The evolution and future direction of supply chain management

Abstract

Supply chain management (SCM) has received a lot of attention in the past two decades, as it is continuously being viewed as an effective tool in achieving competitive advantage in business and reducing system-wide costs. The study aims to research into the evolution of supply chain management, in particular determining the origins of SCM, looking at the current focus of supply chain management and projecting the future direction of supply chain management. This research was exploratory in nature and thus was carried out by means of a hybrid traditional and structured literature review methodology. The merits of both literature review systems were combined in order to broadly focus on available literature but also to eliminate research bias. Other processes involved a scoping study to narrow down and focus the research due to its broad nature; search for material from databases, publications and online sources, using key search words and strings; assessing the quality of materials and synthesizing the data to form one cohesive document. The research revealed that although it is difficult to determine the exact origin of supply chain management, its origins can be traced back to the origins of trade. Current supply chain thought and practice is linked to earlier concepts of logistics and distribution, which are viewed as components of the wider supply chain concept today. The study also determined the fundamental and key emerging supply chain disciplines today. With respect to the future direction of supply chain management, the research established that SCM is strategic, dynamic and customer oriented, therefore, the supply chain network must focus on issues that continue to affect the supply chain like supply chain disruptions and risk, supply chain leadership, managing delivery of goods and services in a timely manner and product innovation management including further IT applications.

Key Words: Supply chain, supply chain development, supply chain evolution, supply
chain history