Abstract
Purpose – As supply chain management has become more strategic (rather than transactional) in
nature the need for a more integrated perspective of how products, and processes should be aligned
with strategic decisions to enhance competitive advantage has been amplified. The purpose of this
paper is to provide a better understanding of how this alignment should be done.
Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual framework was developed that emphasizes the
need for alignment between the key aspects of a product and its supply chain processes and
highlight, the links between supply chain processes and supply chain strategy.
Findings – Products can be produced with one of four distinct supply chain structures: make to
stock, assemble to order, built to order and design to order. Each supply chain structure is
appropriate for different products based on their demand characteristics. Each supply chain structure
orients its production and logistics processes differently based on its strategic priorities.
Practical implications – High volume, low demand uncertainty products should be matched with
lean supply chains enabled by efficient processes, whereas low volume, high uncertainty products
should be matched with agile supply chains enabled by flexible processes. Medium volume and
medium demand uncertainty products should use leagile supply chains that use a combination of
efficient and flexible processes.
Originality/value – After thoroughly reviewing and synthesizing important findings from existing
literature, an integrated framework is derived that highlights how products should be best matched
with their production and logistics processes. Also, the framework is compared with two well-known,
process-oriented supply chain frameworks: the supply chain operations reference (SCOR) and the
global supply chain forum (GSCF) models.
Keywords Supply chain management, Operation management, Lean production, Agile production,
Paper type Research paper
