Stanley E. Fawcett, Gregory M. Magnan, Matthew W.

McCarter, (2008) "Benefits, barriers,

and bridges to effective supply chain management", Supply Chain Management: An
International Journal, Vol. 13 Issue: 1, pp.35-48,
The aforementioned topic has been chosen because it provides a useful insight to strategic and
collaborative Supply Chain Management. Strategic supply chains are supply chains where the
“members are strategically, operationally, and technologically integrated” Supply Chain
Management (SCM) concept which firms can adopt to increase overall efficiency of their supply
chains.
The researches stress upon a collaborative efforts within a firm among various supply chain
managers. They point out about the benefits, barriers and bridges to implement an effective and
efficient SCM. They have used a three tier approach for their research "Benefits, barriers, and
bridges to effective supply chain management". Senior working managers who were identified:
manufacturing, purchasers, and logistician managers were targeted in interviews and surveys.
To benefits of a collaborative SCM based on interviews and surveys include cost reduction at
top. Additionally the working managers marked customer satisfaction as second biggest
advantage. Other benefits included lower cost of purchased items. Logisticians scored ‘on time
delivery’ as most important benefit whereas manufacturing respondents scored “reduced order
fulfillment lead times” as the most persuasive benefit. The interviewees stressed that the benefits
of SCM should be quantified as seeing concrete numbers in favor of the research would prompt
the managers for a change in SCM. It was also found that the benefits varied from one functional
group to another and from one firm to another.
Further in the study this variance of importance of benefits has been identified as a barrier itself
as it leads to disparity between managers in their views of an efficient SCM. Another very
important barrier identified is the MIS (management information system).The barrier being the
in availability of right information to the right person at the right time to make right decisions.
Other barriers included inter firm rivalry and managerial complexity which barriers include
information system and technological incompatibility, inadequate measurement systems, and
conflicting organizational structures and culture. Another vary revealing barrier was the human
side. How humans affected or were a barrier to a collaborative SCM. The human issues included
trust issues, aversion to already established paths, cultures, personal likes and dislikes, modes
and environment of work.
Finally the bridges of SCM have been discussed. People have been declared as the most essential
bridges. It is the employees of a firm who under a strong leadership of their managers can work
for collaborative innovation in SCM. In addition all managers recognized technology
information and measuring systems as efficient bridges. However, managers must not overlook
the training, educating, and bringing together of right people to use those systems and to interact
with one another. Forming the right teams for the right tasks will then result in success.
Although the response of the surveys was very low (about 23%) and all the managers
interviewed belonged to American firms but still this article gives helpful information to
managers who want to apply SCM concept.