scholarly journals The effects of an integrative supply chain strategy on customer service and firm performance: an analysis of direct versus indirect relationships

2019 ◽  
pp. 517-528 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zakir Sabara ◽  
Soemarno Soemarno ◽  
Amin Setyo Leksono ◽  
Andi Tamsil
Author(s):  
Miguel Angel Alvarado ◽  
Mario Chong

AFSA is an industrial company that produces flexible packaging and has more than 200 plants on five continents. It has an important presence in South America with five plants in the region. Among its main features is to supply other industries (B2B) produce under the strategy make-to-order, with local, regional, and corporate hierarchies. Its value proposition is aimed at delivering superior customer service to the market with innovative and quality products. However, due to the acquisitions that the company has made in the last two years in different countries of the region and the growth in the consumption of flexible packaging, the strategies among the different areas of the company have not been aligned, creating incompatibilities between the strategies of the functional areas like sales, operations, finance, and supply chain. This chapter proposes to optimize the supply chain of AFSA, using a strategic methodology of diagnosis and operational analysis to have a multidimensional approach that allows for decision-making.


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 540-559 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Wiengarten ◽  
Huashan Li ◽  
Prakash J. Singh ◽  
Brian Fynes

Purpose This paper aims to explore the performance implications of supply chain integration (SCI) taking a strategic perspective. Thus, this paper is set to provide answers to the following research questions: Does a higher degree of SCI always lead to greater firm performance improvements? As the answer to this question is likely to be no, the authors explore the performance implications from a strategic perspective: Is the SCI–performance relationship contingent on a company’s competitive priorities (i.e. operations strategy)? Design/methodology/approach The authors explore their questions through multiple quasi-independent data sets to test the impact of SCI on firm performance. Furthermore, the authors provide a more nuanced conceptual and empirical view to explore the previously uncovered contradictory results and contingent relationship challenging the “more integration equals higher firm performance” proposition. Findings The results only provide partial support for the proposition that more integration is always beneficial in the supply chain context. The authors also identified that the impact of SCI on financial performance is contingent on a company’s competitive priorities. Originality/value This study provides a much-needed comprehensive assessment of the SCI–performance relationship through critically re-evaluating one of the most popular propositions in the field of supply chain management. The results can be extrapolated beyond the dyad, as the authors conceptualise integration simultaneously from an upstream and downstream perspective.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 821-844 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasmine Sabri

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop exploratory propositions and a conceptual framework on the interaction between organisational structure (decision-making centralisation and internal coordination) and the relationship between supply chain fit and firm performance. Design/methodology/approach Through a case study, two corporate groups with distinctive organisational structures were examined; both are undergoing a critical moment of changes to their top management and are reshaping their corporate and supply chain strategies. Data on decision-making centralisation, internal coordination mechanisms, supply, demand and innovation uncertainties, and supply chain strategies were collected from key respondents. Findings The analysis conducted suggests the need to consider the joint interaction between organisational structure and supply chain fit in offsetting the implications of a potential misfit on firm performance. Furthermore, the context sensitivity of a supply chain is often overlooked, hence simply modifying supply chain strategy does not necessarily lead to a variation in firm performance. Practical implications This research is of particular importance to most organisations in the testing times of uncertainty in the global landscape. It guides supply chain practitioners to better understand which elements of the organisational structure interact with the uncertainty of supply, demand and innovation. Originality/value This paper is one of the first to investigate the interaction between elements of organisational structure and supply chain fit and identify decision-making centralisation and coordination as the internal uncertainty factors that are most relevant to supply chain fit research. A conceptual framework has been built for future testing, in which the organisational structure moderates the relationship between supply chain fit and firm performance.


Author(s):  
Asghar Sabbaghi ◽  
Navid Sabbaghi

The purpose of this study is to provide an analysis of global supply chain in a broader context that encompasses not only the producing company, but suppliers and customers.The theme of this study is to identify global sourcing and selling options, to enhance customer service and value added, to optimize inventory performance, to reduce total delivered costs and lead times, to achieve lower break-even costs, and to improve operational flexibility, customization and partner relations. In this context, an integrated management information system will be viewed as the key instrument that captures all relevant data and makes it available to the appropriate decision-maker and that provides an optimizer and decision-support function supporting various phases of the decision-making process, requiring the identification of cost cutting and value adding strategies. The properly integrated management information systems will help companies to gain the critical global competitive edge to survive in today's markets. We suggest various strategies in sourcing, manufacturing/operation, and marketing that can provide a competitive global supply chain strategy for a firm to increase value. We provide case studies where these strategies have been successful as well as case studies where they have failed.


2006 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-68
Author(s):  
Carol J Johnson ◽  
Lidiya Sokhnich ◽  
Charles Ng

This paper explores the role that several supply chain dimensions play in achieving overall firm performance. Measures suggested in prior studies were factor analyzed for convergent and discriminant validity and then used in a regression model. This study uses data from the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) member firms, with top level supply chain managers as informants. The results suggest that of the three dimensions tested, two are significant contributors to firm profitability, including customer service and business process usage. Relationship confidence was not found to significantly impact overall firm performance.


Author(s):  
Karani Anthony Muriithi ◽  
Odari Sammy ◽  
Noor Shalle

The manufacturing sector in Kenya is faced by the challenges of performance and unstructured supply chain strategy. Further, the manufacturing sector growth in 2014 was 3.4% compared to a 5.6% growth in 2013 (Waiguru, 2015). This slow growth in manufacturing sector performance can be attributed to several environmental uncertainties such as the general election, high production costs, supply disruptions, political stability, unavailability of raw materials or demand fluctuations, technological changes, employees’ strikes, financial risk, terrorism and competition from imported goods (KNBS, 2018).The purpose of the study was to determine the moderating effect of environmental uncertainties on the relationship between risk hedging supply chain strategy and performance of manufacturing firms in Kenya. The study utilized descriptive research design. The target population was 829 managers from manufacturing firms around the country. A sample of 270 managers was selected using stratified random sampling. Results indicated that risk hedging supply chain strategy explained 63.8% of the total variations in performance of manufacturing firms. In addition, risk hedging supply chain strategy had a positive and significant effect on firm performance (β=0.675, P < .000). With introduction of moderating variable (environmental uncertainties); risk hedging supply chain strategy explained 34% of the total variations in performance of manufacturing firms. This denoted those environmental uncertainties had a negative moderating effect on the relationship between risk hedging supply chain strategy and performance of manufacturing firms in Kenya. The study concluded that risk hedging supply chain strategy had a positive and statistically significant effect on performance of manufacturing firms in Kenya. The study further concluded that environmental uncertainties lower the effect of risk hedging supply chain strategy on firm performance. The study recommends that manufacturing firms should strengthen aspects related to risk hedging supply chain strategy. The firms should particularly strengthen safety stock, suppliers’ management and quality. The improvement of these aspects is expected to enhance performance of the manufacturing firms. This study further recommends that manufacturing firms should factor in environmental uncertainties related to demand, supply and technology when implementing supply chain strategies.


2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 211-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quan Zhu ◽  
Harold Krikke ◽  
Marjolein C.J. Caniëls

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how inter-organizational learning (including supply chain learning and imitation prevention) mediates the relationships between supply chain integration (SCI) and two dimensions of focal firm performance (i.e. customer service performance and innovation performance). Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional approach was adopted with primary data collected through a survey in China. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling with partial least-squares estimations. Findings The findings verify that inter-organizational learning mediates the relationship between SCI and focal firm performance. The results of sub-group model analysis illustrate that both powerful and weak focal firms benefit from inter-organizational learning, but in different ways. Research limitations/implications The responses were all from young executives who had four years’ work experience on average. Top-level executives may provide more comprehensive and accurate input for similar future research. Practical implications The results suggest that successfully integrating the supply chain to create customer value requires both supply chain learning and imitation prevention. Originality/value This paper responds to calls for an inter-disciplinary research between supply chain management and inter-organizational learning by taking into account supply chain learning and imitation prevention as links between SCI and both customer service performance for current success and innovation performance for future prosperity.


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