A systems perspective on supply chain measurements

Abstract

Both practitioners and research scientists have noted a number of problems regarding measurement activities during the past decade. The problems reported suggest that measurement activities are fragmented both within and across organizations. Expands on a systems perspective on supply chain measurements and describes how problems can be communicated, understood and managed by developing methods and tools for describing interrelationships within supply chains. Empirical evidence from a case study of a Swedish home furnishing business supply chain provides data suggesting that firms within a supply chain cannot simply be categorized as either having adopted systems thinking or not. Rather, both structured models indicating a high degree of systems thinking, and problems showing fragmentation, are present. A performance model, which is used to reflect the systemic structure of an underlying supply chain and a potential integrator, is introduced and suggested as the focus of future research initiatives within supply chain measurements.

Citation

Holmberg, S. (2000), "A systems perspective on supply chain measurements", International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, Vol. 30 No. 10, pp. 847-868. https://doi.org/10.1108/09600030010351246