Focal Manufacturer Research Articles

Multi-criteria group decision analytics for sustainable supplier relationship management in a focal manufacturing company

In the context of sustainable development, while the benefits of incorporating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations into supplier management have been widely discussed in recent years, a significant gap in the literature remains. Specifically, there is a lack of a standardized decision analytics framework for ESG-oriented supplier relationship management (SRM) processes in the manufacturing sector. To address this gap, this study introduces a multi-criteria supplier analytics framework (MCSAF) towards sustainable SRM. Through referring traditional supplier evaluation criteria as well as emerging ESG criteria, a novel decision hierarchy for supplier segmentation is developed. The proposed system utilizes the Bayesian best-worst method and the Canopy-k-means clustering algorithm to formulate different supplier segments for strategic development. The proposed MCSAF has been successfully implemented in a German solar water pump manufacturer. The results show that the five highest-ranked criteria are ‘Quality’, ‘Impact and importance on product quality and business growth’, ‘Environmental policy/management’, ‘Customer and product responsibility’, and ‘Risk and crisis management’. 52 suppliers are categorized into five segments, leading to the formulation of ESG-enabled supplier development strategies are subsequently formulated. The successful implementation of the MCSAF showcases its effectiveness in advancing ESG practices in sustainable supplier management.

The impact of supply chain information integration on supply chain coordination and organizational performance: does directionality matter?

This study evaluates how relationships, information characteristics, and supply chain information integration influence supply chain coordination and organizational performance in Bangladesh’s ready-made garment sector. Organizational performance includes operational performance and competitive performance. Data has been collected from 171 supplier-manufacturer dyads. Drawing on the coordination theory, this study theorizes that supply chain information integration and coordination can increase organizational performance. The structural equation modelling approach was used in data analysis. Generally, this study discloses that relationships and information characteristics positively influence supply chain information integration. Supply chain information integration directly influences supply chain coordination and competitive performance, whereas supply chain coordination is significantly related to operational and competitive performance. Moreover, supply chain coordination mediates the two relationships: supply chain information integration and operational performance and supply chain information integration and competitive performance. New insights are added by examining the relationships that connect the antecedents of supply chain information integration, supply chain information integration, and outcomes by looking at the focal manufacturing firm and its dyadic supplier partner separately. Separate examination in the dyad exhibits some identical and diverse outcomes. Furthermore, we suggest theoretical and practical implications for academics for theory building and managers.

Impact of conflict delisting and relisting on remaining products in retail stores: Sales gains across products categories and spillovers to nearby stores

Disputes between retailers and manufacturers often result in the retailer delisting the manufacturer's products, which dramatically alters competition in the retail market. When rival products are temporarily delisted, the products remaining on retail shelves are expected to gain sales due to substitution. However, it is unclear how much sales gain of remaining products can be expected, how long the sales gain persists after the rival products are relisted, whether the sales gain varies in different product categories, and whether the sales gain spills over from the delisting retailer to nearby retailers. In this research, we exploit a natural experiment enabled by a dispute between a retail chain and a beverage manufacturer that resulted in a 4‐week delisting of all products by the manufacturer (the delisted manufacturer) across all of the retailer's U.S. stores. We focus on a manufacturer (the focal manufacturer) that directly competes with the delisted manufacturer and quantify the sales gain for this focal manufacturer during the delisting and after the relisting event. Interestingly, in a near‐duopoly market, the focal manufacturer only gained 12.2% of sales during the delisting. After the dispute was settled and competition restored, the focal manufacturer's sales fluctuated for about 2 months before returning to the pre‐delisting level. Additionally, we find a spillover in sales gain to nearby stores during the delisting, which was mainly to small‐box retail stores rather than big‐box stores. Moreover, at both delisting and nearby stores, we find the focal manufacturer's sugar‐sweetened, caffeinated, and star products gained sales during the event while other products did not. We check the robustness of our results with a machine learning nonparametric method, among a few other alternative methods, to measure the average treatment effects. Understanding the size and duration of these heterogeneous effects can help manufacturers and retailers better respond to changes in market competition and evaluate their delisting decisions.

Implications of using Industry 4.0 base technologies for lean and agile supply chains and performance

The adoption of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies in recent years has generated conditions for substantial changes in supply chain management. However, research is still ongoing on how I4.0 technologies can be integrated into current supply chain models to improve supply chain capabilities and performance. This work aims to contribute to understanding the relationships between Industry 4.0 technologies and lean and agile supply chain strategies, and identifying the implications for the focal firm's operational performance. In this study, we focus on a specific group of emerging I4.0 technologies known as I4.0 base technologies (i.e., cloud computing, Internet of Things, and Big Data analytics), whose complementary features can enhance the data collection, storage, and sharing, as well as the analysis processes. Drawing on the Dynamic Capabilities Theory, a structural equation model is used to analyze data collected from 256 Spanish focal manufacturing firms. Results indicate that I4.0 base technologies do not have the same effects on lean and agile supply chain strategies. While I4.0 base technologies can make supply chains leaner, they have been found to have no significant direct effect on agile supply chain implementation. Further, findings indicate a direct relationship between the lean and agile approaches and that the latter generates mediation effects between lean and operational performance.

Sourcing diversification: Strategy selection, sourcing allocation and brand power

The supply of power batteries is monopolised by a few suppliers, resulting in high purchasing costs for electric vehicle manufacturers (EVMs). Hence, some EVMs have implemented diversified sourcing strategies to seek purchase concessions and reduce their dependence on battery suppliers. Motivated by the sourcing strategies of EVMs, we develop a game-theoretic model to investigate the optimal procurement strategies of manufacturers with different brand power. The model consists of a primary supplier, an alternative supplier, and two competing manufacturers, wherein the focal manufacturer has the option of implementing dual sourcing or partial outsourcing through sourcing allocation, whereas the rival manufacturer only sources from the primary supplier. Specifically, we first study the focal manufacturer’s three procurement strategies under the primary supplier’s uniform pricing: single sourcing (the benchmark), dual sourcing and partial outsourcing. Then, we examine the primary supplier’s strategic response to the manufacturer’s sourcing diversification: maintaining uniform pricing or switching to differential pricing. By analysing the equilibrium profits, we find that compared with the situation under single sourcing, both the primary supplier and the focal manufacturer may obtain higher profits under dual sourcing or partial outsourcing. However, with an increase in the focal manufacturer’s order proportion, the primary supplier’s profit may decrease; and the focal manufacturer’s diversified sourcing strategy may hurt all the supply chain players. Furthermore, we show that when the primary supplier considers switching to differential pricing, the focal manufacturer tends to abandon the diversified sourcing and adopt single sourcing.

Sustainable Supplier Evaluation in an Automotive Company Using Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Methods

Sustainable supplier management literature is mainly on sustainable supplier selection but sustainable supplier performance monitoring & evaluation studies are scarce. Furthermore, the studies do not differentiate the sustainability evaluation criteria between the supplier selection and monitoring & evaluation stages. To bridge this gap, this study aimed to monitor & evaluate sustainability performance of the suppliers of a focal manufacturing company in automotive sector with the TBL approach. Toward that end, we questioned and tried to identify first the sustainable supplier selection and monitoring & evaluation differentiating criteria, and then, how we can rank and rate the sustainable suppliers for developmental purposes in the monitoring & evaluation phase. 21 criteria were determined for sustainable supplier performance in monitoring & evaluation by a detailed literature review and taking the opinions of the focal company. Then, decision makers assessed sustainability dimensions and determined criteria related to these dimensions. The weights of dimensions and criteria were calculated by Interval-Valued Intuitionistic Fuzzy AHP method. Then, sustainability performances of selected suppliers from the focal company’s portfolio were ranked by using Fuzzy EDAS, Fuzzy CODAS and Fuzzy MOORA methods. The results show that sustainable supplier monitoring & evaluation criteria involve a mix of external criteria (rules and regulations) and internal criteria (suppliers’ values). This finding helps us understand how we can have a more relaxed criteria set involving basic external criteria while selecting suppliers to have access to a more innovative and diverse supplier space and then have more challenging internal and external criteria to monitor & evaluate those suppliers toward true sustainability.

Digitization of interorganizational relationships: direct effects of benefit magnitude and indirect effects of benefit asymmetry on reseller profit

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the effects of relationship digitization benefits on reseller profit. The authors hypothesized two pathways by which the digitization benefits improve reseller profitability: direct and indirect. The direct pathway is via enhancing the reseller’s digital resources and capabilities and the indirect pathway is by improving the relationship with a focal manufacturer by reducing inequity and enhancing interorganizational trust.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use the survey methodology to attempt to understand the interorganizational dynamics of digitization. The authors survey more than 200 resellers in the computer and computer components industry.FindingsOverall, the pattern of results generally supports the framework for direct and indirect effects of digitization benefits on the bottom line of the reseller, as well as the idea of examining the benefits structure components of benefit magnitude and benefit asymmetry. Sales benefit magnitude improves reseller profit directly, as enhanced digital resources result in a more efficient and effective reseller salesforce. The indirect effects flow through to profitability via inequity and trust.Originality/valueThe authors are not aware of any prior research that uses the asymmetry and magnitude framework to approach the digitization phenomenon.

Complexity in three-echelon supply chain network and manufacturing firm’s operational performance

The purpose of this paper is to understand the combined impact of supply chain structural complexity and operational complexity on the operational performance of manufacturing firms in a three-echelon supply chain network. The paper uses Shannon’s information entropy theory and agent-based modeling to find the intended relationships. The structural complexity is represented by the numbers of customers and suppliers associated with the focal manufacturing firm, whereas the operational complexity is represented by demand variability experienced by the manufacturing firm. The operational performance of the manufacturing firm is measured in terms of its capacity utilization, demand fulfillment, and inventory level. The paper finds that increasing the number of customers reduces capacity utilization and demand fulfillment, and increases inventory level whereas increasing the number of suppliers increases capacity utilization, demand fulfillment, and inventory level for the focal manufacturing firm. The results also show that increasing the number of customers and suppliers together initially improves the capacity utilization and demand fulfillment of the manufacturing firm but these deteriorate subsequently. Furthermore, increasing operational complexity reduces the operational performance of the firm. Thus, the paper finds how the operational performance of the focal manufacturing firm changes with the changes in supply chain structural complexity and operational complexity in a three-echelon supply chain. The results imply that manufacturing firms need to carefully orchestrate their supply chain network as increasing the number of customers and suppliers in the network does not necessarily improve their operational performance.

Additive manufacturing value chain adoption

PurposeAdopting additive manufacturing (AM) on a large-scale requires an adoption in company value chains. This may happen through product innovation and require interorganizational cooperation, but the value-adding potential of cooperation and application recognition is still poorly understood. This study aims to investigate the progress of AM adoption in innovation projects featuring AM application recognition and interorganizational cooperation in the value chain.Design/methodology/approachA multiple-case study was implemented in successful metallic AM adoption examples to increase the understanding of AM adoption in value chains. Primary data were collected through interviews and documents in three AM projects, and the data were analyzed qualitatively.FindingsAll three AM projects showed evidence of successful AM value chain adoption. Identifying the right application and the added value of AM within it were crucial starting points for finding new value chains. Interorganizational collaboration facilitated both value-based designs and experimentation with new supply chains. Thereby, the focal manufacturing company did not need to invest in AM machines. The key activities of the new value chain actors are mapped in the process of AM adoption.Research limitations/implicationsThe cases are set in a business-to-business context, which narrows the transferability of the results. As a theoretical contribution, this paper introduces the concept of AM value chain adoption. The value-adding potential of AM is identified, and the required value-adding activities in collaborative innovation are reported. As a practical implication, the study reveals how companies can learn of AM and adopt AM value chains without investing in AM machines. They can instead leverage relationships with other companies that have the AM knowledge and infrastructure.Originality/valueThis paper introduces AM value chain adoption as a novel, highly interactive phase in the industry-wide adoption of metallic AM. AM value chain adoption is characterized in multi-company collaboration settings, which complements the single-company view dominant in previous research. Theory elaboration is offered through merging technology adoption with external integration from the information processing view, emphasizing the necessity of interorganizational cooperation in AM value chain adoption. Companies can benefit each other during AM adoption, starting with identifying the value-creating opportunities and applications for AM.

Pricing, Quality, and Stocking Decisions in a Manufacturer-Centric Dual Channel

Problem description. We consider a dual channel in which a focal manufacturer (he) sells his output through his online store and an independent brick-and-mortar retailer (she). In this manufacturer-centric dual channel, we study product line, stocking, and pricing decisions in the presence of stochastic demand and inventory constraints. The pricing decisions include choosing whether to give price match guarantees (PMGs), standard in the U.S. retail practice. Methodology/Results. We analyze a game-theoretic model in which a focal manufacturer designs a product line, sets wholesale prices, and decides what products to sell in the dual channel. An independent brick-and-mortar retailer responds to the product line design and the wholesale prices by making stocking decisions in her store. Then, both stores observe demand and independently set retail prices subject to any PMGs that the stores gave to consumers. The brick-and-mortar store (online store) fulfills demand in a make-to-stock (make-to-order) fashion. We find that whenever one of the stores holds a competitive advantage, the manufacturer sells the same product line in both stores. If the brick-and-mortar store holds an advantage, it matches the online store’s retail price to obtain favorable wholesale pricing from the manufacturer. We find no equilibria where the online store price matches the brick-and-mortar store or the stores’ prices match each other. Finally, when neither store has a clear advantage, the manufacturer mitigates price competition by designing a different product for each store. Managerial implications. Our model helps identify optimal stocking and pricing strategies that depend on e-fulfillment cost and demand uncertainty and offers a novel reason for offering PMGs in a supply chain.

System Dynamics Modeling in Additive Manufacturing Supply Chain Management

A system dynamics model was developed with the primary purpose of visualizing the behavior of a supply chain (SC) when it adopts a disruptive technology such as additive manufacturing (AM). The model proposed a dynamic hypothesis that defines the following issue: what is the impact of the AM characteristics and processes in the SC? The model was represented through a causal diagram in thirteen variables related to the SC, organized in two feedback cycles and a data flow diagram, based mainly on the three-essential links of the SC and the order display traceability: supplier–focal manufacturer–distribution Network. Once proposed, the model was validated through the evaluation of extreme conditions and sensitivity analysis. As a result, the dynamic behavior of the variables that condition the chain management was analyzed, evidencing reduction times in production, especially in products that require greater complexity and detail, as well as reductions in inventories and the amount of raw material due to production and storing practices from AM. This model is the starting point for alternative supply chain scenarios through structural operating policies and operating policies in terms of process management.

Inhibitors and enablers of supply chain integration across multiple supply chain tiers: evidence from Malawi

PurposeThis paper investigates the inhibitors and enablers of supply chain integration (SCI) across multiple tiers in the supply chains of manufacturing-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Malawi.Design/methodology/approachFollowing a qualitative approach, data were collected through face-to-face interviews across three supply chains, each consisting of a focal manufacturer, a major supplier and a retailer.FindingsThe research identified interpersonal relationships, supplier cost transparency and joint supply chain management (SCM) investments as key enablers of SCI. Concerning the inhibitors of SCI, the study found that a lack of external integration inhibited internal integration by acting as a source of disruption to intra-firm processes and relationships. Further, the research found weaker links between manufacturer–-retailer dyads than in manufacturer–supplier dyads, which constrained the ability to achieve multi-tier supplier–manufacture–retailer integration. The study also revealed that resource and infrastructural deficiencies, a culture of fear and intimidation within and between firms, corruption in sourcing transactions and a lack of inter-firm trust inhibited SCI.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper extends earlier evidence that internal integration is a prerequisite for external integration demonstrating that a basic level of external integration is necessary to prevent disruptions to internal integration.Originality/valueThis study is one of the few to go beyond the focal firm perspective and explore the inhibitors and enablers of SCI across multiple supply chain positions, and provides new evidence on the role of external integration in achieving internal integration.

Competition in dual-channel supply chains: The manufacturers' channel selection

Innovative selling channels have brought about opportunities as well as challenges for upstream manufacturers. The past few years have witnessed both the success and failure of manufacturers with different channel strategies. To explore the rationale of different channel strategies in various contexts, we develop a model to analyze a manufacturer's channel selection decision among three channel strategies, i.e., a direct-channel strategy, a retail-channel strategy, and a dual-channel strategy consisting of both direct and retail channels. The model rests on the channel differentiation in terms of consumers’ channel preferences and operating costs of retail and direct channels. Specifically, we incorporate the action of a competitor and track down its influence on the focal manufacturer's channel preference. Our research clarifies the role of competition in the market and offers insights into the competitive nature of business in real life. Results show that the manufacturer's channel preference depends not only on the channels’ operating costs and consumers’ channel preferences but also on the competitor's channel strategy. We find that symmetric manufacturers can adopt asymmetric strategies as Nash equilibria and also that there are situations where no Nash equilibrium exists. We characterize the Nash equilibria in the channel selection game based on the exogenous parameters of the model.

How can cross-functional integration support the development of resilience capabilities? The case of collaboration in the automotive industry

Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyze cross-functional integration processes and their respective impacts on resilience capabilities, with particular emphasis on collaboration, in an automotive supply chain. Design/methodology/approach A case study was conducted in an automotive supply chain through 18 in-depth interviews with managers from six different companies, namely, two suppliers, one focal manufacturer and three customers. The automotive industry is one of the most vital industries in the Brazilian economy and is still recovering from the 2015 financial crisis, making it an interesting case for this research. Findings The findings reveal several links between resilience and cross-functional integration literatures through the analysis of three basic categories, namely, disruptions (lack of product, interruption of production, delivery delay, organizational bankruptcy and sales loss); capabilities (redundancy, flexibility, adaptability, collaboration, visibility and agility); and integration factors (cross-functional meetings, adequate communication, longevity of relationships, cross-functional training, recognition of interdependence and the consideration given to informal groups). Practical implications This research addresses several implications for practitioners. Managers should pay attention to the cross-functional teams, which may provide internal collaboration, and hence collaboration in the supply chain. Originality/value This paper suggests a new concept for the collaboration capability. According to the results, collaboration is the capability of dealing with formal and informal factors to integrate both the internal functions and supply chain members, which can provide visibility, agility and adaptability toward supply chain resilience.

Data-driven Context Awareness of Smart Products in Discrete Smart Manufacturing Systems

Traditionally, smart-connected products are predominantly utilized during the usage phase of the product lifecycle. However, we argue that there are distinct benefits of system-integrated sensor systems during the beginning of life, more specifically in manufacturing and assembly. In this paper, we analyze the ability of a smart-connected product with an integrated sensor system to recognize and label different manufacturing processes, generating a distinct process fingerprint within a discrete smart manufacturing system. The ability of the smart-connected product to detect distinct manufacturing process patterns (‘process fingerprint’) enables the production planner and operator, e.g., to optimize the scheduling, improve part quality, and/or reduce the energy footprint. The experimental setup is based on a FestoDidactics CPlab with eight different manufacturing processes. The smart-connected product is equipped with a sensor system providing data from eight different sensors (e.g., temperature, humidity, acceleration). We used an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) algorithm to create a model to detect specific events/patterns within the dataset after labelling it manually over the course of a complete production cycle. The focal manufacturing process was the heating tunnel where the smart-connected product was exposed to a heat treatment process and sequence. The results of this prototypical implementation indicate that a smart-connected product can reliably recognize specific process patterns with a system-integrated sensor system during a simulated manufacturing process. While this work is only a first step, the potential applications and benefits are promising and further research should focus on the potential quality implications within smart manufacturing of product-integrated sensor readings compared to machine tool-based sensors, both of which monitored during the beginning of life. Smart products’ integrated sensor systems provide the means to obtain measurements relevant for smart manufacturing systems that are not obtainable with common external sensor systems today.

Impacts of supply chain planning and integration on mass customization

PurposeEffective mass customization (MC) depends on accurately identifying customer needs and procuring appropriate components from supply base to manufacture the required product configurations in a timely manner. In essence, effective MC for a focal firm is contingent on effective supply chain management. However, extant literature is not very clear on how supply chain (SC) planning and integration activities affect MC. The purpose of this paper is to fill the gap by examining the impacts of SC-planning and SC-integration on MC.Design/methodology/approachOrganizational information processing theory is used to link SC-integration with MC ability, and a link is hypothesized between SC-planning and SC-integration. The structural equation model is then analyzed using data from 262 manufacturing plants.FindingsIt is found that SC-integration fully mediates the relationship between SC-planning and MC-ability.Research limitations/implicationsThe SC-integration measure is from a focal manufacturer’s standpoint, rather than the standpoint of the entire SC.Practical implicationsThe results indicate that using a SC perspective in planning activities helps a focal firm integrate with key stakeholders along the SC, which subsequently helps the firm mass customize. Practitioners should recognize the added importance of SC-planning and SC-integration if they want to mass customize.Originality/valueThis study provides a theoretical foundation for the relationship between SC-integration and MC. It also provides a more comprehensive conceptualization of SC-integration, which includes supplier integration, customer integration, as well as internal functional integration which was neglected in many previous studies.

Cost Sharing in the Prevention of Supply Chain Disruption

We examine the influence of cost-sharing mechanism on the disruption prevention investment in a supply chain with unreliable suppliers. When a supply chain faces considerable loss following a disruption, supply chain members are motivated toward investing in manners that reduce their disruption probability. In improving supply chain reliability, the cost-sharing mechanism must be set appropriately to realize the efficiency of the disruption prevention investment. In a supply chain where the focal manufacturing company has its own subsidiary supplier and an outsourcing supplier, we analyze different forms of cost-sharing mechanisms when both suppliers confront disruption risks. Through the cost-sharing mechanisms presented in this study, supply chain members can improve their reliability via disruption prevention investments without considerably increasing the total supply chain cost. We present two concepts, the cost-sharing structure and the cost-sharing ratio, in this study. As the two key components of cost-sharing mechanism, these two elements constitute a practicable cost allocation mechanism to facilitate disruption prevention.

Supply chain quality integration: A taxonomy perspective

Quality management has received increasing attention in supply chain management. The concept of supply chain quality integration (SCQI) is used to explain how a focal manufacturer integrates with its upstream suppliers and downstream customers for quality improvement. Although the contingent effects of SCQI on quality-related performance have been studied, SCQI patterns and their relationships with performance remain unknown. Using data collected from 317 manufacturers across 10 countries, this study adopts a configuration approach to identify SCQI patterns and their relationships with quality-related performance. Five SCQI patterns composed of different levels of supplier, internal, and customer quality integration are identified. We describe these SCQI patterns in terms of the strength and balance of manufacturers’ quality integration. The ANOVA results show that quality-related performance varies according to different SCQI patterns. Interestingly, product quality is not distinguishable across SCQI patterns. Delivery performance is improved in patterns with a high level of balance of quality integration. The cost of quality is lower in patterns with a high level of customer quality integration. Flexibility is achieved in patterns with high balance and strength of quality integration. This study contributes to the supply chain management and quality management literature, and provides suggestions for managers to adopt different SCQI configurations to improve different types of quality-related performance.

Path analysis for proposed framework of SCM excellence in Indian manufacturing industry

Purpose – Several authors in extant literature have shown concern towards lacuna in availability of standard constructs in supply chain management (SCM). These standard constructs can represent pillars of SCM excellence. However, frameworks on SCM excellence unlike its contemporary fields are very few. Thus the purpose of this paper is to develop a path analysis for proposed framework of SCM excellence in Indian manufacturing industry proposed by Soni and Kodali (2014) using interpretive structural modelling (ISM) and structural equation modelling (SEM). Design/methodology/approach – The ISM is performed on two exemplary cases of supply chain in Indian manufacturing industry. These cases were selected on the consideration of supply chain excellence index (SCEI), based on the results of an empirical study conducted by Soni and Kodali (2014) in Indian manufacturing industry. The focal manufacturing company which exhibited lowest and highest SCEI were selected as contenders for developing ISM. The relationships among pillars and constructs of SCM excellence framework are obtained from ISM, and later are subjected to statistical testing of model fit by using SEM. The input to SEM was the respondent’s data used in previous study. Findings – The major findings revealed that ISM based on focal company having highest SCEI, is statistically fit for SCM excellence framework, and finally the structural models of the constructs for each pillar of SCM excellence are also formed by using path analysis. Originality/value – The study offers a unique managerial approach for analysing the underlying relationships between pillars of SCM excellence. Researchers can use this study for developing frameworks in various realms of SCM excellence.

Assessing the competitive priorities within sustainable supply chain management under uncertainty

Sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) is driving firms to extend their social, economic and environmental efforts across their supply chain. Competitive priorities are a strategic integration in SSCM and thus to firm performance. However, the literature has not thoroughly examined the hierarchical structure among the competitive priorities and SSCM under uncertainty. This study adapts a hierarchical structure and linguistic preferences to identify the competitive priorities under SSCM in electronic focal manufacturing firms in Taiwan. This study formed an expert team with industrial experience and proposed to apply interval-valued triangular fuzzy numbers to represent the linguistic preferences and used multi-criteria decision making to assess the hierarchical structure in identifying the ranking of competitive priorities and the tradeoffs. Specifically, the result found that innovation is a top priority for all SSCM aspects. Likewise, businesses should be aware of suppliers, customers and dependability aspects. The implications and conclusions are discussed.