This article presents results from a Delphi study on the future impact of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems on supply chain management (SCM). The Delphi study was conducted with 23 Dutch ...supply chain executives of European multi-nationals. Findings from this exploratory study were threefold. First, our executives have identified the following key SCM issues for the coming years: (1) further integration of activities between suppliers and customers across the entire supply chain; (2) on-going changes in supply chain needs and required flexibility from IT; (3) more mass customization of products and services leading to increasing assortments while decreasing cycle times and inventories; (4) the locus of the driver’s seat of the entire supply chain and (5) supply chains consisting of several independent enterprises.
The second main finding is that the panel experts saw only a modest role for ERP in improving future supply chain effectiveness and a clear risk of ERP actually limiting progress in SCM. ERP was seen as offering a positive contribution to only four of the top 12 future supply chain issues: (1) more customization of products and services; (2) more standardized processes and information; (3) the need for worldwide IT systems; and (4) greater transparency of the marketplace. Implications for subsequent research and management practice are discussed.
The following key limitations of current ERP systems in providing effective SCM support emerge as the third finding from this exploratory study: (1) their insufficient extended enterprise functionality in crossing organizational boundaries; (2) their inflexibility to ever-changing supply chain needs, (3) their lack of functionality beyond managing transactions, and (4) their closed and non-modular system architecture. These limitations stem from the fact that the first generation of ERP products has been designed to integrate the various operations of an individual firm. In modern SCM, however, the unit of analysis has become a network of organizations, rendering these ERP products inadequate in the new economy.
Describes a case study of supply chain collaboration facilitated by a decision support environment in a high-tech electronics supply chain with multiple independent companies. In a business process ...called collaborative planning, representatives from these companies jointly take decisions regarding production and shipments for a large part of their collective supply chain. Particular attention is given to the interactions between levels of partner trust and information transparency on the one hand, and resulting improvements in supply chain performance on the other. The importance of hard work in developing the work flows necessary to support this joint planning process in starting a virtuous cycle of steadily increasing levels of all these aspects of supply chain collaboration is stressed. A theoretical model of the interactions between these aspects is presented, based upon a review in the literature. This model is then explored in an analysis of the collaborative planning case. Contains suggestions for further research and managerial recommendations.
An increasing number of companies claim to pursue international supply chain management (ISCM), but the empirical evidence of successful implementation programs is still scarce. This paper aims to ...contribute to theory-building in this area by presenting an exploratory causal model of goals, barriers, and enablers on the road towards effective ISCM. The model was established in a workshop with a panel of content matter experts. The results point at a disturbingly gloomy picture of vicious cycles frustrating the implementation of effective ISCM strategies. Fortunately, it appears that it is possible to apply the same generic mechanisms to create a virtuous cycle, for instance by promoting cross-functional careers and by actively responding to demanding customer needs. The challenge ahead is to test the model's content and validity.
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