SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

Assessment Task Brief:

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

• Overview of study
• Background of study
• Problem statement
• Research questions
• Research objective
• Significant of the study
• Scope of the study
• Limitation of the study
• Conclusion

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

• 1.

• 2. Conclusion

CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

• 1.

CHAPTER 4 DATA ANALYSIS

• 1.

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

• 5.1
• 5.4 Conclusion

REFERENCES

Answer:

RESEARCH PROPOSAL

The impact of implementation of Green Supply Chain Management Practice’s in Singapore logistics organizations.

1. Introduction

1.1. Research objectives

The research will be conducted to accomplish the following objectives:

• To generate information on how logistics SMEs in Singapore have adopted green supply chain management practice
• To find out how Masindo Logistic Pte Ltd – Singapore has adopted green supply chain management practice
• To know what are the impacts of adopting green supply chain management practice by Masindo Logistic Pte Ltd
• To understand the potential challenges and opportunities of adopting green supply chain management practice faced by Masindo Logistic Pte Ltd

1.2. Aim of the research

The research aims at understanding the significance and impact of adopting green supply chain management practice in the logistics sector. The research will also focus on how Masindo Logistic Pte Ltd, a smaller company in Singapore logistics industry would adopt the green supply chain management practice and what would be consequences.

1.3. Research questions

The research questions that will be considered to order this particular research are stated below.  the entire research will be based on these research questions.

1. How logistics SMEs in Singapore have adopted green supply chain management practices?

2. What are the impacts of adopting green supply chain management practices by Masindo Logistic Pte Ltd?

3. How Masindo Logistic Pte Ltd – Singapore has adopted green supply chain management practice?

4. What are the potential challenges and opportunities of adopting green supply chain management practice faced by Masindo Logistic Pte Ltd?

1.4. Problem statement

This particular study will focus on how logistics SMEs in Singapore have adopted green supply chain management practices. Many major and smaller organisations all over the world are using green supply chain management techniques to reduce the wastages generated during the manufacturing procedure, production procedure, and transportation procedures. Applying green logistics is beneficial for every business practice as it helps to minimise the environment and impact of the logistics delivery and network (Plaza-Úbeda et al., 2021). In Singapore, major organisations like DHL and FedEx which lead the logistics and supply chain network in the country have already adopted the practice of green supply chain management or sustainable logistics to ensure a strong bottom line of service and ensure customer satisfaction.

However, many smaller organisations including Pacific Logistics Group, Teck Wah Logistics, Yusen Logistics, Schenker Singapore, and Masindo Logistics are already trying to increase their footfall in this particular business. The study will focus on how these organisations will consider applying green supply chain management and what are the impacts of inline green supply chain management in their logistics and business. Masindo Logistics will be taken into consideration for analysing this particular topic.

1.5. Rationale of the research

The research will be suitable for unlocking different information and data about how many smaller and medium-sized organisations as well as larger companies working in the market of Singapore need to adopt green supply chain management and what will be the impact of adopting green supply chain management in terms of their business (Jazairy and von Haartman, 2020). Masindo Logistic Pte Ltd is one of the organisations that have provided transport and technical Services in the market of Singapore since 2003. The organisation also offers warehouse and operation facilities to its clients and the organisation is trying to expand its business to a larger market.

By implementing the green supply chain, the organisation will benefit in terms of its environmental performance, and from this particular analysis, it will be identified how cream supplies and management practices will be adopted by the organisation to generate benefits. Potential challenges and opportunities of embracing green supply chain management will also be analysed here with effective information and data gathered from various sources.

2. Literature review

2.1. Concept of green supply chain management practices

To analyse the concept of green supply chain management practices, it can be stated that it is the procedure adopted by environmentally conscious businesses for developing sustainable strategies. Through green supply chain management practices, organisations are incorporating sustainability concepts in their overall traditional supply chain management. In the opinion of Al-Khawaldah et al., (2022), the goal of adopting green supply chain management by many organisations in different industries including logistics is to reduce their carbon emission and reduce wastage as well as maximize the profit level. In every part of the supply chain, there are different scopes of green improvement and many organisations including logistics are considering such development. 

Green supply chain management practice offers several substantial benefits for the development of the environment. By enhancing supply chain management, organisations can help to reduce carbon dioxide emissions as well as other air pollutants generated due to the different industrial work and operating vehicles. In logistics companies, transportation is considered one of the major aspects of building networks and delivering products from one place to another. However, as argued by Herrmann et al., (2021), these transportation activities use fossil fuel which increases the emission of carbon dioxide as well as other air pollutants including carbon monoxide and other greenhouse gases responsible for global warming. Adopting green supply chain management would be beneficial for these companies as these companies can enjoy cost benefits from different actions taken by this process like land pooling, automation, cloud connectivity, and route optimisation. It has been found that these companies in this industry can get at least 30% of cost savings if they consider processes like route optimization and load distribution with other companies in the same industry, as found by Khan et al., (2022).

 It is needed that many sustainable practices should be used like reducing waste and conserving non-renewable energy such as fossil fuels, sustainability can be increased and clean supply chain management practices can be incorporated into the supply chain, as argued by Mardani et al., (2020). It would be found that these practices would help the companies in this industry to cut their cost of transport and at the same time, their quality of service can be improved a higher efficiency rate can be developed. In the long term, that would be beneficial for smaller and medium-sized companies to increase their brand image and achieve competitive advantage.

2.2. Green supply chain management practice in Logistic companies

In contemporary times, along with other industries, the logistics sector is also considering the use of green supply chain management to reduce the negative environmental results and increase sustainability. Many Logistics service provider organisations in the Singapore market considering green supply chain management procedures. For example, DHL is one such organization that has already impressed green supply chain management to reduce the harmful effect of greenhouse gas emissions from their business activities. Route Optimisation tool is one such tool that has been used by DHL for reducing the time and distance to the destination which reduces fuel consumption with no extra mileage, as found from the research works of Bag et al., (2020). It helps organisations to reduce their emission as well as their cost. On the other hand, the organisation is also switching to electric vehicles over other vehicles which can be a sustainable solution for their transportation.

Some other new trends of optimisation strategies have been taken into consideration by several organisations in the logistics service-providing industry including FedEx. Land pooling is one such optimisation strategy of supply chain management where companies that are working together in this industry are pooling their warehouse and logistics resources. With the help of cloud-connected logistics management technology, organizations are collaborating and cooperating by maximizing their control and visibility, as has been argued by Agyabeng-Mensah et al., (2021).

Automated load optimisation is another important aspect that has been considered by major organisations like DHL and FedEx in the Singapore market. These companies are collaborating and coordinating items that are kept in warehouses and distribution centers and have similar delivery locations and ETA, as found from the analysis done by Trivellas et al., (2020). They are using such smart supply chain solutions and the service providers are also considering automatic vehicle loading to eliminate the use of different delivery vans for reaching the same destination.

2.3. Challenges and opportunities

There are some challenges and opportunities related to the use of green supply chain management in the logistics sector. In the Singapore market, larger organisations are already using green supply chain management, and smaller and medium-sized organisations are required to adopt this particular practice to enhance sustainability. However, it has been argued by the critics like Khan et al., (2020) that there are some challenges that organisations in this industry may face in implementing sustainable supply chain management. Lack of right sustainability standards and government regulation is one of the major problems that the logistics service providing organisations face in adopting green supply chain on the other hand it is also required to invest a higher amount to adopt such green supply chain management methods management which is difficult for many smaller and medium organisations against a sustainable solution. Improper alignment of sustainability Strategies and short-term profitability goals is another challenge that these organisations face while adopting green supply chain procedures, as argued by Su et al., (2021).

However, there are some opportunities as well. The brand image of the companies can be increased by adopting a green supply chain management practice which helps them increase their market share as well as their competitive advantage. These organisations can also increase the awareness of sustainability among their target market which will be effective against Greenhouse gas emissions, as opined by critics like Tan et al., (2021). On the other hand, the sustainability of resources can also be adopted which may have long-term benefits. 

2.4. Literature gap

The research has successfully identified how companies in the Singapore logistics market are using green supply chain management and what are the positive and negative impacts of using green supply chain management in the logistics industry. However, a major gap has been found in the literary analysis which has affected the quality of the literary review and the outcome of the research. The literary review has focused only on the major companies operating in the market of Singapore. It was required to provide the same importance to the smaller and medium organisation, which has not been done.

3. Research methods

3.1. Introduction:

Specific research methods are to be taken into consideration in this particular research to conduct the research successfully and get an effective outcome from the research problem.  the following aspects will be considered to conduct this particular research.

3.2. Research philosophy: 

to analyse the concept of research philosophy it can be stated that research philosophy is about the development of research assumptions, the knowledge, and the nature of the research. It is a framework that guides how the research should be conducted by using the different kinds of ideas about reality and the nature of knowledge. There are different kinds of research philosophies including positive vision interpretivism and realism which can be adopted in a research process (Mauthner, 2020). Positivism as the research philosophy depends on reason and measurement of knowledge gathered from measurable or quantifiable observation of activity. Interpretivism on the other hand shows that reality is subjective and socially constructed. It is understood from others’ reality from their experiences of that reality shaped by their social and historical perspective. Realism can be considered as the combination of positivism and interpretivism.

Here, positivism will be adopted as the research philosophy.

3.3. Research approach:

it is the procedure of collecting analysing and interpreting data in the research process. It can be either inductive or deductive. Deductive approach research is based on scientific investigation and a set of hypotheses is being formulated to test them through data connection and observation (Proudfoot, 2023). The inductive approach is the opposite approach where a bottom-down method is used and data is collected and analysed for developing new theories and hypotheses based on the patterns or observations identified from the collected data.

In this particular research, the deductive approach will be taken into consideration to analyse the research topic.

3.4. Data sources:

specific data sources need to be taken into consideration to conduct the research successfully. Either primary sources or secondary sources are being used to collect data and analyse them to achieve the research objectives. Primary data involves data collected from human respondents through different tools like surveys or Focus Group analysis. On the contrary, secondary data refers to the data collected from different online and offline sources (Djafar et al., 2021). Offline sources refer to books, published articles, journals, and other reports as well as online sources including websites, that can be considered secondary data.

In this research, primary sources will be taken into consideration and data will be collected by using a survey conducted among the employees of the mentioned organisation where the research would take place, Masindo Logistics.

3.5. Data analysis techniques:

Several tools and techniques have been used for collecting and analyzing data so that the research objectives and research questions can be accomplished and answers can be obtained. Either quantitative technique or qualitative technique is being used in a research procedure to analyse the data and obtain the result. The quantitative technique is used for analysing the quantifiable data collected from measurable sources or primary sources (Piwowar-Sulej, 2022). On the contrary, the qualitative data technique is used to collect and analyse data taken from different secondary sources.

Here, a quantitative technique will be used as data has been collected from primary sources and a survey will be conducted by using a questionnaire. Employees from the mentioned organisation, Masindo Logistics will be taken into consideration for conducting the survey and Google form will be used for conducting a survey and collecting the responses of the participant. They will be notified about the process through emails.  

3.6. Sample size and sampling technique:

the specific number of samples must be taken into consideration for conducting the research procedure. A particular sample size must be taken into consideration to conduct the research successfully and analyze the topic according to the research objectives and problem statement (Stratton, 2021). Thus, 100 employees from Masindo Logistics will be approached to take part in the survey process. The employees will be selected by using the simple random probability sampling method.

3.7. Ethics

Some ethical aspects should be maintained during the research procedure to ensure that the standardisation of the research topic is properly added. The following ethical aspects will be maintained in this research.

Application of data: the data will be collected by surveying the employees of Masindo Logistics and will not be used for any commercial purpose. The collected data will be used for purely academic purposes.

Involvement of the respondents: the respondents who will be taking part in the research procedure will not be influenced or forced externally to take part in the procedure (Drolet et al., 2021). Their participation should be voluntary and they should not be under any kind of physical or mental harassment to take part in the research process.

The anonymity of the respondents: the identity of the respondents who will take part in the research process should not be disclosed and accepted if any legal or criminal activities are associated with the respondent. Necessary consent should be taken from the respondents to reveal their identity and they can leave the process any time they want

4. Limitations

Some possible limitations may affect the research procedure and the result of the research.

The constraint of time: as the research has to be completed within a specific time, it is difficult for the researcher to analyse the different sources of the data. Due to the cross-sectional nature of this particular research, there are time limitations that may affect the quality of the research procedure.

The constraint of budget:  there can be limitations related to the budget of the research. Lack of finance can affect the procedure taken in the research, such as the application of different analytical tools and software will not be considered, and then quality analysis may not be achieved successfully.

Reliability of the respondents: the respondents that will be involved in the research mustn’t come under any external pressure or influence. However, the employees may work for the mentioned organization, Masindo Logistic Pte Ltd may provide biased responses while answering the survey questions. It will be difficult to manage such reliability and it will affect the findings of the research as well

5. Timeline of the research

Main activities/ stages	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5	Week 6	Week 7
Selecting the research problem
Selecting the secondary source to collect relevant data
Forming the design of the research
Literature review
Founding the research process
Selection of the right research methods
Primary data collection
Analysis of Data Collected from Primary Sources
Findings from the data analysis
Conclusion
Rough Draft
Submission

Table 1: Timeline of the research

References

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Al-Khawaldah, R., Al-Zoubi, W., Alshaer, S., Almarshad, M., ALShalabi, F., Altahrawi, M. and Al-Hawary, S., 2022. Green supply chain management and competitive advantage: The mediating role of organizational ambidexterity. Uncertain Supply Chain Management, 10(3), pp.961-972. http://growingscience.com/uscm/Vol10/uscm_2022_23.pdf

Bag, S., Viktorovich, D.A., Sahu, A.K. and Sahu, A.K., 2020. Barriers to adoption of blockchain technology in green supply chain management. Journal of Global Operations and Strategic Sourcing, 14(1), pp.104-133. https://ujcontent.uj.ac.za/esploro/fulltext/journalArticle/Barriers-to-adoption-of-blockchain-technology/9911652607691?repId=124777160007691&mId=135468760007691&institution=27UOJ_INST

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Drolet, M.J., Rose-Derouin, E., Leblanc, J.C., Ruest, M. and Williams-Jones, B., 2023. Ethical Issues in research: perceptions of researchers, research ethics board members and research ethics experts. Journal of Academic Ethics, 21(2), pp.269-292. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10805-022-09455-3

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