AN EVALUATION OF PROCESS-ORIENTED SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORKS

Journal of Business Logistics, 2005 by Lambert, Douglas M, Garc�a-Dastugue, Sebasti�n J, Croxton, Keely L

The GSCF defines supply chain management as "the integration of key business processes from end user through original suppliers that provides products, services, and information that add value for customers and other stakeholders" (Lambert, Cooper, and Pagh 1998, p. 1). Implementation is carried out through three primary elements: the supply chain network structure, the supply chain business processes, and the management components. The supply chain network structure is comprised of the member firms with whom key processes will be linked. The following eight supply chain management processes are included in the GSCF framework:

* Customer Relationship Management - provides the structure for how relationships with customers are developed and maintained. Cross-functional customer teams tailor product and service agreements to meet the needs of key accounts, and segments of other customers (Croxton et al. 2001).

* Customer Service Management - provides the firm's face to the customer, a single source of customer information, and the key point of contact for administering the product service agreements (Bolumole, Knemeyer, and Lambert 2003).

* Demand Management - provides the structure for balancing the customers' requirements with supply chain capabilities, including reducing demand variability and increasing supply chain flexibility (Croxton et al. 2002).

* Order Fulfillment - includes all activities necessary to define customer requirements, design a network, and enable the firm to meet customer requests while minimizing the total delivered cost (Croxton 2003).

* Manufacturing Flow Management - includes all activities necessary to obtain, implement and manage manufacturing flexibility and move products through the plants in the supply chain (Goldsby and Garcia-Dastugue 2003).

* Supplier Relationship Management - provides the structure for how relationships with suppliers are developed and maintained. Cross-functional teams tailor product and service agreements with key suppliers (Croxton et al. 2001).

* Product Development and Commercialization - provides the structure for developing and bringing to market new products jointly with customers and suppliers (Rogers, Lambert, and Knemeyer 2004).

* Returns Management - includes all activities related to returns, reverse logistics, gatekeeping, and avoidance (Rogers et al. 2002).

Customer relationship management and supplier relationship management form the critical links in the supply chain and the other six processes are coordinated through them. Each of the eight processes is cross-functional and cross-firm. Each is broken down into a sequence of strategic subprocesses, where the blueprint for managing the process is defined, and a sequence of operational sub-processes, where the process is actualized. Every sub-process is described by a set of activities. Cross-functional teams are used to define the structure for managing the process at the strategic level and implementation at the operational level. The GSCF framework includes the following management components that support the processes (Cooper, Lambert, and Pagh 1997): planning and control, work structure, organization structure, product flow facility structure, information flow, management methods, power and leadership structure, risk and reward structure, and culture and attitude.