Exploring the contours of supply chain management

Abstract

Supply chain management (SCM) is becoming a popular concept both in research and in practice. At the EurOMA Conference in Copenhagen in 2002 many papers focused on SCM as a research topic. Similarly, an increasing number of companies are establishing positions as supply chain managers. SCM is also a popular theme for trade journals and management conferences. The quest for integration is an explicit or implicit assumption in most literature within SCM. The basic hypothesis is “the more integration – the better the management of the chain”. This article discusses what the term “management” in the concept of SCM stands for. The integration assumption as a “cure all” prescription for SCM is challenged, and questions raised as to when it is possible and desirable to exercise management in supply chains. The main thesis is that it depends very much on the “environment” of the supply chain and the power relations between the participants in the supply chain.