Linking supplier selection and management strategies with mass customization capability

Abstract

Purpose Owing to the paucity of literature, in the specific context of mass customization (MC), that explains what factors need to be considered while selecting suppliers and what strategies need to be implemented for effective management of suppliers, this paper aims to explore the effective supplier selection and management strategies and also investigate their impact on the development of mass customization capability (MCC). Design/methodology/approach Through an extensive review of literature, a total of 18 factors for supplier selection and management have been identified. Further, using multiple regression analysis, the linkages between these factors and MCCs have been examined based on the data set from the survey of Indian manufacturing organizations. Findings The results indicate that while concentrating on the responsive and reconfiguration capability, all the five measures of supplier selection and the four measures of supplier management have shown a significant influence. However, in the case of relational capability, only two of the supplier selection strategies and three of the supplier management strategies have shown a notable impact. Practical implications The study provides help to the firms in deciding whom to select and how to manage the suppliers in the course of improving their MCCs. The study has shown the possibility that different types of MCCs might require different approaches to both the supplier selection and management. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study happens to be the first of its kind that investigates the interconnectedness among the supplier selection and management strategies and MCCs.

Moving from a goods- to a service-oriented organization: a perspective on the role of corporate culture and human resource management

“…To answer our first research question we have looked at the corporate values and employee’s behavior (Homburg et al , 2003; Gebauer et al , 2010b; Pereira et al , 2018; Fliess and Lexutt, 2019; Dang et al , 2019; Jovanovic et al , 2019), when applying a customization strategy (Sousa and Da Silveira, 2019; Ullah and Narain, 2020).…”

“…In today’s highly competitive markets, one of the ways to gain differentiation from competitors is by offering value-added services (Homburg et al , 2003). For doing so, many organizations from different industries across the world have embraced customization strategies (Ullah and Narain, 2020) to meet customer demands for a unique and tailored offering (Da Silveira et al , 2001; Duray et al , 2000; Neu and Brown, 2005; Homburg et al , 2003; Matthyssens and Vandenbempt, 1998) which implies that manufacturers must build close relationships with customers to obtain knowledge about customer requirements and changes promoting the implementation of successful service strategies (Fliess and Lexutt, 2019; Martinez et al , 2010; Sousa and Da Silveira, 2019; Baines et al , 2020).…”

Linking supply network flexibility with mass customization capability

“…By using appropriate ICTs, mass customizer can identify, select and compare suppliers to develop a base of capable suppliers that renders both sourcing and supplier flexibility. Besides, mass customizers can better integrate with flexible suppliers which could lead to the achievement of enhanced organizational performance through increased information transparency, joint problem solving and co-creation of unique values (Ullah and Narain, 2021c). Thus, the impact of both sourcing and supplier flexibility on MCC is higher when the organizations use appropriate ICTs.…”

“…At the same time, organizations are striving to achieve flexibility in various aspects of business to effectively respond to the environmental uncertainties and to satisfy the idiosyncratic needs of customers (Ullah and Narain, 2021a; Mishra and Mishra, 2019). While seeking flexibility to fulfill the requirements of MC, extant literature emphasizes looking beyond the internal operational effectiveness and establishing means for responsive sourcing and supply for value creation (Liao et al , 2010; Sinkovics et al , 2018; Ullah and Narain, 2021c). The studies have shown that flexibility associated with supply chain offers a collaborative competence that allows the focal firms to plan appropriate responses for current and future state of affairs by selecting, reconfiguring, monitoring and managing the suppliers (Huo et al , 2018; Ullah and Narain, 2021c).…”

An Investigation of the Factors affecting Flexible Manufacturing Competence of Organizations

“…The devotion of top management is regarded as critical to achieving the organizational objectives. Top management makes strategic decisions, and the outcomes of those decisions have an impact on the success of the business [38]. Managers hold the responsibility of deciding how the resources will be utilized, what strategies needs to be followed and what changes need to be implemented.…”