Quality excellence in complex supply networks: EFQM excellence model reconsidered

Abstract

Under the business pressures and megatrends shaping today's supply chains (SCs), enterprises have to compete and sustain as part of increasingly complex, highly interdependent and web-enabled supply networks. Achieving excellence in such a context has a meaning far beyond excellence within the enterprise boundaries and requires more than successfully established and maintained enterprise systems. Extant literature from both SC Management and Quality Management domains still appear to lack comprehensive and clarified definitions and requirements for quality excellence within complex supply networks. To contribute in this direction, this study aims at defining, clarifying and discussing quality excellence requirements within collaborative and complex supply networks. All the principles, discussions and requirements are structured and founded on the components of well-established European Foundation for Quality Management's (EFQM) Excellence Model. Therefore, this article answers the following research questions: ‘What are the requirements of excellence in complex supply networks?’ and ‘How EFQM components should be considered and treated in a collaborative setting?’ The contribution of this study lies in providing the requirements, definitions and extensions of EFQM components and a multi-partner representation for the extended setting. The findings suggest that a multi-partner, collaborative and network-centric understanding of each EFQM components is needed with respect to the soft and hard aspects, while a cross-partner excellence mindset is to be deployed across the network.