An Exploratory Research of Information Technology Features and Business Practices as Enablers for the Supply Chain Management.

Abstract

The challenge to understand the real demand, that comes from the market, and establish consistent process flow is changing the way business operates. New technologies, such as VMI (Vendor Managed Inventory), RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), POS (Point of Sales), Cloud Computing as well as different business practices like, CPFR (Collaborative Planning Forecasting Replenishment) are emerging as strategic manoeuvre to improve and create a more robust Supply Chain and ultimately increase competitiveness. This research was conducted based on a Qualitative, Exploratory, and Inductive approach. All data originated by, either through the semi-structured interviews for the primary data collection, or through an evaluation of the literature for the secondary data collection, were analysed, by the application of the Grounded Theory, and used to allow an expansion of the knowledge that already exist. The main findings of this study showed strong evidence that technologies and collaborative practices are being adopting by organization, which are also, using different ways to overcome the lack of similarity of systems within the chain. Additionally, Supply Chain specialists, participants of this research, have described the relevance of all these IT features and initiatives for their routine. This study provides valuable and the most up to date information, that can be used as a “temperature check”, about what is happening in the global market for the Supply Chain Management process in different industry sectors.