Research Paper Identifies Barriers to Adopting Sustainable Supply Chain Management Practices in India’s Fasteners Manufacturing Industry
Abu Dhabi-UAE: 08 May, 2013 – Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, an independent, research-driven graduate-level university focused on advanced energy and sustainable technologies announced two UAE national female students have published research paper on sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) in the prestigious ‘The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology’.
The paper titled ‘Analysis of interaction between the barriers for the implementation of sustainable supply chain management’ is authored by Shaikha Al Zaabi and Noura Al Dhaheri under the guidance of Dr. Ali Diabat, an Associate Professor of Engineering Systems & Management.
Listing 13 major barriers, the research paper helps to identify challenges in the adoption of SSCM in fastener manufacturing industry in southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The paper gains relevance as Indian industries, particularly pressured for environmental adoption, have less detailed research on the effects of the adoption of environmental practices using traditional supply chain management (TSCM).
The outcome of this study shows that Indian industrial managers have started to adopt sustainability concerns in TSCM. But they are only in the initial stage and still have to eradicate the major barriers one by one.
Dr. Ali Diabat said: “Academic and business societies are clearly interested in adopting sustainable management practices in traditional SCM because of the tremendous business benefits. In the Indian context, we observed that fastener manufacturing industries face many barriers such as the lack of governing policies, too many agencies for SMEs, inadequate data and information for development of SMEs, and suppliers lacking the necessary environmental systems to adopt within their industries.
“Since this study has been conducted only in two fastener manufacturing industries, involving more industries might give more insights into our barrier analysis. More sectors can also be considered for similar analysis.”
Noura Al Dhaheri said: “The research paper provides a solid framework for analyzing the barriers to SSCM adoption in the fastener manufacturing industries, which must have a degree of accountability when it comes to environmental consciousness. It also recommends involving more industries, which might give more insights into our barrier analysis. We thank the country’s leadership for offering youth the right infrastructure to enhance their knowledge and professionally contribute to the industrial sector regionally and globally.”
Shaikha Al Zaabi said: “In this study, we have identified the barriers that act as stumbling blocks to the adoption of SSCM in fastener manufacturing industries. “We are grateful to Dr. Ali Diabat and others for their support and guidance that helped us to complete the analysis. Though this study focuses on the fastener manufacturing industry in a specific region, we are confident the industry from other regions can benefit as well by identifying similar barriers and challenges.”
Six major barriers as identified by Masdar Institute students in the study include prohibitively expensive cost for disposing hazardous wastes, lack of sustainability standards and appropriate regulations, misalignment of short-term and long-term strategic goals, lack of effective evaluation measures about sustainability, inadequate facility for adoptions of reverse logistic practices, and lack of top management commitment to initiate sustainability practices.
Four middle level barriers include inadequate industrial self-regulation, lack of IT implementation, lack of training and education about sustainability, as well as cost of sustainability and economic conditions. The study however mentions that these four middle-level barriers create heavy obstacles to the adoption of SSCM. The three remaining barriers such as complex design to reduce consumption of resources and energy, cost for environmentally-friendly packaging, and lack of clarity regarding sustainability act as dominant roles for implementing SSCM.
Serving as a key pillar of innovation and human capital, Masdar Institute remains fundamental to Masdar’s core objectives of developing Abu Dhabi’s knowledge economy and finding solutions to humanity’s toughest challenges such as climate change.
Established as an on-going collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Masdar Institute integrates theory and practice to incubate a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, working to develop the critical thinkers and leaders of tomorrow. With its world-class faculty and top-tier students, the Institute is committed to finding solutions to the challenges of clean energy and climate change through education and research.
