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Purpose -Parallel developments in the areas of agile systems and manufacturing, and supply chain management led to the introduction of the agile supply chains (ASC) concept. How to achieve agility in supply chain is, however, a subject of question and research. This paper proposes a framework for the development of ASC that is based on the integration of existing supply chain analysis and development models and techniques with those of the supply chain design (SCD) and also the design for the supply chain (DfSC). Design/methodology/approach -The framework mainly relies on research previously carried out by the authors in the areas of developing agile manufacturing and systems and models for demand network alignment. An extensive literature survey is carried out to support the ideas and derive the constructs of the conceptual model as a basis for further empirical research. Findings -The model suggest that responding proactively to the market and business environment changes, agility, can be facilitated by simultaneous development of supply chain and the output/product of the chain. The concept of DfSC, built on the success of existing "design for X" techniques, would increase the reactive and proactive capabilities of organisations. Originality/value -The research provides a theoretical ground for achieving ASC which facilitates reconciliation between two usually separately approaches of SCD and DfSC, as well as suggesting practical solutions for developing agility in supply chains. This view can make the ASC concept understandable and practical, and open a new way of viewing the subject in research circles.

PurposeThe two main constituting elements of the supply chains are “product” and “supply chain operations”, which are highly inter‐related across more than one dimension. Many of the drawbacks in the success and sustainability of supply chains often relate to the segregation of these dimensions. This paper seeks to examine the ideas and to propose an integrated approach to facilitate the dynamic and simultaneous design and development of products and supply chains, thus contributing to the notion of agile supply chains.Design/methodology/approachTwo critical areas of product design and development, and supply chain design and management have been studied, leading to the conceptual development of practical models for approaching the subject. The proposed framework then is examined in a field case study in which a number of issues raised in this paper are validated through observing these supply chains.FindingsA detailed view of the model of simultaneous approach to “design of” and “design for” supply chain is developed and proposed.Practical implicationsThe proposition made by this research work can lead to reconsideration of existing practices in design of products as well as management of supply chain where the decisions at each dimension could be impacted by the circumstances in the other and continued in a dynamic way.Originality/valueIt is expected that the research results will contribute to existing practices and approaches in product development as well as in supply chain development and management.

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -To examine the application of the principles of "agile manufacturing" to marketing strategy, planning and management, in the context of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach -Uses the case-study method to test the development and deployment of "agile marketing" by applying the marketing techniques normally practised only by larger companies, within the "hard" and "soft" constraints imposed by one small company's managerial attitudes, corporate resources and time horizons. The host company was a UK supplier of technological products to other manufacturers; it had no history of marketing. The focus of the study was on the third stage of the agility framework: how a proactive marketing approach can be used to generate new custom. Findings -"Agile marketing" innovations released latent capacity, and a strategic marketing plan was devised to win new custom. After follow-up, four new customers had been recruited, and the potential for developing long-term relations with them was good. This proactive approach was recognised by the company to be a cost-effective route to business growth, as was the ease with which the plan could be reconfigured when new market niches were to be targeted.Research limitations/implications -The case study provides one "snapshot" of the outcome of transferring agility principles from manufacturing to marketing. The findings are nonetheless indicative and thought-provoking. Practical implications -Such marketing as small companies practise is more likely to be reactive than proactive. They rarely have the resources to take advantage of marketing ideas transferred from the big-business setting. There are thus many constraints on their ability to respond cost-effectively and swiftly to changes in their operating environment. The more flexible and reconfigurable the manufacturing and marketing systems, the more likely that growth will be achieved. Any spare capacity can then be channelled into recruiting new customers. Originality/value -Transfers a planning framework and set of procedures from manufacturing management to marketing strategy and planning in the challenging environment of SMEs.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to employ agility concept to develop a contingency perspective of relationship between suppliers' involvement, absorptive capacity (AC) and product innovation ( PI ). While the moderating effect of AC on the relationship between supplier involvement and PI performance is investigated, a firm's agility in PI is entered as one dimension of the firm's performance to accommodate a multidimensional perspective. Design/methodology/approach – The paper formulates six hypotheses extracted from the relevant literature. The survey was conducted over the internet by using web-based questionnaire. A sampling frame of 1,200 manufacturing UK-based companies provided 233 usable responses. A confirmatory factor analysis was used to test a validity and reliability of constructs and further the paper employed hierarchical multiple regression to test the research hypotheses. Findings – The results while reaffirm some of the existing theories of the subject provide some differing view of the issues allowing projection of new insight on the approach to PI and involvement of suppliers. The results support the proposition of PI performance multidimensionality where achievements beyond financial and market-related factors play a critical role. Furthermore, research findings suggest AC as a competitive factor that can provide the grounds for proactively winning in the PI game through increasing agility capabilities. Research limitations/implications – This study uses a random sample of UK manufacturing companies, which could be extended to firms from outside the UK too. Originality/value – The paper provides a new insight into the existing literature on “new product innovation” and its relationship with suppliers' involvement as well as the firm's AC by employing agility perspective, as a leading theory to explain dynamics and uncertainties in the business environment.