Alexander Ellinger, Hyunju Shin, William Magnus Northington, Frank G. Adams, Debra Hofman and Kevin O'Marah
The relationship between supply chain management (SCM) competency and firm performance is not well established empirically. This is largely because proven metrics for quantifying…
Abstract
Purpose
The relationship between supply chain management (SCM) competency and firm performance is not well established empirically. This is largely because proven metrics for quantifying the effects of SCM are scarce. Drawing on the strategic managerial concept of supply chain orientation as a source of competitive advantage, this paper aims to apply three independent sources of secondary data to examine the influence of SCM competency on two important firm performance metrics: customer satisfaction and shareholder value.
Design/methodology/approach
SCM competency is assessed with data from the expert opinion element of Gartner Supply Chain Group's (formerly AMR Research) supply chain top 25 rankings; the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) database and the recently developed Economic Value Added (EVA) Momentum financial metric are utilized as outcome measures.
Findings
Firms recognized by peers and experts for superior SCM competency exhibit higher levels of customer satisfaction and shareholder value than their respective industry averages.
Research limitations/implications
Further evidence is required to prove causality does exist between these variables. Limitations associated with the use of secondary data restricted the number of top performer firms available for this analysis. Nevertheless, the strong correlations found between SCM competency and two critical firm performance metrics may help senior managers and managers from other functional areas to better understand potential advantages associated with developing greater SCM competency.
Practical implications
The assessment of two metrics that differentiate top SCM performers from their industry competitors may also help SCM professionals to better convey the impact of SCM competency to non‐supply chain managers and external participants in the supply chain whose support and cooperation are critical to the success of process improvement initiatives.
Originality/value
In addition to the study findings, blending qualitative expert opinion, formal customer satisfaction and quantitative financial performance secondary data represents a relatively novel and informative method that responds to contentions that different approaches should be employed to develop a more holistic understanding of SCM.
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Theodore Stank, Terry Esper, Thomas J. Goldsby, Walter Zinn and Chad Autry
The digital advances in modern industry are accelerating changes in the broad social, economic, political and business environments within which supply chain management (SCM) is…
Abstract
Purpose
The digital advances in modern industry are accelerating changes in the broad social, economic, political and business environments within which supply chain management (SCM) is practiced. Given this extraordinary contextual upheaval, the conduct of research to identify, define, understand and explain how the digital revolution will impact key SCM concepts is imperative. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a theoretically grounded Digitally Dominant Paradigm (DDP) framework that demonstrates how digital concepts and insights can be infused into existing elements of best-practice SCM, in order to help guide future research.
Design/methodology/approach
Middle-range theorizing is proposed as a means to explore the ways in which researchers can explain supply chain phenomena (i.e. build theory) in the age of digitalization.
Findings
An example of how a DDP framework can be applied to a well-entrenched logistics/supply chain concept is provided, and the authors conclude by identifying exemplary research propositions for future exploration.
Originality/value
The broad goal of the paper is to spark forward-looking supply chain scholarship based upon development of a DDP of SCM.
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The aims of this paper is to show how supply chains can become a lot smarter to deal effectively with risk and meet business objectives.
Abstract
Purpose
The aims of this paper is to show how supply chains can become a lot smarter to deal effectively with risk and meet business objectives.
Design/methodology/approach
For this Global Chief Supply Chain Officer Study, IBM group leaders interviewed 400 senior executives from North America, Western Europe, and the Asia Pacific region who are responsible for their organizations' supply‐chain strategies and operations.
Findings
Findings in five key areas summarize the state of supply‐chain management today: cost containment; visibility, risk; customer intimacy; and globalization.
Practical implications
IBM sees a different kind of supply chain emerging – a smarter supply chain with three core characteristics: Instrumented – supply‐chain data previously created by people will increasingly be generated by sensors, RFID tags, meters, actuators, GPSs, and other devices and systems; Interconnected – smarter supply chains would take advantage of unprecedented levels of interaction that will facilitate collaboration on a massive scale; and Intelligent – to assist executives in evaluating trade‐offs, intelligent systems will assess myriad constraints and alternatives, allowing decision makers to simulate various courses of action.
Originality/value
Smarter supply chains would have the analytic capability to evaluate myriad alternatives in terms of supply, manufacturing, and distribution – and the flexibility to reconfigure flows as conditions change. Executives could then plan for contingencies and execute them.
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Abubaker Haddud, Arthur DeSouza, Anshuman Khare and Huei Lee
The Internet of Things (IoT) is expected to have a huge impact on businesses and, especially, the way we think about supply chain management (SCM). However, there is still a…
Abstract
Purpose
The Internet of Things (IoT) is expected to have a huge impact on businesses and, especially, the way we think about supply chain management (SCM). However, there is still a paucity of studies on the impact of IoT adoption on supply chains and on different aspects of the business in general. The purpose of this paper is to examine the perception of the academic community of the impact of the IoT adoption in organizational supply chains with a view to verify potential key benefits and challenges existent in the literature. The research presents the impact on an organization along with the impact across its entire supply chain.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected through the use of an online survey and 87 participants completed the survey. Participants were mainly from the academic community and were university scholars based in different countries located in six continents. Participants were authors, or co-authors, of academic papers published in the Decision Science Institute 2015 and 2016 annual conference proceedings, the 21st International Symposium of Sustainable Transport and Supply Chain Innovations, the Supply Chain Management: An International Journal 2016 issues, and the Operations and Supply Chain Management: An International Journal 2016 issues.
Findings
The authors were able to confirm the significance of some of the examined potential benefits to individual organizations and their entire supply chains. However, the study identified other potential benefits that were not seen as a direct impact of IoT adoption. Most of the examined potential benefits were found to contribute to a number of critical success factors for implementing successful SCM. The authors were also able to confirm that some of the examined potential challenges were still perceived as key hinders to IoT adoption but examined potential challenges were not seen as hurdles to IoT adoption.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study of its kind. Although some literature attempted to provide an overview about the IoT management, no study has specifically explored potential benefits and challenges related to the adoption of IoT in supply chains and ranked them based on their significance. The results can be beneficial to academic scholars interested in the researched topic, business professionals, organizations within different sectors, and any other party interested in understanding more about the impact of adopting IoT on SCM.