Business Commons^™

Exploring Internal And External Supply Chain Linkages: Evidence From The Field, Mark Barratt, Ruth Barratt

Management Faculty Research and Publications

In their pursuit of improved operational performance, organizations in supply chains have sought to develop external information-based linkages with their customers and vendors. Has this course of action been at the expense of developing similar internal information-based linkages? This research explores the specific roles of internal and external information-based linkages in achieving improved operational performance. Based on a single case study that comprises a supply chain containing twenty-four internal and fourteen external linkages this research develops a series of propositions. We find that the individual internal linkages may be useful for extending externally derived visibility, and for addressing to some …