Information systems for supply chain management: a systematic literature analysis

Abstract

Information systems (IS) impact supply chain management (SCM) on processes such as planning, sourcing, and delivering, and at levels ranging from tactical operations to organisational strategy. The vast scope of IS and SCM relationships have resulted in diverse and disintegrated research on the topic. This paper offers a systematic literature analysis at the intersection of supply chain and information systems (SCIS), aiming to provide a classification for existing areas of research. This research is based on an analysis of more than 1500 articles published in peer-reviewed journals over the past four decades to classify topics and methods and to identify major trends and distinguish important research themes. The classification of the literature has identified major clusters of research in SCIS, and suggestions are made for future research in each of the identified clusters. In general, the findings point out that there is a dearth of research on topics such as ‘impact of IT on vertical disintegration of supply chains,’ ‘implications of new technologies for supply chains,’ and ‘concerns related to trust, governance, ownership, privacy, and security of data in supply chains.’ This work provides both researchers and practitioners with an insightful description of the current state of research in SCIS and related future trends in research and practice.