Reengineering the Supply Chain in a Paint Company

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/1741-0401.htm

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

Reengineering the supply chain in a paint company
Sanjay Sehgal
Ex-ICI India Ltd., Gurgaon, India

Reengineering the supply chain

655
Received April 2004 Accepted July 2006

B.S. Sahay
Institute of Management Technology, Raj Nagar, Ghaziabad, India, and

S.K. Goyal
John Molson School of Business, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to outline the importance and benefits an organisation can achieve through supply chain integration. These benefits are primarily in the area of achieving superior customer service and operating with lower working capital. Design/methodology/approach – A three level framework for achieving the integration has been proposed which is in the form of structural integration, process integration and performance integration. The paper also describes in detail the factors influencing an organisations working capital needs and how this integration mechanism allows the organisation to exercise control over these factors. The framework has been described in the form of a case study in a paints company. Findings – The research findings reveal that most of the Indian organisations have aligned their supply chain objectives with their business objectives. They are now on course for aligning their processes and management focus. Enhanced levels of competitiveness would require Indian organisations to manage the three-dimensional alignment of achieving the agenda set by the business strategy. Research limitations/implications – Further research work should focus on assessing the current level of supply chain integration. It is essential that structure and strategy should be aligned to achieve the business objective of providing superior customer service at the lowest cost. Practical implications – This paper provides a detailed study to help supply chain managers improve

References: Andersen, B. and Pettersen, P. (1995), The Benchmarking Handbook: Step-by-Step Instructions, Chapman & Hall, London. Bowersox, D.J. and Closs, D.J. (1996), Logistical Management: The Integrated Supply Chain Process, McGraw Hill, New York, NY. Carmen, R. and Conard, S. (2000), “Key performance indicators: putting the customer first”, Supply Chain Management Review, Vol. 4, November/December, pp. 90-6. Cavinato, J.L. (1991), “Identifying interfirm total cost advantage for supply chain competitiveness”, International Journal of Purchasing and Material Management, Vol. 27 No. 4, pp. 10-15. Christopher, M.L. (1996), Logistics and Supply Chain Management – Strategies for Reducing Costs and Improving Service, Pitman Publishers, New York, NY. Crosby, P.B. (1979), Quality Is Free: The Art of Making Quality Certain, New American Library, New York, NY. Evans, G.N., Towil, D.R. and Niam, M.M. (1996), “Business process reengineering the supply chain”, Journal of Production Planning and Control, Vol. 6 No. 3, pp. 238-45. Forrester, J.W. (1961), Industrial Dynamics, MIT Press, Boston, MA. Ghoshal, S. and Bartlett, C.A. (1995), “Changing the role of top management: beyond structure to processes”, Harvard Business Review, January/February, pp. 86-96. Hammer, M. and Champy, J. (1993), Reengineering the Corporations, Harper Business, New York, NY. Johansson, H.J., McHugh, P., Pendlebury, A.J. and Wheeler, W.A. (1993), Business Process Reengineering: BreakPoint Strategies for Market Dominance, Wiley, Chichester. Kotter, J. (1995), “Leading change: why transformation efforts fail”, Harvard Business Review, March/April, pp. 59-67. Langley, C.J. Jr and Halcomb, M.C. (1992), “Creating logistics customer value”, Journal of Business Logistics, Vol. 13 No. 2, pp. 1-27. Lapide, L. (2000), “True measures of supply chain performance”, Supply Chain Management Review, Vol. 4, pp. 25-8. Lee, H. and Billington, J. (1995), “Evolution of supply chain management models and practice at Hewlett-Packard Company”, Interfaces, Vol. 25 No. 5, pp. 42-63. Lotus Consultants (2000), The Indian Paint Industry: An overview, Lotus Strategic Management Consultants, available at: www.domain-b.com/industry/paints/ 200012_paint_overview. html Macbeth, D.K. and Ferguson, N. (1994), Partnership Sourcing: An Integrated Supply Chain Approach, Pitman Publishing, London. Manheim, M. (1999), “Integrating people and technology for supply-chain advantage”, in Anderson, J.L. (Ed.), Achieving Supply Chain Excellence through Technology, Vol. 1, Montgomery Press, New York, NY. Mohanty, R.P. and Deshmukh, S.G. (2000), “Reengineering of a supply chain management system: a case study”, Production Planning & Control, Vol. 11 No. 1, pp. 90-104. Pires, S.R.I. and Aravechia, C.H.M. (2001), “Measuring supply chain performance”, Proceedings of Twelfth Annual Conference of Production and Operation Management Society, Orlando, FL. Reengineering the supply chain 669 IJPPM 55,8 670 Rao, A., Carr, L.P., Dambolena, I., Kopp, R.J., Martin, J., Rafii, F. and Schlesinger, P.F. (1996), Total Quality Management: A Cross Functional Perspective, John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY. Sahay, B.S., Cavle, B., Rajani, R., Mohan, R. and Gupta, P. (2001), Supply Chain Management Practices in Indian Industries, Mcmillan India, New Delhi. Shapiro, J.F. (2001), Modelling Supply Chain, Duxbury-Thomson Learning, Pacific Grove, CA. Stalk, G. (1988), “Time – the next source of competitive advantage”, Harvard Business Review, July/August, pp. 41-51. Stevens, G.C. (1989), “Integrating supply chain”, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Material Management, Vol. 19 No. 8, pp. 3-8. Walton, M. (1986), The Deming management method, Putnam, New York, NY. Corresponding author B.S. Sahay can be contacted at: [e-mail] To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: [e-mail] Or visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints