Selecting the best supply chain strategy: When is a misalignment of product type and strategy appropriate, how do changes in expected demand impact strategies, and should the strategy of a product change over its life-cycle?

摘要

To reduce the total cost of delivering a product to the marketplace, many firms are going beyond the walls of their organization and working with suppliers and customers to implement supply chain management (SCM). Fisher (1997) presented a conceptual model contending that the demand characteristics and supply chain strategy (SCS) of a product should be aligned for SCM to be successful. This dissertation presents an original analytical model of a three echelon supply chain to demonstrate under various supply chain conditions that a "misalignment" between demand characteristics and SCS can result in a lower total supply chain cost.;In addition to Fisher (1997), the literature includes a number of SCS frameworks to assist practitioners with identifying the appropriate SCS. However, none have considered a SCS where the supply side employs an agile strategy and demand side utilizes a lean strategy; which is denoted as an "agilean" SCS. This dissertation considers four possible supply chain strategies (lean, agile, leagile, and agilean) and identifies when each SCS type is most effective at minimizing total supply chain cost.;The demand characteristics of a product typically evolve as a product progresses through its life-cycle. The literature presents two views concerning whether the SCS of a product should evolve as the product progresses through its life-cycle. This dissertation demonstrates that a single SCS employed over the life-cycle of a product is generally a more effective SCS to minimize total supply chain cost over the life-cycle of a product than evolving the product's SCS as it progresses through its life-cycle.