پیاده سازی کردن یک استراتژی زنجیره تأمین پاسخگو در پیچیدگی جهانی: مورد شرکت های تولیدی

Although a responsive supply chain is an integral part of order-winning manufacturing strategies, it has not been clear how firms build a responsive supply chain in global manufacturing environments. Built upon a synthesis of the existing literature and relevant theories, this paper presents a research model that defines the drivers, strategy, and practices of a responsive supply chain and the performance outcomes. This paper is one of the rare empirical studies that identify key variables relevant to the implementation of a successful responsive supply chain. The effective implementation of a responsive supply chain requires a careful definition of a responsive supply chain strategy in terms of the product range, and the frequency and innovativeness of the product offerings. Firms also need to provide key implementation practices (i.e., sharing of information with customers, collaboration with suppliers, use of advanced manufacturing technology) to achieve pull production to achieve responsiveness to the market. This study also suggests that the key contextual factors that influence the extent of implementation of a responsive supply chain strategy are mostly the size of firms, industry characteristics, and customer and supplier bases, rather than the location of manufacturing firms. This paper shows that the effective implementation of a responsive supply chain strategy involves the integration of inter-organizational resources (i.e., socio-relational and techno-process integration) across the global supply chain to enhance pull production capabilities.

Responsive supply chain,Global manufacturing strategy,Pull production,Resource-based theory,Structural equation modeling,زنجیره تامین پاسخگو,استراتژی تولید جهانی,کشش تولید,تئوری مبتنی بر منابع,مدلسازی معادلات ساختاری

To conclude, it is worth noting the major implications of the study results. The results indicates that multi-dimensional integrations represent one of the most important characteristics of a responsive supply chain strategy. First, a responsive supply chain strategy implements socio-relational integration with strategic suppliers and customers. In today's customer-centric global business environments, a traditional supply chain strategy, which stresses only cost-efficiency and stability, faces serious challenges that need to be surmounted. As a viable alternative, this paper proposes a responsive supply chain strategy that can enhance the focal company's responsiveness/adaptability to rapidly changing customer demands, while adding value to customers by reducing waste throughout the supply chain. Previous research (Lee, 2002 and Lee, 2004) on supply chain strategy emphasizes product innovativeness and a stable supply process as a key to supply chain success. This paper, on the other hand, has found that proactive information sharing with strategic customers and suppliers is another important driver for the success of a responsive supply chain. This finding is somewhat consistent with that of earlier studies (Lau et al., 2010 and Zhao et al., 2011), indicating that making connections with strategic customers and suppliers through a knowledge sharing network and relationship commitment is an integral part of a responsive supply chain strategy for the focal company. That is to say, to make the supply chain more responsive, managers of OEMs need to develop an open-communication channel with strategic suppliers and customers as a foundation for real-time information sharing and then need to clarify points of contact among an OEM and its suppliers/customers to ensure constant flows of updated information about market dynamics and demand patterns. A catalyst for such a channel may include the EDI, RFID, ERP, and Extranet. Second, a responsive supply chain strategy utilizes both socio-relational integration (with strategic suppliers and customers) and techno-process integration (with advanced manufacturing and pull production). To verify this, the present study investigated how significantly a responsive supply chain strategy influences advanced manufacturing technology and pull production (i.e., manufacturing technology and process integration). As evidenced by the study results, a responsive supply chain encourages the focal company (e.g., an OEM) to share end-customer demand information with its customers and foster collaborative relationships with its suppliers (i.e., relational integration). Also, a responsive supply chain strategy tends to facilitate the use of advanced manufacturing technology and pull production (i.e., technology-process integration). In other words, the present study discovered that a focal company tends to attain pull production through socio-relational and techno-process integration. This finding reaffirms the strategic importance of a long-term partnership with a firm's suppliers to the successful implementation of JIT manufacturing and confirms the need for advanced manufacturing technology as a prerequisite to JIT manufacturing. As such, it is recommended that managers of OEM in a JIT mode should focus on relationship building with their suppliers and consider setting aside a budget for experimenting with advanced manufacturing techniques including robotics, CAD, CIM, and optimized production technology (OPT) to fine-tune its pull production strategy. Third, a responsive supply chain strategy integrates socio-relational and techno-process integration toward time-based performance outcomes. A primary goal of a responsive supply chain strategy is to enhance the responsiveness of the focal company to market dynamics through proactive information sharing with its customers, collaboration with its suppliers, and the use of advanced manufacturing technology. This study's finding supports the importance of multi-level integration for a responsive supply chain strategy. Such integration differs from stand-alone efficiency-focused, technology-based, or process-constrained integration. This finding implies that, as a way to maximize the benefit potential of a responsive supply chain strategy, managers of the focal company should ensure the existence of multiple stages of supply chain integration involving the company's own internal units, customers, and suppliers. That is to say, the involvement of all three supply chain partners in the formulation of a responsive supply chain strategy can create synergistic effects and thus further enhance time-based performance outcomes, whereas stand-alone, one-dimensional integration constrains such outcomes. Although this study offers the aforementioned new insights into responsive supply chain strategy, it has several limitations. For instance, it has not explored or tested the possibility that a responsive supply chain strategy will lead to improved market responsiveness and better mass-customization capability by leveraging pull production. Another limitation of the current research is the exclusion of some constructs such as the focal company's financial performance and supply chain performance, which can be used to assess the positive impacts of a responsive supply chain strategy on cost-efficiency and lead time reduction. Given these limitations of the current study, the following research agenda items are suggested for further studies. First, this paper does not empirically test all four supply chain patterns (i.e., efficient, risk-hedging, responsive, and agile) in detail. Further elaboration of multiple dimensions of various types of supply chains is worth pursuing. Future research may consider how firms effectively respond through their supply chains to changing market requirements (e.g., increasing emphasis on greening initiatives and sustainability), while identifying and incorporating emerging supply chain practices. Second, additional research may also examine the connection between supply chain performance and financial performance beyond the focal company perspective. As more portions of value creation and delivery occur in the supply chain outside of a focal company, supply chain research needs to define, assess, and measure the upstream and downstream processes more realistically in terms of their performance implications. Third, in view of the growing complexity associated with products and services, the sampling frame of this study can be extended to include other industries beyond those in the nine ISIC codes examined here. Longitudinal studies may also examine the diverse patterns of responsive supply chain strategy. Finally, future research may include other constructs such as the degree of market dynamics and the level of competitive intensity in the global marketplace and examine their effects on the development of appropriate supply chain strategies. In a nutshell, this study defines critical variables for a responsive supply chain strategy and such a strategy's dynamic impacts on supply chain outcomes.