Urgenthomework logo
UrgentHomeWork
Live chat

Loading..

MGMT6018 : Supply Chain Quality Management : Sully Chain Integration

  6 Download     📄   1 Pages / 61 Words

Question: 

Soares, Soltani and Liao (2017) identified four supply chain quality management practices which impact on supply quality performance: customer focus, supplier focus, supply chain integration and leadership.  

  • Read this paper and choose one of the four supply chain quality management practices to study for this assignment.
  • Write a literature review on the supply chain quality management practice of your choice

Answer: 

Introducation:

The supply chain management is the important aspect behind the success of the business as it affects several other operation activities (Buurman, 2002). The current essay critical evaluates one of four practices covered in study of Soares, Soltani and Liao (2017). These practices are customer focus, supplier focus, Supply Chain Integration (SCI) and leadership. In this regard, supply chain integration practice has selected and critically evaluated by referring related studies and frameworks. This study proves SCI is highly required for enhancing the company’s control over the processes of supply chain management.

Sully Chain Integration

There are several drivers of SCI including increasing global competition, uncertainties associated with the demand and supply, rapid changes in technology and novel opportunities in the market (Lummus & Vokurka, 1999). In this context, Chen & Paulraj (2004) asserted that uncertainty with the demand affects the organizational performance to a great extent because of huge loss of excess stock or stock out. It is also because of the uncertain supply of raw material wherein companies suffer from poor integration with the key partners. In this context, Prajogo & Olhager (2012) technological innovation can be used by businesses so as to ensure better connectivity with suppliers, customers and other mediators to maintain integrated supply chain. However, Fletcher and Wright (1996) argued that it is not necessary that every business is capable of understanding the suitable IT system for SCM. For this purpose, Rai, Patnayakuni & Seth (2006, p.225) management of the businesses needs to focus on the integrated IT infrastructure so that it can create the process capabilities for the collaboration of resources flow among supply chain partners and firm. Therefore, SCI is imperative for enhancing the capability of the business to cater requirement of customers and provide the right products and services as per their requirement. For example, in the case of Wal-Mart, it uses advanced IT infrastructure for information sharing with other strategic partners like Proctor and Gamble (Attaran, 2007). This facilitates corporation to integrate all related resources so as to accomplish long as well as short term objectives.

According to Buurman (2002) supply chain includes activities as purchase goods, transportation of product and manufacturing process. They also stated that the coordination between these activities is known as supply chain integration. In this regard, Stevens (1989) asserted that SCI is integration of all process which starts from raw material to finished product to the customers. They also mentioned that supply chain integration is combination of all the phase starting from purchasing of raw material to deliver at manufacturing company for production then quality control and packaging further distribution to retail or other seller companies to offer streamline delivery to end user. This way, it frames the integrated system for the effective management of products and services in an organization so as to enhance the customers satisfaction to a great extent.

Many companies apply forward integration for effective control over the supply chain and quality of products (Fawcett & Magnan, 2002). In this context, Soares, Soltani & Liao (2017) asserted that SCI takes positive part to reach the superior performance of organization. Thus, controlling all the phase of supply chain SCI increases the firm’ performance. On the contrary, Simchi-Levi Kaminsky, Simchi-Levi & Shankar (2008) argued that supply chain integration has some complexity in terms of trust, long lead time and cost comparisons. Similarly, Lee, Padmanabhan & Whang (1997) asserted that information transfer in supply chain from the lower stream to upstream is important for taking the crucial decision related to inventory management. However, Scholtz (2004) argued that supply chain management performance is highly affected by the supplier chain integration in the context of supplier commitment, trust and coercive power. Therefore, it is most effective for controlling whole supply chain activities and increase firms' performance by enhancing synergy and competitive advantages.

According to Prajogo (2006), it is important for firm to focus on innovation aspect of product development because it attracts customer for frequent buying. In this regard, Rai & et al (2006) asserted that SCI creates systematic communication between organization, supplier and buyer. This helps firms to understand customer requirement and forward the same to supplier. This helps company to improve their product by bringing certain level of innovation and fulfill customers’ need. In this context, Homburg & Stock (2004) asserted that customer integration involves improving the standard of product and create them valuable and more innovative. They also stated that customer integration solves the problem of salesperson and customer satisfaction. Therefore, SCI helps to point out the changes in customer demand in the market and find the way in which company can effectively increase the satisfaction level of buyers. Similarly, Soosay, Hyland & Ferrer (2008) explained that SCI helps company to focus on such factors which enhance its financial output through consistency in production. Therefore, SCI is helpful for organizing all the implementations of the supply chain and made them advanced to give a better result.


According to Stevenson & Spring (2007) company faces some issue in inventory like stock-out or over-stock due to bad inventory management. It affects firm in terms of increasing customer switching. Thus, it is important for the company to manage their storehouse and avoid these circumstances. In this regard, Toivo (2010) stated that SCI prevents to the issue of stock-out through free-flow of communication and better coordination between supplier and firm. These resulted quick respons and companies can effectively get the stock on the basis of requirement.  At the same, Yao, Evers & Dresner (2007) also asserted that SCI helps a company for better optimization of inventory. For example, Zara makes their inventory to lean with the help of better integration of supply chain. It has lead of two weeks but still customers do not face issue of stock out and get the desired products every time (Gorrepati, 2016). Therefore, SCI helps organization for managing their warehouse effectively from well-balanced stocks. It is helpful for customers, suppliers and company itself because the issues related to excess stock and stock out are reduced to a great extent.

According to Toivo (2010), SCI assists to decline the cost of production by applying several techniques in SC, e.g. fleet truck. At the same, Fisher, Hammond, Obermeyer & Raman (1997) asserted that effective integration of SC has reduced the cost of transportation and avoid that frills which increase the delay in process. They also mentioned that SCI route management decreases the hazard emission in environment and does financial saving also. Similarly, Narasimhan & Kim (2001) asserted that internal integration of SCI leads to decrease the cost of the product through increased visibility of extensive information in SC. They also asserted that it contributes in gaining competitive advantages. In this context, Walton, Handfield & Melnyk (1998, p.2) asserted that the involvement of suppliers in the SC help in addressing the environmental issues and assist business in maintaining the eco-friendly supply chain. Therefore, SCI helps in cost reduction through the proper management of routes and contribution to environment protection   

Braunscheidel, Suresh & Boisnier (2010) stated that firm’ culture has major impact on SCI because it leads management practices and these management practices are connected to the supply chain. Similarly, organizational culture plays important role in SCI by affecting operational performance (Anjum, Kashif & Riaz 2016; Diaconu & Alpopi 2014). Therefore, company’s culture influences the operations of SCI. In this context, Chen, Daugherty & Landry (2009) asserted that for enhancing quality collaboration between the departments, the internal integration of SC is required. In this context, Cao & Zhang (2011) mentioned that supply chain integration helps in maintaining the collaborative culture through which company stimulates business performance. Thus, inappropriate culture creates obstacles for integration of the supply chain and affects its performance because non-cooperative management does not take part in SCI.

Tse & Tan (2011) stated that the product quality is a major issue in the supply chain because if it compromises with quality then customer satisfaction gets affected to a great extent.  However, the quality related issues again have impact on the brand image of the business. For example, horsemeat scandal of Tesco affected its brand image to a great extent because suppliers mixed beef with horse in burger (Lawrence, 2013). This reflects company did have integrated supply because and accordingly control on suppliers was also poor. In this context, Kannan & Tan (2005) asserted that SCI enhances the product quality because integration with suppliers enables company to inspect the quality, ensure that it is best suitable on the basis of requirement of buyers.  Similarly, Soares & et al, (2017) asserted quality management is possible with the help of integrated supply chain whereby companies get all the issues resolved with the interconnected department. Thus, quality management is important aspect for organizations to maintain their good brand image for which SCI contributes to a great extent.

At the same, Kroll, Wright & Heiens (1999) mentioned that product suality plays a vital role in creating competitive advantages. By offering quality product to the customer, company gain customer retention. Thus, it has positive impact on firms’ performance. In this context Li, Ragu-Nathan, Ragu-Nathan, & Rao (2006) asserted that SCI increase competitive advantages for a company through providing consumers with better quality product and services. Similarly, Ellram (1991) stated that SCM is combinations of many routes of obligation contract which gives protection from competitive hazards and enhances competitive advantages. Therefore, supply chain integration is helpful aspect for the competitive edge of the business because through this, company ensures better productivity with the related parties including supplier, manufacturer and others.   

Conclusion:

The essay concludes that that SCI is helpful for organization in increasing coordination of every supply chain's activities as it promotes centralized control and enhances collaboration among supply chain partners. It can also be concluded that SCI facilitates in easy handling of inventory and enhances the production, quality and services through innovation and technical aspect. Apart from this, integrated supply chain proves to be effective in increasing brand image and increase the retention rate of buyers. Thus, an organization can improve their supply chain by implementing SCI in management practices.

Reference:

Anjum, A., Kashif, M. T., & Riaz, W. (2016). Supply Chain Integration and Operational Performance: Moderating role of Organizational Culture. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 6(12), 644-657.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Adeel_Anjum6/publication/311992888_Supply_Chain_Integration_and_Operational_Performance_Moderating_role_of_Organizational_Culture/links/5867cf0208ae6eb871b75125/Supply-Chain-Integration-and-Operational-Performance-Moderating-role-of-Organizational-Culture.pdf 

Braunscheidel, M. J., Suresh, N. C., & Boisnier, A. D. (2010). Investigating the impact of organizational culture on supply chain integration. Human Resource Management, 49(5), 883-911.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/hrm.20381 

Buurman, J. (2002). Supply chain logistics management. McGraw-Hill.

https://www.rotterdamuas.com/globalassets/documenten/exchange-programmes/ibl---logistics.pdf 

Cao, M., & Zhang, Q. (2011). Supply chain collaboration: Impact on collaborative advantage and firm performance. Journal of operations management, 29(3), 163-180.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272696310001075 

Chen, I. J., &Paulraj, A. (2004). Towards a theory of supply chain management: the constructs and measurements. Journal of operations management, 22(2), 119-150.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272696304000063 

Diaconu, D. M., & Alpopi, C. (2014). Strengths and Weaknesses of Current Supply Chain Management and Initiatives for the Future. In Proceedings of the 8th International Management Conference" Management Challenges For Sustainable Development", November 6th-7th, Bucharest, Romania.

https://conference.management.ase.ro/archives/2014/pdf/116.pdf 

Ellram, L. M. (1991). Supply-chain management: the industrial organisation perspective. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 21(1), 13-22.

https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/09600039110137082 

Fawcett, S. E., & Magnan, G. M. (2002). The rhetoric and reality of supply chain integration. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 32(5), 339-361.

https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/09600030210436222 

Fisher, M., Hammond, J., Obermeyer, W., & Raman, A. (1997). Configuring a supply chain to reduce the cost of demand uncertainty. Production and operations management, 6(3), 211-225.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1937-5956.1997.tb00427.x 

Fletcher, K., & Wright, G. (1996). The strategic context for information systems use: An empirical study of the financial services industry. International Journal of Information Management, 16(2), 119-131. 

https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/46103854/0268-4012_2895_2900073-920160531-2183-wazhuq.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1534006717&Signature=%2F%2FTBOV351WmpT2xLyuYvsdnC0SU%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DThe_strategic_context_for_information_sy.pdf 

Gorrepati, K. (2016). Zara's Agile Supply Chain Is The Source Of Its Competitive Advantage. [Online]. Available at:< https://www.digitalistmag.com/digital-supply-networks/2016/03/30/zaras-agile-supply-chain-is-source-of-competitive-advantage-04083335>. [Accessed on 9Auguat 2018].

Homburg, C., & Stock, R. M. (2004). The link between salespeople’s job satisfaction and customer satisfaction in a business-to-business context: A dyadic analysis. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 32(2), 144.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1177/0092070303261415 

Kannan, V. R., & Tan, K. C. (2005). Just in time, total quality management, and supply chain management: understanding their linkages and impact on business performance. Omega, 33(2), 153-162.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030504830400060X 

Kroll, M., Wright, P., & Heiens, R. A. (1999). The contribution of product quality to competitive advantage: impacts on systematic variance and unexplained variance in returns. Strategic Management Journal, 20(4), 375-384.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(199904)20:4%3C375::AID-SMJ15%3E3.0.CO;2-Y 

Lawrence, F. (2013). Horsemeat scandal: where did the 29% horse in your Tesco burger come from?. [Online]. Available at:< https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/oct/22/horsemeat-scandal-guardian-investigation-public-secrecy >. [Accessed on 9 August 2018].

Lee, H. L., Padmanabhan, V., & Whang, S. (1997). Information distortion in a supply chain: The bullwhip effect. Management science, 43(4), 546-558.

https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/abs/10.1287/mnsc.43.4.546 

Li, S., Ragu-Nathan, B., Ragu-Nathan, T. S., & Rao, S. S. (2006). The impact of supply chain management practices on competitive advantage and organizational performance. Omega, 34(2), 107-124.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305048304001343 

Lummus, R. R., & Vokurka, R. J. (1999). Defining supply chain management: a historical perspective and practical guidelines. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 99(1), 11-17.

https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/02635579910243851 

Attaran, M. (2007). RFID: an enabler of supply chain operations. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 12(4), 249-257.

https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/13598540710759763 

Narasimhan, R., & Kim, S. W. (2001). Information system utilization strategy for supply chain integration. Journal of business logistics, 22(2), 51-75.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/j.2158-1592.2001.tb00003.x 

Prajogo, D. & Olhager, J. (2012). Supply chain integration and performance: The effects of long-term relationships, information technology and sharing, and logistics integration. International Journal of Production Economics, 135(1), 514-522.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925527311003872 

Prajogo, D. I. (2006). The relationship between innovation and business performance—a comparative study between manufacturing and service firms. Knowledge and process management, 13(3), 218-225.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/kpm.259 

Rai, A., Patnayakuni, R., & Seth, N. (2006). Firm performance impacts of digitally enabled supply chain integration capabilities. MIS quarterly, 225-246.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/25148729 

Scholtz, D. M. L. (2004). Lucent SCN: Leveraging the fully integrated supply chain (Doctoral dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/28519 

Simchi-Levi, D., Kaminsky, P., Simchi-Levi, E., & Shankar, R. (2008). Designing and managing the supply chain: concepts, strategies and case studies. Tata McGraw-Hill Education.

https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=n8eht9bJ47QC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=Designing+and+managing+the+supply+chain:+concepts,+strategies+and+case+studies&ots=dGiy1igxbd&sig=WAGv9v-sCoItT0UfwJMkcrb8n0Y#v=onepage&q=Designing%20and%20managing%20the%20supply%20chain%3A%20concepts%2C%20strategies%20and%20case%20studies&f=false 

Soares, A., Soltani, E., & Liao, Y. Y. (2017). The influence of supply chain quality management practices on quality performance: an empirical investigation. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 22(2), 122-144.

https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/SCM-08-2016-0286 

Soosay, C. A., Hyland, P. W., & Ferrer, M. (2008). Supply chain collaboration: capabilities for continuous innovation. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 13(2), 160-169.

https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/13598540810860994 

Stevens, G. C. (1989). Integrating the supply chain. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Materials Management, 19(8), 3-8.

https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/EUM0000000000329 

Stevenson, M., & Spring, M. (2007). Flexibility from a supply chain perspective: definition and review. International journal of operations & production management, 27(7), 685-713.

https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/01443570710756956 

Toivo, E. (2010). The Integration Within: What is internal integration in SCM?: An Indicative Study of the Definition of Internal Integration.

https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A321128&dswid=5983 

Tse, Y. K., & Tan, K. H. (2011). Managing product quality risk in a multi-tier global supply chain. International Journal of Production Research, 49(1), 139-158.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00207543.2010.508942 

Walton, S. V., Handfield, R. B., & Melnyk, S. A. (1998). The green supply chain: integrating suppliers into environmental management processes. International journal of purchasing and materials management, 34(1), 2-11.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1745-493X.1998.tb00042.x 

Yao, Y., Evers, P. T., & Dresner, M. E. (2007). Supply chain integration in vendor-managed inventory. Decision support systems, 43(2), 663-674.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167923605000862 

Copyright © 2009-2023 UrgentHomework.com, All right reserved.