Supply Chain Management - A Three Dimensional Framework

Abstract

The concept of Supply Chain Management (SCM) embraced the concern for environmental degradation and social responsibility in business management. This inclusiveness of ideas to SCM is being deliberated by the researchers as Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM). The research paper employs integrative literature review approach to review, assess critically, and synthesize representative literature on the topic in an integrated way to suggest a new perspective of a three-dimensional framework. The paper integrates the idea of sustainability in supply chain management and suggests a Supply Chain (SC), Management (M) and Sustainability (S) as three dimensions of SSCM and delineates its constituents and their inter-relationships. The three levels of sustainability dimensions such as innovation, environment and social have similar hierarchical structure as operational, tactical and strategic levels of management. To make a SC sustainable, all SC actors have to ensure their performance on all the three levels of management and sustainability dimension. The framework is comprehensive and will help the practitioners to have a better conceptualization, design and plan for a sustainable supply chain. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]