Title: Agility appraisement and identification of agile barriers in a supply chain

Authors: Chhabi Ram Matawale; Saurav Datta; Siba Sankar Mahapatra

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela-769008, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela-769008, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela-769008, India

Abstract: The present work attempts to develop a procedural hierarchy towards estimating an overall performance metric for an agile supply chain; in an Indian perspective. The theories behind generalised trapezoidal fuzzy numbers have been utilised in this appraisement cum decision-modeling. Apart from estimating supply chains' overall agility extent, the study has been extended towards identifying ill-performing areas (called agile barriers) which require future improvement. The concepts of 'maximising set and minimising set for comparison of fuzzy numbers' and the concept 'degree of similarity' between two fuzzy numbers have been explored to rank various agile criterions in accordance with their performance extent. This evaluation helps managers to perform gap analysis between existent agility level and the desired one and also provides more informative, accurate and reliable information towards decision making.

Keywords: agile supply chains; ASC; agile barriers; degree of similarity; DOS; agility assessment; agility identification; supply chain management; SCM; India; fuzzy numbers.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSOM.2013.057510

International Journal of Services and Operations Management, 2013 Vol.16 No.4, pp.478 - 505

Published online: 02 Jul 2014 *

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