Collaborative supply chain: a conceptual model for operationalisation

Abstract

Abstract:The aim of this study was to develop a conceptual model for establishing cooperation, coordination and collaboration in supply chains. The literature review revealed: 1) nine characteristics that the relationship among companies developing collaboration in the supply chain should embody; 2) ten behaviours that companies developing collaboration in the supply chain should adopt. The characteristics and behaviours were employed in order to design a conceptual model, which is developed as a ladder of three major steps. The first step consists of characteristics and behaviours required for a cooperative relationship. The second step comprises the requirements for coordination. The third and final step displays the characteristics and behaviours enablers of collaborative practices in supply chains.

Collaborative Initiatives: Motivators, Barriers and Benefits

“…For each initiative, the three categories (motivators, barriers and benefits) were extracted. They were later grouped by means of an iterative (deductive-iterative) process, so that the constructs created (categories) were representative, containing elements with similar meanings according to the work of Marqui, Moura, and Alcântara (2013).…”

A theoretical framework to adopt collaborative initiatives in supply chains

“…It was necessary to group elements with similar meanings. For this purpose, the works of Fawcett et al (2008), Marqui et al (2013), and Mentzer et al (2001) were selected as a basis for grouping the various elements (deductive approach). configurations for each studied initiative, as shown in Figure 3.…”

“…Collaboration occurs when these institutions agree on established objectives and use their resources (information, people, technologies) to share the responsibility to plan, manage, and execute supply chain operations (Gomes & Kleimann, 2015), thereby creating synergies and achieving long-term competitive advantage (Melo & Alcântara, 2016). However, collaborations are much more complex, going beyond information exchange and requiring a set of techniques and systems as well as individual behaviors and skills (Marqui et al, 2013).…”

“…According to Marqui et al (2013), collaborative relationships are characterized by communication, interdependence, transparency, flexibility, leadership, synchronized decision-making, commitment, and organizational culture compatibility. To achieve a steady collaborative relationship, the following factors (or behaviors) should also be considered: information sharing, investment in information technology, joint planning, adoption of common goals and objectives, adoption of a standardized performance measurement model, cross-functional integration, development and maintenance of long-term relationships, and training.…”

“…Collaboration occurs when two or more organizations exchange information, sharing the responsibility to plan, manage, execute, and monitor supply chain performance (Cao & Zhang, 2011). To share their information with the aim to collaborate, companies employ various collaborative initiatives, such as Collaborative Planning (CP), e-Collaboration (Chong et al, 2009), Collaborative Agent Time (CAT) (Carle et al, 2012), Value Chain Analysis (VCA) (Francis et al, 2008), Generic Product Family Model (GPF) (Jiao et al, 2007), Collaborative Transportation Management (CTM) (Chan & Zhang, 2011), Quick Response (QR) (Choi & Sethi, 2010), Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) (Kurnia & Johnston, 2003), Continuous Replenishment Program (CRP) (Raghunathan & Yeh, 2001), Vendor Management Inventory (VMI) (Freitas et al, 2014), and Collaborative Planning Forecasting Replenishment (CPFR) (Fu, 2016;Marqui et al, 2013). However, according to Gomes & Kleimann (2015) and Freitas et al (2018), the best known collaborative initiatives in both the corporate and academic environment are QR, ECR, CPR, VMI, and CPFR.…”