SUPPLY CHAIN INTEGRATION AND THE SCOR MODEL

Supply Chain Integration and the SCOR Model



Supply Chain Integration and the SCOR Model

Introduction

The Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) model was created in 1996 by the Supply Chain Council. The SCOR model focuses on the supply chain management function from an operational process perspective and includes customer interactions, physical transactions, and market interactions. In the past decade, the SCOR model has been extensively adopted by many companies including General Electric (GE), Intel, Airbus, DuPont, and IBM. According to the Supply Chain Council's (2010) website, “While remarkably simple, it [the SCOR model] has proven to be a powerful and robust tool set for describing, analyzing, and improving the supply chain”. In the literature, several recent studies have reviewed the SCOR model. Many researchers have tried to gauge the SCOR model's influence on business operation. Trade journals have also reported the benefits of using SCOR model. (Benton 2010, 89)

The Supply-Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) model has been extensively accepted in many companies. Anecdotal evidence and trade journals have reported significant improvements after firms have adopted the SCOR model. Although practitioners have been enthusiastic about implementing and using the SCOR model in their operations, the SCOR model has not been empirically validated. The purpose of this study is to empirically validate the SCOR model (i.e., test the structure of the SCOR model). Data from British manufacturing companies were researched. The results show that the relationships among the supply chain processes in the SCOR model are generally supported. The Plan process has significant positive influence on the Source, Make, and Deliver processes. The Source process has important optimistic impact on the Make process and the Make process has important optimistic impact on the Deliver process. The Source process mediates the impact of the Plan process on the Make process and the Make process mediates the impact of the Plan process on the Deliver process. The findings provide managers with empirical evidence that the SCOR model is in fact valid.

Discussion

The various meanings of the word "model", as compiled by the dictionary, are associated with the idea of a representation of something that is intended to be reproduced; a formula that serves for arranging or ordering; or an image, form, or pattern to be imitated; and so on. According to PIDD (1999), a model can be understood as "an external and explicit representation of part of reality as seen by the people who wish to use that model to understand, to change, to manage, and to control that part of reality in some way or other". (Stevens 2009, 11-15)

Anderson et al. states that "Models are representations of real objects or situations. These representations, or models can be presented in various forms". He categorizes models into three types: (1) models that do not have the same physical appearance as the object modeled, but are an analogy; (2) models that are physical replicas of real objects; and (3) models that represent problems by a system of symbols or mathematical ...