Key supply chain strategies for post-COVID-19 recovery: evidence from an Indian smart furniture industry

PurposeSmart furniture is an essential part of research that has been designed to best complement easy and safe human interaction. The purpose of smart furniture is to save the space of the house and make the products unique, awesome and safe, functional, strong and also make it works better so the people can live better with it. This research aims to explore the key supply chain strategies implemented by the Indian smart furniture industry to reduce the impact of a post-COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThis work utilized a case study and conducted semi-structured interviews with the top leadership of the smart furniture manufacturing industry to explore key supply chain strategies to reduce the influence of the post-COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, key supply chain strategies have been analyzed using a multi-criteria decision-making technique known as grey relational analysis (GRA) to determine their ranking significance in the smart furniture industry.FindingsThe results of this study discovered that "Inventory-Categorization” is essential in ensuring business continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic and helps reduce the amount of stock they have on hand. It enhanced the opportunity for employees to properly focus on their work and an opportunity for better work-life balance. The results of the study can also help supply chain stakeholders in their establishment of critical strategies.Research limitations/implicationsThe implications of this research work help the Indian furniture industry to make supply chain investment decisions that benefit the organization to sustain itself.Originality/valueThis is the first study to explore key supply chain strategies for the post-COVID-19 era. This work will assist managers and practitioners in helping the organization decide which supply chain strategies are more critical to the betterment of the organization.

Measuring the performance of SMEs during the pandemic situation using system dynamic

Purpose: This study aims to create a system dynamics simulation model to forecast the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) if some decision-making is executed to reduce the negative of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In particular, this study will focus on SMEs that belong to the furniture industry because the furniture industry is one of the leading industries in Indonesia. Design/methodology/approach: The study develops a system dynamics-based model by using three subsystems, i.e. the "production subsystem,” "demand and revenue subsystem” and "raw material (or wood supply) subsystem.” Findings: The best scenario is the third scenario which increases the capacity to the normal situation and government subsidy during and after the pandemic. This scenario gives the best performance for industry revenue and gross domestic product (GDP). However, for the government, the most significant expenditure occurs in the third scenario. This seems a trade-off for the government whether to save the wooden-based furniture industry by encouraging the industry to continue operating during the pandemic accompanied by high subsidies or limiting the activities of the wooden-based furniture industry to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by providing low subsidies. Research limitations/implications: First, this study does not try to combine the system dynamics (SD) methodology with the other method or use a multi-methodology since SD has several limitations and the other method may have several advantages compared to SD. Second, the models used in this study do not consider the decline in forest area and quality. Third, the demand for wooden-based furniture is obtained from historical data on domestic and foreign sales and fourth, the model does not include the government budget as a constraint to make any subsidy to help the SMEs. Practical implications: This study provides essential insights into implementing the policies in the world pandemic situation when SMEs face lockdown policy. Social implications: The study revealed that relevant policy scenarios could be built after simulating and analyzing each scenario's effect on SMEs' performance during the pandemic. Originality/value: This study will enrich the previous study on the impact of the pandemic on SMEs and the dynamic system modeling on SMEs. The previous study discussed the pandemic's impact on SME performance and the impact's analysis in isolation from the dynamic nature of SME owners' decisions or government policy. In this study, the impact generated from the pandemic situation could be different depending on the decision and policies taken by managers from SMEs and the government. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON THE FURNITURE MARKET IN SERBIA

The furniture industry is one of the strategic industries in Serbia, with about 30,000 employees. The subject of research in this paper was the furniture market in three selected regions in Serbia with the aim to consider the influence of certain factors on the demand for furniture during the COVID-19 pandemic, as follows: prices, quality, payment terms, brands, promotions, terms of purchase, frequency of furniture purchase, assortment, and online shopping. The methods used for the research included field research, surveys and analysis of the obtained data. The sample size included 210 respondents who were selected by random sampling method. When it comes to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, research shows that it did not significantly influence consumers' decision to buy furniture. Preference is given to domestic producers, both because of the availability of products and because of the more affordable price. When it comes to quality of furniture, the research showed that the 63% are satisfied with the ratio of price and quality, as well as the range offered on the market. The terms of payment are satisfactory, with the 58% customers opting for cash payments. On the other hand, the choice of the manufacturer is based on previous positive experience or recommendation, while going to the salon is the choice of 92% customers, compared to online shopping (8%). The conducted research is important for producers, distributors, and traders of furniture, as well as for the academic community because, for the first time, research was conducted on this topic in Serbia. © 2022 15th International Scientific Conference WoodEMA 2022 - Crisis Management and Safety Foresight in Forest-Based Sector and SMES Operating in the Global Environment. All rights reserved.

Performance Evaluation of Green Furniture Brands in the Marketing 4.0 Period: An Integrated MCDM Approach

This study aims to develop a framework that enables green marketing practices to regulate the performance evaluation criteria (GFBPC) of consumers and green furniture brands in the Marketing 4.0 period and to prioritize green furniture brands. The first stage was the literature review and decision-making group;it included GFBPC and the selection of three green furniture brands with the highest market value in Turkey. We then applied AHP to determine and prioritize benchmark weights, and TOPSIS to rank the performances of selected brands by GFBPC. We performed SA to test the accuracy of the findings. The results revealed that the Co-creation of Value and Pricing criteria have the highest value, and “Brand Y” is the best. Among the evaluation contributions of the study are a new understanding of green furniture performance criteria, and an integrated framework for new application methods for green marketing. With the Marketing 4.0 period, it is among the first of its kind to offer sustainable solutions to evaluate green marketing practices and increase the performance of green furniture brands in this regard. The results can help furniture industry stakeholders understand ways to compete in the green market and sustainable development.

Estimating Preferences for Wood Furniture in Terms of Sustainable Forest Management

The world’s forest area decreased to three point nine billion hectares in 2015, a net annual loss of 3.3 million hectares, and large-scale deforestation is occurring in the tropics. Furthermore, greenhouse gas emissions are increasing as forests are converted to other uses such as agricultural land. Against this backdrop, sustainable forest management is becoming increasingly important. This study attempts to quantify people’s general awareness and values concerning for on-line shopping habits (in this study, for wooden furniture) in terms of sustainable forest management in Japan by estimating the acceptable price premium or willingness of consumers to pay for wood-related products made using wood produced under sustainable forest management as the raw material. The study proceeds to quantify the awareness and values of consumers concerning sustainable forest management and conservation of forest environments. Consumers were found to have a certain willingness to pay for wooden furniture made from wood produced through sustainable forest management. As a consequence of this analysis, it was revealed that consumers place a high value on sustainable forest management and environmental conservation, and that they are willing to act on these values when purchasing wood-related products.