Next Generation Manufacture Supply Chains and Economy Research Collaboration (NEX-GEM)

These days, senior managers and academics alike are increasingly concerned with supply chain design and operations in the UK and India with focus on performance excellence and associated costs. The next-generation supply chain is a network of all the entities in the extended supply chain, from product design and development to procurement and sourcing, supply and demand matching, logistics and distribution, sales force automation, and customer support. Therefore designing next generation supply chains requires attention to the dimensions such as configuring the right logistics network, engaging in the right alliances and partnerships, developing contingency plans against uncertainties and selecting the right production, inventory, and distribution strategies. In addition, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and digital economy has to be considered as it facilitates complex and dynamic planning of flow of products, and assists in controlling and monitoring the execution of commercial transactions. The increasing level of international trade between UK and India (Sunday Times, 30 April 2006) often implies higher uncertainty and thus the need to identify underlying causes and strategies to protect against potential disruptions. In order to address some of these issues it is important to capitalise on the know how and expertise of academics as well as practitioners in the industry to share and exchange the emerging trends and developments. During the project activities and the knowledge gained will be used for developing potential collaborative research proposals. The aim of the proposal is to create a collaborating environment for academics and industrial partners from diverse but complementary backgrounds in UK and India to share and exchange the latest and emerging developments in concepts, methodologies and tools to support Next generation supply chains . The Next generation supply chains are typically characterized as: adaptive, digital, networked, knowledge intensive, and customer-oriented. The NEX-GEMS project will utilise a range of research methods to generate an understanding of the issues affecting the next-generation supply chains . Academic team from the UK will visit the collaborating partners in India, namely Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIMC), Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB), Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IITKh) as well as to selected companies in the manufacturing and IT sectors. While in India, the delegation will give seminars, presentations and convene focus groups in Bangalore, Mumbai and Kolkatta with a view to define the characteristics of next generation supply chains within the context of trade between UK and India. In parallel consortium members will conduct Delphi studies involving both the UK and Indian academics and the participants from industry to capture expert opinion to assist in this exercise. In addition, it is proposed to develop a knowledge base of 'who is who' in the UK and India in the field of next generation supply chains and linked to digital economy. Workshops will also be held in the UK where the findings of the interaction activities will be presented by both UK and Indian collaborators.