Purpose There is a great deal of concern among the Egyptian economy that small- and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs’) potentials are not fully used although they dominate it and contribute to its success. The question is what challenges are preventing those SMEs from performing efficiently. This research aims to focus on examining the issues regarding the supply chain of Egyptian SMEs, exploring the areas that need improvement and assessing the impact of technology in enhancing their performance and whether they afford applying it. Design/methodology/approach In this research, semi-structured interviews were conducted at 14 Egyptian SMEs. Then, the business process at six of the fourteen SMEs was observed. After that, a representative sampling was applied and a company was chosen as a representative case company. Moreover, the selected company’s documents were analyzed to capture the full image of the current supply chain performance in Egyptian SMEs. Finally, the Six Sigma DMAIC approach was used to assess the effectiveness of the current supply chain and identify the problems faced and how to deal with these deficiencies. Findings The current process of the supply chain was analyzed and the result shows the obstacles and constrains facing SMEs in Egypt. Despite the clear benefits of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, Egyptian SMEs still do not use it to solve their problems due to its high cost and their low budgets. However, the investigation concludes that SMEs in particular can benefit from the RFID technology and will be able to pay back the cost of the system applied after a certain period of time that is measured by calculating the breakeven point of having the RFID system against the current situation. As a result, improvements were realized and recommended for the organization. Originality/value This research develops a model that suits SMEs in the Egyptian market. The use of a case study approach with a quality measurement tool, namely, the Six Sigma DMAIC approach, especially after surveying several SMEs, and observing the business process at some of them, makes this a thorough investigation which proves that even SMEs can use the RFID technology despite its high cost that hinders its utilization. Thus, this research helps decision-makers in Egyptian SMEs make better informed decisions and guides them to when will they be able to pay back the cost of the system applied.
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop a business model using analytical tools to generate quantitative evidence of the benefits of implementing an effective supply chain to assure the success of the organization in a highly competitive environment, limiting the scope to Egyptian SMEs.Design/methodology/approach: The study primarily uses a mixed methods approach; including semi-structured interview that was conducted to Egyptian SMEs and the data collected we reanalyzed using the Unified Modeling Language technique which provides an effective object oriented modeling tool that could be an appropriate analysis tool in the SMEs that operate in Egypt. Findings: The analysis showed how the supply chain was defined by Egyptian SMEs; it also mapped the current performance of the supply chain in order to understand the process's characteristics and capabilities. The result shows the obstacles and constrains facing the supply chain of the SME. Originality/value: Many SMEs in the Egyptian environment will be impacted as this research develops a model that suits them. The use of a Case Study approach with an object oriented tool, namely UML, makes this a thorough investigation that helps decision makers in Egyptian SMEs make better informed decisions.SMEs do not use the object oriented techniques in evaluating their problems, although it is very useful in analyzing the case study and modeling the current situation of the supply chain.
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