Benchmarking the triple-A supply chain: orchestrating agility, adaptability, and alignment

Abstract

Purpose Limited research examines the triple-A supply chain of agility, adaptability and alignment. The purpose of this paper is to draw on extant literature under the lens of resource orchestration theory to develop a comprehensive framework of antecedents and consequences of triple-A supply chains, allowing both scholars and practitioners to benchmark and prioritize triple-A capabilities. Design/methodology/approach A systematic literature review focusing on four supply chain journals is conducted to integrate the distinct bodies of knowledge on supply chain agility, adaptability and alignment. Findings The integration of this literature identifies common and distinct antecedents and consequences of each, developing a comprehensive model of triple-A supply chains as well as proposing opportunities for further study. Originality/value Limited studies to date have an integrated agility, adaptability and alignment, thus lacking a comprehensive framework of triple-A supply chains. Managers can use the findings to determine actions needed to deploy triple-A capabilities and better understand the resulting potential benefits.

Examining the synergistic effect of supply chain agility, adaptability and alignment: a complementarity perspective

“…In essence, supply chain agility can be defined as the firm's ability to quickly make adjustments to its supply chain (Gligor, 2016). Importantly, literature notes that supply chain agility focuses on the ability to respond to short-term changes in supply and demand (Feizabadi et al, 2019b).…”

“…Supply chain adaptability has been defined as a firm's ability to reconfigure its supply chain resources to respond to long-term changes in supply and demand (Feizabadi et al, 2019a(Feizabadi et al, , 2019b. As such, supply chain adaptability is different from supply chain agility, which focuses on the ability to quickly respond to short-term changes in supply and demand.…”

“…As such, supply chain adaptability is different from supply chain agility, which focuses on the ability to quickly respond to short-term changes in supply and demand. That is, adaptability does not embody the quickness/speed dimension of agility and it has a long-term approach rather than a short-term one like agility does (Feizabadi et al, 2019b). Agility and adaptability are similar in that they both entail response to change and different in that they focus on different types of changes (i.e.…”

“…location, cost, quality), demand (e.g. location, variety, volume) and the business environment (technology, regulations, political instability) (Christopher and Holweg, 2017;Eckstein et al, 2015;Feizabadi et al, 2019b). Rapid product development is thus recognized as one primary mechanism facilitating adaptability (Eisenhardt and Tabrizi, 1995;Schoenherr and Swink, 2015).…”

The role of perceived social media agility in customer engagement

“…Importantly, this opens the door for social media marketing scholars to consider additional constructs originating in operations management that might help explain customer behavior in a social media setting. For example, aside from agility, social media marketing scholars could generate novel insights from exploring key operations management constructs such as resilience, flexibility, adaptability or ambidexterity (Feizabadi et al , 2019; Gligor, 2018; Gligor et al , 2019a).…”