Literature Review of Supply Chain Management Withits Structure and Directions For Future Research
Literature Review of Supply Chain Management Withits Structure and Directions For Future Research
Literature Review of Supply Chain Management Withits Structure and Directions For Future Research
2
Associate Professor, Department of Management, Pondicherry University, Karaikal Campus, Karaikal – 609
605. India.
Abstract:This paper examines the relations of two topics: Supply Chain Management (SCM) and its structure.
Integrating these two fields is an important part of anxiety for modern managers and researchers. A structure of
supply chains defines the routine activities that examine and co-ordinate the goal and happenings of
autonomous organizational units that include the supply chain. Managers have understood that the structure
can improve Supply Chain Management by creating actual time facts obtainable and empowering cooperation
among trading partners. A literature review has been conducted for the period 2001 – 2015 in significant
academic journals in the field of management. The purpose is to accumulate, arrange and combine current
information concerning to Supply Chain Management and its structure. Our study has labelled the influence
that the structure has on the diverse procedures that Supply Chain Management hold. The literature review
taken on the theme has revealed that Supply Chain Management has been acknowledged as an exceptional
subject in the supply chain literature in the most significant journals of Logistics and Operations Management,
exclusively after 2006. The core themes have been procurement, information flow and fulfilment. The purpose of
this paper is to highlight Supply Chain Management and how research in this area has developed during the
period 2001 – 2015 and to recognize some outlines of future research.
Keywords: Supply Chain Management, Supply Chain Structure and Supply Chain Integration.
I. Introduction
One of the most important changes of new business management is that individual businesses no longer
compete as uniquely independent entities, however relatively as supply chains (Christopher, 1998).Several
organizations are implementing supply chain management to diminish costs, develop products, make shorter
lead time and improve competitiveness for the complete chain (Cavinato, 1991; Mentzer et al., 2001). Lambert
and Cooper (2000) highlight supply chain management so as to improve a standard model that can instruct
managers in their efforts to develop and manage their supply chains. These Authors, emphasize theincreasing
awareness of executives in their research program for supply chain management. In order to achieve the
requirements of the customer through managing the supply chain with the flow of materials from suppliers to
influence a stability between the contradictory target of great service to customer, reduce inventory investment
and reduce unit cost (Stevens, 1989).Theories of traditional organization, however, do not clearly address the
structures and strategies of multi-organisation, and multi-level supply chains. Researchers have just started to
improve empirically based theories on structure of supply chain, managing the relationship in the supply chain
and the leadership of supply chain management enterprises (Choi and Hong, 2002; Ho et al., 2002). Thus,
established theory in the field of supply chain management is required to provide a basis for empirical research
(Ho et al., 2002).
Muriati Mukhtar et al. (2002)discussed the issues pertaining to theincorporation of buyer-supplier relationships
insupply chain models and the representation ofsuch relationships in the simulation of
supplychains.Strategicanalysis will also help supply chainmembers in deciding who to partner with andwhat
type of relationship would be most usefulfor the player or the supply chain.The question ofwhether to integrate
or not to integrate and withwhom can be discussed by investigating effectsand trade-offs from such a venture.
Daesik Hur et al. (2004) Factors thatare proposed to influence the structure of the supply chain are: customer
needs/demand characteristics;product complexity; process complexity; organisationalstrategies; and industry
structure.Supply chain mapping can identify the critical segments of the structureand the processes for its
valueenhancement efforts.Clearmeasures for supply chain management performance must be formulated. At
thehighest level, company-wide strategic performance measuresshould be defined. After performance measures
aredefined, issues of cost and benefitsharing among the supply chain member firms can be managed better.Inter-
organisational performanceimprovements and sharing the savings from chain-wide efforts are critical
issuesthathave not been adequately addressed.
Clifford Defee and Stank (2005)extends a central paradigm of the strategy literature to the
supplychainenvironment to foster a better understanding of the elements characterizing strategic decisions
thatlead tosupply chain structural development and performance.
Narasimha Kamath and Rahul Roy (2005)Designing a supply chain structure for a volatile marketcan be tricky.
This is more so for products with a shortlifecycle. A capacity constrained supply chain in such asetting impedes
the product's market acceptance bylimiting product availability and thereby frustratingcustomers.The supply
chain structure is representedusing system dynamics formalism. Experiment on themodel leads to an indication
of the cost that the systemwould incur. Using this cost and through loop dominanceanalysis feedback loops are
identified that primarilydetermine system behaviour. It is showed bystrengthening the dominant feedback loop,
significantimprovement in performance can be achieved.
Agrawal and Seshadri (2005)considered a problem in which a single risk neutral distributor suppliesa short-
lifecycle, long-leadtime product to several retailers that are identical except in theirattitudes towards risk. They
proved that the distributor should not offer the same terms toevery retailer but instead offer less risky (from the
demand risk perspective) contracts to morerisk averse retailers. They did not prove the optimality of their menu.
Their results are reconstructed when the number of retailers is infinite and theircoefficient of risk aversion is
drawn from a continuous distribution. Optimalcontroltheory is used to solve this problem. It is showed that this
distribution uniquely determines the channelstructure. Moreover, the optimal contract menu not only has the
same structure as in Agrawaland Seshadri but is also optimal among nearly all contracts. The implications of
these findingsfor channel design are discussed.
Juimin Hsiao et al. (2008) To investigate the relationship between organizational structure, supply chain
management, and organizational performance. Supplychain management, companies facing challenges from
great variation are to be sensitive with quickly variation in the era of supply chain management with good use of
their own competitive advantages, information from supplier and resources sharing, attempting to response to
market needs quickly and to increase market share. From the perspective of “global village”, companies need to
integrated upstream and downstream partners to compete with product revolution from supply chain
management.
Arnold Maltz et al. (2009)Organizational Alignment (OA) and Supply Chain Governance Structure (SCGS)
may provide some insight intohow to promote betterinternal supply chain integration within the firm, and may
allow for an assessment of thegovernancestructure of the firm‟s supply chain. In different industries and at
different times, this knowledge mayprove useful in supply chain design and supply base optimization
decisions.Theyrepresent initial attempts toassess upper management influence oninternal supply chain alignment
(OA), and to assess the governancestructure of a firm‟s supply chain.SCGS and modularity are more recent
topics of study, but seem to have becomemore significant as thecompetitive environment becomes increasingly
intense,uncertain, and accelerated.A more thorough understanding of SCGS and modularitywould benefit
researchers seeking to understand the broader contextualissuesinfluencing the behaviour of various supply chain
actors.Research on buyer-supplier relationsoften focusesupon trust and commitment to the relationship; research
models in thisarea could be enriched by addingtransaction complexity or perceptions of suppliercapabilities as
moderating or contextual variables.
Hung and Shih-jieh (2009)The decision framework withintegrated costing and performance evaluation forgreen
supply chain (GSC)has not been well developed so far in the literature.A fuzzy goal programming (FGP)
approach is proposed that integratesactivity-based costing (ABC) and performance evaluationin a value-
chainstructure for optimal GSC supplier selection and flow allocation.The sensitivity analyses showthat pure
maximisation of financial profit canachieve the highest profit level, which also has the largest Euclideandistance
tothe multiple aspiration goals. In order to determine the final objective structure,an analytic hierarchyprocess
(AHP) is used. Here a new approachis proposed to assess and control a complex GSC based on value-chain
activities, and obtaina more precise solution. The establishment of this GSC model not onlyhelps decision-
makers to monitor GSC comprehensive performance but alsocan facilitate further improvement and
development of GSC management.Toprovidean FGP approach for GSC supplier selection and flow allocation
under integrated ABCand performance assessment in a value chain structure. GSC performance will be
clearerwhen cost and benefit measures are integrated based on value-chain activities.
Veen-Dirks and Verdaasdonk (2009)The behaviour of several entities in the chain isexplained by examining the
present local management control systems. The mainconclusion is that these systemscall for behaviour that is
not congruent with the broad supply chain objective. The paper demonstrates that the local managementcontrol
systems may hinder the achievement of the supply chainobjective.Possible design implications for both local
management control systems and governance structures in the supply chain areoutlined.Focuseson local
information sharing concerns and on local performance measurement and incentiveissues at the
intraorganisational level but within a supply chain context. As Thrane andHald (2006) indicate in their paper,
boundaries betweencompanies acting in a supplychain are ever-changing.Thismakes it more difficult to clearly
distinguish between intra andinter-firm relations.Control systems for intra-organisationalcontrol become more
and more related to the governancestructure of theinter-organisational relation.
Awaysheh and Klassen (2010)Thelink between supply chain structure and the adoption of suppliersocially
responsible practices are examined.Theconstructof social issues is defined and framed within the broaderdebate
on sustainable development andstakeholder management. Socialpractices are delineated for supply chain
management, and aset of scales is empirically validated for assessing the degree of development of supplier
sociallyresponsible practices.Asthe plant was positioned further upstream in the supply chain,managers reported
increased use of supplier codes of conduct.To that end, relationships between supply chain structure and
supplier practiceswere tested empirically. Evidence pointed to two factors in supply chain structure –
transparency and distance – being related to supplier socially responsible practices.
Dmitry Ivanov et al. (2010)introduces a new conceptual framework for multi-structural planning and operations
ofadaptive supply chains with structure dynamics considerations.Avision of adaptive supplychain management
(A-SCM) is described, which is a new dynamic model and tools for the planning and control of adaptivesupply
chains. SCM is addressed from perspectives of execution dynamics under uncertainty.Supplychains are
modelled in terms of dynamic multi-structural macro-states, based on simultaneousconsideration of the
management as a function of both states and structures. The research approach is theoretically based on the
combined application of control theory, operations research, and agent-basedmodelling.The findings suggest
constructive ways to implement multi-structural supply chain management and to transit from a „„one-way”
partial optimization to the feedback-based, closed-loop adaptivesupply chain optimization and execution
management for value chain adaptability, stability and crisis-resistance.
Shogun Xiao et al. (2014) A retailer-Stackelberg pricing model is developed to investigate the product variety
and channel structure strategies of manufacturer in a circular spatial market. It is found thatthe motivation for
the manufacturer to use dual channels decreases with the unit production cost, whileincreases with (i) the
marginal cost of variety, (ii) the retailer‟s marginal selling cost, and (iii) the customer‟s fitcost.The equilibrium
analysis demonstrates that it is more likely for the manufacturer to use dual channels under the retailer
Stackelberg channel leadership scenario than under themanufacturer Stackelberg scenario if offering a greater
variety is very expensive.When offering a greatervariety is inexpensive, the decentralization of theindirect
channel may invert the manufacturer‟s channelstructure decision.
Vikram Bhakoo et al. (2015)To develop a better understanding of how the supplychainstructure (i.e. degree of
vertical integration) of a focal organization shapes the breadth of its portfolioof technologies. The information
technologies employed by the three focal case organizations and theirextended trading partners varied in terms
of level, type, complexity and sophistication. The authors found that disintegrated supply chain structures have a
broaderportfolio of technologies, whereas integrated supply chains have a narrowportfolio. integration
requiresconsideration of the full range of possibilities, from hierarchy to market-basedtransactional activities
(Williamson, 2008). Frohlich and Westbrook‟s(2001) arcs of integration framework is expanded by employing
it along two dimensions: technologydiversity and governance structure. This makes the framework more
comprehensive andmeaningful in terms of practical application as it applies to portfolio of technologieschoices
organizations need to make.
Christos Tsinopoulos and Carlos Mena (2015)Process structure and product newness require different supply
chain configurations,which change as products mature. Supply chain integration is dynamic, and the extent of
collaborationbetween suppliers and customers will be different at different moments in time. The authors define
anddiscuss four key supply chain configurations: customised; ramp-up; recurring; coordinated. The
configuration of integration will change as the manufacturing plantbecomes more familiar with a product.
Additionally, different suppliers may provide better support atdifferent stages of a product‟s lifecycle. To yield
better performance, supply chain integration wouldneed to take different forms. Efforts to integrate with
suppliers should not be avoided as, when certainconditions are met, integration can lead to improved
performance.
Mikihisa Nakano (2015)This study found many differences between traditional and efficient/responsive firms
on
process variables. With regard to structure variables, the existence of a supply chain managementdepartment,
which is a variable of internal structure, in responsive and efficient/responsive firms isstatistically more likely
than in efficient firms. In addition, this study found significant differencesbetween efficient and responsive
firms, and traditional firms on some variables of external structure.It exploresthe relationship among
managementelements in supply chains including not only strategy but also structure and processes. Through
thisstudy, it is implied that the strategy-structure-processes-performance paradigm adopted in this study isuseful
for exploring the patterns of other management elements that fit in with supply chain strategies.
The summary of literature on the supply chain management under the above classification is shown in Table 1.
1 To improve a clear comprehending of how the supply 13 To show a supply chain structure analysis
chain structure of a central organization design the and formulate method to assess various
breadth of its selection of technologies. demand patterns and calculating methods.
2 To examine the structure of supply chain integration. 14 To show a clear understanding of the
components describing strategic decisions
that leading to structural development of
supply chain and performance.
3 To provide some empirical evidence of the affiliation 15 To reconstruct Agrawal and Seshadri
between strategy and configuration/procedure in supply model effect when the number of retailers
chains. is immeasurable and their measurement of
risk aversion is dragged from a
uninterrupted distribution.
4 Retailer fixing of prices model to examine the product 16 To explore supply chain structure define
variation and network configuration strategies of the method that restrain and co-ordinate the
manufacturer in a globular spatial market. purposes and undertakings of self-
governing organizational units that include
the supply chain.
5 To examine the size of supply chain structure especially 17 To claim that integral align with a
dependency, distance and transparency for the distinction amid environmental caution
acceptance of these informally liable habit. chain policies and environmental chain
execution, a distinction among kinds of
LCAs must be prepared (between
conformance-procedure and market-
oriented LCAs).
6 To introduce a modern conceptual framework for 18 To diminish cycle times between supply
multiple structure planning and processes of versatile chain individuals, managers have to work
supply chains with configuration dynamics attentions. to make innovative relational practices that
depend on trust to a superior level.
7 To introduce and validate the sympathetic of how and 19 The problems relating to the combination
why organizations unite their internal supply chains and of buyer-supplier relationships in supply
measure the control configuration of their supply chains. chain design and the symbol of such
relationships in the model of supply chains.
8 To suggest a fuzzy goal programming (FGP) approach 20 To examine the association amongst
that mixes activity-based costing (ABC) and supply chain structure, product variety, and
performance assessment in a value-chain configuration firm performance.
of optimum Green Supply Chain supplier choice and
flow distribution.
9 To exhibit control systems of local management inside 21 To present a theoretical framework for
the supply chain arrangement and the control structure assessing different supply chain structures
of supply chains are twined together have an significant in the background of modularization and
outcome on the operative of the supply chain. postponement.
10 Examines the association among a manufacturer‟s 22 To inspects the suitable between an
practice of information technology(IT) (mainly organization‟s logistics integration
electronic procurement) and the total of suppliers in its competences and its supply chain structure.
supply chain.
11 To investigate the association among supply chain 23 To find purposes of supply chain and
management, organizational structure and organizational communicate to three broad approach,
performance. Defenders, Prospectors and Analysers.
12 Develop simulations for a postponement system and an 24 To analyse the relations between a
independent method to reduce the total average cost wholesaler and a sole retailer for fall
function per unit time for assembling and holding n shipment supply chain in a multiple period
“non-instantaneous deteriorating items” environment.
VII. Conclusion
It has been established that the supply chain structure be a significant influence on the management of
the supply chain and it can enhance the effectiveness of firms. In this paper, an effort has been made to present a
comprehensive literature review of the supply chain management that are applied to design supply chain
structure. The review has been classified based on method, year of publication, journal of publication, and
objective used by researcher.
Under the classification based on methods, the different methods include conceptual models, simulation,
framework, equilibrium analysis, literature review, parallel scale development and index construction, fuzzy
goal programming approach, case research, questionnaire survey, algorithm model for optimal solution,
experimental method, interviews, comparative analysis, optimal control theory.
The researchers have developed few supply chain models for the supply chain structure. But, the applicability of
such models for medium and large size supply chain structure problems is very less. However, these can be used
to compare a various supply chain structure for their closeness towards its performance.
From the evaluation, it is clear that more researchers have contributed on the development of supply chain
simulations, supply chain framework and designs for the supply chain structure and only less number of
researchers worked for all other aspects. So, researchers may concentrate in developing various models under
supply chain management.
Constructed on the classification of the literature based on years, it is clear that during 2000-2008, the frequency
is the peak. From 2015 onwards, it is in increasing trend except the last time interval which has slight decrease.
Based on the journal of publication, it is clear that the journals as per decreasing order of the number of papers
published in the field of supply chain management for significant number of journals is Journal of Information
& Optimization Sciences, International Journal of Logistics: Research and Applications, Journal of Management
Information Systems, International Journal of Logistics Management, International Journal of Physical
Distribution & Logistics Management, European Journal of Operational Research, International Journal of
Production Research, International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, Industrial Marketing
Management, International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, Management Science Informs, Supply
Chain Management: An International Journal, Journal of Operation Management.
Based on the objective used by the researchers in supply chain structure, the decreasing order of the objectives
in terms of significant number of papers is to improve clear thoughtful of supply chain structure shapes through
technologies, to evaluate different demand patterns and forecasting techniques,to encourage a clear
understanding of strategic decision of supply chain structural development and performance, to examine the
product diversity and network configuration strategies, to explore the integration and collaboration of supply
chain to examine the association between supply chain management, organizational structure and organizational
performance.
The review of literature of supply chain management and its structure based on four different classifications
presented in this paper may be of great use for the researchers to select future researches.
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