A Proposed Framework for Discovering Key Knowledge Areas in Supply Chain and Determining the Relationship with Major Logistic Processes: A Case Study

Abstract

Nowadays, knowledge is the only resource that has the capability of offering competitive advantage and continuous improvement for supply chain partners. Thus, we should identify the enterprise key knowledge. In order to create new knowledge, supply chain partners are involved in continuous processes that result in sharing rich information and building IT infrastructure that permit supply chain members to process information coming from other partners.In this paper, we try to identify the key knowledge areas in Iran automotive industry and discovering the relationships between these key knowledge areas and the main logistic processes. Creating explicit and structured knowledge from tacit knowledge is the primary goal of several KM projects. Since knowledge in the enterprise or supply chain flows through processes, we can identify the key knowledge in a specific area of an organization through knowledge management tools or the ideas of related experts. Hence, in order to acquire key knowledge, we should look for specific processes in that area. For this purpose, a framework is proposed which enables organizations to identify key knowledge areas, main processes in the supply chain, and their relationships more effectively. The proposed framework is designed by applying a blended methodology and contains a vast look at the relationship between knowledge management and supply chain management concepts. For achieving this goal, a sequential blended methodology was applied.