Supply Chain Management: Developing Visible Design Rules across Organizations

This chapter proposes an integrating view of Supply Chain Management as a set of Visible Design Rules that govern interactions across independent organizations, each with its own hidden operational and organizational information. Applying the principle of modularity from computer architecture to supply chain studies, we specify the basic three elements of visible rules: architecture, interfaces, and standards in the context of supply chains. Subsequently we discuss a set of measurable operations performance metrics, interfaces among supply chain partners in the form of processes that cut through multiple layers of the chain, and partnership and network structure as the architecture of supply chains. We suggest that supply chain management studies and practices should focus more on the overall visibility of standards, interfaces, and structure instead of probing into each organization’s detailed planning and operations, to allow for the maximum flexibility for them to change and innovate. The ultimate goal is to achieve an agile supply chain with quick and accurate response in a fast changing business environment.