Critical success factors in agile supply chain management ‐ An empirical study

TLDR

The study surveys 962 Australian manufacturing firms to identify critical factors for successful agile supply‑chain management. Survey results show that more agile firms are customer‑focused, blend soft and hard methods, and engage suppliers to boost satisfaction, whereas less agile firms prioritize internal operations, link technology to productivity, and view suppliers mainly as productivity enablers.

Abstract

This paper analyses results from a survey of 962 Australian manufacturing companies in order to identify some of the factors critical for successful agile organizations in managing their supply chains. Analysis of the survey results provided some interesting insights into factors differentiating “more agile” organizations from “less agile” organizations. “More agile” companies from this study can be characterized as more customer focused, and applying a combination of “soft” and “hard” methodologies in order to meet changing customer requirements. They also see the involvement of suppliers in this process as being crucial to their ability to attain high levels of customer satisfaction. The “less agile” group, on the other hand, can be characterized as more internally focused with a bias toward internal operational outcomes. They saw no link between any of the independent variables and innovation, and appear to see technology as more closely linked to the promotion of these operational outcomes than to customer satisfaction. The role of suppliers for this group is to support productivity and process improvement rather than to promote customer satisfaction.