Paper Example on Supplier Chain Competitiveness and Collaboration

Introduction

Supply chain management refers to agreed techniques and practices that are essential for supply chains (Cooper, 2017). The term is mostly applied in describing a network of companies which involves raw material suppliers, warehouses, manufacturers, logistics service providers, and retailers. These parties engage each other with an objective of replenishing the orders of end customers. The activities which supply chain performs are essential for every business process and are considered the core business process. It is an undeniable fact that supply chain strategies drive business process strategy.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

According to Cooper (2017), the supply chain management practices are also essential determinants of the success of a business, more so the manufacturing industries. The exercises have implications on the connotations of competitive advantage. The concept also changes the conventional perception of firm competition into supply chain competition. The view also ensures that there is collaboration between companies engaging in the supply chain if there are possibilities of developing competition within the supply chain and achieving supply chain management success. Majority of companies have not managed to establish productive collaborations in their supply chain network (Lee, 2004). Due to this fiasco, there are ineffectual and incompetent procedures.

Competition is a factor which deters supply chain collaboration. It is essential because it may improve the improbability level in downstream and upstream markets. Numerical results from theoretical models also support the differential consequences which indicate a high probable for quality misrepresentation from the side of supply (Wu & Pangarkar, 2010). In modern days, it is not usual for businesses to sell its products and services to more than one buyer. Majority of producers allow manufacturing and customers capacity bookings. These capacity bookings take place before the actual transaction. As a result, buyers pay a certain price and access the option of obtaining them in the future. Supply chain management can also offer decision concerning how much from the available capacity by discussing booking and exercise prices (Lee, 2004. Business enterprises can fix a set amount of which in some situations may turn out to be insufficient in meeting the demand. Cooperation and collaborative relationships are essential in overcoming such challenges, especially the ones regarding supply information sharing.

Supply Chain Collaboration

Collaboration in supply chain management is essential across a variety of fields. Ramanathan and Gunasekaran (2014) assert that the collaborative relationships help in building partners and networking which brings a lot of impacts to the entire process. Supplier collaboration allows companies to reduce possible hazards which may arise as a result of procurement. As a result, it will enable firms to achieve a competitive position by making sure that there is reduced transaction cost. A collaborative relationship also helps companies to manage risks through sharing. It also enables companies to access complementary resources. It enhances performance and profitability through the development of competitive advantage at the expense of time.

In conceptualizing collaboration for the supply chain, firms need to understand the connotation of collaboration and its components. It is essential to focus on the outcome aspects of cooperation about its role in planning activities. Ramanathan and Gunasekaran (2014) further explain that collaboration creates a conducive business environment for sharing information regarding business transactions and supply chain management. It also helps in the integration of cross-functional processes and facilitating setting up goals. Supply chain management collaboration is primarily concerned with the process and relationship aspects. Supply chain collaboration is also perceived as differently about response time, cost reduction, resources, and innovation. These are always essential in synchronization of decisions goal congruence, incentive alignment, cost reduction, and collaborative communication. These are critical components in supply chain collaboration.

Various contexts also perceive supply chain collaboration differently. Some settings see supply chain collaboration to be a process between two supply network entities while others understand it to be work together with an objective of achieving a common goal. There are also perceptions which highlight supply chain collaboration about the nature of the interaction of the partnership and the relationship. There are regarding long-term orientation with an objective of working together and also information sharing which is essential in managing risks. It is also concerned with not focusing much on individual consideration and mutual objectives and gains. Lee (2004) says that supply chain collaboration has other aspects which are vital to its fundamental understanding. These include sharing information, aligning incentives and goal congruence.

The components are the vital tenets of collaboration and are highly uncertain in network environments where the procurement forecasting and demand are not only difficult but also impossible in some extents. Collaborative paradigm is also concerned with the business environment being composed of a connection of interdependent relationships. These interdependent relationships have their roots and fostering links which are connected to the strategic collaboration objective of mutual benefits.

There are possibilities of perceiving the mutual benefits as a relative terminology. For instance, there might be concerns on whether the relationship is complete transparency or whether it is mutually beneficial.

The Context of Collaboration

Some steps directly impact supply chain collaboration. The stages can be differentiated depending on the features of the business and flow of information. These features are the amount of shared data, the use of information technology in the management of supply chain information flows, and the amount of information shared. To summarize, the stages are silent, IT-intensive and communicative. The low levels of information flow characterize the silent stage while the communicative stage displays high levels of information characterized by high quality. The information technology stage can be compared to the communicative stage about the level and quality of data. The it-intensive stage is the more advanced stage of supply chain information. The stage displays higher levels of operational performance since they help businesses to make use of the information gathered from its partners in its planning systems and its coordination. Planning systems also help in the creation and development of advanced forms of integration with the partners through the joint setting of goals and joint planning of activities.

All collaborations do not need to develop to the highest IT-intensive stage. IT-intensive collaborations are radically successful essentially in environments which characterize innovativeness and high levels of interdependence among partners characterized. Supply chain collaboration in innovative environments helps in developing conviction among the partners. Since it is built based on belief and trust, IT supply chain applications cannot replace personal contact. Businesses can use IT-intensiveness to create additional operational improvements in the supply chain. The highest stage of collaboration also requires interdependence among partners.

Behavioral Factors of Collaboration

Some sophisticated practices can be applied to the supply chain. The practices include forecasting and replenishment, collaborative planning, vendor management, inventory and efficient customer response. There are companies which focus on the implementation of highlighted practices but do not manage in contribution to the success of the collaboration. Collaboration attributes are relational characteristics which include interdependence, trust, and coordination among the partners in the relationships. Communication behavior is concerned with the levels of sharing information and the quality of information shared while collaboration management refers to the management practices which a business implements with an objective of achieving superior performance.

The initial setbacks in the supply chain process are that almost all the activities take place in a sequential instead of synchronous manner. For instance, a fashion company can engage in product design by employing the latest technology such as CAD. The technology helps the fashion design company to save on time spent on designing and the unit time spent on transferring the manufacturing unite through using email, fax and also using the phone as primary methods of communication. Last minute changes on the process of communication imply a challenge in incorporating last minute changes.

Most businesses employ technological breakthroughs with a focus of intra-firm at the expense of inter-firm which helps in keeping information more or less cataloged with less and ancient information made available to channel partners. It leads to making decisions based on past data.

Best Practices of Collaboration

Leadership is essential in supply chain management. Leadership helps in driving collaboration and improving results. The leaders also possess end-to-end experience and capability to impact other functions an enterprise. Leadership also creates a collaboration culture and enhances collaboration tools, systems, and data. Through supply chain leadership, the robust external team structures are enhanced with an objective of facilitating collaboration and also ensure effective sales operations planning.

It is essential for supply chain leaders to communicate their expectations for collaboration to the broader organization. It is critical because it helps in forming one-on-one and group discussions through performance reviews and strategic plans. The message communicated should not be limited to the supply chain function. It should be demonstrated at the top level company meetings and incorporated into strategic decisions. Most managers assign resources with an objective of working on great projects for the holistic system. The strategies employed usually have nothing to show for the effort of their scorecard. As a result, leaders need to develop strong leadership skills and trust in their efforts to enhance collaboration in supply chain management. Trust in supply chain management is concerned with believing in suppliers and other business functions to earn their trust. Businesses also need to implement the right technologies to enable and support collaboration.

Data access enables suppliers, logistics, manufacturing, and procurement to work together to improve material quality and the supplier. All internal supply chain disciplines also need to access the same data. Examples of data which are essential to access are supplier's contract, supplier quality data, plant supplier quality data, logistics inventory and inventory, and service data.

Competitive Advantage to Supply Chain Management

Fredendall and Hill (2016) define competitiveness to be company's ability to design, create and market products which are greater to those which competitors offer. It primarily considers the non-price and price qualities. Supply chain competitiveness is apprehensive mainly with the all-purpose competitive compensations by one supply chain on the other. It is comprised mostly of the competitiveness of the fundamentals of the supply chain which include supplier, manufacturer and distributer's competitiveness. It is a relative and multi-dimensional concept which is concer...