An Empirical Study on the Japanese Manufacturers' Integration Strategy of Supply Chain Management

일본 제조기업의 공급사슬경영 통합화 전략에 관한 실증 연구

Supply chain management(SCM) has become an integral part in manufacturing management. And it is often discussed that the actual advantages of supply chain management can be exploited by its integrative management approach. Very often in this context scholars refer to the need of integrating the supply chain. However few examples of truly integrated supply chains are witnessed and it is not always clear what integration implies and how it is implemented. In this paper, it is empirically attempted to analyze the integrated supply chain management practices in a strategic perspective. Using the data gathered from Japanese manufacturers, a taxonomy of the SCM integration strategy is developed and the characteristics of each company group are investigated with a viewpoint of integrated supply chain management initiatives. Furthermore the relationships between the taxonomy and the manufacturing strategy process are also examined.