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Chapter 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 INTRODUCTION
Literature review helps to identify, appraise, select and synthesize all high quality research
evidence relevant to supply chain management. Ever since 1982, when Keith Oliver used the
term ‘Supply Chain Management’ for the first time, researchers and practitioners have
contributed and developed the concept to great significance. The present literature review
categorized research articles on supply chain optimization, integration, restructuring,
performance, efficiency, environment and social parameters. It also provided evidence that the
growing importance to environment and social issues are incorporated in supply chain
research leading to the concept of Green Supply chain Management and Sustainable Supply
Chain management.
2.2 REVIEW OF SCM LITERATURE
The SCM emerged in the early 1980s due to the fast changing and challenging environment in
industries [32]. The logic of synchronization and integration of players involved in business
activities can be traced back to the ancient times [33]. Mentzer, et al., 2001 [7] distinguished
between supply chains as phenomena that exist in business and the management of those
supply chains. The phenomenon of supply chain exists even if none of the organizations
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actively implements any of the concepts of SCM to manage the supply chain to realize exists
[7].
SCM has basically evolved from physical distribution management and logistics management.
Forrester [4] recognized the integrated nature of organizational relationships and introduced a
theory of distribution management which proposed that “there will come general recognition
of the advantage enjoyed by the pioneering management who have been the first to improve
their understanding of the interrelationships between separate company functions and between
the company and its markets, its industry, and the national economy.” He also highlighted the
importance of materials flow and the reduction of the total inventory. In the 1960s and 1970s,
physical distribution and logistics were recognized as important links in a firm’s ability to
serve its customers. Physical distribution was first to emerge, since it represents about two
thirds of logistics costs and was considered a component of the marketing mix of essential
elements [3]. Though physical distribution was usually associated with outbound logistics,
Smykay et al., (1961) [34] included both inbound and outbound movements as part of
business logistics. Heskett et al., (1964) [35] extended the concept of physical supply and
physical distribution and integrated it with coordination of the material flows throughout the
entire chain. These concepts of integration and synchronization were subsequently built upon
to develop what is currently described as SCM.
With the onset of 1980s, there was a significant increase in professionalism within
distribution. Measures like centralized distribution, severe reduction in stock holding and
usage of computer for information processing were dominant [33]. Inventory management
and warehousing became part of corporate decisions [36]. Third party distribution services
started ushering, which further brought methods of improving information transmission and
processing to the front [37]. At some point in the mid-1980s, emerged the all-encompassing
term: supply chain management. It included the concepts of transportation, distribution and
material management. The term first appeared in print in 1982, and is attributed to Keith
Oliver, a consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton [38]. It was then used by Houlihan (1984,
1985 and 1988) [39] [40] [41] to depict material flows across organizational boundaries. Mid-
1980s saw the emergence of an era of SCM. The paradigm of integration began to shift
gradually from internal to external integration [33].
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Subsequent to Houlihan (1985), numerous other researchers introduced new concepts and
suggested frameworks for managing the supply chains. Ganeshan et al. (1999) stated that
SCM goes beyond the boundaries of a company and linked operating decisions to strategic
considerations [42]. Stevens (1989) observed that more successful companies will be the one
who developed an integrated supply chain strategy [43]. Development of SCM can be traced
from the definitions given during the various periods since the 1980s. Oliver and Webber
(1982) [38] simply defined SCM “as management of flow of goods from supplier to end
consumer”, while in 1990, Ellram and Cooper [44] described SCM as a function integrating
philosophy in a supply chain. Berry et al. (1994) [45] focused more on maintaining long-term
relationships among members in supply chain, which clearly reflects the state of environment
prevailing in supply chains in 1990s [33]. La Londe and Masters (1994) [46] proposed that “a
supply chain is a set of firms that pass materials forward”. Normally, several independent
firms are involved in manufacturing a product and delivering it to the consumer in a supply
chain—raw material and component suppliers, product assemblers, channel partners, dealers,
retailers and logistics companies are all members of a supply chain [46]. A simple Supply
Chain Model (Figure 2-1) proposed by Beamon in 1998 [13] identifies two basic, integrated
processes: ‘production planning and inventory control process’, and the ‘distribution and
logistics process’.
Figure 2-1 : The Supply Chain Process (Source: Beamon, 1998)
Another definition by Mentzer et al. (2001) notes “a supply chain is the network of
organizations that are involved, through upstream and downstream linkages, in the different
processes and activities that produce value in the form of products and services delivered to
the ultimate consumer” [7]. In other words, “a supply chain consists of multiple firms, both
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upstream (i.e., supply) and downstream (i.e., distribution), and the ultimate consumer” [7].
Mentzer et al. (2001) identified three degrees of supply chain complexity: a “direct supply
chain,” an “extended supply chain,” and an “ultimate supply chain” [7]. The increasing
complexity of direct, extended and ultimate supply chains is illustrated in Figure 2-2. A third
party financial provider may be providing financing, assuming some of the risk, and offering
financial advice; a third party logistics (3PL) provider is performing the logistics activities;
and a market research firm may provide information about the market demand and needs of
consumers.
Figure 2-2 : Degrees of supply chain complexity (Source: Mentzer et al., 2001)
Lambert et al. (1998) [47] and Simchi et al. (2003) [48] emphasized on holistic view i.e.,
importance of overall optimization in supply chain rather than functional optimization, thus
adding one more aspect to SCM. Reviewing the literature, Mentzer et al. (2001) [7]
synthesized the definitions of supply chain management and defined it as “the systemic,
strategic coordination of the traditional business functions and the tactics across these
business functions within a particular company and across businesses within the supply chain,
for the purposes of improving the long-term performance of the individual companies and the
supply chain as a whole [7].”
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Based directional supply chain flows, Mentzer et al. (2001) [7] proposed a new model for
supply chain management. Figure 2-3 shows the flow of products, services, financial
resources, and the information associated with these flows. It also shows the critical role of
inter-corporate coordination in the global environment as well as inter-functional coordination
among different functions leading to customer satisfaction, added value to achieve
competitive advantage and profitability for the individual companies in the supply chain, and
the supply chain as a whole. Fleischmann et al. (2002) [49] categorized the supply chain into
four main stages or processes and described their purpose. Procurement involves the
operations for sourcing of the raw material and resources necessary for production. Next
process is production which converts the raw materials into semi-finished and/or finished
products. Distribution includes movement of the products either to companies for further
processing or to distribution centers and subsequently to retailers. Thereafter, the sales process
includes customer selection, market segmentation; pricing policy, demand forecasting and
delivery policies.
Figure 2-3: A Model of Supply Chain Management (Source: Mentzer et al., 2001)
Fox, et al., 1993 [50] defined supply chain “as a set of activities which span enterprise
functions from the ordering and receipt of raw materials through the manufacturing of
products through the distribution and delivery to the customer. In order to operate efficiently,
these functions must operate in an integrated manner”.
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Figure 2-4: Supply chain management functions (Source: Fox et al., 1993)
In an enterprise, providing rapid and quality responses to supply chain events requires the
coordination of multiple functions. Supply chain management functions operate on three
levels: strategic level, tactical level, and operational level [50]. Each level is distinguished by
the time horizon over which decisions are made, and the granularity of decisions during that
period. Fleischmann and Meyr (2003) [51] provided the matrix (Figure 2-5) that encompasses
the operational, tactical and strategic analysis for decision making at short-term, mid-term and
long-term levels respectively. The degree of detail increases and the planning horizon
decreases while shifting from the long-term to the short-term.
Figure 2-5 : Supply Chain Planning Matrix (Source: Fleischmann and Meyr, 2003)
‘Strategic decisions’ are concerned with the design and structure of a supply chain and have
long-term effects, noticeable over several years. Mid-term planning, also referred as tactical
planning, is included within the strategic decisions and outlines the regular flow of resources
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in supply chain operations. The planning horizon ranges from 6 months and up to 2 years.
Short-term planning is the lowest planning level and delineates the detailed activities and
instructions at the operational level. The planning horizon is between a few days and three
months. Strategic decisions in supply chains are made for the long term and are expensive to
alter. Strategic decisions outline the approach for management of supply chain operations for
tactical decisions, which have a horizon of about three months to a year; and operations
decisions, which have a horizon ranging from a day to a month [52].
2.2.1 SCM PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT
Sink and Tuttle (1989) stated that ‘‘you cannot manage what you cannot measure’’ [12].
Measurement of supply chain processes and their benchmarking is essential for improving the
efficiency and effectiveness of supply chain management. Beamon (1998) [13] provided a
definition as “a performance measure, or a set of performance measures, is used to determine
the efficiency and/or effectiveness of an existing system, or to compare competing alternative
systems”. Performance measurement system is an important feedback mechanism for
monitoring performance, identifying progress, fix responsibility and rewards, enhance inter
personal communication, and diagnose problems [14]. The performance metrics need to be
integrated and aligned with the organization’s business goals; otherwise they will not be able
to respond effectively to market changes and opportunities. Effective decisions making is not
possible if performance is measured differently in every department in the organization [15].
Thus for any business organization, measurement of its performance becomes critical and
necessitate a robust performance measurement system.
The concept of performance of supply chains is even more relevant in developing economies
where the designing and modeling of supply chains is at a nascent stage as compared to the
state-of-the-art techniques employed by the developing countries. With the advent of
globalization and opening up of world economies, industries in the developing countries have
become a part of the global supply chains. The manufacturing industry in developing
countries, therefore, needs to produce world class products and services by improving their
performance. This entails optimizing their processes within the supply chain and improving
their performance by implementing performance measurement systems. Thus, performance
measurement methods are gaining importance as feedback mechanism for monitoring
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performance, identifying progress, and diagnosing problems. These shall be considered as a
critical element in implementing supply chain strategy into operational actions [53].
Literature on performance measurements in SCM can be categorized into two distinctive
phases [54], first phase until 1980’s in which performance was measured exclusively on
financial measures, and the second phase, after late-1980s which corresponds to the
emergence of new performance measures in the evaluation of supply chain effectiveness and
efficiency. These new measures were categorized as ‘qualitative’ or ‘quantitative’. Qualitative
performance measures are defined as “measures for which there is no single direct numerical
measurement, although some aspects of them may be quantified, viz. Customer Satisfaction,
Flexibility, Information and Material Flow Integration etc”. Quantitative performance
measures are those measures that may be directly described numerically. Quantitative supply
chain performance measures may further be categorized by cost or profit measures and
measures of customer responsiveness [13]. Beamon (1999a) [55] elaborated on his
classification and identified three types of performance measures: resources (efficient
utilization), output (customer service) and flexibility (responsiveness).
Traditional cost-based measures, however, place a greater emphasis upon productivity
measures. They take a uni-dimensional perspective, lack flexibility and do not consider
customer requirements. Kaplan and Norton [56, 57] proposed the ‘balanced scorecard’
method which uses a set of measures reflecting the holistic approach of SCM performance
[58]. The balanced scorecard (BSC) provides good guidance for designing the core measures
in supply chain performance measurement systems. However, it was not specifically designed
for the supply chain; therefore it is quite difficult to couple Kaplan logic in a supply chain
because this methodology is done for a single organization. Moreover, along a supply
chain, many organizations are working together. Therefore because of the number of entities,
and because of its nature, it is not obvious to use this methodology on a supply chain. [59]
The BSC is criticized as it proved to be a very useful tool at the top management level, but it’s
applicability at shop floor level needs to be further investigated. Moreover, the BSC was
developed outside SCM, so the challenge is to develop a BSC for the companies in a specific
supply chain, given its ‘environment’ [60].
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Table 2-1 Supply chains performance measures (Source: Gunasekaran et al., 2001)
Gunasekaran, et al., (2001) [61] developed a framework for measuring the performances from
strategic, tactical, and operational levels in supply chains. Strategic level performance
measures are the measures related to the business and competitive strategy. Tactical
performance measures are the measures involving mostly in-house tactics to achieve the
targeted goals. Operational performance measures are mostly related to production,
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manufacturing, quality etc. Some of the measures such as innovations are hard to categorize
as they can be put in more than one level.
Based on SCOR processes of supply chain, viz. plan, source, make or assemble and delivery,
Gunasekaran, et al., 2001 [61] classified their metrics and proposed a framework which
includes both financial and non-financial measures (Figure 2-6).
Figure 2-6 Metrics at four basic links in a supply chain (Source: Gunasekaran et al., 2001)
Gunasekaran and Kobu (2007) identified traditional performance measures can be used for
measuring the performance in a new enterprise environment, and also prioritized them on
basis of applicability. They focused on intangibles and non-financial performance measures
which are critical for the running the business successfully in a given environment [62].
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2.2.2 SCOR
The first widely accepted performance measures for supply chain performance measurement
were generated by Supply Chain Council (SCC) and were named as supply chain operations
reference (SCOR) model. The SCOR were based on the idea of integrated SCM and were
accepted as cross-industry framework for evaluating and improving enterprise-wide supply
chain performance and management [63]. SCOR defines supply chain as “the integrated
process of plan, source, make, deliver and return spanning suppliers’ supplier to customers’
customer, aligned with operational strategy, material, work and information flows”. The
model integrates the concepts of business process re-engineering, benchmarking and process
measurement into a cross-functional framework that describes processes rather than functions.
SCOR does not attempt to describe every business process or activity. The SCOR model is a
process reference model that serves as a diagnostic tool for supply chain management. The
SCOR model (version 10.0) consists of four major components: Performance, Processes, Best
Practices and People.
SCOR model contains three levels of process details. Level 1 process are used to describe the
scope of a supply chain (Plan, Source, Make, Deliver, Return); level 2 process (26 in number)
are the configuration level differentiating the strategies of level 1 processes; and 185 level 3
element level processes describing the steps to execute the level 2 processes. [15]. Based on
these three process levels, the SCOR model recognizes three levels of predefined metrics.
Bolstroff (2002) divided the level 1 metrics in two broad categories: Customer facing, i.e.
measuring supply chain delivery reliability, responsiveness and agility with respect to
customers and suppliers; and internal facing, i.e. metrics measuring supply chain cost and
asset management efficiency [64]. Huan et al. (2004) [65] stated that SCOR endorses twelve
‘level 1’ performance metrics, which fall under 4 ‘performance attributes’: Reliability,
flexibility and Responsiveness, Costs, and Asset Management. The strength of SCOR model
is that it provides a standard format to facilitate communication. Tong (2008) developed a
balance scorecard based on SCOR model in a case study of a manufacturing company. He
reviewed the SCOR model and identified 6 customer facing and 7 internal facing performance
metrics. [66]. The SCOR performance section consists of two types of elements: Performance
Attributes and Metrics.
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2.2.2.1 Performance attributes
A performance attribute is “a group of metrics used to express a strategy. An attribute itself
cannot be measured; it is used to set strategic direction”. SCOR identifies five core supply
chain performance attributes: Reliability, Responsiveness, Agility, Costs, and Asset
Management.
A. Customer-focused metrics measure supply chain delivery reliability, responsiveness
and agility with respect to customers and suppliers.
Reliability: The attribute focuses on the predictability of the outcome of a process
attribute and the ability to perform tasks as expected. Metrics based on the reliability
attribute include: on-time, the right quantity, the right quality. The SCOR key
performance indicator (KPI) is ‘Perfect Order Fulfillment’.
Responsiveness: This attribute describes the speed at which tasks are performed.
Examples include cycle-time metrics. The SCOR KPI is ‘Order Fulfillment Cycle
Time’.
Agility: Ability to respond to external influences and the ability to change describe the
agility attribute. The SCOR KPIs include ‘Flexibility’ and ‘Adaptability’.
Figure 2-7 SCOR Level 1 metrics (Source: Theeranuphattana and Tang, 2008)
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B. Internal-focused metrics measure supply chain cost and asset management efficiency.
Costs: This attribute describes the costs of operating the process, including includes
labor costs, material costs, and transportation costs. The SCOR KPIs are ‘Cost of
Goods Sold’ and ‘Supply Chain Management Cost’.
Asset Management: The “assets” attribute describes the ability to efficiently utilize
assets. Strategies such as inventory reduction and in-sourcing vs. outsourcing are part
of asset management. Metrics include the ‘inventory days of supply’ and ‘capacity
utilization’. The SCOR KPIs include: ‘Return on Working Capital’ and ‘Return on
Fixed Assets’ [15].
Theeranuphattana and Tang (2008) developed a practical and efficient measurement model
(Figure 2-7) incorporating the strengths of two different measurement models, namely Chan
and Qi’s model and the supply chain operations reference (SCOR) model to create a
synergistic new model [67].
2.2.2.2 Performance metrics
A metric is a standard for measurement of the performance of a process. SCOR defines three
levels of diagnostic metrics. SCOR Level 1 metric, also named as strategic metrics or key
performance indicators, are strategic, high-level measures that cross multiple SCOR
processes, and measure the overall strength of the supply chain. Level 1 metrics helps
establish realistic targets that support strategic objectives, e.g. ‘Perfect Order Fulfillment’.
SCOR Level 2 metric define the diagnostics for the level 1 metric and help to identify causes
of a performance gap for a level 1 metric. Examples of level 2 metric are ‘% of Orders
Delivered in Full’, ‘Delivery Performance to Customer Commit Date’, ‘Documentation
Accuracy’and ‘Perfect Condition’. SCOR Level 3 metrics serve as diagnostics for level 2
metric, few of which are ‘Delivery Item Accuracy’, ‘Delivery Quantity Accuracy’,
‘Compliance’, ‘Payment Documentation Accuracy’, ‘Shipping Documentation Accuracy’, ‘%
of Faultless Installations’, ‘Warranty and Returns’.
The main objective of Supply Chain Council [SCC] is to get companies involved in the
supply chain and improve the performance of it [68]. It translates qualitative performance
in metrics and gives list of metrics for supply chain. However, it is criticized by various
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researchers. SCOR is a reference model that does not consider mathematical models or
heuristics. It is based on the usage of indicators to analyze, compare and get the best
improvement strategy, guidelines or standards. The method to implement, and to choose
the right metrics is not really clear [59]. A weakness of the SCOR model is arguably that it
mainly focuses on processes and efficiency but not on strategy [67]. The SCOR model does
not specify the necessary collaboration with various stakeholders, including environmental
and societal aspects [69].
Framework Key features Relevance to SCM Limitation
Balance
scorecard by
Kaplan and
Norton
(1992)
Identifies financial
measures, customer
facing measures,
internal business, and
learning perspectives
measures.
Reflect non-financial
measures, soft issues and
continuous improvement.
1. Useful at the top management level,
but it’s applicability at shop floor level
needs to be further investigated.
2. It is quite difficult to couple BSC
logic in a supply chain because this
methodology is done for a single
organization. Does not provide a
holistic view which is core of supply
chain
Framework
by Beamon
(1999)
Identifies use of
resources, desired
output and flexibility
as measures. It
provides a detailed list
of performance
measures
Could be very effective for
supply chain performance
as it takes in to account
flexibility and provides a
quantitative approach for
its measurement.
1. Lacks soft issues of supply chain.
Ignores issues related to supplier
relations and supply performance. Not
useful to adopt in an integrated supply
chain performance measurement.
2. The model uses simple performance
measures, as simple measures are more
easily implemented.
Framework
by
Gunasekaran
et al. -2001
It identifies four
processes of supply
chain: plan, source,
make, and deliver.
Categorizes measures
into strategic,
operational and tactical
level
It includes issues such as
source performance and
customer satisfaction.
1. Distinction of various levels such as
strategic, tactical and operational
levels is not very clear.
2. The measures are identified from
literature and need to be empirically
tested.
SCOR
framework
SCOR is structured in
five levels, based on a
plan, source, make,
deliver and return
framework. Integrates
the concepts of
business process re-
engineering,
benchmarking and
process measurement
into a cross-functional
framework that
addresses management
issues at the enterprise
rather than at the
functional level.
SCOR focuses on three
process levels (Top level,
Configuration Level, and
Process Element level) and
does not attempt to
prescribe how a particular
company should conduct
its business or change its
systems and information
flows. SCOR model
describes processes rather
than functions.
1. A weakness is arguably that it mainly
focuses on processes and efficiency
but not on strategy.
2. In an integrated supply chain, levels of
chain become more complicated.
Herein, the method to implement, and
to choose the right metrics is not really
clear.
3. Does not specify the necessary
collaboration with various
stakeholders, including environmental
and societal aspects
Table 2-2 Summary of SCM performance metrics
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A summary of performance measurements models and framework discussed above, along
with their key features, relevance to SCM and limitations is provided in Table 2-2.
2.3 REVIEW OF GREEN SCM LITERATURE
With an increased focus on environment issues, the component “green” got involved to
address the influence and relationships of supply chain management to the natural
environment. Srivastava (2007) defined green supply chain management as “initiatives to
integrate environmental thinking into SCM, right from product design, material sourcing and
selection, manufacturing process, delivery of the final product to the consumers as well as
end-of-life management of the product after its useful life” [70]. Penfield (2007) [17] defines
GrSCM as “the process of using environment-friendly inputs and transforming these inputs
into outputs that can be reclaimed and reused at the end of their lifecycle, thus creating a
sustainable supply chain”.
Hervani et al. (2005) [71] describe that the idea of GrSCM is to eliminate or minimize waste
(energy, emissions, chemical/hazardous, and solid wastes) along supply chain. They identified
a number of environmentally conscious practices throughout the supply chain ranging from
green design (marketing and engineering), green procurement practices (e.g. certifying
suppliers, purchasing environmentally sound materials/products), total quality environmental
management (internal performance measurement, pollution prevention), environmentally
friendly packaging and transportation, to the various product end-of-life practices such as
reduction, reuse, remanufacturing and recycling. In the area of supply chain management,
reverse logistics is used to manage the return flow of products. Reverse logistics is a process
whereby a manufacturer accepts products from consumers for possible remanufacturing,
recycling, reuse or disposal [72]. Reverse logistics includes not only the returns from the
customers, but also handling the product at ‘end-of-life’. The GrSCM can be expressed as
[71]
“Green Supply Chain Management (GrSCM) = Green Purchasing + Green
Manufacturing/Materials Management + Green Distribution/Marketing + Reverse Logistics.”
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GrSCM has gained popularity with both academics and practitioners to aim in reducing waste
and preserving the quality of product-life and the natural resources [73]. All stages of a
product’s life cycle influence a supply chain’s environment burden, from resource extraction,
to manufacturing, use and reuse, final recycling, or disposal [74]; [75]. Environmental issues
have become an important concern for manufacturers under new legislations and directives
from customer [76]. The research in GrSCM shows that over last two decades, the concepts of
green procurement, green manufacturing, green distribution, reverse logistics, and waste
management have gained importance is academia and practice [77]; [70].
2.3.1 Green Purchasing/Procurement
Since the environmental issues have become an integral part of supply chain activities, all its
processes have adopted green initiatives. Green Procurement (GP) is defined as
“environmental purchasing consisting of involvement in activities that include the reduction,
reuse and recycling of materials in the process of purchasing”. It involves acquiring a raw
material, goods and services that minimize environmental impact. Thus, environmentally
preferable purchasing (EPP) is “a process of selection and acquisition of product and services
which minimize the negative impact over the lifecycle of manufacturing, transportation, use
and recycling” [78]. Procurement of eco-products is the need of the hour and many
governments as well as the civil society organizations are persuading the industries to
maximize their use.
2.3.2 Green Manufacturing
Green Manufacturing is an important aspect in manufacturing oriented companies to achieve
sustainability. GM is defined as “production processes which use inputs with relatively low
environmental impacts, are highly efficient, and generate little or no waste or pollution. GM
can lead to lower raw material costs, production efficiency gains, reduced environmental and
occupational safety expenses, and improved corporate image” [76]. As the concern for global
warming and environmental issues is becoming increasingly bigger, the governments have
introduced legislations and companies have started taking initiatives in manufacturing. GM
benefits include better products for the consumers, cost savings for the shareholders, and
increased goodwill of the company in the market [79].
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2.3.3 Green Distribution
The logistics function of supply chain processes generates maximum amount of waste and
damages the environment. Green Distribution (GD) also includes green packaging as
packaging characteristics such as size, shape, and materials have an impact on distribution and
practices like better packaging and rearranged loading patterns can reduce material usage,
increase space utilization, and reduce the amount of handling required [76].
2.3.4 Reverse Logistics
The concept of Reverse Logistics (RL) includes the management of returns due to defects,
qualities issues, or sales returns; and the management of e-waste after end of useful life of the
product. RL is the “process where a manufacturer accepts previously shipped products from
the point of consumption for possible recycling and/or re-manufacturing” [80]; [72]. Carter
and Ellram (1998) identified three primary intra-organizational activities that impact reverse
logistics in an organization: a sincere commitment to environmental issues; high ethical
standards; and the existence of policies and practices enabling organization’s adoption of an
environment-friendly philosophy [80]. Kopicki et al. (1993) [81] proposed RL hierarchy
which suggests resource reduction as the first step, followed by next aim to reuse materials,
recycling of waste and finally disposal.
Figure 2-8 : Modified Reverse Logistics Hierarchy (Source: Dhanda and Peters, 2005)
Beamon (1999) [55] presents a flow chart showing the flow of materials towards
remanufacturing and recycling, with first stage of collection from the customer and then
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sorting and transportation to facilities for recycling. The aim of the activity is to sort products
that can be reused to reduce costs of making new products. Dhanda and Peters (2005) [18]
applied the suggested hierarchy to the computer industry by modifying and adding an
important and unique step of ‘refurbishing’ between reuse and recycling, represented in
Figure 2-8. Refurbishing of computers and IT equipments for further use is quite prevalent in
IT industry. They also suggested removing ‘incineration’ process, as in case of computers it
proves more harmful to the environment.
Figure 2-9 : Reverse Logistics (Source: Thierry, et al., 1995)
Thierry et al. (1995) [82] presented a framework Figure 2-9 for reverse logistics which shows
how the steps of repair, refurbish, remanufacture, cannibalize and recycle fit in the supply
chain processes and fixes the prime responsibility of each supply chain actor.
2.3.5 E-waste management
Another peculiar characteristic of IT hardware industry is the concept of e-waste management.
E-waste comprises of wastes generated from used IT equipments and electronic devices which
are beyond their useful life. Such wastes encompasses wide range of electrical and electronic
devices such as computers, monitors, keyboards, networking equipments, cables, air
conditioners etc. E-wastes contain over 1000 different toxic substances potentially hazardous
to both to the environment and the society. These need to be handled in an environmentally
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sound manner to reduce their harmful impact. E-waste is managed through reverse logistics
processes so that products can be reused, repaired, refurbished, cannibalized or recycled for
sustainable development.
Roy and Whelan (1992) [83] was first to propose a standardized model for reducing e-waste
with minimal harmful affect on the environment, and in subsequent studies by Sarkis and
Cordeiro (2001) [84], and Nagorney and Toyasaki (2005) [85], different waste management
issues around recycling and remanufacturing were emphasized. With an increased focus on e-
waste management, the concept of green supply chain becomes more important to the IT
products.
2.4 REVIEW OF INNOVATION IN SCM LITERATURE
Innovation drives the industry to achieve new finished products, ingredient technologies and
packaging [86]. But the task of generating ideas is not simple but becomes increasingly
complex as a company grows, and needs to be nurtured and managed. These ideas lead to
innovation, which are crucial for a high tech industry such as IT. In such industry, firms
compete on the grounds of new products with new features, new design, and new applications
of the product. For technical firms especially, innovation in product offerings is crucial to gain
a competitive advantage over competitors [87].
Shorter life cycles are the result of increased competition. In the 19th century it was not
unusual that a product existed for 100 years. After the WWII a typical product life cycle was
20 years. In the 1980’s it has been reduced to 7-8 years and today it is typically 3-5 years [88].
Due to unpredictable demand and short life cycle, companies are forced to introduce new
innovations continuously [29]. The innovations can be incremental in nature; viz making
processes more efficient or eliminating wastes, or they may be radical like redesigning the
entire supply chain. Innovation as a term has also been extended to marketing and
organization. Schumpeter (1934) [89] described different types of innovation: “new products,
new methods of production, new sources of supply, the exploitation of new markets, and new
ways to organize business”.
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In his groundbreaking work, ‘The Sources of Innovation’, Eric von Hippel, (1988) [90],
discussed from where in the value-chain innovations came in different industries, the
customer, the manufacturer, the supplier or the third party innovator (universities, research
laboratories, etc.). He observed that the firm itself was of course the innovator in many cases.
However, he identified customer involvement as key issue in successful innovation.
Consumers often adapt or improve new innovations, or relay information on how to do so
back to the innovating firms [91]. In some industries, he identified third parties, such as
inventors, universities and independent research laboratories, as sources of innovation [88].
Suppliers may contribute to firm innovation by performing research and development (R&D)
of its own as they often have valuable knowledge of production and fulfillment processes that
influence a firm's performance [92].
The OECD Oslo Manual (2005) introduced four different innovation types, namely product
innovation, process innovation, marketing innovation and organizational innovation [93].
Product innovations involve significant changes in the capabilities of goods or services, either
by introducing entirely new goods and services or by significant improvements to existing
products. Gunday et al., (2011) defined product innovation as “the introduction of a good or
service that is new or significantly improved regarding its characteristics or intended uses;
including significant improvements in technical specifications, components and materials,
incorporated software, user friendliness or other functional characteristics” [93].
A process innovation is the implementation of a new or significantly improved production or
delivery method. This includes significant changes in techniques, equipment and/or software
[94]. Marketing innovations target at addressing customer needs better, opening up new
markets, or newly positioning a firm’s product on the market with the intention of increasing
firm’s sales. Marketing innovations are strongly related to pricing strategies, product package
design properties, product placement and promotion activities along the lines of four P’s of
marketing [95] [93]. Organizational innovations refer to the implementation of new
organizational methods. These can be changes in business practices, in workplace
organization or in the firm’s external relations [93].
33
2.4.1 Innovation in Supply Chains
Innovation is the key to future long term success [86]. In high-tech industries such as the IT
industry, there is a clear difference in terms of organizational performance between firms that
innovate and those that do not [87]. Innovation can occur within processes, products, services,
organizational structures, management strategies and so on. It can be represented by
continuous improvement or discontinuous and radical shifts in technology or ways of
approaching a problem [96]; [97]; [98].
The current international business environments require innovation, not only in products and
their features but also across the entire business processes. To maintain a competitive
advantage, companies must strategize with an effective supply chain in mind.The supply
chain environment is characterized by globalization, increased customer responsiveness,
channel integration and advances in IT [99]. Collaboration in supply chains leads to
innovations which are spread across the partners. Therefore, the various benefits of innovation
such as high quality, lower costs, more timely delivery, efficient operations and effective
coordination of activities are available to all the supply chain actors [99]
Storer and Hayland (2009) proposed that the supply chain, like the firm, uses innovation to
provide unique value adding solutions for the supply chain that provides a market competitive
advantage [100]. Supply chain innovation has a potential role in a firm’s effort to develop new
products or entry into new markets, in terms of innovative supply chain designs, innovative
supply chain management practices, and enabling technology [101]. The firms increasingly
rely on their supply chain partners for innovation. Firms with the ability to better manage their
supply chains should experience superior supply chain innovations. Key to successful supply
chain management is coordination within an organization and between its suppliers and
customers [102]. Employing a supply chain’s innovation capacity indicates the willingness of
groups of actors within the supply chain to take steps, or perform activities that ultimately
produce output that improves or changes current activities to meet a market need or new
trajectory [100]. Another way of introducing innovations is the organizational and social
processes that produce innovation, such as individual creativity, organizational structure,
environmental context, and social and economic factors. A social innovation “can be a
34
product, production process, or technology (much like innovation in general), but it can also
be a principle, an idea, a piece of legislation, a social movement, an intervention, or some
combination of them”. A few social innovations, such as microfinance, are combinations of a
number of these elements [103].
2.5 REVIEW OF SUSTAINABLE SCM LITERATURE
Research in SCM has examined issues such as environment safety, social welfare and their
interrelationship with organization’s economic responsibility [20]. Over a period of time, the
shift has become more and more evident towards the social and environmental aspect of doing
business. This concepts corresponds with the triple bottom line (TBL) perspective given by
Elkington (1998) [21] which states that “at the intersection of social, environmental, and
economic performance are activities that an organization can engage in which not only are
beneficial from a social and environmental standpoint, but that also make economic sense and
result in competitive advantage for the firm”. The triple bottom line has been identified as a
tool to measure the organization’s progress towards the end goal of being truly sustainable
[22]. The term sustainability, which increasingly refers to an integration of social,
environmental, and economic responsibilities, was subsequently introduced in the literature of
business disciplines such as management and operations [20].
Carter and Rogers [20] suggest that “organizational sustainability, at a broader level, consists
of three components: the natural environment, society, and economic performance”. In the
year 1981, Freer Spreckley suggested organizations to measure and report on social,
environmental and financial performance [19]. The idea of integrating social and
environmental factors to economic activity is termed as sustainability. The concept of
sustainability has been extended from the organization to the supply chain. Sustainable supply
chain management would include the economic responsibility as a base level of a supply
chain’s responsibility. The aim of supply chain management is to integrate the processes in a
supply chain for efficient utilization of resources and reduction in costs, leading to
shareholder’s profit maximization. However, the broader concept of stakeholder’s theory
[104] demands that a company's responsibility lies with stakeholders rather than shareholders.
In this case, "stakeholders" refers to anyone who is influenced, either directly or indirectly, by
the actions of the firm. Supply chain processes involve exploitation of natural resources as
35
well as the human capital. Thus the stakeholders in a supply chain would include the society
as well as the ecological environment.
Many forward thinking organizations have realized the importance of reverse logistics in
gaining competitive advantage in the industry. In the area of supply chain management,
reverse logistics is used to manage the return flow of products. Reverse logistics is defined as
“a process whereby a manufacturer accepts products from consumers for possible
remanufacturing, recycling, reuse or disposal” [72]. Reverse logistics includes not only the
returns from the customers, but also handling the product at ‘end-of-life’. E-waste comprises
of wastes generated from used IT equipments and electronic devices which are beyond their
useful life. Such wastes encompasses wide range of electrical and electronic devices such as
computers, monitors, keyboards, networking equipments, cables, air conditioners etc. E-
wastes contain over 1000 different toxic substances potentially hazardous to both to the
environment and the society. These need to be handled in an environmentally sound manner
to reduce their harmful impact. E-waste is managed through reverse logistics processes so that
products can be reused, repaired, refurbished, cannibalized or recycled for sustainable
development.
In India, green practices are being implemented by mobile manufactures (Nokia), electronic
goods companies (LG), and Information technology companies (HCL, TCS, DELL) to name a
few. These green initiatives by these companies have provided a distinction vis-à-vis their
competitors and helped them to improve their brand image.
Incorporating the environmental programs and operations has resulted as economic advantage
to the firms in form of carbon credits. Carbon credits are allocated to companies that reduce
carbon emissions (emissions from carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases) below
the cap fixed under emission trading scheme. The carbon credits are tradable and may be sold
to firms that exceed their cap. This economic incentive provides the supply chain managers a
choice to offset the cost of implementing green initiatives in their supply chains by trading
carbon credits. Rao and Holt (2005) [105] divided the environmental initiatives in a green
supply chain and analyzed that greening the different phases of the supply chain leads to an
integrated green supply chain, which ultimately leads to competitiveness and economic
36
performance. Zhu and Sarkis (2004) [106] took this idea further and argued that green SCM
practices lead to ‘win-win relationships on environmental and economic performance’.
All stages of a product’s life cycle influence a supply chain’s environment burden, from
resource extraction, to manufacturing, use and reuse, final recycling, or disposal [74]. The
findings by Rao and Holt (2005) [105] show that organizations as well as environment gain
with the implementation of green supply chain initiatives. Other studies also have shown that
profitability and cost reduction are some of the major achievements for businesses having
green supply chain practices. Therefore, GrSCM gained popularity with both academics and
practitioners to aim in reducing waste and preserving the quality of product-life and the
natural resources [107]; [70]; [108]; [73].
World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED, 1987) provided one of the
earlier definitions of sustainability as “development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.” In their report
“Our Common Future”, the Brundtland Commission (1987) defined sustainable development
as being about social equity as well as environmental protection, on the grounds that the latter
cannot be achieved without the former [109]. One of the early references to sustainability is
made by O’Connor (1994) [110] who points out the question of “sustainability” are not
primarily an ecological (or even economic) argument, but one of politics and ideology.
Dyllick and Hockerts (2002) [111] conceived corporate sustainability as the business case
(economic), the natural case (environmental), and the societal case (social). The triple bottom
line has been identified as a tool to measure the organization’s progress towards the end goal
of being truly sustainable [22]. The term sustainability, which increasingly refers to an
integration of social, environmental, and economic responsibilities, has begun to appear in the
literature of business disciplines such as management and operations. Carter and Rogers
(2008) [20] suggest that organizational sustainability, at a broader level, consists of three
components: the natural environment, society, and economic performance. The concept of
sustainability has been extended from the organization to the supply chain. SSCM must
include the sustainability dimension parameters in whole framework of SCM. The first paper
on sustainability in supply chain is attributed to New (1997) [112] who argued that supply
37
chain management in industrial society should explicitly consider ethical, political and
economic implications. A supply chain’s performance should be measured not just by profits,
but also by the impact of the chain on ecological and social systems [113]; [114]; [115].
More research in available on the environmental dimension as compared to social dimension
in past literature [116]. While environmental sustainability emphasizes the management of
natural resources, social sustainability is concerned with the management of social resources,
including people’s skills and abilities, institutions, relationships and social values [117]. A
vast amount of literature has recognized the centrality of social issues to sustainable
development. But there is a lack of consensus regarding the elements that fall under it. In a
review of the current state of the art on social sustainability of supply chains, Borrella, et al.,
(2012) [118] highlighted the variety of subjects in social dimension and concluded that the
topics that do not fit in the other categories of sustainability (economical or environmental)
end up being included in the “social hodgepodge’.
Based on practical experience, James (1997) [109] suggests a few key issues that cover most
aspects of social dimensions. He included equity as one of the major areas. As per him, this
not only includes equality of opportunity to all sections of the society but also the creation of a
situation where the poorer have greater opportunities of employment. Role of community and
local bodies as an external stakeholder to the business organization was identified to achieve
social parity. Social equity is a key component of social sustainability and requires that all
members of society have equal access to resources and opportunities [119], extending to the
fair and equitable treatment of employees [120]. It is concerned with poverty, injustice and
human rights, and from a supply chain perspective considers the welfare of all employees
globally [120].
Social sustainability is strongly linked to corporate social responsibility (CSR) which
comprises actions not required by law, but furthering social good, beyond the explicit,
transactional interests of a firm [117]. CSR requires firms to embrace economic, legal, ethical
and discretionary expectations of stakeholders [119]. Labuschagne (2005) proposed a
framework Table 2-3 of social sustainability and divided it into four main categories of
internal human resources, which includes practices related to employment stability and health
38
and safety; external population which encompasses human, productive and community
capital; stakeholder participation which includes information provision and stakeholder
influence issues; and macro social performance issues of socio-economic and socio-
environmental performance [121].
Table 2-3 Framework for Social Sustainability (Source: Labuschagne and Brent, 2005)
Through stakeholder management, firms respond to individuals, outside organizations, and
even the natural environment [122] that have a legitimate stake in the organization [104]. An
important aspect of stakeholder management is building strong stakeholder relationships
39
through transparent operations, engaging in ethical relationship with partners, representing
stakeholder interests in decision-making, and distributing the value created by firms equitably
among all relevant stakeholders [119].
Table 2-4 Sustainability checklist (Source: Silvius, 2010)
At the 2010 IPMA Expert Seminar ‘Survival and Sustainability as Challenges for Project” in
order to ‘translate’ the concepts of sustainability to practically applicable tools a
‘Sustainability Checklist’ was developed for managers. Table 2-4 provides this Sustainability
Checklist [123].
Hall and Matos (2010) emphasize that the social dimension of sustainable development is
emerging as the key challenge in sustainable supply chains. They suggest that the relationship
among government policies (regulations and incentives), secondary stakeholder pressures and
the profile and pressure placed on the focal firm plays an important role in sustainable supply
chains [124]. The recent ISO 26000:2010 guideline on social responsibility mentions
accountability, transparency, ethical behavior, respect for stakeholders interests, respect for
rule of law, respect for international norms of behavior and respect for human rights” as
principles of sustainability [125]. Silvius, et al., (2012) proposed six “principles of
sustainability” for integration across projects and organizations [126]. These principles state
40
that sustainability is about balancing or harmonizing social, environmental and economical
interests, it has both short term and long term orientation as well as local and global
orientation, it encourages consuming income, transparency and accountability and also
supports personal values and ethics. Companies are adopting sustainability practices for a host
of reasons depending on the industries and geographies in which they operate [127].
Sustainability and sustainable development are effectively ethical concepts, expressing
desirable outcomes from economic and social decisions.
Elaborating on the three perspectives of the Triple-P concept, several organizations developed
frameworks of indicators that would allow organizations to evaluate the sustainability aspects
of different policies and projects, as well as to monitor progress. In fact, the literature on these
models is a veritable jungle of different approaches and numerous case studies [128]. A
widely used framework in (external) sustainability reporting is the ‘Sustainability Reporting
Guidelines (SRG)’ by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Companies can use the SRG to
indicate to shareholders and consumers their economic, social and environmental
performance. GRI’s objective is to facilitate sustainability reporting for companies and
thereby stimulate them to operate more sustainably. The SRG framework consists of an
extensive set of indicators, from which companies can select a set that is relevant to their
operations or industry [129].
Based on the literature review above, we realize that different authors have included different
elements in the dimension of social sustainability. However, a few of the elements have
appeared at a regular consistency. These have been identified as below:
1. Compliance and Governance
2. Transparency and Accountability
3. Ethics and Values
4. Human Rights and Welfare
41
2.6 SSCM PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT
Performance measurement of sustainable supply chains requires a methodology which allows
managers to identify key elements in environmental and social aspects and to integrate them
into a system. However, there is a general lack of research on the subject of supply chain
metrics, and more so for performance measures of sustainability. Few researchers have
proposes measures green supply chain performance and suggested ISO 14000 guidelines as
basis for performance management system. But since the ISO guidelines are developed for
individual organizations, their effectiveness in measuring sustainability of supply chains is
doubtful. Hervani et al. (2005) [71] have provided measures for evaluating a green supply
chain performance measurement system.
Figure 2-10 Framework for analyzing supply chains (Source: Burgess and Prakash, 2005)
Burgess and Prakash (2005) [130] in an analysis of supply chains, proposed a framework that
shows the relationships between relevant variables from different disciplines (i.e. corporate
governance, infrastructure, operations knowledge, social climate and innovation), and how
they impact on performance. The suggested integrated framework is shown in Figure 2-10.
42
Figure 2-11 Framework for Sustainable Supply Chain Metrics (Source: Hassini et al., 2012)
Figure 2-11 shows the framework proposed by Hassini et al., (2012). Using Elkington’s
TBL’s principle, each supply chain partner (supplier, manufacturer, channel partner, dealer,
retailer or customer) collects measures on each of the three dimensions: economy,
environment and society. The choice of these measures as to align with each partners own
strategic goals.
2.7 REVIEW OF DEMAND CHAIN MANAGEMENT LITERATURE
From supply chain to demand driven value chain is one of the key areas that have attracted
increasing levels of attention in the SCM literature. SCM is changing focus from supply
issues to demand driven value. Design of a supply chain and its alignment with the objectives
of the organization plays a major role in the success of any product. According to Fischer
(1997) [29], the problems of supply chain are associated with mismatches between the type of
supply chain (demand-pull versus supply-push) and the type of product (innovative versus
functional). In the IT industry due to continuous up-gradation of technology and shortened
product life cycles, prices of items fall over time, often every week, and sometimes
drastically. This entails efforts to keep inventories as small as possible [26]. In such markets,
with shortening life cycles and falling prices, the balance of power shifts from suppliers to
43
customers, who dictate what they want, where and why. Visibility to demand signals is crucial
in today’s rapidly changing IT industry. Demand signals need to be captured at a very
granular level and communicated across the supply chain [30].
There is a growing realization that the activities of these two crucial disciplines should be
much more closely linked if organizations are to respond rapidly to the varying needs of
different customers. This leads us to the emerging idea of "demand chain
management"(DCM), where the strategies of marketing, supply chain, and operations, are
fully aligned. Blackwell and Blackwell (1999) defined DCM as “the essence of DCM is to
define and understand customer demand on real time basis, followed by rapid respond to it”
[131]. Driving the supply chain purely based on forecast is no longer reliable. Real time
demand sensing is required to drive the supply chain and adjust direction [30]. The approach
of DCM starts at the other end of the supply chain, i.e. with the needs of the customer, instead
of starting with the manufacturer and working forwards. The needs of the customer are
captured at the granular level and these form the basis of designing the demand chain
processes [31].
Figure 2-12 : Demand Chain Management (Source: Agarwal, 2007)
Globalization and information technology (especially the Internet) are the two major drivers
of emerging business environment. Due to global exposure consumers have become better
informed, and have increased expectations and aspirations. Market responsiveness capability
of supply chain management is largely reactive in nature as it is based on the philosophy of
‘make-and-sell’. Whereas, demand chain management is proactive in market responsiveness
44
and is based on “sense-and-respond” philosophy [132]. Demand chain management involves
real-time capture of demand-related information followed by various business decisions
related to the flow of finished goods from point of inception to the point of use throughout the
network of chain for fulfillment of sensed demand quickly in cost efficient manner.
Figure 2-13 : Demand Chain Processes (Source: Agarwal, 2007)
To respond dynamics of emerging market scenario, key demand chain management issues are
speed, flexibility, integration, innovation and coordination, time-to- market, and externally
oriented culture, distinctive capabilities and a configuration that enables the entire
organization to anticipate and respond to changing customer requirements and market
conditions [132].
The literature review on the related topics of SCM and sustainability helped to identify,
appraise, critique and synthesize all high quality research evidence, summarized in the Table
2-5. Existing literature on SCM reviewed above may broadly be categorized under
• Planning and Designing SCM
• Green Supply Chain management
45
• Sustainable SCM
• Performance Measurement in SCM
S.No Topic Author
1 SCM Beamon, 1998; Mentzer et al., 2001; Fleischmann et al., 2002:
Olhager, et al., 2002; Cousins & Speckman, 2003; Chow, et al., 2006;
Lambert, 2008; Naslund & Williamson, 2010; Stock & Boyer, 2009
2 Green SCM Guide & Srivastava, 1998; Hervani, et al., 2005; Srivastava, 2007;
Srivastava, 2007; Fortes, 2009; Ninlawan, et al., 2011; Gupta, et al.,
2013
Reverse logistics,
End of life’
management
Kopicki, et al., 1993; Thierry, et al., 1995; Carter and Ellram, 1998;
Beamon, 1999; Dowlatshahi, 2000; Dhanda & Peters, 2005; Zhu, et
al., 2007; Zhu, et al., 2010
E-waste
management
Roy & Whelan, 1992; Barve & Muduli, 2011; Dhanda & Peters, 2005;
Fortes, 2009
3 Supply Chain
Innovation
Schumpeter, 1934; Eric von Hippel,1988; OECD Oslo Manual, 2005;
Storer & Hayland, 2009; Pagell & Zhaohui, 2009; GRI, 2011
4 Sustainable
Supply Chain
Management
Spreckley, 1981; Brundtland Commission, 1987; Rio Summit, 1992;
O’Connor, 1994; New, 1997; Rao & Holt, 2005; Carter & Rogers,
2008; Seuring & Müller, 2008; Pagell & Zhaohui, 2009; Mann et al,
2010; Ramudhin, et al., 2010; ISO 26000: 2010; Silvius, 2010; GRI,
2011; Dey et al, 2011; Hassini et al., 2012; Gupta, et al., 2013
5 Performance
Measurement in
SCM
Kaplan & Norton, 1992; Beamon, 1998; Gunasekaran et al., 2001;
Singh & Shah, 2001; Saad & Patel, 2006; SCOR Model 10.0, 2010
6 DCM Fisher, 1997; Vollmann and Cordon (1998); Blackwell and Blackwell,
1999; Selen and Soliman (2002); Baker (2003); Treville et al. (2004);
Agarwal, 2007
Table 2-5 Summary of Literature Review
Apart from SCM, related topics such as DCM which is more relevant for technology products
having high rate of innovation, short shelf life, high obsolescence and fashion products also
gain relevance and reviewed in the study.
The above exhaustive literature review traces the origin of concept of SCM, its performance
measure, and different related disciplines researcher have explored during its evolution over
the years. The review reveals four distinct branches of SCM research, viz. planning and
designing of supply chains, Green Supply Chain Management, Sustainable SCM and the
46
performance Measurement of SCM and SSCM. Sustainability in supply chains includes the
environment and social aspects which have been extensively reviewed and various existing
frameworks have been critically evaluated. Green practices including green design,
manufacturing, E-waste management, reverse logistics, and end-of-life management have
been crucial in making supply chains environment friendly. Social aspects in SSCM include
compliance and governance, transparency and accountability, ethics, values and human rights
and welfare. Innovation has been identified as a major dimension for technology intensive
industry and its origins and applications have been documented. The available existing
frameworks on performance management in SSCM have also been reviewed to understand its
implication in measuring performance of SSCM. Other concept such as DCM relevant for
innovative products having shorter life cycles is also reviewed to be included in the study.
This review of literature has highlighted the inadequacy in existing frameworks and provided
foundation and insights for conceptualization of industry specific SSCM framework. The next
chapter describes the profile of Indian IT industry including its dynamic nature, growth
drivers, challenges, e-waste handling and supply chain configuration etc.
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