Helena Forslund

The impact of forecast information quality on supply chain performance

Purpose: This paper describes the extent of supplier access to customer forecast information and the perceived quality of such information. It also explains the impact of forecast information access and forecast information quality on supply chain performance. Methodology/approach: Forecast information quality is defined, and a measurement instrument is developed from theory. The analysis is based on a survey of the most important suppliers of 136 Swedish companies. Findings: Findings show that a large proportion of the suppliers receive customer forecasts, but that the forecast information quality is lower further upstream in the supply chain and, in some variables, lower for make-to-order suppliers. The greatest information quality deficiency of the forecast was that it was considered unreliable. The only significant difference in supply chain performance found between make-to-stock suppliers with and without access to forecast was related to the use of safety stock in finished goods inventory. Research limitations/implications: The study contains two types of conclusions, those developed from the conceptual discussion in the theoretical framework and those of the empirical study. In the theoretical framework, measurement instruments for forecast information quality and supply chain performance (corrective actions, preventive actions and customer service performance) were developed. The study identified several empirical relationships, but it was conducted on a samplewith large spread. Practical implications: The understanding of the performance impact of forecast information quality. Forecast information quality shows quality deficiencies on all variables, which indicates room for improvement. Originality/value of paper: Research on supply chain information quality as well as dyadic research approaches are rare.

Obstacles to supply chain integration of the performance management process in buyer-supplier dyads: The buyers' perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explain to what degree supplier relationship obstacles and operational tool obstacles hinder supply chain integration of the performance management (PM) process.Design/methodology/approach – This is a hypothetical‐deductive study, where the results are based on a survey of 257 purchasing managers in nine manufacturing industries in Sweden.Findings – Supplier relationship obstacles (lack of trust, different goals and priorities and lack of parallel communication structure) were found to significantly hinder PM process integration the most, which is in accordance with previous studies. The operational tool obstacles (manual performance data management and non‐standardized performance metrics) were seen on an overall level to hinder PM process integration. However, the hypothesis that non‐standardized performance metrics hinder PM process integration was not verified, which does not accord with previous studies.Research limitations/implications – The use of single in...

Dyadic integration of the performance management process: A delivery service case study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how to integrate the performance management (PM) process of delivery service in customer/supplier dyads. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a multiple case study of six customer/supplier dyads of manufacturing companies. Findings – The analysis focuses on describing and comparing the activities of the PM process. Most activities show low levels of integration in the dyads studied. Defining metrics and target setting are considered most important to integrate. Lack of common metrics definitions and ERP deficiencies were important obstacles for integration. Research issues related to four areas of supply chain PM are discussed. Research limitations/implications – The study ends with a number of suggestions for further research on the PM process in supply chains. Proceeding into these studies is necessary for increasing knowledge about PM. Practical implications – The paper reveals practical problems and outlines practical issues in integrating and handling the PM process in dyads, especially when measuring delivery service using the on-time delivery metric. It also presents a model for describing and integrating the PM process and its activities. Originality/value – Practical implications and generation of multiple issues for further research applying a dyadic approach in supply chain PM, a research approach that is quite uncommon.

The impact of performance management on customers' expected logistics performance

Purpose – The main objective of this paper is to describe state‐of‐the‐art practices for handling logistics performance management in dyadic relationships. Another objective is to explain the relat ...

Measuring information quality in the dyadic order fulfillment process

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a scale for measuring information quality in the order fulfilment process.Design/methodology/approach – Measurement scales are developed out of the ...

Performance management in supply chains: logistics service providers' perspective

Purpose – Logistics service providers (LSPs) are important actors for creating logistics performance in supply chains. However, there is little previous research on how they handle the performance ...

Selection, implementation and use of ERP systems for supply chain performance management

– The paper aims to explore how supply chain performance management (PM) is affected by the decisions made in the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system lifecycle phases., – Data were collected in a multiple case study of four manufacturing companies., – Four PM activities and three ERP system lifecycle phases were described and analyzed. Eight propositions were generated from theory and the case analyses. Detailed demand specifications could have improved target setting and reporting possibilities, PM education and training seem to be important in both the implementation and the use phase and supply chain PM is highly affected in the use phase., – The paper is explorative. A required next step would be to test the generated propositions on a larger population., – Propositions of what supply chain PM issues manufacturing companies should consider in the ERP system selection, implementation and use phases are presented. The results indicate that a lot of supply chain PM improvements can be realized within the use phase of an existing ERP system., – No previous paper has focused upon how to consider supply chain PM when implementing ERP systems. This is needed because previous studies have identified ERP systems as obstacles for supply chain PM.

Integrating the Performance Management Process of On-time Delivery with Suppliers

This paper discusses the importance of integrating the performance management (PM) process of on-time delivery with suppliers and analyses the perceived degree of such integration. It describes how the PM process of on-time delivery is managed in manufacturing companies and compares the integration and management issues of on-time delivery between companies with high and low perceived on-time delivery performance. Analysis is based on a survey study of Swedish manufacturing companies in 10 industrial sectors. The focus is on on-time delivery from the respondents’ most important supplier. The PM activities defining metrics, target setting, measurement and analysis are not highly integrated between customers and suppliers when measuring on-time delivery. This is especially true for measurement activity, which is the activity with most issues to manage and integrate. The PM issues most significantly related to high on-time delivery performance were automated data collection, registration and report generation.

Order‐to‐delivery process performance in delivery scheduling environments

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to generate a performance model for an order-to-delivery (OTD) process in delivery scheduling environments. It aims to do this with a triadic approach, encompassing a customer, a supplier and a logistics service provider. Design/methodology/approach - The paper takes the form of a conceptual analysis and a triadic case study on performance measurement requirements in an OTD process characterized by delivery scheduling, and generating performance models. Findings - Two OTD process performance models, one for the suppliers delivery sub-process and one for the customers delivery scheduling, the logistics service providers transportation and the customers good receipt sub-process, in delivery scheduling environments are generated. Research limitations/implications - A single case study limits the levels of external validity and reliability to analytical generalization. Practical implications - The generated performance models include definitions of four sub-processes and outline ten performance dimensions that should be of relevance for several companies to apply. Originality/value - This is the first approach that generates performance models for a triadic OTD process for use in delivery scheduling environments.

The purpose and focus of environmental performance measurement systems in logistics

Purpose - Environmental performance measurement systems (EPMS) in supply chains are increasingly important. The aim of this paper is to investigate the purposes of having an EPMS in logistics and in what ways the purpose of an EPMS can influence its focus in the supply chain. Design/methodology/approach - The study is based on a survey of shippers and logistics service providers in Sweden. Exploratory factor analysis grouped the EPMS purposes. Regression analysis investigated the relation between EPMS purpose and supply chain focus. Findings - Those companies that had an EPMS had several purposes. The most common EPMS purpose was target setting. The seven purposes could be grouped into one external demand and one internal management factor. The most common focus was company-internal, and the least common was to have a downstream focus. Significant relationships were verified between EPMS purpose and supply chain focus; companies seem to design their EPMS mainly out of internal management purposes. Research limitations/implications - The study contributed to theory on performance measurement in logistics by expanding it to include environmental performance. The richest theoretical contribution is related to the descriptive first research question, which provided theoretical structures and empirical knowledge on EPMS, which to the best of our knowledge has not been published before. Logical, valid and reliable factors or scales for measuring the purpose of EPMS were provided. The conceptualized relation between EPMS purpose and focus is an additional theoretical contribution. Practical implications - Managers are provided with descriptions, structure and input to EPMS design. This paper has increased the understanding on EPMS design, related both to the own companys and other supply chain actors’ EPMS. It indicates the complex practices of having many purposes for the EPMS and offers explanation to why companies may be reluctant to expand EPMS beyond their company boundaries. Originality/value - Despite the increasing importance of environmental performance, few studies on EPMS are conducted. This study expands performance measurement knowledge by providing empirical evidence in a Swedish context.