Measuring the flexibility index for a supply chain using graph theory matrix approach
Journal of Global Operations and Strategic Sourcing
ISSN: 2398-5364
Article publication date: 25 September 2019
Issue publication date: 10 February 2020
Abstract
Purpose
In complex business environment of today, organizations are trying to be flexible and agile for meeting dynamic demands of customers in terms of product variety, cost cutting and decreasing product life cycle. The main purpose of this paper is to identify different attributes of flexibility and to propose an approach for evaluating flexibility index of a supply chain.
Design/methodology/approach
Total 33 factors are identified from the literature and further clustered into six major groups. They are top management commitment, organizational factors, mutual understanding, flow of information, relationship and decision-making and responsiveness. On the basis of these factors, an index has been developed by using graph theory matrix approach to evaluate the flexibility intensity of the supply chain for the firm in consideration.
Findings
The proposed approach has been illustrated in context to an Indian automobile organization, and value of the flexibility index has been evaluated. Framework proposed will help the supply chain managers to evaluate the flexibility index of their respective organizations.
Research limitations/implications
As values taken for different flexibility sub-factors are based on inputs given by managers of case organization, chances of bias may be there. Therefore, a study may be validated with more case studies to validate the proposed framework. Based on the flexibility index, organizations can find their strong and weak areas for strategy development.
Originality/value
A firm can also compare the flexibility index of its own supply chain with other’s supply chain or with the best in the industry for benchmarking purpose. Benchmarking of flexibility will help organizations in developing strategies to compete in dynamic market scenario.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the reviewers and the editor of the journal for their valuable suggestions and comments to improve the quality and content of the paper.
Citation
Singh, R.K. and Kumar, P. (2020), "Measuring the flexibility index for a supply chain using graph theory matrix approach", Journal of Global Operations and Strategic Sourcing, Vol. 13 No. 1, pp. 56-69. https://doi.org/10.1108/JGOSS-04-2019-0027
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited