An examination of multi-tier supply chain strategy alignment in the food industry

A deep understanding of supply chain management (SCM) is key to a company's ability to achieve and maintain competitive advantage. In order to leverage the full potential for shaping competitive performance that is presented by contemporary supply chain (SC) configurations, the congruence between SC strategy, business strategy and market requirements has to be firmly established. This paper presents the findings of a survey of 170 companies that was undertaken to examine the alignment of product and SC characteristics of companies operating in food SCs in the UK and Malaysia. The study provides an empirical, comparative analysis of Fisher's (1997) two-dimensional, product-SC array within a single sector. The results indicate that functional food products are generally supported by SCs that possess lean characteristics uniformly across their tiers and place emphasis on price and quality. This conforms to Fisher's (1997) theory. However, innovative food products are not uniformly supported by agile SCs. In general, innovative products were found to be supported by short, hybrid SCs where manufacturers have an efficient (analogous to functional) focus while downstream partners have an agile focus. In addition, the functional-lean relationship was commonly found in Malaysia with relatively few product-SC mismatches. A far greater proportion of product-SC mismatches were found in the UK.