Supply chain integration: an international comparison of maturity

Abstract

Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to examine the uptake of supply chain integration (SCI) principles internationally and the resultant integration maturity. Design/methodology/approach-A rigorous supply chain diagnostics methodology called the Quick Scan is used to assess the integration maturity of 72 value streams located in New Zealand, Thailand and the UK. Findings-The majority of the organisations studied are struggling to turn the SCI concept into reality. Supply chains on average are poorly integrated. However, there exist a handful of exemplar cases that provide guidance; levels of integration maturity appear not to differ internationally. Research limitations/implications-Only three nations are compared, hence the sample is not fully representative of all countries and industries. There is a significant gap between supply chain rhetoric and practice; clear guidance on how to enable effective integration is required. National settings do not appear to affect the extent of application of supply chain management concepts. Practical implications-SCI is a very difficult undertaking. Indifferent practice is the norm. If organisations can attain even the middle ground of internal integration they will outperform many of their competitors. Originality/value-The paper presents an international benchmark of SCI maturity involving three triangulated measures of supply chain performance.

The impediments to the competitiveness of the rail industry in Australia

“…According to Childerhouse et al (2011), the extent that organisations collaborate with partners determines their competitiveness. Similarly, the shortage of trained and professional human resources (Imp 12 ) combined with lacking educational factors (Imp 21 ) has resulted in low productivity levels and gaps between the real customers' needs and the current service levels, thus hindering the rail industry to compete with those offered by road.…”

Application of the quick scan audit methodology in an industrial filter production process

“…For example, a business may find uncertainties associated with excessive downtimes of its manufacturing equipment (process), changing customer schedules due to poor voice of the customer data capture and erratic demand profiling (demand), poor supplier delivery performance (supply), and inaccurate and distorted process control. The degree of uncertainties identified in the QSAM has been found to be highly correlated with the levels of supply chain integration and maturity (Lockamy et al, 2008;Childerhouse et al, 2011). The resultant output of the QSAM uncertainty analysis is targeted at unearthing causal relationships (Naim et al, 2002).…”

Systems engineering effective supply chain innovations

“…To date, innovation research involving SCs in Australia and New Zealand has focused on operations management principles; including just-in-time (Clarke and Lokman 1993) and Lean Production (Singh, Smith, and Sohal 2005;Sohal and Egglestone 1994), plus consideration of broader SC, operations and quality management practices (e.g. Böhme 2012; Childerhouse et al 2011;Prajogo and Sohal 2003). Systems engineering and the SC maturity concept, with its well-honed concept of uncertainty to frame SC International Journal of Production Research 6519 maturity, is still to be widely adopted in Australia and New Zealand (Basnet et al 2006;Lee 2002;Sun, Hsu, and Hwang 2009;Wong & Boon-itt 2008).…”