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The purpose of this paper is to create an understanding on the magnitude and dimension of supply chain collaboration (SCC) reported in the literature. The detailed review discusses various indicators that help companies to implement collaboration successfully and create awareness on the barriers faced while initiating collaboration in supply chain (SC).

The meta-analysis includes full-text papers retrieved from the Web of Science database using verified keywords. The articles are reviewed for identifying the performance indicators used to evaluate the SC. The systematic review is performed for the collaborative techniques in the following categories: information sharing (IS); vendor managed inventory; and collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment. The papers are then comprehensively analyzed for the approaches, and the key findings are mentioned along with the future scope.

The review suggests that the SC relationship, trust, quality of IS and technological involvement are to be focused for successful implementation of the collaborative technique. Proper collaboration helps SC partners to enhance their technique of operations in an effective manner which results in high business turnovers.

The review paper provides a quantitative study of SCC. A bird’s eye view of the scopes and benefits of using SCC for the academic scholars and industrial personnel are the primary concern discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the challenge of managing logistics at corporate level in construction industry; and to present and evaluate vendor‐managed‐inventory (VMI) as a potential solution for small item logistics.

The study has a design science approach. It describes and tests a possible solution design for small item logistics in construction.

The paper finds that VMI is an efficient solution for small item logistics at construction sites, provided that it is well designed and movable. When the construction company owns the solution, it can more potentially be a corporate‐wide solution.

The VMI solution is tested at only three pilot sites, so there might be many situational factors affecting its feasibility that could not be observed.

The proposed solution is potentially a major step in moving from site‐by‐site logistics towards corporate level logistics management in construction industry.

The VMI solution presented in this paper is unique for construction industry. The study indicates that it improves significantly the effectiveness of small item logistics in construction. More generally, the value of the paper is in combining horizontal integration (across sites) and vertical integration (supply chain) views in designing logistics solutions for construction industry.

This paper aims to address two questions: what kinds of benefits are realized from a vendor‐managed inventory (VMI) program (operational, i.e. efficiency related, vs strategic, i.e. sales related) and how the benefits are shared at the dyad level (suppliers vs buyers).

The paper uses an exploratory multiple case study with data from five operational VMI dyads, evaluating both buyer and supplier perspectives.

Three empirically grounded patterns of VMI are proposed. Five contextual inhibitors of VMI impacts are suggested.

The framework presented has been generated from a relatively small number of cases. Threats to external validity have been mitigated with case selection from multiple operational contexts and grounding findings in prior literature.

Using the conceptualization, potential VMI adopters can set more realistic and explicit implementation targets. The suggested contextual factors will help to design more appropriate VMI systems.

Past research on VMI can be mainly characterized by modeling/simulation approaches, focus on operational efficiency implications, and concern with impacts to buyers. In contrast, empirical studies on the actual impacts and dyad‐level reasons considering also the strategic (sales related) motivations for implementing VMI are few. This study contributes by suggesting how VMI is in some instances motivated not by bilateral interests to develop a supply chain, but by unilateral interests, with buyers searching for effortless purchasing, and suppliers for a means to lock in and secure sales.

Supply chain performance is concerned with managing dependencies between various supply chain members and the joint efforts of all supply chain members to achieve mutually defined goals. There are various performance initiatives reported in the literature but these are often discussed in isolation. Information sharing, information technology, collaborative partnerships, and vendor management that help in improving the supply chain performance are some of the noteworthy initiatives. But there is a need to consider the supply chain in a holistic sense. The purpose of this paper is to analyze a case study of A1, a leading original equipment manufacturer in India, to throw light on the status of supply chain performance initiatives taken in its supply chain.

A situation‐actor‐process (SAP)‐learning‐action‐performance (LAP) model has been applied for the case study of A1. The situation represents the present scenario of the organization. Actors are the participants, influencing the situation to evolve different business processes. Based on SAP, various learning issues have been analyzed which lead to suitable action followed by impact on the performance of the supply chain of the organization. Resource‐based view (RBV) of the firm has been suggested to understand the tangible and intangibles associated with the implementation of a supply chain performance measurement system.

The case study organization has taken various initiatives for improving supply chain performance, such as vendor managed inventory and dealer management system. However, the issues that need attention include measurement of the vendor's performance on criteria which have supply chain orientation, as well as connecting dealers' point of sale information to vendors; This way connects the supply chain as a whole. Emphasis should be placed on second and third tier suppliers, as most of the quality‐related problem is due to them. In the twenty‐first century only those organizations which pay attention to agility, alignment and adaptability for responding to the challenges can gain competitive advantage. SCPMS as a resource can provide a sustained competitive advantage for a firm.

The SAP‐LAP analysis is used to explain soft and hard issues of supply chain performance in a managerial context as applied to the case of A1. The value of SCPMS can be augmented only when it is embedded in an organization through resource complementarity and co‐specialization.

The SAP‐LAP model presents the situation of supply chain performance to participants who may initiate the processes needed to make the supply chain effective and efficient. The synthesis of SAP leads to LAP, which bridges the gap by suggesting improvement actions based on the learning from the present situation, actors and processes.

This is a novel approach to analyze quantitative and qualitative issues of supply chain performance initiatives in a single model and its impact on performance of the supply chain.

Information sharing practices such as vendor‐managed inventory (VMI) give manufacturers access to more accurate demand information, e.g. customer sales data, than before. The value of this type of information sharing has been established in many studies. However, most of the research has focused on the ideal situation of the manufacturer having access to information from all downstream parties. In practice, this is rarely the case. In this paper, discrete‐event simulation is used to examine how a manufacturer can combine traditional order data available from non‐VMI customers with sales data available from VMI customers in its production and inventory control and what impact this has on the manufacturer's operational efficiency. The simulation model is based on a real‐life VMI implementation and uses actual demand and product data. The key finding is that even for products with stable demand a partial improvement of demand visibility can improve production and inventory control efficiency, but that the value of visibility greatly depends on the target products’ replenishment frequencies and the production planning cycle employed by the manufacturer.

The purpose of this paper is to examine service level agreements (SLAs) in the retail industry and uses empirical data to draw conclusions on the relationships between SLA parameters and retailer financial performance.

Based on prior SLA theories, hypotheses about the impacts of SLA confidentiality, choice of chargeback mechanisms and chargeback penalty on retailer inventory turnover are tested.

Retailer inventory turnover could vary by the level of SLA confidentiality, and the variation of retailer inventory turnovers could be explained by chargeback penalty.

The research findings may not be readily applicable to SLAs outside of the retail industry. Also, most conclusions were drawn from publicly available SLAs.

The significant relationships between SLA parameters and retailer inventory turnover imply that a retailer could improve its financial performance by leveraging its SLA design.

Not only does this study contribute to the understanding of retail SLA design in practice, but it also extends prior theories by investigating the implications of SLA design on the retailer inventory turnover.

In the global economy, vendor‐managed inventory (VMI) is gradually becoming an important element of supply chain management strategy of organizations. Recently, Indian industries, both large and small, have started adopting VMI for their supply chains. The purpose of this paper is to investigate apparent differences among large and small industries in terms of objectives, drivers, obstacles and impacts of VMI in Indian context.

A survey was conducted to examine organizational objectives, strategic drivers, obstacles and affected operations pursuant to VMI adoption. By reviewing the literature, four hypotheses were formed and tested from the responses.

It is observed that both large and small industries in India have started adopting VMI for improving the business performance. Results clearly indicate that adoption factors are different in large and small industries.

The paper explores current practices with respect to VMI in Indian industries. The analysis would be useful for the developing VMI adoption strategies in Indian context.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the applications of postponement strategy in the textile and apparel industry, with a particular focus on the supply chain structure, relationships and enabling activities supporting postponement strategy across the supply chain.

For this research, a case study approach, supported by structured interviews, was adopted. The purpose was to explore the application of postponement with the objective of gathering considerable data from an organization or multiple organizations to develop the clearest possible picture of the phenomenon.

The nature of product, downstream demand and the supply chain structure impacts the choice of postponement strategy. Companies operating with manufacturing and logistics postponement share data across their supply chain extensively, while companies adopting purchasing postponement work towards enhancing suppliers’ capabilities and fostering relationships across their supply chains.

The case study method limitations include lack of rigor and statistical generalization, small sample size and convenience sampling and lack of establishment of causal relationship. However a thorough study design and process can make case‐based research more rigorous and reliable, but caution still needs to be exercised while applying findings on differing scenarios.

The case studies depict the application of postponement and the enabling supply chain structures. Previous studies have either looked on the organizational perspective or supply chain perspective with regards to the power and dependence attributes. These cases look at the interaction routines and structures among the supply chains.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present two examples based on real life experiences where the Bullwhip effect (BWE) in supply chain is considerably reduced. Both examples relate to the consumer durables industry in India. Design/methodology/approach: The first example uses enterprise resource planning and vendor managed inventory as tools to reduce the BWE. The second example uses a modification of the classical inventory control policies to eliminate BWE. Research limitations/implications: This paper could initiate research in an area which would help supply chain researchers and managers to understand why some companies are able to contain BWE and others are not. Findings: Based on these two empirical case studies, the paper argues that managing BWE is a strategic initiative by organization and the best approach is a combination of several tactical initiatives. Originality/value: This paper briefly summarizes the managerial approaches to tame BWE in two different contexts. The two examples have some similarities, differences and offer unique insights related to managing BWE.

More than two decades long technological improvements in information sharing have not yet ensured a flawless execution of vendor managed inventory (VMI) and left interested parties wondering about the reasons of poor results. Although VMI is a collaborative tool, the relational factors in a VMI setting have not received enough attention due to challenges in obtaining relational buyer-supplier data in addition to extant focus on analytical approaches. The purpose of this paper is to investigate post-implementation relational factors in order to extract relevant insights.

Accounting for the duration of the VMI relationship, the authors focus on two dimensions of VMI often ignored post-implementation: dependence of the buyer on the VMI-supplier and trust of the buyer in the VMI-supplier. Cross-sectional data were collected using a survey collected from distributors mostly in auto and electrical supply industries, which have their inventories managed by manufacturers through VMI arrangements. The sample was obtained from a leading third-party VMI-platform service provider that serves thousands of distributor-manufacturer locations with billions of dollars in sales orders. Multiple ordinary least squares regression has been used to test the hypotheses.

This paper provides empirical support that in the post-implementation stage, longer VMI relationships are associated with higher distributor dependence on the manufacturer. In addition, too much dependence could actually hurt the distributor’s trust in the manufacturer.

The authors propose that distributors maintain some of the purchasing and inventory management skills in house to limit their dependencies on the manufacturers. Manufacturers should also invest in trust-building activities, such as regular communications with distributors.

This is the first study providing empirical evidence on the positive association between length of VMI relationship and buyer dependence on the supplier, and curvilinear dependence-trust link in a post-implementation VMI context.