Coherent Strategies in Supply Chain Management

an Implementation Methodology (diss.)

Researcher:

Financed by:

The Professorship’s own resources

Motivation:

In recent years, Supply Chain Management (SCM) has become established as a successful concept for the management of inter-company logistics processes in value-added supply chains and networks in industry. Through SCM, companies hope to achieve more efficient logistics processes and therefore gain competitive advantages. SCM impacts the success of an enterprise and competitiveness significantly. At the strategic level, supply chain strategies are coordinated sets of measures for the development and exploitation of logistics improvement potentials in order to achieve the objectives of inter-company logistics management in the areas of quality, delivery reliability, delivery lead time, flexibility, investments (working and capital assets), and costs. For a supply chain strategy to contribute towards the success of an enterprise and to support the strategic objectives of the company, it must be aligned with the context and environment of the company.

Objectives:

The goal of the present study is to develop a method for development and implementation of supply chain strategies.

Activities completed:

First, the methodology of axiomatic design is used to develop a systematically structured system of objectives and means, called Supply Chain Design Decomposition (SCDD). The model depicts logistics connections in a value-oriented view, systematically differentiating the objectives and the means and structuring them according to their influence on SCM target areas. Next, in a second step, the SCDD is utilized to formulate and implement supply chain strategies: as the SCDD associates objectives and means at different levels of abstraction and with increasing degrees of concretization, higher-level objectives can be systematically operationalized, step-by-step. The results of the second step are applied within a structured procedure of developing and implementing supply chain strategies in such a way that supply chain strategies are in alignment with corporate strategic goals and the context and environment of the company. To achieve this, strengths and weaknesses as well as opportunities and risks are analyzed in an analysis phase. In a second phase, strategic priorities are set, objectives and means are operationalized systematically, and a supply chain strategy is identified. In this way, the supply chain strategy is systematically derived from the company’s strategic priorities and is aligned with the demands resulting from the analysis. In two subsequent phases, the supply chain strategy is evaluated according to multiple criteria, and implementation is planned and monitored.

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The advantages and benefit of the method lie particularly in its systematic and structured procedure, the differentiated view of objectives and means of SCM, and the sustainability, balance, and alignment of the supply chain strategies. Case studies illustrate successful application of the method in industry. The related dissertation was completed successfully in spring 2005.

Activities in progress:

Publication activities in international, ISI-ranked journals. In particular, a book on integrated supply chain management has been submitted to print: Schnetzler, M.J.; Sennheiser, A.: Wertorientiertes Supply Chain Management. Strategien zur Mehrung und Messung des Unternehmenswertes durch SCM. [Value-Oriented Supply Chain Management. Strategies to increase and measure company value through SCM] 360 pp., 133 Abb. Frankfurt/Main: Springer. ISBN 978-3-540-74530-3 (to appear early
2008). Further development and application of the methodology in the areas of mass customization, information management, supply chain segmentation, and supply chain risk management.