Title: The architecture of supply chain collaboration

Authors: Togar M. Simatupang, Ramaswami Sridharan

Addresses: School of Business and Management, Bandung Institute of Technology, Bandung, Indonesia. ' School of Management, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia

Abstract: Previous research often associates supply chain collaboration with interorganisational process improvements and the use of information systems to allow the chain members to effectively match demand with supply. However, it is argued that supply chain collaboration has multiple elements that determine the effectiveness of the chain members in providing customer needs. This paper attempts to conceptualise the architecture of supply chain collaboration, which enables participating members to describe and scrutinise their collaborative practices. The architecture consists of five integrative elements: a collaborative performance system, decision synchronisation, information sharing, incentive alignment, and integrated supply chain processes. Two case studies are provided to illustrate the applicability of the framework. Data in case studies were collected by using secondary data and key informants from the company. Future research is required to elicit data using focus groups representing key players of collaboration for the purpose of model enhancement and action research.

Keywords: supply chain collaboration; performance measurement; incentive alignment; information sharing; decision synchronisation; process integration; supply chain processes; supply chain management; SCM; value chain management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVCM.2007.013306

International Journal of Value Chain Management, 2007 Vol.1 No.3, pp.304 - 323

Published online: 20 Apr 2007 *

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