The goal of this master thesis is to provide an analysis of existing supply chain performance measurement systems as well as an evaluation of their suitability for the electronics manufacturing industry. Furthermore, the hypothesis that the implementation of a supply chain performance measurement system in cooperation with supply chain partners will lead to sustainable competitive advantages within the supply chain is going to be proven.
As competitiveness in future industry will be increasingly “supply chain vs. supply chain”, rather than “firm vs. firm”, holistic performance measurement systems become more and more relevant to global operating companies (Hult, 2008, p.538). Although the efficient management of global supply chain networks already has the potential to create competitive advantages, most industrial companies still focus on production efficiency and selective optimization that disable fast adaption to changing customer requirements. In increasingly saturated markets a technology-driven competitive advantage is often quickly compensated by low-cost countries. In contrast high service quality established by efficient logistics processes can hardly be adopted in short time (Richert, 2006, p.44). Especially in the areas of fast moving consumer goods and the electronics industry, companies need to be able to quickly react on changing consumer demands in order to fulfill the customer’s requirements in a flexible way.
Cooperative management between supply chain partners creates higher transparency and market-orientation, that allows the entire supply chain network to operate in a more flexible and efficient way. In consequence the supply chain’s competitiveness will increase due to higher service value for the customer. But, as most industries still struggle with the development of flexible supply chain structures, suitable management tools are obviously not available or applied yet. Therefore, this master thesis provides in a first step an evaluation of existing supply chain performance measurement systems regarding their suitability for current business environments. In a second step the development process towards a practical implementation of the most suitable performance measurement system in an electronics manufacturing company is described. Based on a defined supply chain strategy a standardized approach leads to the development of a supply chain management system providing the preconditions for creating a competitive advantage.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
1.1 Intention of the master thesis
1.2 Structure of the master thesis
2 Evaluation of supply chain performance measurement systems
2.1 Definition of Supply Chain Management
2.2 Description of existing supply chain performance measurement systems
2.2.1 General requirements of SC performance measurement
2.2.2 Tableau de Bord
2.2.3 Skandia Navigator
2.2.4 Performance Pyramid
2.2.5 Quantum Performance Measurement
2.2.6 Balanced Scorecard
2.3 Suitability evaluation of supply chain performance measurement systems
2.4 Supply Chain performance measurement with the balanced scorecard
2.4.1 Financial perspective
2.4.2 Customer perspective
2.4.3 Process perspective
2.4.4 Learning & growth perspective
2.4.5 Cooperation perspective
2.5 Practical advantages of supply chain performance measurement
3 Hypothesis
4 Development of a supply chain balanced scorecard for an electronics manufacturing company
4.1 Industry-based supply chain characteristics
4.2 Methodology
4.3 Definition of a supply chain strategy
4.4 Decision on utilized performance indicators within the balanced scorecard
4.5 Implementation of the supply chain balanced scorecard
4.6 Verification of the performance measurement system’s suitability
5 Summary and conclusion
6 References
Research Objectives and Core Themes
The primary goal of this master thesis is to analyze existing supply chain performance measurement systems and evaluate their suitability specifically for the electronics manufacturing industry. The research aims to test the hypothesis that implementing such a system in close cooperation with supply chain partners enables companies to achieve sustainable competitive advantages by fostering flexibility, cost-efficiency, and transparency.
- Evaluation of diverse performance measurement frameworks (e.g., Balanced Scorecard, Performance Pyramid).
- Development of a custom supply chain balanced scorecard for an electronics manufacturing company.
- Strategic alignment of performance indicators with industry-specific requirements like demand volatility.
- Analysis of cause-and-effect relationships between diverse supply chain perspectives.
- Empirical verification of the measurement system using real-world performance correlations.
Extract from the Book
2.1 Definition of Supply Chain Management
Since middle of the 90s the term “Supply Chain Management (SCM)” is used in the German business environment, first as a synonym for value chain or logistics activities, although supply chain management includes production activities as well as information and financial flows (Eisenbarth, 2003, p.19). As most companies cooperate with several supply chain partners in order to manufacture products or services, the chain itself can be seen as a network of organizations as shown in the figure below (Busch, 2002, p.4).
In general supply chain management describes the integration of key business processes from end user through original suppliers that provides products, services and information that add value for customers and stakeholders (Lambert, 2008, p.354). The principal functionality of supply chain management can be described by the Order-to-Payment S according to KLAUS. Starting point of the supply chain process is the customer order initiating the material and production planning. After purchasing the required raw materials from the supplier the order fulfillment is ongoing until the final product gets delivered to the customer. Finally the customer payment for the delivered product initiates the financial flow from the OEM down to the raw material supplier in the supply chain network. The linkage of several Order-to-Payment processes visualizes the holistic supply chain network (Eisenbarth, 2003, p.21).
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: Provides an overview of the thesis's intention, focusing on the relevance of holistic performance measurement in competitive global supply chains.
2 Evaluation of supply chain performance measurement systems: Reviews common management tools like the Tableau de Bord and the Balanced Scorecard, evaluating them against requirements for effective supply chain performance measurement.
3 Hypothesis: Formulates the core assumption that cross-company performance measurement systems foster sustainable competitive advantages by aligning strategic goals and reducing network complexity.
4 Development of a supply chain balanced scorecard for an electronics manufacturing company: Details the practical process of creating a tailored scorecard, including industry-specific strategy definition, indicator selection, and verification through cause-and-effect correlation analysis.
5 Summary and conclusion: Synthesizes the main findings, emphasizing that while technical tools are available, successful implementation requires long-term management commitment and a shift toward process-oriented organization.
Keywords
Supply Chain Management, Performance Measurement, Balanced Scorecard, Electronics Industry, Strategic Management, Supply Chain Strategy, KPI, Deliverability, Cost-Efficiency, Process Orientation, Network Cooperation, Cause-and-Effect Analysis, Operational Purchasing, Supply Chain Characteristics, Flexibility
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The work focuses on analyzing existing performance measurement systems to determine how they can be adapted for the electronics manufacturing industry to gain competitive advantages.
What are the central themes of the thesis?
Central themes include the shift in industry competition from "firm vs. firm" to "supply chain vs. supply chain," the evaluation of performance measurement tools, and the practical implementation of a Balanced Scorecard within an electronics company.
What is the primary goal or research question?
The primary goal is to prove that implementing a collaborative, cross-company supply chain performance measurement system leads to sustainable competitive advantages through improved transparency and coordinated strategic goals.
Which scientific method is applied?
The thesis utilizes a literature review to evaluate performance measurement systems, followed by an empirical case study approach involving workshops and quantitative data analysis to verify the suitability of a developed scorecard.
What is covered in the main section of the paper?
The main part covers the theoretical evaluation of measurement models, the definition of a specific supply chain strategy for an electronics manufacturer, the selection of relevant performance indicators, and the verification of the model using real-world operational data.
Which keywords characterize this work?
The work is characterized by terms such as Supply Chain Management, Performance Measurement, Balanced Scorecard, and Electronics Industry.
How is the "Cooperation Perspective" different from the traditional Balanced Scorecard?
The cooperation perspective is introduced to specifically address inter-organizational dynamics, such as trust and data exchange, which are often absent in traditional, internal-focused scorecards.
What role does the "Cause-and-Effect" analysis play in this work?
It is used to visualize how improvements in lead indicators, such as forecast accuracy or process know-how, ultimately impact lag indicators like financial results and customer deliverability, validating the consistency of the performance measurement system.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Dipl.-Wirtsch.-Ing. Christian Biewald (Autor:in), 2014, Development of a supply chain performance measurement system, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/282843
