Benefits, barriers, and bridges to effective supply chain management

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to provide academics and practitioners a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the benefits, barriers, and bridges to successful collaboration in strategic supply chains. Design/methodology/approach – A triangulation method consisting of a literature review, a cross‐functional mail survey, and 51 in‐depth case analyses was implemented. Senior managers from purchasing, manufacturing, and logistics were targeted in the mail survey. The break down by channel category interviews is as follows: 14 retailers, 13 finished goods assemblers, 12 first‐tier suppliers, three lower‐tier suppliers, and nine service providers. Findings – Customer satisfaction and service is perceived as more enduring than cost savings. All managers recognize technology, information, and measurement systems as major barriers to successful supply chain collaboration. However, the people issues – such as culture, trust, aversion to change, and willingness to collaborate – are more intractable. People are the key bridge to successful collaborative innovation and should therefore not be overlooked as companies invest in supply chain enablers such as technology, information, and measurement systems. Research limitations/implications – The average mail‐survey response rate was relatively low: 23.5 percent. The case study analyses were not consistent in frequency across channel functions. Although the majority of companies interviewed and surveyed were international, all surveys and interviews were managers based in the US. Practical implications – This study provides new insight into understanding the success and hindering factors of supply chain management. The extensive literature review, the cross‐channel analysis, and case studies provide academics and managers a macro picture of the goals, challenges, and strategies for implementing supply chain management. Originality/value – This paper uses triangulation methodology for examining key issues of supply chain management at multiple levels within the supply chain.

A guide for supply chain integration in SMEs

“…With regard to the benefits, the management literature contains a number of works that identify the potential benefits that can derive from the integrated management of the supply chain in SMEs, some of the most notable being Fawcett et al (2008), Meehan and Muir (2008), Chen et al (2004) and Leopoulos et al (2007). Table 1 shows the main potential benefits that were identified in these studies.…”

Alinhamento interfuncional: um estudo exploratório sobre os pontos de contato entre marketing, logística e produção

“…Além disso, as três funções podem ser consideradas como clientes e fornecedoras internas durante o processo de criação de valor ao cliente (PIERCY, 2007). Entretanto, em alguns trabalhos há menção de que muitas empresas falham ao se integrar com clientes e fornecedores devido à baixa integração interfuncional que obtém em seus próprios limites operacionais (BARRATT, 2004;FAWCETT;MAGNAN;McCARTER, 2008). Autores diversos (PAGELL, 2004;OLIVA;WATSON, 2011) destacam também que poucos estudos explicam de forma detalhada o alinhamento interfuncional no nível micro.…”

Analysis of the interplay between knowledge and performance management in industrial clusters

“…Fawcett et al (2008) found that managers recognize that technology, information and performance measurement are major barriers to successful supply chain collaboration. Supply chain management requires a systems perspective, since management activities are fragmented across organizational boundaries (Holmberg, 2000).…”