Supply Chain Research Papers Analysis

7/27/2019 Supply Chain Research Papers Analysis

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ROLE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN INTEGRATING SUPPLY CHAIN

RESEARCH PAPER ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

RITURAJ ACHARYA

12BSPHH010845

SCM-C


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European Journal of Operational Research

Why are enterprise resource planning systems indispensable to supply

chain management?

Yi-fen Su, Chyan Yang

A b s t r a c t

Supply chain design is becoming a core competency, and the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system

isexpected to be an integral component of supply chain management (SCM). Installing an ERP system

is,however, expensive and risky. IT managers must decide how to use their limited resources and invest in

the right product. Can an ERP system directly improve SCM competency? This study proposes a conceptual

framework featuring the ERP benefits and SCM competencies, and examines the impacts of the former on

the latter. The results confirm the operational, managerial, and strategic benefits of ERP for the SCM

competencies, but not the IT infrastructure and organizational benefits as significant predictors of them.

Moreover, more than 80% of respondents think it necessary to first adopt an ERP system as the backbone

of company operations before deploying other enterprise systems (ES), such as the SCM system.

VARIOUS RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The operational benefits of ERP positively affect the operational process of SCM.

The managerial benefits of ERP positively affect the operational process of SCM.

The strategic benefits of ERP positively affect the operational process of SCM.

The IT infrastructure benefits of ERP positively affect the operational process of SCM.

The organizational benefits of ERP positively affect the operational process of SCM.

The strategic benefits of ERP positively affect the Planning and Control Process of SCM.

The IT infrastructure benefits of ERP positively affect the Planning and Control Process of SCM.

The organizational benefits of ERP positively affect the Planning and Control Process of SCM.

METHODOLOGY:

To develop the research instrument, where possible measurement items are adapted from the literature.

We identify the constructs of ERP benefits and SCM competencies that are hypothesized to be important

antecedents of successfully creating SCM competencies. This is followed by site visits, interviews, and

further literature reviews. In total, we visit three IT firms with operational ERP systems, where we gather

first-hand knowledge about ERP systems at multiple levels in the organization, including users, IT

technicians, engineers, production planners, supervisors, managers, and consultants. The pre-tests indicate

that the questionnaire is deemed appropriate to examine the relationship between ERP and SCM in

Taiwanese IT firms. A seven-point Likert scale anchored at strongly disagree (1), strongly agree (7), and

neither agreenor disagree (4) is used to collect most responses, while some questions involve absolute


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numbers, percentages or binary variables. The final questionnaire consists of 47 items (after dropping five

that were suggested by experts) for eight constructs, and 10 questions pertaining to industry, number of

employees, estimated revenue, type of ERP and SCM related software used, and the number of months

and years since the ERP and SCM system initiatives.

Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was first conducted to check whether the proposed factor structures are

indeed consistent with the actual data.

Second, multiple regression was conducted to verify the impacts of ERP benefits on SCM competencies.

Third, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to assess the measurement model; then, the

structural relationships were examined.

To validate our measurement model, content validity, construct validity (including Cronbach alpha),

convergent validity, and discriminant validity were assessed. Content validity was established by ensuring

consistency between the measurement items and the extant literature. This was done by interviewing

senior practitioners and pilot-testing the instrument. For the construct validity, the items were tested for

scale reliability.

ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

The impact on the operational process.

There are six items in the operational process of the SCM construct. The regression results strongly support

the hypotheses demonstrating that SCM competencies in the operational process are positively impacted

by operational, managerial, and strategic benefits of ERP

The impact on the planning and control process

There are six items in the planning and control process of the SCM construct. From the regression results it

can be concluded that the hypotheses are strongly supported. demonstrating that SCM competencies in

the planning and control process are positively impacted by the operational, managerial, and strategic

benefits of ERP. Especially, the strategic benefit of ERP is the most dominant predictor for SCM

competencies in the planning and control process, because the beta coefficients of some items are high,

such as information management (SPCP1, .41), internal communication (SPCP2, .50), connectivity (SPCP3,

.38), collaborative forecasting and planning (SPCP4,.37), and functional assessment (SPCP5, .31).

The impact on the behavioral process

There are five items in the behavioral process of the SCM construct. The regression results support the

hypotheses. demonstrating that the managerial and strategic benefits of ERP have the most impact onSCM competencies.

CONCLUSION:

The operational, managerial, and strategic benefits are significant predictors for the SCM. A significant

contribution of this study is the empirical test of theoretical assumptions in the extant literature of the

influence of ERP benefits on SCM competencies. It confirms that of the five constructs of ERP benefits, the

three that positively impact on SCM competencies are operational, managerial, and strategic benefits.


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FURTHER SCOPE FOR RESEARCH:

Future research based on the results of this study could perform a comparative analysis of the effect on

performance of adoption of an ERP system alone, adoption of an SCM system alone, and simultaneous

adoption of both system types. Furthermore, while the sample consisted of Taiwanese IT industry

companies, it might be better to collect data from IT industry companies of other countries, such as Korea,

Singapore, and China.

Adopting new technologies for supply chain management

Kirk A. Patterson , Curtis M. Grimm , Thomas M. Corsi

Abstract

Integration of supply chain activities and the technologies to accomplish it have become competitive

necessities in most industries. Accordingly, the trend toward greater use of supply chain technologies is on

a clear path forward. As one manager has noted: With almost daily technology advancement globally in

every facet of the business, organizations need to synchronize by adopting and implementing new

electronic commerce and supply chain technology in order to protect market share, not to mention

improve market penetration. This paper develops a model of the key factors influencing the adoption of

supply chain technology. The following set of variables were hypothesized to have a significant impact

upon the pace of technology adoption: firm size, organizational structure, integration of supply chain

strategy with overall corporate strategy, past financial performance, supply chain partner pressure,transaction climate and environmental uncertainty. The model provides a better understanding of the

supply chain technology diffusion process. The paper also includes a survey, which has been developed to

test the model.

VARIOUS RESEARCH QUESTIONS OR HYPOTHESIS:

H1 The larger the organization, the more likely it will be to adopt supply chain technology.

H2 The more decentralized the organization, the more likely it will be to adopt supply chain technology.

H3 Less successful organizations in the past will be more likely to adopt supply chain technology.

H4 Organizations that have integrated supply chain management strategy with overall corporate strategy

will be more likely to adopt supply chain technology.

H5 Organizations subjected to greater pressure from supply chain partners will be more likely to adopt

supply chain technology.

H6 Organizations with a more favorable transaction climate with supply chain members will be more likely

to adopt supply chain technology

H7 Organizations facing higher environmental uncertainty will be more likely to adopt supply chain

technology.


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METHODOLOGY

Accordingly, a survey instrument was developed with input from the Revere Group, a consulting firm

specializing in supply chain management. The survey consisted of a series of five-point Likert scaled

questions typically anchored with Not at all and To a great extent as well as several open-ended

questions Unless questions were reverse coded, higher values indicate a greater level of the construct

under investigation. The first step was to develop a list of supply chain technologies to be included in the

survey. The list includes a variety of technologies ranging from mature and widely used technologies such

as bar coding technology to relatively new software applications such as supply chain planning systems and

supply chain event management systems. the degree of supply chain strategy incorporation into overall

business strategy could be used to measure supply chain strategy integration. Averaging responses across

a number of related questions could derive two of the independent variables (transaction climate and

supply chain member pressure). The transaction climate variable could be calculated as a composite

value by averaging the extent of trust and commitment between the respondent_s firm and its suppliers,

customers, carriers, and third party logistics providers. The supply chain memberpressure variable could

be computed by averaging the degree to which customers, suppliers, carriers, and third party logistics

providers had encouraged the respondent_s firm to adopt supply chain technology. To assess the degree

to which firms have adopted supply chain technology, a technology adoption score can be computed for

each firm by averaging the responses across 13 functional technologies and two integrative technologies.

The 13 technologies were: Product Data Management, Customer Relationship Management, Automated

Quality Control Systems, Computer Aided Design Systems, Warehouse Management Systems,

Manufacturing Execution Systems, Transportation Management Systems, Radio Frequency Systems, Geo-

coded Tracking Systems, Bar Coding Technology, Electronic Commerce Technologies, Supply Chain Event

Management, and Demand Forecasting Management. The survey was constructed by using scale items

from previously validated surveys and through extensive testing with academicians, business consultantsand supply chain managers. The initial survey was developed and presented to Revere Group consultants.

Items were evaluated for clarity, completeness, relevance and flow. After modifications, the survey was

pre-tested on a group of about 50 Revere Clients. The respondents provided valuable feedback and

qualitative comments on the topic that led us to further refine and improve the survey.

FINDINGS

Thus, we developed a model on the antecedents of supply chain technology adoption. We theorize that

firms with greater numbers of employees adopt more technologies perhaps to improve information

management and activity coordination. Large organizations may have greater volumes of transactions,more geographically dispersed operations, more supply chain partners, and/or more information to

manage and are thus would be more likely to adopt information technology systems to improve

operational efficiency and very often lower cost. Organizations that understand the competitive benefits of

efficient and effective supply chain operations incorporate supply chain strategy into organizational

strategy. supply chain partners have a substantial impact on a firm_s decision to adopt supply chain

technologies. As organizations integrate operations and technology becomes more prevalent, firms coerce

members of their supply chain to adopt new technologies to satisfy the need for fast and accurate

information. The pre-test written comments on the survey provide support for the notion that customers

exert greater pressure than other partners in the supply chain. Organizations facing greater uncertainty

employ supply chain technology to improve information management and exchange in order to be able to

better respond to changing environmental conditions. As Kwan (1999) suggested, information technologies

allow firms to more quickly and accurately share demand data, sales projections and production schedules


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which provides adopting organizations greater flexibility and responsiveness in the face of a constantly

changing environment.

Information systems in supply chain integration

and management

A. Gunasekaran , E.W.T. Ngai

Abstract

Supply chain management (SCM) is the 21st century global operations strategy for achieving organizational

competitiveness. Companies are attempting to find ways to improve their flexibility and responsiveness

and in turn competitiveness by changing their operations strategy, methods and technologies that includethe implementation of SCM paradigm and information technology (IT). However, a thorough and critical

review of literature is yet to be carried out with the objective of bringing out pertinent factors and useful

insights into the role and implications of IT in SCM. In this paper, the literature available on IT in SCM have

been classified using suitable criteria and then critically reviewed to develop a framework for studying the

applications of IT in SCM. Based on this review and analysis, recommendations have been made regarding

the application of IT in SCM and some future research directions are indicated.

AIM OF THE RESEARCH

To look at the various aspects of use of information technology in supply chain:

1. Strategic planning for IT in SCM2. Implementation of IT in SCM3. E-commerce and SCM4. Infrastructure for IT in SCM5. Knowledge and IT management in SCM6. Marketing reasons of IT in SCM7. Economic reasons

METHODOLOGY

The research methodology employed for developing the framework for the successful application of IT in

SCM is the literature survey. In addition to the classification of the literature on IT in SCM, the tools used to

model and analyse various IT-enabled SCM environments also presented. This would be useful to

researchers who are interested in modelling and analysis of various decision-making environments with

reference to IT in SCM. The literature search has been conducted with the help of e-journal_s search

engines available in The Hong Kong Polytechnic University library. The literature search was aimed at

primarily helping researchers and practitioners in implementing a successful IT system for achieving an

effective SCM. With this in mind, we looked at the literature that deals with IT-enabled SCM.


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ANALYSIS

The selected articles are classified into five major broad categories focusing on developing an IT-enabled

SCM:

(a) Strategic planning for IT in SCM

The strategic planning is a critical task especially for IT-enabled SCM. It has long-term implications on the

performance of IT in SCM systems.

(b) Virtual enterprise and SCM

Virtual enterprise is based on outsourcing concept to take advantage of the core competencies with the

objective of being flexible and responsive to changing market requirements. Companies integrate various

links of the supply chain and their supporting information systems that are driven by the need to

streamline operations. The relationships of VE and the Internet have brought SCM to the attention of top

management.

(c) E-commerce and SCM

With the development of Internet based technologies, integration of e-commerce with SCM systems is

becoming a necessity. It can support various activities along the supply chain. B2B ecommerce has

tremendous influence on integrating partners in an organization to achieve an effective SCM.

(d) Infrastructure for IT in SCM

Companies suffer without having sufficient knowledge on what type of IT infrastructure or systems

required for their business model to achieve an IT-enabled supply chain. The infrastructure includes the

hardware and software and the nature and type of systems required for IT system in a supply chain

environment.

(e) Knowledge and IT management in SCM

Since we are operating in information and automation intensive world, there is a need for knowledge

workers to contribute to the value adding.

Concluding remarks

It has been demonstrated that IT is an essential ingredient for business survival and improves thecompetitiveness of firms. As a result of the literature review, we can see that IT has a tremendous

influence on achieving an effective SCM.

SCOPE FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

There are several tools and methods available for effectively managing the implementation of IT for

responsive supply chain and some them can include QFD, CE and life cycle approach. Besides, business

process reengineering has been considered as one of the most important strategies for streamlining the

business process.


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International Journal of Modern Engineering Research (IJMER)

IMPORTANCE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR EFFECTIVE SUPPLY CHAIN

MANAGEMENT

Prof. Himanshu S. Moharana , Dr. J.S. Murty, Dr. S. K. Senapati, Prof. K. Khuntia

ABSTRACT

In order to survive and beat the competition in todays competitive world, one has to manage the future.

Managing the future means managing information. In order to deliver quality information to the decision-

maker at the right time and in order to automate the process of data collection, collation and refinement,

organizations have to make Information Technology an ally, harness its full potential and use it in the best

possible way. IT is beneficial for cooperation and integration within the stakeholders of the supply chain.

RESEARCH QUESTION

How inter organisational information system ( IOIS) helps in integrating supply chain entities?

METHODOLOGY

Five basic levels of participation for individual firms within inter organizational system are: 1) Remote I/O

node, in which the member participates from a remote location within the application system supported

by one or more higher-level participants. 2) Application processing node, in which the member develops

and shares a single application such as an inventory-query or order-processing systems. 3) Multi

participant exchange node, in which the member develops and shares a network inter-linking itself and any

number of lower-level participants with whom it has an established business relationship. 4) Network

control node, in which the member develops and shares a network with diverse applications that may be

used by many different types of lower-level participants; and finally. 5) Integrating network node, in which

the member literally becomes a data-communications/data-processing utility that integrates any number

of lower-level participants and applications in real time.

ANALYSIS AND FINDING

Investigate the impact of information sharing on performance in different settings. Again, depending on

the specific settings, benefits vary, but in almost all models, information sharing improves supply chain

cost performance directly or indirectly between 0% and 35%. It has been found out that a quicker and

more even flow of goods through the supply chain is more beneficial than information sharing. Achieving a

quicker and more even flow of goods requires at least improved information processing capabilities and

therefore information sharing also influences that indirectly. It is also acknowledged that in an

environment with higher demand uncertainty, the value of information sharing may increase.

Typically, the following types of information are of relevance :


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1. Inventory level: This includes all kinds of inventory, such as material, work in progress, finished goods,

and goods in transit.

2. Sales data: Ultimate sales data lessen the negative effects of distorted demand information when

simulated with visible end consumer demand.

3. Sales forecast: Since companies adapt their plans to their forecasts, it is important to share these

expectations. If sales data are shared, every company in the supply chain could do their forecasts based onultimate sales data. However, different methods might lead to differing results.

4. Order status for tracking and tracing: This supports mainly customer service and reduces uncertainty in

the supply chain and for the ultimate customer.

5. Production and delivery schedules: The different tiers in a supply chain can align their operations to

support the whole process if production and delivery schedules are shared, as is the case for just-in-time

relationships.

6. Capacity: Sharing capacity information, especially production and transportation capacities, can mitigateshortage and gaming behavior and supports supply chain planning.

7. Performance metrics: This includes all performance metrics that are relevant for the whole process

under consideration. Examples are quality data, lead times, queuing delays, and service performance.

8.Relevance: The information addressees needs define the relevance of information. This does not mean

that irrelevant information is of poor quality but in the wrong context, it might be irrelevant.

9. Accuracy: Information should reflect the underlying reality. Problems may arise when information

becomes too accurate for its purpose and lead to an information overload.

10. Timeliness: In contrast, information can rarely be too timely. With time as an increasingly important

competitive factor, the importance of fresh and up- to-date information increases too.

11. Completeness: Completeness of information has to be seen in light of its context.

12. Coherence: Though a separate dimension, it heavily relies on accuracy and/or timeliness. When

information is incoherent, it usually is inaccurate and/or already too old.

13. Format: The underlying form refers to the way information is presented.

14. Accessibility: With increasing accessibility, the quality of information increases as well. Information

that cannot be obtained when needed is of very limited value. Accessibility is strongly associated with

timeliness of information.

15. Compatibility: This refers to how well information can be processed with tools and combined with

other information.

16. Security: Security can be divided into logical security, which refers to fraud protection, and disaster

recovery, which refers to natural disasters and facility failure.

CONCLUSION


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It is confirmed that the importance of IT and quality of information are complementary to each other

because manual filtering might disappear. Although automated information processing prevents manual

mistakes, it also makes the process less transparent and therefore, wrong information or information of

low value might be generated if the information input is already of bad quality and not properly checked. A

distinction can be generated between the volume of information and the richness of information

exchange. The sharing of information in systematic language involves more action and commitments

support to enhance the quality of any organization which is beneficial in the light of supply chain.

Enhancing the supply chain management performance using information technology:

some evidence from UAE companies

Balan Sundarakani

University of Wollongong in Dubai, [email protected]

Albert Wee Kwan Tan

University of Wollongong, [email protected]

David Van Over

University of Wollongong in Dubai, [email protected]

Abstract:

The objective of this paper is to investigate Supply Chain Management (SCM) performance of selected

companies in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) countries upon successful implementation of Information

Technology (IT) applications. By carrying out an in-depth qualitative analysis, the paper seeks to evaluate

how IT can enhance the SCM performance from a practitioner perspective. The survey results have

indicated that respondents are aware that adopting IT does not necessarily translate to immediate

benefits. Companies in UAE will, therefore, need to educate their senior managers on using IT systems to

streamline their supply chain operations, reduce cycle time and improve supply chain visibility. While most

respondents have implemented IT systems for transactional processing, more can be done to implement

more advanced IT systems for better planning and decision-making.

Objectives of the research

This research was aimed to reach out to a large number of manufacturing, trading and logistics companies

to collect data about the usage of IT in their supply chain. The survey findings will give us insight into how

IT is being used in todays changing supply chain landscape in the UAE. The objectives of the study are:

to assess the IT adoption level; its applications, infrastructures and standards used for information

sharing; and connectivity and its barriers to usage of IT

to identify the potential IT skills needed by logistics professional to effectively manage logistics processes


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to identify future plans in using IT to enhance its competitiveness in the supply chain.

Survey methodology

The survey was conducted by using a survey questionnaire, which is divided into four main sections:

organisational information, company strategies and directions, IT applications and the implementation of

IT, and the adoption of emerging technology in the future. Understanding the organisational information

helps us to understand the company profile, their supplier and customer profiles, and distribution ofemployees supporting logistics and IT. Similarly, knowing the company strategies and directions will help

us to understand their company priorities in pursuit of SCM and whether these priorities are in line with

best practices in the world. The key parameters in the survey framework consist of supply chain strategies,

IT and achievements. The strategies adopted by companies to compete successfully in the market include

JIT, Quick Response, Postponement and VMI.

Survey response

An online survey was hosted in the university website and e-mail invitations were mailed to 300 companies

from logistics industries, electronics, telecommunications, food and beverages, chemical and oil-related

companies and other SCM-related organisations. The respondents were asked to respond using a five-

point Likert scale for most of the questions. We received 47 valid responses from the SCLG members

making a response rate of 22%.

Survey findings

The responses are comparatively higher from Multi-national Companies (MNCs) that constituted almost

half (45%) of the total response, followed by local company (30%) and Government linked company (15%)

(Figure 3). If we look at the profile of the survey respondents, around 40% of respondents were from localenterprises, of which 30% had more than 30% local equity. From the type of businesses, 31% of the

respondents are logistics companies and 26% of them are trading companies (Figure 4). The rest of the

respondents are a mixture of service companies. Classifying the survey respondents based on top 3

industry profile, among 22% of the respondents are from logistics industry, 13% of the respondents are

from the Consumer Electronics industry and 9% of respondents are from the Telecommunication industry.

Findings

Top 3 strategies adopted by the company

1. My company extensively measures logistics performance in terms of cost, productivity, customerservice, asset management, and quality

2. My company believes in the strategic values of using IT in our supply chain. Therefore thedevelopment of IT is driven and planned by senior management

My company considers logistics as one of its core strengths

Strategies not adopted by the company

1. My company has procedures in place to facilitate reverse logistics2. My company has partnerships with suppliers or customers who operate under principles of rewards

and risks

Top 3 achievements for using IT


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1. My company has eliminated intermediate steps/processes to reach our customers2. My company has substantially reduced customer order cycle time3. The quality of data has improved

Top 3 barriers to IT adoption

1. Difficulty in quantifying the intangible benefits2. Insufficient IT resources3. Long implementation time

Not a barrier for IT adoption

1. High failure rate of IT implementations2. Not a necessity3. Too many industry standards to follow (interoperability problems)

Technologies implemented

1. Groupware (e.g., Outlook, Lotus Notes)2. Fault tolerance (i.e., automatic backup and recovery)3. Automatic identification (e.g., bar code, RFID)

Technologies still implementing

1. Relational databases (e.g., Informix, Oracle, Sybase)2. Electronic data interchange3. Enterprise solution software (e.g., Oracle, Peoplesoft, SAP)

Technologies plan for 2 years

1. Real-time data processing (e.g., radio frequency technologies)2. Process automation (e.g., ASRS, AGV)3. Object-oriented software development

Conclusion

Customer expectations are increasingly demanding. More customers are expecting immediate responses

from enquiries. These expectations can only be met if reliable and real-time information is readily

available. IT and well-integrated business processes are the means of providing relevant and timely

information. As more companies adopt IT as means of improving customer service, IT no longer becomes a

competitive edge but a necessity. Respondents in the survey have clearly indicated that they believe that IT

is a necessity.


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Supply Chain Integration:

Definition and Challenges

Hussain A.H Awad, Mohammad Othman Nassar

Abstract

Ever Since the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) Defined Supply Chain

Management and the Council of Logistics Management (CLM) adopted the definition of logistics in 1984,

the integration of a supply chain processes or activities became obligatory definition. Many firms have

extended their chain from upstream and downstream to include other vendors, agents of vendor, and

customers. These firms have successfully implemented the concept of supply chain integration with

spectacular results after they recognize and manage the integration challenges of supply chain.

Research question

CHALLENGES AND OBSTACLES OF SUPPLY CHAIN INTEGRATION

Methodology

After extensive reading to the supply chain integration challenges that the literature mentioned in

different resources we found that the researches try to enumerate the challenges from one perspective

The researchers in the previous direction discuss the challenges from three perspectives:

Technical perspective

Managerial perspective

Relationships perspective

they found that the previous direction did not include the following issues:

No paper was able to present all Supply Chain integration challenges.

We are going to integrate all challenges in a single comprehensive source, we believe that this integration

will provide the following benefits:

Decrease the complexity of the challenges.

Priorities these challenges effectively.

Better allocate resources for managing

Challenges and findings

Introducing a comprehensive source that contains all the challenges mentioned in the literature.

Costs of implementation.

Loss of Trust.


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Unable to Adapt to Change.

Losing the Inimitability of Product.

Unnecessary Liability.

Lack of Security.

Uneven Partner benefit.

Increased Independences.

Keeping Up With the change in Expectations

The challenge in business process improvement is the processes must be coordinate between all firms in

the vale chain to achieve improve performance and service. Integrated must happen between decision

making and business process layers which is occurs whenever human operator (or software agent) makes a

decision that change the flow of work through a process. Business process integration hurt by compatibility

challenges in a technical, operational, strategic, and political/legal environment.

CONCLUSION

It was necessary to review the literature on the supply chain integration challenges; this necessitated an

exploration of the nature of the SC network, the benefits of SC integration. At the same time, it was

important to explore the challenges and obstacles of SC network integration. All of this was done with the

aim of satisfying the primary purpose of the study which was the integration the SC integration challenges.

Scope for further research

Proving or disproving the existence of this relation between the business domain and the kind of

challenges is beyond the scope of this research and it is considered as a future research.

Effect of Enterprise Resource Planning on Supply Chain

Management in Iranian Companies

Abbas Sheykhan, Jafar Tarokh, Sajad Gheitasy

ABSTRACT

Enterprise Resources Planning (E.R.P) and Supply Chain Management (S.C.M) show the importance of

operational managers and IT manager to informational technology and investment, and experts and

educated people meet it in order to improve commercial operations. The aim of this research is to make

necessary field for recognize, benefits and effects of Enterprise Resources Planning on company merit in

supply chain management section. In order to define this relation by using structure model 9 hypothesisexist; result of structural model clearly shows that there is a close relationship between Enterprise

Resources Planning systems and company merit in supply chain management section, related data of

Iranian companies gathered via questionnaire and interviews and expert research. Results practically


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shows that using Enterprise Resources Planning system on company merit, effect on supply chain

management section and causes efficiency in system.

RESEARCH QUESTION AND HYPOTHESIS

model include three independent variables and 3 dependant variables that search about effect of

Enterprise Resources Planning advantages on factory merit in supply chain management section that based

on above model include 9 hypothesis:

1- Enterprise Resources Planning operation advantages on merit of company have positive effect in supply

chain management section in solidify processing

2- Enterprise Resources Planning operation advantage on company merit in supply chain management

section in solidify relationship of customer has positive effect

3- Enterprise Resources Planning operation advantage on company merit in supply chain management

section in planning and process control has positive effect

4- Advantage of business and management process Enterprise Resources Planning on company merit

supply chain management section for solidify operation process has positive effect.

5- Advantage of business and management process of Enterprise Resources Planning company merit in

supply chain management section in of customer relation has positive effect

6- Advantage of management and business process of Enterprise Resources Planning on company merit in

supply chain management section in solidify control process has positive effect

7- IT strategic planning in Enterprise Resources Planning on company merit in supply chain management

section in solidifies operation process has positive effect.


section in solidify customer relation has positive effect


section in solidify control process has positive effect.

METHODOLOGY

Statistical society in this research are: experts and managers of Iranian Company that include: IRANKHODRO, SAIPA, BAHMAN MOTOR, ARAK MASHIN SAZI, KOMBAIN, VAGONPARS, ESFAHAN STEEL

COMPANY.

In this research sample mass calculate by the following relation 5q n 15q

n: sample mass

q: number of question in questionnaire

The number of question is 40, the least number of samples must be between 200 and 600 and according

to adviser view and hey article 280 questionnaire distributed.

250 questionnaire return. In this questionnaire use 5 choice spectrums of LIKERT


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In this research in order to study about relationships a many model parts use structural equation finding

model also researcher for model finding of structural equation use in order to agent analysis. By using

Lisrel software all of hypothesis analyzed structural model that describe relationship among variables.

Suggestion and conclusion

First, fourth and seventh hypothesis confirmed and show that efficiency of company in supply chain

management section and in operational process are impressed from Enterprise Resources Planningadvantages such as business process and management and IT strategic planning. These result could be

interpret that items improve ability to supply chain management section and operational process.

second, fifth and eighth hypothesis confirmed and show that three related plan effect on Enterprise

Resources Planning in increasing company merit in supply chain and solidify customers. Customer

absorbtion is an ability that made a potential for company to satisfy customer needs and this affair require

knowledge about customer needs, great number of customers that need services or service section that

company is weak in it, these are lead to making third party.

third and ninth hypothesis confirmed. These hypothesis shows that merit of company is supply chain

management section in control processing and planning effect directly from operational processing and IT

strategic planning, ability of company in supply chain management field and in planning and control

processing need informational system that could secure vast spectrum of operational activity of market.

Successful product chain depends on exact exchange of information among customers and good producer

and representing goods.

Sixth hypothesis rejected in this research shows that business process advantage dont effect on

enterprise resource planning rise resource planning on company merit in supply chain management

section in solidify planning and control process the research the reason is weak cooperation of somecompany with commercial partner that is because of law barrier (prohibition) that made its relationship

weaker.

Conclusion

After distribution and collecting questionnaire and their analysis in Iranian companies come to this subject

that the main aim of this research is to prove relationship between E.R.P on S.C.M and efficiency of

company in production management field from nine hypothesis, 8 of them were meaningful and effect of

E.R.P on S.C.M was positive and only sixth hypothesis shows non effectiveness of business process

advantages on company merit in S.C.M section in solid planning and control process also following titles

show effect of E.R.P advantages on merit company in S.C.M.

The roles of information technology in

supply chain management

Jaana Auramo, Aimo Inkilinen, Jouni Kauremaa,

Katariina Kemppainen, Mikko Krkkinen, Sanna Laukkanen,

Sami Sarpola, Kari Tanskanen


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ABSTRACT

The use of information technology (IT) is considered a prerequisite for the effective control of todays

complex supply chains. Despite the acknowledged importance of the use of IT in supply chain management

(SCM), the number of empirical studies assessing the use of IT in the supply chain context is limited. Based

on empirical data from 16 Finnish industrial and service companies this paper presents a classification of

the ways in which companies use IT in SCM, and examines the drivers for these different utilization types.

According to the findings of this research, the use of IT for SCM purposes can be divided into 1) transaction

processing, 2) supply chain planning and collaboration, and 3) order tracking and delivery coordination.

The findings further suggest that the drivers between these three uses of IT in SCM differ.

RESEARCH QUESTION

Different use of IT in SCM and its classification and influence on the supply chain?

Methodology

A multiple case study approach was chosen for the purposes of this study. We collected data from 16

Finnish industrial and service companies in autumn 2004. The companies were selected using the approach

of purposive sampling (Lincoln and Guba, 1985). Our objective was to include companies employing a

variety of inter-organizational IT integration mechanisms and representing different business

environments in the sample. Both qualitative and quantitative data were gathered using personal

interviews as well as questionnaire. The questions for the interviews and the questionnaire were designed

concurrently so that together they cover both the IT solutions employed by the companies their SCM

practices and the essential characteristics of the companies and their business environments. The

interviews were semi-structured in nature, lasting 2 hours in average. The typical composition ofparticipants in the interviews included two to three interviewers and one to three company

representatives. As a result, a total of 33 company representatives participated to the 16 interviews

conducted.

Analytical and modeling research

This stream of research aims to measure the impacts of information sharing between supply chain

partners. This research addresses the operations of small-scale supply chains.These studies have foundthat typically the sharing of demand information in supply chains increases the performance of the supply

chain by increasing availability and reducing inventory related costs.

Empirical studies

Two streams of empirical studies on the use of IT in SCM can be identified. The first stream focuses on a

specific technology or application area, and the second stream studies the application and benefits of IT in

general.

In the research focusing on specific technologies or application areas, there exists a distinct body of

research on the adoption factors and impact of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) (see e.g. Iacovou et al.,

1995; Mukhopadhyay et al., 1995; Tuunainen, 1998). Here, for example cost reduction objectives(Mukhopadhyay et al., 1995) and volume of transactions between supply chain partners (Tuunainen, 1998)

have been associated with the adoption of EDI links. Further, for example, the use of Extended Markup

Language (XML) for supply chain integration has been studied.


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ANALYSIS

The first construct, types of IT use in SCM, refers to the ways in which companies employ IT for the

purposes of SCM. Based on prior research discussed above, three different types of IT use in SCM

transaction processing, supply chain planning and collaboration, and order tracking and delivery

coordination were identified and chosen to represent the first construct.

The first type of IT use, transaction processing stands for the use of IT for increasing the efficiency ofrepetitive information exchanges between supply chain partners. In this type of IT use the exchanged

information is typically related to such tasks as order processing, billing, delivery verification, generating

and sending dispatch advices, and producing order quotes. The second type of IT use, supply chain

planning and collaboration, represents the use of IT for sharing planning-related information such as

demand forecasts and other demand information, inventory information, and production capacity

information, with the intention of increasing the effectiveness of the supply chain. Finally, the third type of

IT use in SCM, order tracking and delivery coordination, refers to the monitoring of individual orders or

shipments, which may consist of components or final products, with the aim of coordinating their delivery

or conveying timely information of their location. This kind of grouping and cross-case analysis were

performed for the different uses of IT that are transaction processing with customers / suppliers, supply

chain planning and collaboration with customers / suppliers, and order tracking and delivery coordination

with customers / and suppliers.

CONCLUSION

Transaction processing

Most of the case companies, 10 out of 16 used IT to process transactions with their suppliers. Eight of the

case companies in turn, used IT to transaction processing with their customers.

As expected, reduction of manual work and costs, improvement of information quality, speeding up of

information transfer, and volume of transactions were found to drive the use of IT for transaction

processing.

Supply chain planning and collaboration

The use of IT for supply chain planning and collaboration was more limited in our sample than the use of IT

for transaction processing. This result supports the earlier findings on the sharing of planning information

(Kemppainen and Vepslinen, 2003; Kauremaa et al., 2004). Less than half of the companies used IT forsupply chain planning and collaboration with their suppliers, and three of these companies applied IT for

this purpose also with their customers.

Order tracking and delivery coordination

Five companies in our sample utilize IT systems in order tracking and coordinating the progress of orders or

deliveries or in providing this information.

Furthermore, findings suggest that the drivers between the three uses of IT in SCM differ. As expected,

reduction of manual work and costs, improvement of information quality, speeding up of informationtransfer, and volume of transactions were found to be the drivers for the transaction processing role of IT

in SCM. In addition, the continuity of the business relationship was found to drive this use of IT. The use of


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IT in supply chain planning and coordination, in turn, was found to be driven by the implementation of

cross-organizational processes, most often the VMI system.

Documents

Supply Chain Research Papers Analysis