Material Economy and Logistics 02/2023

The article contains a presentation of a significant issue, namely the changes in the structure and rate of change of current assets, as well as logistics processes. They were caused by two global events: COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In the article, the development of rate of current assets' change and their structure in the Polish enterprises in the period between January 2019 and September 2022 were presented. Within this timeframe, current assets have increased by over PLN 700 billion (increase of 64%) and they amounted to PLN 1.8 trillion as at 30 September 2022. The structure of current assets has changed – a significant increase of inventory was observed, and its structure clearly indicates a change in enterprises' goals to short-term. Changes in the logistics processes have transpired. Disruptions in supply were an impulse to increase inventory, especially that of material stock. Storage potential has increased – enterprises, including those from the logistics sector, dispose of ca. 24 million of sq. meters of warehouse space, with an annual increase of ca. 2 million sq. meters. A dynamic growth of e-commerce sector has been observed, what also contributes to changes in the functioning of transportation and storage industries.

The success of supply chains depends primarily on integrating and coordinating the activities of network participants. Many supplier companies are shifting toward team-based structures to manage the boundaries with their customers. One of the possibilities of the operational implementation of cooperation in the supply chain is the appointment of teams in the network structure. The paper aims to orient researchers who are new to collaborative work in supply chain research. The study conducted by the authors used both a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis. The second part of the paper includes in-depth analysis of clusters identified for the teamwork in the supply chain based on the analysis with the TreeCloud tool and VOSviewer software performed in the first part. Authors of the paper did the synthesis of both analyses with an in-depth reading of the seminal studies according to the identified clusters. The second part of this paper also contains summary with conclusions where trends in the field of supply chain collaboration by teamwork are identified. Following the research results, three main topics should be investigated in future research: the impact of cross-functional and cross-organizational teams on supply chain integration and performance and the ways of managing cross-functional and cross-organizational teams in the supply chain communication in cross-functional and cross-organizational teams.

Nowadays one of the biggest challenge for modern business entities is the introduction of solutions and assessments of environmental optimization in the supply chain (reducing the resource-intensiveness of the economy) and the search for waste-free solutions (facing the issues of losing the status of waste, by-products or accompanying products). These challenges are built in relation to the goals and scope of the Circular Economy (CE), which is conducive to the implementation of solutions aimed at sustainable development. The aim of this paper is to identify the possibilities of achieving environmental optimization due to the use of digital technologies and the concept of digital supply chains in the conditions shaped by the CE. The adopted research question is: "To what extent can digital supply chains affect the development of CE?"

The growing popularity of online shopping contributed to an increase in the amount of packaging used, and consequently packaging waste. With regard to packaging used for online shopping, there is a need to create conditions for full recycling and/or multiple use. Thus, enterprises operating in the area of e-commerce, and consequently also the customers who would be responsible for the return of packaging, face a challenge – the use of reusable packaging. The article presents the results of own research focused on the position of customers in relation to the functional features of unit packaging in e-commerce and returnable packaging that can be introduced. The tool was a questionnaire. The results were analyzed in statistical analysis. The study shows that it is important for customers who buy online that the unit transport packages fulfill the basic protective functions. The respondents indicated that returnable packaging should have similar features as the packaging currently used in online shopping. It seems that more attention should be focused on determining the method of return that is convenient for customers. Redesigning supply chains to improve reverse logistics, investing in new returnable packaging for online distribution of products, and creating customer-friendly and cost-effective return processes can deliver the following benefits: less waste, reduction of the carbon footprint, promoting a circular economy, cost optimization.

Currently, production companies operate in a turbulent environment as a result, among others, of the global crisis caused by the pandemic and war. For this reason, they are forced to constantly search for solutions in the field, e.g., lowering production costs, shortening reaction time in response to market needs, or introducing innovative solutions to improve production processes. A new look at the production processes implemented was forced by the changing and constantly growing market requirements and the possibility of implementing innovative technical and organizational solutions. The task of streamlining the production process is the elimination of losses and the search for waste sources and standardizing the implemented solutions. One of the ways to improve the efficiency and flexibility of production processes is the Lean concept, which is focused on eliminating waste and shortening order fulfilment cycles in the process. The essential tools used in the Lean Management concept include: 5S, Kaizen, Just in Time, Just in Sequence, Kanban (pull system), Single Minute Exchange of Die (SMED), Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), Value Stream Mapping (VSM), standardization, muda, Total Quality Management (TQM), tact time, heijunka, andon (Visual Management), poka yoke. The paper aims to reduce the changeover time of the punching machine in the bitumen mat production process based on the use of the SMED method.

The aim of the article is to analyze the market of selected liquid fuels from January 2019 to mid-September 2022. The tested fuels were: motor gasoline, diesel oil and liquefied petrochemical gas. The analysis of reports and databases containing data on the analyzed commodities, fossil fuels and the USD/PLN exchange rate was used as the research method. The largest fuel entities operating in Poland are: PKN Orlen, BP, Shell and a group of private stations. The conclusion of the article is the fact that the price of fuels in Poland in the analyzed period was significantly influenced by: changes in WTI crude oil and natural gas prices, business cycle (recession during the COVID-19 pandemic), geopolitical events (start of war between Russia and Ukraine), USD/PLN exchange rate, change in value-added tax on fuels, excise duty, fuel and emission fee and margins of fuel companies. The appreciation of fuel prices in Poland at the end of the analyzed period was influenced by the depreciation of the Polish zloty and the increase in the margins of fuel companies. Fuel prices in Poland respond much faster to increases in crude oil and natural gas prices than to decreases in the prices of these raw materials.