Title: Exploring new supply chain strategies in manufacturing SMEs

Authors: Kamel A. Fantazy, Vinod Kumar, Uma Kumar

Addresses: Sprott School of Business, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa K1S 5B6, Canada. ' Sprott School of Business, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa K1S 5B6, Canada. ' Sprott School of Business, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa K1S 5B6, Canada

Abstract: This paper addresses the empirical verification of a hypothesis relating to the different types of supply chain strategies. This verification is based on a conceptual framework that identified four supply chain strategies in the supply chain community. Using the data collected from 175 SME manufacturing firms in Canada, the identified constructs have been tested using the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) technique. Our results partially supported the proposed taxonomy of four supply chain strategy types. However, we found no support of the two underlying dimensions of supply chain strategy that were called modularising and appending. Interestingly, a new strategy called customer-oriented strategy was identified in the Canadian manufacturing data.

Keywords: SCM; supply chain management; supply chain strategies; small and medium-sized enterprises; manufacturing SMEs; customer-oriented strategy; Canada.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLSM.2011.038599

International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management, 2011 Vol.8 No.2, pp.134 - 151

Published online: 30 Apr 2015 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article