Abstract
The link between a firm and supply chain (SC) members has been recognised as one of the key issues for ensuring business success and achieving competitive advantage. Indeed, working across organisational boundaries is required to accomplish effective responses to customers’ needs. Our preliminary research confirmed that there are positive relationships between business process management (BPM), supply chain collaboration (SCC), collaborative advantage and organisational performance. This study is a step further and uses a multiple case design to illuminate the results and gain a greater understanding from extensive discussions about these relationships. By means of semi-structured interviews, the three main issues were identified as: (1) the link between BPM and organisational performance; (2) the link between BPM and SCC; and (3) the contextual factors and benefits achieved from working collaboratively with SC partners. The different scenarios of the link between BPM and SCC were developed in a taxonomy, and the case studies were used to illustrate the experience of intra- and inter-organisational practices in the developing economy of Thailand. The case studies’ results explain in depth that both BPM and SCC are important for improving organisational performance and competitiveness. BPM not only improves organisational performance directly, but also assists with collaborative activities that in turn help to improve internal capabilities. Additionally, the comparisons in issues relating to firm size, industry type, relationship closeness and relationship length were also included in this study.
Highlights
Definitions of supply chain management (SCM) typically emphasised the management of activities and material flows, whereas more recent SCM definitions have largely focused on managing the supply chain (SC) as one system with clear strategic goals [1]
The results reveal that short-term SC relationships can create difficulties, they do not have an impact on the benefits achieved from collaborative advantage and organisational performance
This paper provides a deeper understanding of the interrelationships between business process management (BPM), supply chain collaboration (SCC), collaborative advantage and organisational performance
Summary
Definitions of supply chain management (SCM) typically emphasised the management of activities and material flows, whereas more recent SCM definitions have largely focused on managing the supply chain (SC) as one system with clear strategic goals [1]. There has been a shift towards managing SC members to gain mutual benefits and a concentration on a SC-centric rather than an organisation-centric view. Within a SC, firms need to provide basic management resources, both internally and in relation to their SC partners, to develop main capabilities in relation to SCM execution [2]. There has been a change of focus from the process function to SC, which has been characterised by specific attention to partnerships, relationships, networks, value creation and value constellations [3]. Collaboration is known as a ‘‘silver bullet’’ in many areas of SCM [4, p. 314], which illustrates the importance many firms place on it. Building relationships between companies rather than working
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