Introduction/Motivation - There are many theories and empirical studies on competitive advantage. However, the empirical studies, using mathematical models, tend to be limited in scope and do not include supply chain parameters [1]. While there has been much research on activities that can provide competitive advantage, there is little knowledge on the process of selection and impact of supply chain management on the competitive position and business performance of organizations. Firms need to understand how supply chain management can help them achieve competitive advantage. As there is no single definition what supply chain management (SCM) is, we use the most common sense of existing definitions SCM is a collaborative, customer and results-oriented management philosophy and its implementation [2], [3], [4]. This paper shall be a critical reflection of how supply chain management can influence competitiveness of organizations based on a conceptual framework developed by literature study as a basis for further empirical research. Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to evaluate how the impact of supply chain management can influence the competitiveness of a company. As the dominating organizational perspectives within supply chain management are firmly based in a methodological position of holistic systems thinking it fails to provide convincing explanations for the change phenomena many people experience in supply chain oriented organizations. Organizational activity is described in terms of processes of local social interaction, creating further interaction and patterns of action [5]. A conceptual framework, based on literature study, shall be developed to identify critical success factors of SCM and its implementation. Objective - The research objective is to understand how supply chain management with it's 3 core tasks based on - first Configuration and allocation, second coordination and integration, third adaption and development can improve competitiveness [6]. How the impact of non-system theoretical topics influences the impact of SCM and what constructs can be used to evaluate as well this influence on SCM-performance [7]? A theoretical framework, based on literature study, will be developed to evaluate how SCM influences a firm's competitiveness and performance and show how supply chain management can help a firm to be more competitive and perform financially better than peers. The conceptual framework will help to identify critical success factors of SCM including behavioural and organizational aspects and evaluate which factors impact the competitiveness of a company most. Design/Methodology/Approach - The research design is based on literature study to develop a conceptual frame. This means the parameters for the evaluation of the impact of SCM will be borne by literature study and existing case studies and put together into a conceptual frame [8]. The structural model and the measuring variables can than be validated by empirical research. The methodology used for empirical validation shall be structural equation modelling (SEM) [9]. SEM offers a holistic approach that aims at closing the gap between philosophical and statistical traditions. It offers a representation of both theoretical and observational terms and their corresponding variables and the equations. The testing against empirical data shall be done in further research. The results shall show to what extent supply chain factors can be causal to competitiveness of an organization in terms of factors like higher customer satisfaction and better financial results. Findings - Provide through literature study of both theory and case studies a conceptual framework which may give better insight how SCM can impact the competitiveness of an organization. There might be differences between critical supply chain management factors based on certain supply chain characteristics, like modularity, uncertainty, innovativeness - life cycle The conceptual frame nevertheless will give companies an input how to focus on differentiating themselves in competitive markets through supply chain capabilities. With the help of the conceptual model it shall be possible to do further supply chain case studies and do further research on the impact of SCM on competitiveness. It is expected that companies that focus more on external supply chain management factors such as a strong focus on customer relationship and management, gives better business results. It is as well expected that strategic impact of SCM activities has a higher impact on competitiveness than operative topics of SCM. Overall, these findings can be used as well as a diagnostics by companies to check their current Supply chain performance and understand how this impact on their competitive position. The research paper and the findings of the literature study will be limited in validity to the case studies evaluated. For a theoretical generalization of findings a broader sample of case studies in further research has to be applied.
