Serving as a connector between industry, faculty, and students, the Supply Chain Management Research Center is a hub for exchanging ideas, advancing supply chain knowledge, and cultivating the success of Supply Chain Management students.
Intermodal freight transportation is a way to lower carbon footprints, but regulation, railroad concentration, and too little investment in infrastructure limit wider use.
June 29, 2023 | By Matt Waller, Andrew Balthrop
Intermodal freight transportation is a way to lower carbon footprints, but regulation, railroad concentration, and too little investment in infrastructure limit wider use.
June 29, 2023 | By Matt Waller, Andrew Balthrop
Recent bank failures threaten to plunge the economy into recession. Bank runs also threaten supply chain finance, resulting in supply chain disruptions.
May 11, 2023 | By Andrew Balthrop, Jason Miller
Inflation poses a particular challenge in the healthcare industry. Supply chain costs for the industry have risen faster than revenues, resulting in a squeeze for industry. Furthermore, disruptions in healthcare supply chains have resulted in higher cost increases than reported. JB Hunt Department of Supply Chain Management faculty discuss strategies for healthcare providers in the latest SCMRC white paper.
November 14, 2022
As e-commerce sites try to cut costs and reduce their carbon footprint by incentivizing customers to choose no-rush shipping, new research shows that the solution may be as simple as giving shoppers information on carbon emissions.
September 29, 2022 | By Ron Gordon
Researchers from New Zealand's EROAD and the U of A's Freight Transportation Data Research Lab have created a system that can help show policymakers where funding is most needed.
August 24, 2022 | By Ron Gordon
When policymakers failed to tame inflation in the late 60s and early to mid 70s, Americans came to expect prices to keep rising. That mindset helped fuel a “Great Inflation” that lasted until 1982.
July 27, 2022 | By Ron Gordon, Andrew Balthrop
It is not clear that retailers can stop scalpers from buying up high-demand products — or that they are especially incentivized to do so.
June 22, 2022 | By Ron Gordon
While gas prices are up, gas station profits are down. And though oil refineries have had several strong quarters, they do not appear to be profiteering.
June 17, 2022 | By Jason Miller, Ron Gordon
Gas prices are up, but gas station profits are down. And though oil refineries have had several strong quarters, they do not appear to be profiteering.
June 17, 2022 | By Jason Miller, Ron Gordon
The infant formula shortage shows a need to diversify the market and improve the industry's capacity for product recalls.
June 14, 2022 | By Dave Ketchen, Andrew Balthrop, Ron Gordon
Record manufacturer Gold Rush Vinyl has faced many of the same supply chain issues firms in other industries have grappled with during the pandemic — and some that are very unique.
June 2, 2022 | By Ron Gordon
When inspection events are announced in advance, carriers often park their trucks instead of paying for maintenance. But announced inspections still serve a purpose.
May 17, 2022 | By Ron Gordon
Food prices were already soaring before Russia's invasion of Ukraine raised prices for wheat, soybeans, and cooking oils. Rising commodity prices mean we will likely pay even more for food in the coming months.
April 15, 2022 | By Jason Miller, Ron Gordon
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has further inflated prices for oil, natural gas, coal, and fertilizer.
April 11, 2022 | By Jason Miller, Ron Gordon
Supply chain disruptions and record consumer demand kept inventory levels low through most of 2020 and 2021. Retailers have finally been able to replenish their inventories — but cooling demand could make them wish they hadn't.
April 7, 2022 | By Jason Miller, Ron Gordon
In January, the U.S. government began mailing at-home COVID-19 tests directly to consumers and indirectly providing N95 masks through retailers. While each distribution method has its pros and cons, indirect distribution seems to be the best option for similar programs in the future.
March 16, 2022 | By Dave Ketchen, Jessica Darby, Ron Gordon
As U.S. lawmakers consider ways to enforce the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, John Kent and Cindy Moehring offer advice to consumers, businesses, and policymakers who are concerned about forced labor.
March 1, 2022
Though Russia is a relatively minor U.S. trading partner, the disruption of Russian fertilizer, wheat, and aluminum exports will likely worsen U.S. inflation.
February 28, 2022 | By Jason Miller, Ron Gordon
From the outside, supply chains can seem simple and straightforward. Find out how recent events have affected them and why they can be so hard to safeguard.
February 23, 2022 | By Travis Tokar, Andrew Balthrop, and Ron Gordon
Uncertainty is causing a historically bad month on Wall Street. That could affect freight markets, but transportation firms should not panic yet.
January 26, 2022 | By Andrew Balthrop, Ron Gordon
A handful of food manufacturers dominate certain sectors of the industry, so it is tempting to blame them for rising prices. However, publicly available economic data does not support charges of profiteering.
January 19, 2022 | By Jason Miller, Ron Gordon
Elevated sales, low inventories, and Omicron-induced staffing woes help explain why supermarkets are experiencing stockouts.
January 18, 2022 | By Jason Miller, Andrew Balthrop
As trucking regulators consider changes to the mandatory drug testing program, we examine the merits of urine, hair, and oral fluid testing; the debate over hair testing; and possible outcomes of policymakers’ recent proposals.
January 11, 2022 | By Ron Gordon, Doug Voss, Andrew Balthrop, Joe Cangelosi
As trucking regulators consider changes to the mandatory drug testing program, we examine the merits of different types of testing, the debate over hair testing, and possible outcomes of policymakers’ recent proposals.
January 10, 2022 | By Ron Gordon, Doug Voss, Andrew Balthrop, Joe Cangelosi
Federal economic data does not support Elizabeth Warren’s claim that major grocers are using inflation as an excuse to unnecessarily raise prices.
January 3, 2022 | By Jason Miller, Ron Gordon
Recent supply chain disruptions make it tempting to explain inflation by scapegoating high transportation costs. But the data does not support that argument. To better understand the forces at play, we examine the cost of a heavily imported staple of many holiday dinners: seafood.
December 20, 2021 | By Jason Miller, Ron Gordon
Technology has come a long way since the “efficiency versus resilience” narrative was written. Firms can now use automation, visibility tools, and data analytics to improve resilience while cutting long term costs.
December 16, 2021 | By Jennifer Blackhurst, Ron Gordon
If ports were running smoothly, we would still be experiencing shortages because uncertain demand has flummoxed many supply chain forecasting systems.
December 8, 2021 | By Matthew A. Waller, Jason Miller
Firms in the supply chain seek to further their own interests but also collaborate with their partner firms in order to reap the benefits of an efficient supply chain.
November 1, 2021 | By John Aloysius
While adding safety stock or capacity may allow companies to meet unexpected spikes in demand due to disruptions, there are trade-offs to consider.
August 27, 2021
Examining women’s current participation in supply chain jobs, the benefits of bringing more women into the supply chain workforce, and suggesting ways to achieve that goal.
August 15, 2021
As manufacturers, retailers, and consumers demand sustainability throughout supply chains, shipping managers are scrutinizing current and potential trucking partners’ sustainability as never before…
August 10, 2021
On March 17, 2000, lightning struck an Albuquerque, New Mexico, powerline. The resulting surge overloaded the power grid and started a fire in a nearby factory. The blaze destroyed millions of microchips.
June 28, 2021
Northwest Arkansas is a very different place than it was 90 years ago.
May 13, 2021
Many of the developments that boosted Arkansas’ national profile were inseparable from the growth of its northwestern corner’s supply chain cluster: a concentrated set of supply chain-related business activities.
April 16, 2021
Between 1930 and 1975, the seeds were sown for Northwest Arkansas to emerge as a global business powerhouse.
April 5, 2021
The gender composition of the U.S. trucking work force has received a lot of attention recently. Trucking has historically been male-dominated, and with the widespread driver shortage, some have su…
March 17, 2021
Though China’s poultry industry has quickly become one of the world’s largest, its food safety standards have not kept pace. Certain widespread practices risk exposing consumers
March 16, 2021
Researchers have largely overlooked the topic of women in trucking, even though recruiting and retaining more female drivers could help the industry address its long-standing driver shortage. Numer…
February 17, 2021
Time postponement is a common supply chain strategy wherein fully manufactured and labeled inventory is stored in a distribution center until a nearby retailer places an order. While time postponem…
February 10, 2021
A recent study finds that firms whose boards of directors include multiple women recall defective, highly dangerous products more quickly. While the authors find that firms with one female director…
February 10, 2021
The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) of 2011 marked the most comprehensive change in government oversight of food production and processing in over 70 years, shifting toward preventing foodborn…
February 10, 2021
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) recently-implemented Crash Preventability Program allows trucking carriers to dispute their fault after they are involved in certain types …
November 30, 2020
A better understanding of why drivers quit can help firms address trucking’s long-standing driver retention problem. A new study by Stephanie P. Thomas, Sara Liao-Troth, and Donnie F. Williams anal…
November 18, 2020
Retail medical clinics (RMCs) like Walmart Health, Kroger’s The Little Clinic, and Amazon have the potential to revolutionize American healthcare with innovative delivery models informed by the ret…
October 29, 2020
Researchers have long recognized that trucking spot market prices affect contract prices. The typical one-year contract between a shipper and carrier is based on spot prices. Though one-time spot m…
October 20, 2020
Driver turnover forces carriers to spend large sums recruiting and training new drivers. One industry source estimates carriers spend roughly $15,000 to recruit, train, and seat each new driver. Wi…
October 20, 2020
Trucking firms have spent decades trying to address the industry’s driver retention problem. Past attempts have not solved the problem, so we are taking a different approach
October 14, 2020
After a natural disaster various types of organizations work together to help those affected. Local nongovernmental organizations work alongside national nongovernmental organizations and governmen…
August 5, 2020
On December 18, 2017 the U.S. Department of Transportation began requiring carriers to equip nearly all semi-trucks with electronic logging devices (ELDs) that monitor drivers’ working hours
July 31, 2020
Understanding the impact of COVID-19 and related policy and regulation is the focus of an ongoing research project in which SCMRC Research Associate, Dr. Andrew Balthrop, has partnered with civil engineering faculty to conduct this nationwide study.
June 30, 2020
As trucking carriers face public and governmental pressure to adopt sustainable practices, the decision to do so is made easier by a growing body of studies showing sustainability’s benefits
May 1, 2020
David Dobrzykowski has a research focus on healthcare supply chain. He shares his thoughts on COVID-19, the implications of public policy on Supply Chain Management, as well as the role of consumer demand in the healthcare supply chain.
April 30, 2020 | By David Dobrzykowski
Supply chain managers must try to anticipate future developments and adjust their operations accordingly. One factor managers must attempt to forecast is the likelihood of policy intervention. Pred…
April 26, 2020
Researchers discuss the value of the upcoming special issue of the Business Horizons journal – with the theme “The Unintended Consequences of Policy Decisions.” The SCMRC hosted a workshop in Jan, 2020, partnering with leading scholars to advance publications for submissions to this special issue.
April 2, 2020 | By David Dobrzykowski
SCMRC faculty discuss the impact being made through the supply chain policy initiative – advancing the development of knowledge and content creation that explores public policy at the intersection of supply chain management, and leading the growing level of interest in this body of research.
April 2, 2020 | By Brent Williams
The world’s population is aging rapidly. This is largely due to a combination of increased life expectancy, lowered fertility rates, and the aging of the large “baby boom” generation. The United Na…
March 18, 2020
As a multibillion-dollar industry with a relatively low barrier of entry, the trucking industry consists of both giant firms and single-truck operations. A handful of large carriers each own thousa…
March 14, 2020
Online shoppers value fast shipping, accurate tracking information, and undamaged deliveries. They perceive certain delivery carriers to be superior to others. If highly regarded carriers like FedEx…
March 2, 2020
Numerous studies have shown that larger trucking carriers are more compliant with safety regulations than their smaller counterparts. However, there is no consensus on why that is the case. Some ha…
February 1, 2020
Government contracts are highly coveted because they offer many benefits. Governments tend to be reliable customers who sign long-term contracts in which cost is not always a criterion. Moreover, g…
January 30, 2020
Much research has examined the way firms react to misconduct by exchange partners: buyers, suppliers, employees, etc. The revelation of misconduct forces partnering firms to decide whether the bene…
November 6, 2019
American hospitals house a unique power dynamic. Nowhere else do you find such important figures who influence organizational performance, but may not necessarily be employees of the facilities in …
October 7, 2019
The demand for environmental sustainability is high enough that shippers will choose carriers who use green weigh station and tollbooth bypass technology in their trucks, even when those carriers …"
September 10, 2019
As retailers compete to offer faster delivery, companies like FedEx and UPS strive to maximize driver efficiency. With drivers making more than 100 stops per day, delivery management is key to opti…
June 20, 2019
Decoupling involves formally announcing a company’s adoption of practices that comply with new governmental regulations, while continuing many daily routines which violate the regulations. It usual…
April 29, 2019
Congressional committees often invite companies to testify on the “possible impact proposed legislation may have on the environment, business, and society at large.” Such invitations are difficult …
April 22, 2019
With healthcare supply chain management research still in its relative infancy, David Dobrzykowski – Associate Professor in the Department of Supply Chain Management in the University of Arkansas’s…
March 18, 2019
The Supply Chain Management Research Center at the Walton College of Business leads a multi-university research initiative aimed at advancing our understanding of the way public policy affects
March 18, 2019
The primary purpose of the 2019 China Logistics Insights Reports is to provide research with findings formatted to allow a direct comparison of detailed logistics costs as a percentage of GDP for t…
February 2, 2019
Stephanie Thomas, clinical assistant professor in the Department of Supply Chain Management, shares her research and insight regarding the working environment for truck drivers. Thomas talks to industry providers who discuss the challenges truck drivers face and how it impacts our country’s supply chain.
August 17, 2018 | By Stephanie Thomas
While many have suggested that shippers should factor environmental and social sustainability into their trucking carrier selection process, little is known about how they actually make that decisi…
June 18, 2018
Are trucking carriers who utilize more owner-operators more compliant with safety rules than those with more employee drivers? SCM researchers have debated that question since the 1980s. Some have …
June 1, 2018
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