Linking products with supply chains: testing Fisher's model

Abstract

Purpose -The paper seeks to test the relationships among product design and supply chain design, with specific reference to the product-supply chain model by Fisher. Design/methodology/approach -An extensive empirical survey with data from 128 companies; the approach is basically theory testing, in that it investigates an existing framework, and discusses extensions. Findings -Significant relationships are found between product types and supply chain types, as well as concerning the impact of alignment on performance.Research limitations/implications -Instead of treating the supply chain characteristics associated with different supply chain types as either/or choices, some companies select properties from both supply chain types in order to gain additional benefits. This creates a supply chain frontier of physical efficiency and market responsiveness; a concept that deserves further attention by researchers. A limitation is that it would be interesting to perform a longitudinal study. Practical implications -Different product types call for different types of supply chains. Alignment between the type of product and the type of supply chain is important, and significant for delivery speed, delivery dependability, and cost performance. Originality/value -This research empirically tests a model that has received considerable attention in the research literature as well as acting as guidelines in practice, but that has not been tested explicitly before.

Strategic Approaches to Domination in Supply Chains

“…The innovative products use responsive supply chains and within this chain the distributors play a major role in getting the products to the customer in a quick and responsive manner. According to Selldin & Olgaher (2007) who followed on the work of Fisher a decade earlier, the responsive supply chain type can be viewed as similar to the agile supply chain type of categorized by . Thus a perceived dominant role of distributors in agile, responsive supply chains emerged.…”

“…It was initially thought that the agile strategies would be implemented by retail dominated firms in supply chains and that manufacturer dominated supply chains would implement the efficiency and lean strategies. The functional and innovative product typology was revisited a decade later by Selldin (2007) and combined the innovative product type supply chain with the agile and customer responsiveness strategies. It was argued that these types of supply chains had strong strategic alliances with upstream and downstream participants.…”

Rethinking supply chain strategy as a conceptual system

“…Similar evidence against the validity of Fisher's product types was obtained in a study by Qi et al (2009), which also found that Fisher's preferred matches were outperformed by other combinations not included in his framework. Selldin and Olhager (2007) found no evidence in support of key predictions from Fisher's framework regarding the e↵ect of his preferred matches on performance.…”

“…However, the value of these alternate approaches has as predictors of good performance has been put into question by empirical studies (Qi et al, 2009, Selldin andOlhager, 2007). CSAR could be a more e↵ective approach for evaluating supply chain strategies.…”

Proceedings of the Measurement Science for Sustainable Construction and Manufacturing Workshop Volume I. Position Papers and Findings

“…Attesting to this, a survey-based study conducted in Sweden covering 148 manufacturing companies found that when there is a good match between the product offerings and the relevant supply chains, companies performed better in terms of cost, delivery speed, and delivery dependability (Selldin and Olhager, 2007). The same study showed that 38% of the companies did not have product and supply chain compatibility.…”