The use of information systems for logistics and supply chain management in South East Europe: Current status and future direction☆

Abstract

This research aims to investigate the current status and future direction of the use of Keywords: Supply chain management, information systems, logistics, South East Europe, policy making IntroductionThe globalisation market has stimulated the demand on the use of concepts, techniques, tools, systems, technologies, models and frameworks in enterprises for Logistics and Supply Chain Management (LSCM). This phenomenon is not surprising given that supply chain now has to compete with other supply chains (Koh et al, 2006). The chain-chain competition has started to take over the enterprise-enterprise competition, although many 2 enterprise-enterprise competitions do exist particularly in the less developed economies. Greece has been a member of the European Union since the beginning of the 1980s, its geographical location invokes a strong strategic link with the other South East European countries in order to collaboratively increase their regional competitiveness, and thus is also included in this study.Lack of information could have a negative impact on profit maximisation (Cherchye and Puyenbroeck, 2007). Various information systems and technologies could be used to manage a supply chain and logistical operations. It has been identified that the use of appropriate systems could lead to the creation of differential business value (Radhakrishnan et al, 2008). Unfortunately, little inter-country research could be identified that examines the adoption of these information systems and advanced technologies for supply chain and logistics management in South East Europe, and one that could lead to future policy making and strategic investment in the region. To this end, the study adopts the following aim and objectives. 4 2. Aim and objectivesThis research aims to investigate the current status and future direction of the use of information systems for LSCM in South East Europe. The objectives are threefold: (1) To identify major challenges and developments on the use of information systems for LSCM by enterprises, (2) To examine the actual level of satisfaction of current policy on LSCM, and (3) To reveal the actual need of enterprises in South East Europe on effective use of information systems for LSCM. Literature reviewThe supply chain concept is based on the formation of a value chain network consisting of individual functional entities committed to providing resources and information to achieve the objectives of efficient management of suppliers as well as the flow of parts (Lau and Lee, 2000). In the Business-to-Business (B2B) market, many suppliers have to be able to provide a level of delivery performance that is compatible with their corporate customers.Those suppliers that can provide such delivery performance could win the supply contract.The desired delivery performance can be achieved with effective and efficient use of an ERP system (Yusuf et al, 2004; Koh and Saad, 2006), which could provide better information flow in a supply chain under the conditions of skilled workforce (Dimitriadis and Koh...

How do supply chain management and information systems practices influence operational performance? Evidence from emerging country SMEs

“…This finding tends to confirm Ketikidis et al (2008), who noted that Southeast European companies focus more on dealing with suppliers other than customers, mainly because many of such companies are production/SCM oriented, given their institutional and economic realities (Buckley, 2009).…”

“…The finding that all two constructs constituting IS practices had more significant effects on operational performance of Bulgarian SMEs as compared to Turkish SMEs, is not particularly surprising. As noted earlier in Bloomen and Petrov (1994) and Ketikidis et al (2008), there has been an increasing interest in logistics applications and related technologies in Southeast European countries including Bulgaria. Compared to the relatively mature infrastructure of Turkey, early stage IS implementations in Bulgaria may lead to a more favorable impact on SMEs' operational performance given the absence of proper SCM practices.…”

“…strategic planning, helps firms create a strategic fit with their business environment when dealing with global competition. Since Bulgaria has still undergoing a major transition from state-run to a more market-driven economy (Ketikidis et al, 2008), the value and importance of strategic planning and holding safety stock might not be well understood by Bulgarian SMEs.…”

“…This contribution also addresses the scant research on SCM and IS practices in a relevant context comparatively. As put by Ketikidis et al (2008), the bulk of the current research on Southeast Europe focuses on single country (e.g., Bloomen and Petrov, 1994;Ulengin and Uray, 1999).…”

Supply Chain Management and Challenges Facing the Food Industry Sector in Tanzania

“…Therefore the company has to incur loss on costs such as labor costs, transportation costs, destruction costs, primary and secondary raw materials etc. Several researchers (Wee and Yang, 2004;Hunt, et al 2005;Ketikidis, et al 2008) have shown that such kind of losses resulted from uncoordinated channel can be minimized through close coordination between partners within the supply chain including customers by forming alliances or sharing information and knowledge to create a collaborative competitive and cost effective supply chain.…”