Disintermediation, disintegration and risk in the SME global supply chain

Abstract

The paper’s premiss is that the extant linear supply chain relationship model that dominates most sectors will rapidly be replaced by a more amorphous supply chain relationship model. It is suggested that entirely new business models are appearing, where the ability to build flexible alliances at speed is a critical management skill. Although these changes will have an impact on all organisations irrespective of size, the focus of the paper is directed towards the SME sector. It is anticipated that the outcomes from this review and the associated research will enhance awareness and understanding of the nature of changes to markets and commercial/supply chain relationships, highlight the potential opportunities and risks and provide guidelines for the developments in strategic management, relationship marketing and risk management.

A guide for supply chain integration in SMEs

“…Thakkar et al (2008) identified the main reasons explaining this lack of integration in the supply chains of SMEs with respect to LEs as the following: (1) the lack of internal integration in SMEs (Singh 1998); (2) lack of understanding on merits and demerits of alliances (Power 2006); (3) poor use of IT (Ritchie and Brindley 2000); (4) immature buyer-supplier relationship (Arend and Winser 2005); (5) absence of performance measurement (Quayle 2002(Quayle , 2003; and (6) poor strategic vision (Oakes andLee 1999, Harland et al 2007). …”

Identificação e classificação de riscos na implantação da produção enxuta

“…Tang (2006), por exemplo, classifica os riscos em: operacionais, quando eles decorrem de incertezas da operação em si; e drásticos, quando decorrem de fatores externos de grande impacto, tais como catástrofes naturais, falências de sistemas financeiros e ataques terroristas. Tal classificação é similar à de Ritchie & Brindley (2000), que classificam os riscos como endógenos, originados na própria empresa, e exógenos, originados na cadeia de suprimentos. Sumner (2000) encontrou seis categorias para riscos ligados ao desenvolvimento de softwares, sendo elas: adaptação organizacional, combinação de habilidades, estrutura e estratégia gerencial, desenho do sistema de software, envolvimento e treinamento do usuário e planejamento e integração de tecnologia.…”

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Competing in the Global Business Environment: A Case of Malaysia

“…Globalization also creates unprecedented information and communication technologies (Abu Bakar et al, 2006). In contrary, globalization also requires an efficient risk management, relationship marketing, and supply chain management (Ritchie & Brindley, 2000). The objective of these fields are to reduce uncertainty, identify potential risks, elicit better quality information, and improve understanding of the competitive global environment.…”