Purpose Digital supply chain (DSC) is an agile, customer-driven and productive way to develop different forms of returns for companies and to leverage efficient approaches with emerging techniques and data analytics. Though the advantages of digital supply chain management (DSCM) are many, its implementation is quite slow for several reasons. The purpose of this paper is to identify the major barriers which hinder the adoption of DSC and to analyse the interrelationship among them. The barriers of DSC are explored on the basis of existing literature and experts’ opinion. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses the interpretive structural modelling (ISM) approach to develop a hierarchical structural model which shows the mutual dependence among the barriers of DSC. Cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to classification analysis was performed to represent these barriers graphically on the basis of their driving power and dependence. Findings The research demonstrates that the barriers “no sense of urgency”, “lack of industry specific guidelines”, “lack of digital skills and talent” and “high implementation and running cost” are the most significant barriers to digital transformation of supply chain. This paper also suggests some managerial implications to overcome the barriers which hinder the implementation of digital transformation of supply chain. Practical implications This paper assists managers and policymakers to understand the order in which these barriers must be tackled and adopts a roadmap for successful implementation of DSCM and reap its benefits. Originality/value This is one of the initial research studies which has analysed the barriers of DSC using ISM approach.

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Flexibility in manufacturing has aroused considerable interest among researchers and professionals. However, the vast body of literature on flexibility does not adequately address the kind of flexibility a company needs to meet its strategic objectives, nor how this flexibility can be achieved. An overview is provided of different types of flexibility, a classification scheme based on the strategic positioning and goals of the firm is provided, and suggestions are made on how these goals may be achieved. The importance of such a classification in the design and investment justification of flexible manufacturing is also discussed.

PurposeKnowledge management (KM) involves strategies and processes of identifying, capturing, and leveraging knowledge to enhance competitiveness. The new world of knowledge‐based organizations is distinguished from the organizations of the last millennium by its emphasis on monitoring and controlling the organization by shared knowledge derived from internal and external data sources. It believes in continual transformation of the knowledge‐base according to changing business strategy. The objective of this paper is to understand the KM practices in Indian manufacturing organisations, which are going through a major transition in this area.Design/methodology/approachThis paper reports the findings of a postal survey carried out to access the impact of KM practices in Indian manufacturing industries. Data were collected and analysed for 71 industries under this category.FindingsThe results indicate that the main reasons why these organisations are focusing on KM are gaining completive advantage and creating new knowledge. However, culture and financial constraints are amongst the highest ranked barrier for KM implementation.Originality/valueThere have been major changes in the Indian engineering industry in terms of better awareness and adoption of KM practices. The paper addresses many related issues in this direction.