Katariina Kemppainen

Trends in Industrial Supply Chains and Networks

Asks what really has changed for and what to expect from future supply chains. Most surveys rank activities related to sourcing, operations, customer services and marketing in terms of their importance to, or degree of hindrance for, successful supply chain management (SCM). In this explorative study, analyzes the change of SCM both in terms of operational practices and organizational capabilities in some industrial companies. A focused survey traces the development of supply chains and networks over two decades. Observes the expected growth in use of supporting IT systems, extent of information sharing and scope of coordination efforts. Characterizes the different stages supply chain evolution on the basis of supply chain integration and changing roles and responsibilities of the companies. It seems that due to the continuous structural change of the business environment the very concept of supply chain, let alone the best practice of managing one, should be subject to re‐examination in a wider context. In order to reach the current ideal of SCM practices, the strategic preconditions for innovative networking also need to be in place.

Roles of interfirm information systems in supply chain management

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate how and for what purposes companies use interfirm information systems (IS) in supply chain management (SCM). Further, the drivers for the different uses of interfirm IS are investigated.Design/methodology/approach – Two a priori constructs – the roles of interfirm IS in SCM and the drivers for interfirm IS use in SCM – are derived from the prior research. The case study approach is applied to analyze empirical data collected from 16 Finnish companies in order to assess the validity of the constructs.Findings – The findings suggest that the proposed three categories – transaction processing, supply chain planning and collaboration, and order tracking and delivery coordination – represent well the different types of interfirm IS uses in SCM. Further, the findings suggest that the drivers behind these different categories of interfirm IS use differ.Practical implications – The different purposes for which interfirm IS can be used in the management of supp...

Logistical and technological differentiation as a precondition of supply networking

Purpose – This paper seeks to understand the significance of the various forms of logistical and technological differentiation as prerequisites for supply networking by introducing appropriate conceptual models and illustrative cases.Design/methodology/approach – By studying the patterns of structural changes in 25 industrial companies, illustrated in four different positioning matrices, an empirical demonstration of the differentiation of logistical and technological capabilities is provided and compared with the trends observed in earlier studies of service industries and supply networks.Findings – Considering the magnitude of changes of the logistical and technological capabilities observed in the case studies, differentiation has to be considered a precondition for – as well as a goal of – networking. More importantly, the conformance of the differentiation patterns of the capabilities and services that are embedded in the manufacturing supply chains with those of pioneering companies in service indus...

Dual role of extranet portals in buyer‐supplier information exchange

Purpose – The paper aims to examine the role of extranet portals – one‐to‐many web‐portals extending a company towards its suppliers or customers – in relation to system‐to‐system (S2S) links in facilitating information exchange between suppliers and buyers.Design/methodology/approach – A case study approach is used to analyze empirical data collected from 16 Finnish companies concerning the use of inter‐organizational information systems in information exchange with supply chain partners.Findings – For the use of extranet portals in relation to S2S links in information exchange between supplier and buyer, two concepts – partner‐extending role and information‐expanding role – emerged from the case studies.Research limitations/implications – The Finnish context and the research methodology chosen have to be taken into consideration when generalizing on the findings. As for future research, the findings indicate that, when studying the use of technological solutions for information exchange in supply chains...