the respective supply environment firms are dealing with. Thus, supply market orientation helps managers assess how much integration is justified in which supply environment. This is particularly valuable because internal and supplier integration consumes resources, poses risks, and requires investments in terms of money and time. Firms can have substantial benefit if they are actively generating and exploiting supply market intelligence instead of being reactive to customer market matters and internal stakeholder demands.

The Role of Public Procurement in Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Submission deadline October 31st 2020 through https:/ /mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ jopproc 

The special issue will cut across different areas of research relating to public procurement for health services including, but not limited to:

• Public policy and procurement strategy (e.g. group purchasing and cross-border coordinated purchases)
• Public-private partnerships
• Vendor selection criteria
• Use of PfI and PCP for the development of cures, apps and organizational innovations
• Innovative initiatives, practices, procedures and organisation models of public procurement in the
• health sector, including the procurement of medicinal products, medical devices and services
• How to find alternative capacity and suppliers quickly under supply capacity constraints (i.e. so called reverse marketing approach in times of crisis)
• How risk management needs to change in the future

The Special Issue welcomes empirical research built on either primary survey data or secondary data, and case studies providing examples of how to optimize public purchasing processes. We also welcome conceptual papers (e.g. critiques of existing theories/ frameworks which may not prove relevant/useful in times of crisis).

For the full call for paper Call for paper PDF

The editors of leading operations and supply chain journals have hosted a workshop entitled, “Crafting an Effective Review.”

You can view the workshop here; Recorded workshop 

This workshop is designed for participants who are interested in becoming involved with a journal as a reviewer, as well as for experienced reviewers who would like to hone their reviewing skills. Topic covered include:

• Why serve as a journal reviewer?
• Ethical responsibilities of reviewers
• Developmental reviewing
• Plagiarism and other wrongdoings
• Key questions to ask when doing a review
• How to effectively structure a written review
• Q&A

Participating editors include:

International Journal of Operations and Production Management
Constantin Blome
Rob Klassen

Journal of Business Logistics
Beth Davis-Sramek

Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management
Louise Knight
Wendy Tate

IPSERA Spirit Through Adversity

It is an honour to be the new President of our wonderful community.  I began my membership of IPSERA in 1997, on the beautiful island of Ischia, and was ushered into a community that I had no idea I would still be part of 23 years later. I have come to realise how lucky I am to be part of such an incredible group of people. A group of people who are thoughtful, supportive, and extremely talented. 

As we go through this uncertain time in our lives, I believe it is the IPSERA spirit, the bedrock of our association, that will help us to thrive. IPSERA is community that not only tolerates but celebrates diversity, openness and inclusion and allows people to truly be who they are and to bring all aspects of themselves to our community, which makes it vibrant, lively and great fun.

Michael, as well as our past Presidents, Helen, Veli-Matti, Dirk-Jan, Alessandro and beyond, as well as our IPSERA Executive Committee and Association Members have helped to foster a community that excels at cutting-edge, daring and insightful purchasing and supply research and education, while fostering the ideas of impact, practical application and engaging with our stakeholder communities.

Over the next year, we will be updating the strategy for IPSERA and we need the voice of our community to ensure that the strategy is community-driven and developed for the benefit of all. I would particularly welcome our Masters and PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty at the beginning of their careers, to get in touch and help us shape a community that benefits you and that you can be proud of.

For the first time in our history, our conference will be online. Times of immense upheaval are ripe for reflection, redesign and transformation. With your help and advice, we can create an online conference that truly helps us individually and as a community. Your ideas and advice are invaluable for making this happen.

Again, it is my absolute pleasure to be President of this association and I hope that together we can use the IPSERA spirit to make sure our community thrives.  

Hakan Karaosman is a sustainability management professional and award-winning researcher focusing on fashion supply chain sustainability. He began his career writing corporate reports on carbon footprint and social responsibility. He has been pursuing an academic career since 2013 and focuses on environmental and social justice in and across fashion supply chains. He has published a number of academic papers, book chapters, teaching cases and industrial reports.

He was the coordinator of the Manifesto: Unlocking Responsible Luxury, annual knowledge series published by Politecnico di Milano School of Management. He has also contributed to Forbes, The Guardian, Vogue Italia, Women’s Wear Daily, Fashion Revolution, Financial TimesxThe Next Web, Fashinnovation, Corriere della Sera and La Repubblica.

In February 2020, European Commission Research Executive Agency awarded Hakan with the prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship award for the multi-stakeholder action research project, FReSCH (Fashion’s Responsible Supply Chain Hub) that he conducts with Prof. Donna Marshall at University College Dublin. He has served as a knowledge contributor for various multi-stakeholder actions, including State of Fashion 2018 - Searching for New Luxury, Sustainable Thinking Exhibit by Salvatore Ferragamo, Shaping a Sustainable Digital Future by PRADA, A New Awareness, andEnhancing Transparency and Traceability of Sustainable Value Chains in the Garment and Footwear Sector by UNECE. He holds BSc. in Environmental Engineering, MSc. in Management in Engineering of Energy and Environment and double degree Ph.D. in Industrial Management.

Hakan has been appointed as the Brand Management Director and will be responsible for developing and managing the brand strategy and value-adding activities for IPSERA. This branding strategy will be used to identify and further use the resources and capabilities within the IPSERA community.

‘I am humbled and honoured to be part of the IPSERA family. Not only has IPSERA been utilising robust and rigorous scientific research as an instrument to help overcome some of the profound mismatches between practical and academic languages, but it also forges a path to show how to embrace diversity, equality and inclusivity. I am thrilled to be working within the executive committee alongside with some very special people under the world-class leadership of Donna Marshall’, states Hakan.

George A. Zsidisin, Ph.D. (Arizona State University), CPSM, is the John W. Barriger III Professor and Director of the Supply Chain Risk and Resilience Research (SCR3) Institute at the University of Missouri – St. Louis.Professor Zsidisin’s research focuses on how firms assess and manage risk associated with supply disruptions and price volatility in their supply chains.

He has published over 80 research and practitioner articles and seven books, including Supply Chain Risk: A Handbook on Assessment, Management and Performance; Managing Commodity Price Volatility: A Supply Chain Management Perspective; Handbook for Supply Chain Risk Management: Case Studies, Effective Practices, and Emerging Trends; and Revisiting Supply Chain Risk. His research on supply chain risk has been funded by the AT&T Foundation and IBM, and he has received numerous awards, such as from the Institute for Supply Management, Deutsche Post, Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, and the Decision Sciences Institute. Further, he is one of the founding members of the International Supply Chain Risk Management (ISCRiM) network, teaches and leads discussions on supply chain management and risk with various Executive Education Programs and numerous companies in the U.S. and Europe, is co-Editor Emeritus of the Journal of Purchasing & Supply Management and serves on the Editorial Review Board for several academic supply chain journals.

Sorry to miss you this year!

As you know, the COVID-19 pandemic is hitting hard everywhere. We are sorry to miss our fellow colleagues at our yearly conference, but are eager to meet you again as soon as we can!

In the meantime, the topic of Supply Chain Finance (SCF) is becoming more relevant than ever. Liquidity scarcity and supply chain issues are exacerbated by the pandemic, and a solid integration between procurement, supply chain and financial strategies is becoming vital for many companies throughout the world.

We have not sit idle. Members of the SIG have been active in disseminating their knowledge, especially through practitioners (but we guess academic article won’t take much longer!). For example, our colleagues and SIG members Federico Caniato and Antonella Moretto have co-authored a piece on Harvard Business Review titled “A financial crisis is looming for smaller suppliers”.

Through the SCF Community (who co-manages the SIG) outlets we have provided practitioners with several pieces of information on SCF and COVID, including several articles and webinars including speeches by Michael Henke, Michiel Steeman and Viktor Elliot, all available for free on the SCF Briefing website.

Working hard on keeping in contact

In this uncertain environment accurate predictions have become critically difficult to make. Usually, the SIG meets in November, the day before the main SCF Community event, to present paper ideas and discuss what’s going on in the SCF area. This year, this will likely not be possible.

However, we are preparing to host the now-traditional SIG meeting in online form. Can’t promise anything right now, but you will hear from us!

Participation to the SIG, in whatever form, has always been and will remain free of charge this year as well. The SIG meeting is open to anyone interested in research implications or academic collaboration on SCF (in its broadest understanding).

If you are interested in joining the SIG meeting or, more in general, to remain in contact with us, please contact Luca Gelsomino (luca@scfcommunity.org).

The Special Interest Group on Supply Chain Finance

The SIG on Supply Chain Finance (SCF) is a group created in October 2017 and led by the SCF Community (www.scfcommunity.org)  as part of the activities of the IPSERA network, in recognition of the growing interest amongst researchers (and practitioners) towards SCF and, more in general, the integration between finance and supply chain.

As the number of submissions to the IPSERA conference on the topic of SCF increases every year, researchers in this field feel the need to build a network that can strengthen relationship and foster academic collaboration.

The SIG, therefore, has three aims:(i) provide opportunities for discussion and reflection on research implication on the SCF topic, (ii) a platform to better define and organise SCF-related inputs and contributions within the IPSERA conference and (iii) foster collaboration opportunities (e.g. cross-university publications, friendly review, early stage exchange of ideas) between members.