Supply Chain Management

Supply Chain Management

Abstract

This research explores the concept of Supply Chain Management and Partner Selection in a holistic context. The main focus of the research is on the various aspects of the selection of a right partner in a supply chain. The research also analyses the various features of a supply chain and its relation with the supplying partners. The research establishes the Supply chain management is directly responsible for optimizing business processes and business value in every functional using of the firm and the selection of the “right” partner is considered as one of the most critical tasks in the successful functioning of a supply chain. The study primarily employees a structured Literature Review protocol for research. This included critical analysis of various journal articles as well as peer reviewed research publications. The research also made use of case studies to analyse the application of various strategies for selecting the right partner in a supply chain.

Supply Chain Management

Objectives

Following are the aims and objectives of this research:

Identify all the relevant academic as well as practitioner literature along with associated case studies on that define supply chain partner selection through a structured approach.

Produce a descriptive analysis of the evolution of the literature moreover the problems identified.

Undertake a detailed review of this literature to identify the main areas associated with supply chain partner selection.

Document cases from the literature on supply chain partner selection in addition to its application.

Be able to provide insights into the main themes methods findings as well as models which have been developed in the material examined.

Research Outcomes

Partner selection is supply chain is an issue that's pans over many fields (Burdett, 1992). In this research the researcher has explored the fields of manufacturing pharmaceutical and construction. In a modern network economy it might be inadequate to assume which the company is acting autonomously in the market and thus apart from standard partner selection standards the strategic network positioning of a potential partner should play a major role in partner selection (Duysters et al. 1999). Further it is not sufficient to focus only on the fit among the two parties: the fit in the company's own alliance portfolio should also be evaluated (Duysters et al. 1999). The standards should be complemented to fulfil all these needs keeping in mind which the usability of these management tools should not be lost in the complexity in addition to a mass of standards. Cavinato (1991) proposed a systematic framework for partnering in an international perspective. His process framework is one systematic approach to partnership building also points out specific tasks to be performed by managers illustrating the multifunctional skills required in international business (Cavinato, 1991). On the other hand Harvey and Lusch (1995) presented a conceptual model identifying three levels of analysis needed in partner selection the macro-environmental level the sector level and the company level (Hackman & Wagerman, 1995). Gulati, (1995) and later Cavinato, (1991) noted which the relative importance of different partner-selection standards are contingent ...