Best collaboration practices in supply chain of technical wholesale items

Abstract

This study focuses on collaboration in the supply chain of technical wholesale items in the Finnish machinery industry. The research aims to explore the collaborative best practices to improve the future performance of this supply chain. In the current state, all the technical wholesale items are usually managed with the same management model, although there can be remarkable differences in demand behaviour and criticality among the items. Therefore, the item segmentation and management model for different segments are needed in the future. The collaborative effort should be focused on demand management and proactive exception management especially concerning critical items with unstable demand. Furthermore, there is development potential in the order-delivery process applied in the studied supply chain. Currently, a lack of cost knowledge and transparency makes the optimisation of this process difficult.Biographical notes: Erno Salmela works as Researcher of Supply Chain and Operations Management in Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland. His research areas of interest include strategic demand-supply chain management, decision synchronisation and service process development. He has published articles in multiple logistics and supply chain management conferences.Ari Happonen works as information technology, supply chain and operations management researcher in Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland. His research areas of interest include supply chain management, information technology solutions applied on industrial context and inventory and process management. He has published articles in multiple logistics conferences and several information technology and management oriented conferences all over the world. Best collaboration practices in supply chain of technical wholesale items17 Janne Huiskonen works as Professor of Supply Chain and Operations Management in Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland. His research areas of interest include supply chain management, service process development, and spare parts management.

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