Barriers to supply chain information integration: SMEs adrift of eLands

The literature extols the potential benefits of supply chain integration and the crucial role of integrated eBusiness to deliver those benefits. However, adoption of eBusiness in supply chains has been slower than expected, particularly in small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs). This paper reports findings of a longitudinal study of four supply chains in different sectors over a 4-year period. Specifically it examines the barriers to adoption of eBusiness technologies and therefore to achievement of integrated information in supply chains. Differences between firms in supply chains and between supply chains are examined. The study reveals disparity between existing and planned use of eBusiness by larger downstream firms compared to upstream SMEs. The SMEs are cautious, only planning to invest in eBusiness if dominant downstream customers force them; however, they do not appreciate the full benefits to be gained from eBusiness adoption. The downstream larger businesses are forging ahead with eBusiness in ‘eIsolation’ and are not providing supply chain leadership. They are creating eLands with SMEs adrift of them.     

The link between supply chain fit and financial performance of the firm

The bottom-line financial impact of supply chain management has been of continuing interest. Building on the operations strategy literature, Fisher's (1997) conceptual framework, a survey of 259 U.S. and European manufacturing firms, and secondary financial data, we investigate the relationship between supply chain fit (i.e., strategic consistencies between the products’ supply and demand uncertainty and the underlying supply chain design) and the financial performance of the firm. The findings indicate that the higher the supply chain fit, the higher the Return on Assets (ROA) of the firm, and that firms with a negative misfit show a lower performance than firms with a positive misfit.     

The effects of innovation–cost strategy, knowledge, and action in the supply chain on firm performance

Despite the importance of supply chains within today's economy, we know little about how the knowledge of supply chains can contribute to superior performance at the firm level. Building on the resource-based view, knowledge-based view and strategic choice theory, we develop hypotheses linking two knowledge-driven supply chain phenomena (i.e., knowledge development capacity and intellectual capital), innovation–cost strategy, and action to firm-level performance. Using survey and archival data from 489 firms, we found that performance is influenced by how well knowledge development capacity and intellectual capital efforts complement alternative chain strategies. More specifically, each strategy type requires different constellations of knowledge development capacity and intellectual capital to enhance action and create superior firm performance. These results highlight the importance of supply chain phenomena for firm-level performance, and more broadly, the value of supply chains as a competitive weapon in contemporary firms.     

Supply chain variability,organizational structure,and performance: The moderating effect of demand unpredictability

Supply chain process variability is the level of inconsistency, or volatility, in the flow of goods into, through, and out of a firm. The research investigates the links among organizational structure (formalization and integration), supply chain process variability, and performance as moderated by environmental uncertainty. We found that in a predictable demand environment, only formal control affects supply chain process variability, leading to improved financial results; but in an unpredictable demand environment, only cross-functional integration affects supply chain process variability, leading to improved financial performance. We also examined whether supply chain process variability is a complete or partial mediator of the relationship between organizational structure and performance, and found that: (1) in a predictable demand environment, supply chain process variability completely mediates the relationship between formal control and performance and (2) in an unpredictable demand environment, supply chain process variability partially mediates the relationship between integration and performance. Supply chain process variability has an inverse relationship with financial performance, regardless of the demand environment; and organizational structure provides managers with the mechanisms to mitigate this variability's detrimental impact on financial performance.     

The geography of suppliers and retailers

In the last decades, supply chains have increasingly transcended national boundaries developing into global supply chains. Along with the many opportunities arising from international sourcing and the extended commercial presence over the world, the management of a globally dispersed supply chain is highly complex. A key issue to consider when dealing with the global supply chain design is the location of facilities, not only with respect to firms' owned facilities but also the supply and distribution side as factors that affect supply chain complexity and operational performance. This paper sets out a methodological framework to characterize the geographical configuration of a firm's suppliers and retailer networks. Quantitative indexes of network spatial concentration and relative proximity measures based on a nonparametric kernel density estimator are developed to identify both intra- and inter-firm patterns between the supply and point of sales' distributions. The method is first described by means of a series of theoretical-illustrative examples and exemplified by analyzing the geographical dispersion of four practical cases from the fashion-textile industry (i.e., Adidas, Benetton, C&A, and Puma). Subsequently, managerial implications and potential use of the metrics are discussed, showing how the proposed approach can support researchers and practitioners to improve supply chain location decisions and logistic integration, and evaluate changes in either the purchasing or distribution strategy.     

Customer-facing supply chain practices—The impact of demand and distribution management on supply chain success

Traditionally, distribution has been viewed as the key (physical) link between a company's internal supply chain activities and its customers. More recently, demand management has emerged as a new dimension at the customer interface. Although it has become increasing popular in industry, it has not yet been analyzed in depth with respect to its impact on supply chain performance. Both distribution management and demand management entail customer-facing processes and practices and that are interrelated and (may) jointly determine supply chain performance. In this paper we seek to extend the stream of research in supply chain management by systematically investigating the impact of customer-facing supply chain practices on supply chain performance. Specifically, the paper examines the relative impact of relevant practices associated with demand and distribution management. To this end, we collected data from 116 multi-national companies based in Europe and analyzed it using structural equation modeling techniques. Our results suggest that (i) high demand management performance has a substantial positive impact on the overall supply chain performance, (ii) this effect is stronger than that of distribution management performance, and (iii) there is no evidence that demand management might be an enabler for effective distribution management. Among the individual practices that constitute demand and distribution management, adherence to the demand and distribution management processes and demand segmentation emerged as the strongest performance levers. Based upon additional in-depth interviews conducted with selected companies from our sample, we shed light on some of the most important findings that emerged from our survey analysis.     

An empirical examination of the use of bargaining power and its impacts on supply chain financial performance

This study empirically examines how benefits of resource dependence may be bargained away by supply chain finance (SCF) costs incurred to upstream suppliers and downstream buyers through cash conversion cycles. We found that a focal firm may get compensated for its resource contribution with an extra share of the financial gains by using the superior bargaining position over its supply chain partners. Nevertheless, the focal firm may proactively restrain its use of bargaining power when the need for cooperative relationship with its supply chain partners prevails. Managerial and research implications for the introduction of power theory and relation theory to the SCF studies are discussed.     

基于EVA视角的供应链业绩评价

本文认为,随着经济全球化的发展,公司之间的竞争已经演化为供应链之间的竞争。为实现供应链目标与优化供应链业绩,公司需要进行业绩评价并确定恰当的业绩评价指标。EVA分析框架能够同时计量和分析多家公司业绩,构建反映供应链运营业绩的指标并将其与股东价值动因直接联系起来,从而有助于提高供应链中各家公司的股东价值,实现各家公司行为与供应链目标的协调一致。     

Supply chain practice and information sharing

Effective supply chain practice and information sharing enhances the current supply chain management environment. The purpose of this study is to investigate the integration of information sharing and supply chain practice in supply chain management. Data from 125 North American manufacturing firms were collected. The results show that (1) effective information sharing significantly enhances effective supply chain practice; (2) supply chain dynamism has significant positive influence on effective information sharing as well as effective supply chain practice. Supply chain dynamism has more influence on information sharing than supply chain practice; (3) and effective supply chain practice becomes more important when the level of information sharing increases. The findings show that both effective information sharing and effective supply chain practice are critical in achieving good supply chain performance.     

Drivers and outcomes of open-standard interorganizational information systems assimilation in high-technology supply chains

In recent years, firms in high-technology supply chains have established internet-based electronic linkages with their trading partners. As a result, they have improved their ability to coordinate and synchronize shared business processes by using more complete, accurate, and timely information. These electronic linkages are based on open-standard interorganizational information systems (OSIOS), which are fundamentally different from traditional electronic data interchanges. OSIOS capture not only the technical specifications for data interchange but also the sequential steps for the execution of shared business processes. Because OSIOS are still at an early diffusion stage, it remains unclear why firms would assimilate such an innovation and whether assimilation provides firms any benefits. In this research, we develop a framework grounded on the economics of standards, institutional theory, and strategic interorganizational information systems literatures to investigate the drivers and outcomes of OSIOS assimilation in a focused context. In order to test our hypotheses based on this framework, we used data from a high-technology supply chain and employed econometrics techniques. We found that both competition asymmetry across supply chain echelons and OSIOS assimilation within supply chain echelons predict individual firms’ OSIOS assimilation. The results also suggest that firms’ supply chain dominance is both a driver and an outcome of OSIOS assimilation, highlighting a mutually reinforcing process. In addition, our study reveals boundary conditions of the hypothesized relationships. The use of multiple theoretical perspectives, a unique dataset, and innovative statistical techniques to investigate OSIOS assimilation in high-technology supply chains contributes to the body of knowledge in both the supply chain management and management of information systems disciplines.     

化工品供应链物流运营机制研究

针对快速增长的中国化工品市场及物流市场,系统分析了化工品供应链物流及其主导企业客观需求,提出了为国际化工企业提供以增值业务为核心的整体化工品供应链物流设计理念。最后,从实际需求出发,合理布局供应链物流资源,通过统一管控体系,借助多目标绩效评价指标体系,建立了一套安全、高效、共赢的化工品供应链物流运营机制。     

Supply chain finance: From traditional to supply chain credit rating

Traditional credit rating models, adopted by financial institutions to assess the credit risk of a company, adopt a purely financial perspective, and often fail to properly assess small and medium enterprises. On the other hand, buyers usually assess suppliers by means of comprehensive vendor ratings, considering a broad range of operational performance. This paper investigates whether financial and vendor ratings can be integrated into a supply chain credit rating model that jointly considers financial indicators of the supplier and its operational evaluation provided by buyers; the paper also investigates the benefits and the challenges of such a model for all the stakeholders involved (buyers, suppliers, financial institutions, and technology providers), adopting the lenses of the stakeholder theory. We adopted both multiple case studies and an iterative focus group, involving representatives from suppliers, buyers, financial institutions, and technology providers. The results confirm the potential value of such an integrated rating, mainly for strategic suppliers, showing the expected benefits for all stakeholders and highlighting the potential challenges to face.     

The effect of an ambidextrous supply chain strategy on combinative competitive capabilities and business performance

This study investigates the influence of an ambidextrous supply chain strategy on manufacturers’ combinative competitive capabilities – the ability to excel simultaneously on competitive capabilities of quality, delivery, flexibility, and cost – and, in turn, on business performance. Drawing upon March's (1991) notions of exploration and exploitation, an ambidextrous supply chain strategy is conceptualized as a simultaneous pursuit of both explorative and exploitative supply chain practices. We operationalize this concept as a second-order latent construct that captures the co-variation between exploration and exploitation within the context of a manufacturer's supply chain management strategy. Using survey-based data gathered from 174 U.S. manufacturers, we find that an ambidextrous supply chain strategy coincides with combinative competitive capabilities and business performance. Our empirical finding contradicts conventional wisdom that argues for tradeoffs between exploration and exploitation. Instead, our empirical results are in line with an emerging complementarity view advocating that supply chain managers build practices to gain operational efficiency while simultaneously searching for opportunities to gain operational advantages. In addition, we provide insights regarding the role of combinative capabilities in mediating the relationship between an ambidextrous supply chain strategy and business performance.     

供应链绩效评价中的BSC方法

为了克服传统的绩效评价方法存在的种种弊端,本文试图将平衡记分卡方法应用到供应链绩效评价中,从客户、内部运营、学习及创新、财务等四个方面来综合评价供应链的绩效,以寻求财务收益与非财务收益之间的平衡。     

Utilizing e-business technologies in supply chains: The impact of firm characteristics and teams

This paper presents findings from an exploratory study that analyzes the drivers and outcomes of e-business technology use in the supply chain. Using a combination of case studies and survey data from a diverse sample of industries, the research examines how industry context, firm characteristics and firm-level strategic resources, such as purchasing teams, influence the exploitation of e-business technologies and the relationship between e-business technology use and firm performance. Based on a synthesis of related literatures from transaction cost economics and the relational view of the supply chain, a two-dimensional framework for e-business technology is proposed with transactional and relational dimensions. However, empirical analysis indicated that transactional technologies can be further subdivided into two factors: dyadic cooperation and price determination. Significant differences were found between the two dimensions in terms of their overall levels of adoption, with dyadic coordination being the most widely adopted. In addition, the development of strategic resources expanded, in particular internal and customer teams, the use of e-business technologies expanded. Purchasing organizational structure and firm size also were positively related to the adoption of transactional e-business technologies. Finally, of particular importance to practitioners, e-business technologies targeted at reducing dyadic coordination costs lead to improved financial performance.     

Levels of strategic purchasing: Impact on supply integration and performance

The growing importance of supply chain management has led to an increasing recognition of the strategic role of purchasing, which has recently evolved and expanded from “buying” to “procurement” and “supply management”. In this study, we chart our sample firms’ advance in strategic purchasing, characterized by the strategic focus, strategic involvement of the purchasing function and the status and visibility of the purchasing professionals, into three stages.This study provides strong empirical support for the importance of strategic purchasing by showing that, by moving towards the more advanced stages, firms at the nascent stage of strategic purchasing can achieve better supply integration, a second-order construct composed of four facets of relational, process, information, and cross-organizational team integration. Our analyses further reveal that strategic purchasing can have a profound impact on supply chain performance for both buyer and supplier firms.     

Supply chain vulnerability assessment: A network based visualization and clustering analysis approach

Supply chains are large, complex, and often unpredictable. Purchasing and supply managers and supply chain risk managers need methods and tools to enable them to quickly understand how unexpected disruptions in the supply chain start and grow and to what extent will they negatively impact the flow of goods and services. This paper introduces a methodological approach that can be used by both researchers and managers to quickly visualize a supply chain, map out the propagation path of disruptive events from the supply side to the end customer and understand potential weaknesses in the supply chain design; taking into account the structure, connectivity, and dependence within the supply chain. The approach incorporates a Petri net and Triangularization Clustering Algorithm to offer insights into a supply chain network's vulnerabilities and can be used to efficiently assess supply chain disruption mitigation strategies, especially in complex and difficulty to analyze supply chain systems.     

RFID技术对供应链管理影响的研究

无线射频识别（RFID）技术作为信息流的一种有效载体，被认为是增进供应链上下游企业间信息共享与协调的有效手段，近几年受到理论界和企业界的普遍关注。立足于供应链管理的视角，首先从供应链的补给策略、库存管理信息的准确性、牛鞭效应以及动态定价策略四个方面，对KFID技术应用给供应链管理带来的影响研究进行分类阐述与总结，而后归纳分析了现有研究所运用的主要方法，进而对研究的现状和未来的研究方向与热点进行展望。