A conceptual framework for supply
: supply chain systems architecture and integration design based on practice and theory in the North Wales slate mining industry

  • Petar Radanliev

    Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis

    Abstract

    The aim of this thesis is to contribute to knowledge in the form of a new theory for supply chain strategy formulation. The objective is to design evaluation criteria, specific to the context of greenfield project architecture and integration design. This study addressed the aim and objective by synthesising existing methods and techniques which are outlined into a research framework of supply chain strategy problems. The study applied the case study and action research methods to pursue conceptual validity from the process of investigating the supply chain strategy formulation in a specific situation and presented the data collection and analysis process. The thesis derived a conceptual framework for investigating and identifying the relationship between multiple elements, dimensions, forces and factors that influence and affect supply chain strategy formulation in a greenfield project context, specific to the mining industry. The contribution to knowledge emerged from building upon the architecture of the conceptual framework, through synthesising existing techniques and adapting these techniques, to extend and redefine the existing knowledge on the practice of supply chain strategy formulation. Through critical analysis, a number of critical problems emerged and the process of addressing these problems, resulted with a new framework for evaluating the relationship between business and supply chain strategy, specific to greenfield project and integration context. The contribution to knowledge also derived from addressing the emerging obstacles in the process of identifying, defining and formulating, the visions and goals of individual supply chain participants from implicit into an explicit form. The process synthesised the knowledge for conceptualising the idea, through developing and evaluating information and issues, to derive insights into the complex and abstract concept, of greenfield project business and supply chain strategy formulation. The conceptual framework and evaluation framework advanced into designing greenfield project supply chain integration strategy. The process involved categorising individual supply chain strategic interests, decisions and problems into formulation areas, and was aimed at defining the process of greenfield project integration strategy as a system of concepts containing formulation areas, formulation principles, segregated into subcategories of formulation imperatives and formulation concepts. The thesis contributed to knowledge with advancement of the design engineering method, which enables visualisation of the supply chain strategy evaluation process. The design is not personalised for individual company business strategy or supply chain strategy formulation. The method was personalised to evaluate the integration of individual goals, and concepts in a supply chain strategy formulation. The novelty that emerged from the thesis was a conceptual framework for greenfield project architecture and integration design. The greenfield project architecture and design derived in the thesis a proposed conceptual system for applying the conceptual framework and the evaluation criteria.
    Date of AwardMar 2014
    Original languageEnglish
    SupervisorHefin Rowlands (Supervisor) & Dylan Jones-Evans (Supervisor)

    Keywords

    • supply chain management
    • Wales
    • slate mining
    • industry

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