The strategic view of supply chain management and its association with risk

Abstract

Within this study, 37 supply management professionals were given a questionnaire and asked to provide their experiences and insights into future trends in supply management functions, supply risks and the usage of long-term agreements with tier suppliers. The results show that the relevance of supply management functions will increase significantly in the future, confirming the generally supported view that there must be a more strategic focus on supply (chain) management. This statement is valid for small- and medium-sized enterprises, but not for large companies. The 10 most commonly occurring risks are internal in nature. These are controllable and are mainly related to internal operations. Finally, an assessment was made that establishing certain types of long-term cooperation with key-suppliers will be an important future aspect of supply (chain) management, as this aspect can be aligned with the overall strategic view of the firm and create sustainable competitive advantage.