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Int. J Sup. Chain. Mgt Vol. 4, No. 3, September 2015
94
Determinants of Supply Chain Performance: A Strategic Point of View
S M Sohel Rana
1a
, Abdullah Osman
2b
, Azuddin Bin Bahari
3a
, Mohammad Solaiman
4a
a
School of Business Innovation &Technopreneurship, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Perlis, Malaysia
.
b
Kulliyah Muamalat, Insaniah University College, 09300 Kuala Ketil, Kedah.Malaysia
smsohelrana@ymail.com
1a
,abos2137@yahoo.com
2b
, azuddin@unimap.edu.my
3a
,
solaimanmktgcou@yahoo.com
4a
Abstract - With the application of supply chain strategy,
retailers can make a wise decision to increase supply
chain performance. This study is one of the novelties in
supply chain management research because it aimed at
empirically analyzing the influence of supply chain
strategies as the determinants of retail supply chain
performance. For the purpose of the study, data were
collected with a structured questionnaire from 115
mangers of some selected retail chain stores in
Bangladesh. Collected data were analyzed using Partial
Least Squares method with smart PLS software version
2.0M3. The present study has shown some meaningful
findings regarding the determinants of retail supply
chain performance. Firstly, it is found in the study that
agile supply chain strategy is the most pivotal factor
influencing retail supply chain performance. The lean
strategy was also found to be a contributor to the retail
supply chain performance while hybrid strategy was
found to exhort very weak influence in increasing the
performance of retail supply chain. The findings of this
study can benefit the supply chain managers involved
in retailing. From this study retail managers can know
which strategy they should adopt to bring forth
substantial advantage for the companies by
maintaining their supply chain in a better way.
Keywords
—
Supply chain strategies,
responsiveness, efficiency and retail chain stores.
1.0 Introduction
Remaining responsive to customers’ preferences is
a big challenge for companies in this globalized
world. For satisfying customers with better
products and services, big retailers around the
world are adapting their business strategies in the
fast changing business environment. Supply chain
strategies are also playing a significant role in this
regard. One of the main objectives of supply chain
strategy is to increase the firm’s supply chain
performance with respect to its customers [19].
Supply chain performance is an important indicator
of how well the supply chain strategy fulfills its
objectives since it denotes the ability of the supply
chain to adapt to changing customer needs and
ultimately lead to elevated performance [4].
But research works on supply chain strategies are
very limited [13, 28&41]; these studies have not
critically examined the association between supply
chain strategies and performance. Rather there are
very few studies that tried to examine the causal
relationship between supply chain strategies and
performance [35, 54&27]. But these studies have
been conducted in manufacturing industries; like
[27] who tried to present supply chain metrics and
to propose a fuzzy-based performance evaluation
method for lean supply chain. So research should
be conducted in a retail setting to investigate the
effects of supply chain strategies on retail supply
chain performance. Moreover the previous studies
focused on only agile and lean strategies [54] but
there is hybrid strategy that has drawn significant
attention among the researchers. So the present
study tried to assemble these three types of
strategies with respect to their influence in retail
supply chain performance.
Supply chain strategy consists of a set interrelated
issues employed to incorporate suppliers,
manufacturing, warehouses, and stores so that
products are made and distributed at the right
quantities, to the right location, at the right time, in
order to lessen system-wide costs while satisfying
service level requirements [50]. Currently
organizations are thinking supply chain strategies
as a way of increasing their performance and
achieving long term goals. This supply chain
strategy helps the supply chain process in the
movement and storage of raw materials, work-in-
process inventory, and finished goods from point of
origin to point of consumption. For this reason,
firms adopt these strategies to manage the
integration of all the supply chain activities through
better supply chain relationships to achieve a
competitive advantage for the supply chain [21]. As
retail supply chain is somewhat different in the
sense that they are mostly dependent on suppliers
for their finished products, supply chain strategies
here act as a catalyst for success. In the face of
global competitive business environment, big
retailers are utilizing supply chain strategies to beat
the competitors. For this reason, the strategic view
of managing supply chains has assumed utmost
importance, especially since such a complex
environment has effectively shifted the attention of
competition from a firm versus- firm paradigm to a
supply chain-versus-supply chain paradigm [29,
52]. Managers can effectively manage their retail
outlets if they are apt in choosing the right supply
chain strategy. As the retail chain stores deal with
the fast moving consumer goods, supply chain
strategy for them requires a system that focuses on
______________________________________________________________
International Journal of Supply Chain Management
IJSCM, ISSN: 2050-7399 (Online), 2051-3771 (Print)
Copyright © ExcelingTech Pub, UK (http://excelingtech.co.uk/)
Int. J Sup. Chain. Mgt Vol. 4, No. 3, September 2015
95
integration of business processes throughout the
value chain with the aim of providing maximum
value to the end-customers [60]. While developing
strategy for retail supply chain, the retailers must
first consider the nature of demand for the products
they are selling. Then the organizations can fix
their objectives with the market situation and
design a supply chain strategy that best matches
with preferences of customers and organizational
goals. Though supply chain strategies are important
to be successful, very few empirical studies done as
to their impact on retail supply chain performance.
The few studies done in this area divulged
inconsistent findings regarding the impact of
supply chain strategy on supply chain performance
and firm benefits. In particular, while some studies
[28,40 & 9] show positive associations between
supply chain strategy and supply chain
responsiveness, others [35] show that supply chain
strategies do not directly bring benefits for the
firms, but that they need supports from other
factors to do so [24]. However, literatures
regarding the supply chain strategies and
performance for retailing are scarce. So the present
research initiative can pave the ways to minimize
the literature gap by exploring the impact of supply
chain strategies on retail supply chain performance.
The present study used three types of supply chain
strategies with respect to their effect on two
dimensions of supply chain performance namely
responsiveness and efficiency. These are discussed
in the next section.
1.2 Supply Chain Performance
A simple definition of good supply chain
performance is to get the right products to the right
place at the right time at the lowest cost. The
performance characteristics with the greatest value
in a supply chain are accuracy, responsiveness, on
time complete deliveries, reduction of inventory
and mutual continuous improvement. In the
academic literature several measures have been
proposed for measuring overall supply chain
performance [3]. For measuring the retail supply
chain performance, operational performance has
been considered in terms of supply chain
responsiveness and supply chain efficiency as
proposed by [3], [18], and [23]. The above
mentioned dimensions of supply chain performance
are also supported by SCOR model and balanced
scorecard model. These dimensions of retail supply
chain performance have been discussed below.
Supply chain responsiveness (SR) is the
promptness and the degree to which the supply
chain can address variations in customer demand
[22, 39&31]. At present customers are very much
demanding and for this reason increased emphasis
on availability of products and services as well as
on time delivery creates unique needs for a volume
flexible response [56]. If supply chain
responsiveness increases, it obviously brings
benefits to organizations and in the long-term have
a positive impact on a firm’s performance [42]. In a
rapidly changing competitive business world,
organizations have to design their supply chains in
ways that are meaningfully more flexible and
responsive than the existing ones [26]. Firms need
to know what strategies are important to respond to
changing customer needs so as to succeed in
today’s uncertain environment [16, 34&58] as well
as any disruptions in supply [17, 29&11]. On the
other hand, efficiency is the measurement of how
well the company’s resources are utilized [3]. So
supply chain efficiency (SE) is how well the
resources in the Supply chain are utilized. The
definition of an efficient supply chain varies from
company to company. Supply chain efficiency is
defined from three perspectives such as supply
chain performance, cost and a combination of
performance and cost [1]. Definitions of efficiency
in terms of performance are for example high
delivery precision and high customer satisfaction.
To remain competitive in the new global
environment, companies will have to seek ways to
lower cost and at the same time enhance the service
towards customers. This means that a company
needs to have both cost focus and customer focus at
the same time [8]. The purpose of efficient supply
chains is to coordinate the flow of materials and
services so as to minimize inventories and
maximize the efficiency in the chain that will
increase supply chain performance [1]. Efficient
supply chains work best when demand is
predictable and products/services are stable. Supply
chain efficiency can be achieved if the resources of
organizations are utilized. For supply chain to be
efficient, all parties in supply chain network should
work in a coordinated manner so that unnecessary
costs can be avoided [1].
2. Literature Review
Supply chain strategy deals with the procurement
of raw materials, transportation of materials to and
from the company, product or manufacture of the
operation to provide the service, and distribution of
the product to the customers, along with any
follow-up service and a specification of whether
these processes will be performed in-house or
outsourced [40]. The supply chain strategy of the
retailers refers to the strategic goals and objectives
of their supply chain. [19] Argued that the
alignment of an organization’s activities with its
strategies leads to supply chain responsiveness that
might help create competitive advantage for the
firms. So it is necessary to know the strategic
influence of supply chain to responsiveness. There
exists a need to widen knowledge in retailing as
supported by [59], who claimed that there is a time
lag of more than ten years in retail research as
Int. J Sup. Chain. Mgt Vol. 4, No. 3, September 2015
96
compared to manufacturing research. This is very
much true especially for research in retail supply
chain management. [44] called for a retail interest
from supply chain management researchers. But no
study could be identified that focused on supply
chain performance in retail business. The process
of supply chain strategy starts with the business
value proposition to customers, based on core
competencies and identified market winners and
shows how the supply chain can contribute to
achieving business goals [53]. [55,36] suggest three
types of supply chain strategies which are agile
supply chain, lean supply chain and hybrid supply
chain that affect supply chain performance. They
have done some case studies and merged the lean
and agile supply chains to form a strategy referred
to as a hybrid supply chain strategy. However, [36]
integrated both the lean and agile supply chain and
used the term of leagile to increase supply chain
performance. Different supply chain strategies are
used for different products [1, 12 &46]. Supply
chain strategies may be designed to be more
efficient or to be more responsive [21], also the
combination of both. Different types of supply
chain strategies are discussed below.
2.1 Agile Strategy (AS)
Agile supply chain strategy aims at being
responsive to customer needs as well as being
flexible [25, 28]. This agile supply chains are most
appropriate for products having uncertain demand
[1, 47&55]. It is apt in time compression, quick
response and eliminating the barriers to quick
response [10]. [13] was one of the first scholars
who considered agility in the supply chain
management context. Subsequently researchers
gave importance on supply chain agility as a
business wide capability, enabling the firm to
respond to changing market environments [5, 29,
&51]. As such, agility is characterized by
flexibility and speed/responsiveness, and spans
organizational structures, processes, information
systems and mindsets [48, 9]. For this reason, the
scope of supply chain agility extends beyond a
single firm and includes association with major
customers and suppliers [5]. Supply chain agility
refers to a company’s capability, in conjunction
with its key suppliers and customers, to rapidly and
successfully react to changes in its environment [5].
Inherent in this conceptualization is also the
organization’s flexibility and its ability to quickly
and effectively reconfigure key resources with the
aim to remain competitive. The idea of supply
chain agility represents a dynamic capability able
to positively influence the operational performance
of the firm. Operational performance includes a
firm’s competitive position in terms of supply
chain cost, customer service (delivering the right
quality and right quantity at the right time), service
level performance (on-time-in-full deliveries), and
supply chain flexibility [3, 18&23]. It can be
argued that in today’s challenging global markets,
the route to sustainable advantage lies in being able
to leverage the respective strengths and
competencies of network partners to achieve
greater responsiveness to market needs [8]. And
agile strategy is a major catalyst of supply chain
performance. Similarly [54] found in his study that
agile supply chain strategy is positively correlated
with supply chain performance. Thus it is
hypothesized that;
H1a: Agile strategy positively influences the retail
supply chain responsiveness.
H1b: Agile strategy positively influences the
retail supply chain efficiency.
2.2 Lean Strategy (LS)
Lean strategy focuses on the elimination of waste
with a bias towards “pulling” goods through the
system based on demand. In retailing, lean strategy
is employed to diminish costs and wastages. This
strategy requires the retailers to anticipate the
market demand and assemble the products so that
customers get the maximum value at reasonable
costs. It is through this holistic, enterprise-wide
approach to lean implementation that the theory
extends beyond functional strategy to a broader
supply chain strategy employed by the company. A
lean supply chain works to reduce cost and waste
[57] by eliminating non-value-added activities,
pursuing scale economies and deploying
optimization techniques to get the best capacity
utilization in production and distribution [25,28].
The objective of this strategy is to achieve the most
efficient methods of production and delivery of
products by reducing waste in the value creation
process. As retail managers can discern the demand
in advance, they can plan and assort the necessary
products in efficient batches to customer orders. So
there is relatively less waste and inventory – at
least inbound in the supply chain. The strategy is
however prone to excessive inventories of finished
product outbound. The aims of a lean strategy are
to do every operation using less of each resources-
people, space, stock, equipment, time, and so on
that best match with retail supply chain. So the
retailers can increase supply chain performance by
eliminating operations that ad no value, simplifying
movements, reducing unnecessary inventory, using
higher technology, looking for economies of scale,
locating outlets near to customers and removing
unnecessary links from the supply chain [38]. On
the other hand [54], in his study found a positive
association between lean supply chain strategy and
supply chain performance. Therefore, on the basis
of previous literatures, it can be hypothesized in
this study that;
H2a: Lean strategy is positively correlated with
retail supply chain responsiveness.
Int. J Sup. Chain. Mgt Vol. 4, No. 3, September 2015
97
H2b: Lean strategy is positively correlated with
retail supply chain efficiency.
2.3 Hybrid Strategy (HS)
Organizations sometimes use a hybrid strategy
where both lean and agile supply chains are utilized
[55]. Hybrid or leagile supply chains thus use a
combination of lean and agile approaches within a
supply chain strategy [32] and exploit the benefits
of both lean and agile supply chains [55]. Supply
chains utilize this hybrid solution by holding
strategic inventory in some generic or unfinished
form at the de-coupling point with final
configuration made quickly once actual demand is
known. Hybrid strategy aims at building an agile
response upon a lean platform by seeking to follow
lean principles up to the de-coupling point and
agile practices after that point. Organizations
wishing to increase performance through cost-
efficient practices should operate at a location that
offers low cost and develop strategies in line with
the lean supply chain [18]. On the other hand,
organizations that want to be competitive through
innovation should use strategies more closely to the
agile supply chain [18]. This is empirically
supported by a study done by [18, 20] that state the
nature of supply chain strategy, aimed at an
efficient cost is a lean supply chain. Furthermore,
Groote [21, 13, &43] indicated in their study that
generally profit in the supply chain investments
will only be available if there are alignments
between supply chain strategies with form of
process or product requests. Therefore, it is evident
that final customers’ needs for functional products
with a predictable market demand should be met
with efficient (or lean) supply chains and the needs
for innovative products should be met with
responsive (or agile) supply chains [6, 13, 47&51].
However the present study tries to test whether this
hybrid strategy can influence the retail supply chain
performance or not. Based on the findings of the
mentioned studies that hybrid strategy has impact
on supply chain performance, it can be
hypothesized that; H3a: Hybrid strategy positively
influences retail supply chain responsiveness.
H3b: Hybrid strategy positively influences retail
supply chain efficiency.
3. Research Methodology
3.1 Instruments Development
The present study has three independent variables
and two dependent variables. The items for the
independent variables namely lean and agile supply
chain strategy have been adopted from previous
studies [54] and items for dependent variables were
adopted from the studies by [29,2& 54]. Items for
the hybrid strategy were developed from existing
literatures. Each item represents the content of
definition for the respective constructs. For the
content validity of the items, a pre pilot study was
conducted by three academicians and two senior
supply chain mangers of retail chain stores to make
comments on the clarity and appropriateness of the
measures developed for the study. After getting
their feedback, the items were adjusted and used
for pilot study and it revealed good reliability and
validity of the items. The items were measured
with 5 point Likert scale with response options
ranging from strongly agree (5) to strongly disagree
(1).
3.2 Data collection and Analysis Techniques
Data were collected from 115 managers of some
selected retail chain stores in Bangladesh. Among
the total respondents, 101 were the outlet managers
and the remaining 14 were the senior supply chain
managers of different retail chain stores. For
collecting the data, formal request letter was used
for taking permission from the authority of the
selected organizations. Then the questionnaires
were distributed among the respondents. Total 120
questionnaires were distributed and finally 115
were collected in usable condition. So the total
sample size in this study was 115. The survey was
conducted in 2014. Mostly the outlets managers
were surveyed because they are closely linked to
the overall operations of the respective stores.
Collected data were analyzed using partial least
squares (PLS) with the support of the software
Smart PLS 2.0 M3 [45]. The hypotheses of this
study were tested based on empirical data by means
of structural model of partial least squares (PLS)
method. Structural equation modeling is a second-
generation multivariate statistical analysis that has
been gaining attention in the areas of both
environmental management [33, 38] and operations
management [37]. PLSs were used in this study as
it is the most appropriate method of data analysis
for small sample size [42]. In PLS, the test of a
conceptual model involves two steps namely
measurement model (outer model) and a structural
model (inner model). The findings of measurement
and structural models are presented below.
4. Findings
4.1 Reliability and Validity Test
The present study evaluated the measurement
model by assessing the convergent and
discriminant validity following the criteria
suggested by [7]. Cronbach alpha values were used
to test the reliability of data. Table 4.1, shows that
all the Cronbach alpha values are above 0.7 which
represents a good internal consistency of data [37].
Int. J Sup. Chain. Mgt Vol. 4, No. 3, September 2015
98
Table 4.1: Reliability and Validity Test
Constr
ucts Items Factor
loadings Cronbac
h alpha CR AVE
Agile
Strateg
y
AS1 .777 .857 .898 .639
AS2 .698
AS3 .773
AS4 .870
AS5 .870
Lean
Strateg
y
LS1 .828 .802 .816 . 528
LS2 .685
LS3 .669
LS4 .882
LS5 .601
Hybrid
Strateg
y
HS1 .653 .705 .842 .524
HS2 .813
HS3 .777
HS4 .647
Supply
Chain
Respon
sivenes
s
RS1 .657 .873 .901 .531
RS2 .782
RS3 .759
RS4 .710
RS5 .771
RS6 .752
RS7 .730
Supply
Chain
Efficie
ncy
SE2 0.776 .805 .860 .508
SE3 0.688
SE4 0.626
SE5 0.753
SE6 0.737
SE7 0.683
The loadings of each questionnaire item on its
respective measure were computed for evaluating
convergent validity. The acceptable value for each
item is 0.6 [1]. Total three items were deleted due
to their low factor loadings. Now all the loadings
are above the 0.6 mark which is enough for
convergent validity [20]. Twenty eight of the 31
loadings were above the strict 0.60 criterion. This
strongly supports the convergent validity of the
items. In addition to that the composite reliability
for all the constructs is more than 0.70 which is
above the acceptable level. Then the average
variance extracted (AVE) for each construct is
above 0.50 which also meets the criteria for
convergent validity. So the measurement model
exhibits high convergent validity since all factor
loadings are above 0.6, all AVEs are above 0.5, and
all composite reliabilities (CRs) are above 0.7.
Table 4.2 shows the discriminant validity of the
constructs taken in the present study. Discriminant
validity is tested through average variance
extracted (AVE) suggested by Fornell and Larker
(1981). Actually, a construct should share more
variances with its indicators than the other
constructs. This happens when the AVE is higher
than the estimated correlations among each pair of
constructs.
Table 4.2: Discriminant validity
AS HS LS SE SR
AS 0.799
HS 0.681 0.726
LS 0.198 0.067 0.723
SE 0.588 0.476 0.516 0.728
SR 0.738 0.509 0.212 0.584 0.735
A measure showing discriminant validity should be
composed of items with high loadings on their
appropriate constructs (convergent) but with low
loadings on other constructs [15]. The
measurement model also demonstrates good
discriminant validity since the square root of the
AVE for each construct was higher than its
correlation with other factors.
4.2 Hypotheses testing based on PLS structural
model results
Usually PLS coefficient is used for hypotheses
testing that indicate the strength of relationship
between a pair of variables. The statistical
significance of the structure coefficients was
explored in a bootstrapping analysis similar to the
procedure used above in evaluating the indicator
weights of the measurement model. A precondition
for a meaningful explanation of path coefficients is
that the overall structural model's quality touches a
standard level. The strength of relationship is
expressed by R
2
.
The value of R
2
represents the
percentage of variation in the endogenous variables
caused by the exogenous variables taken in the
study. According to [7], R
2
values of at least 0.19,
0.33, and 0.67are treated as weak, moderate, and
strong, respectively. In the present study the value
of R
2
amounts to 0.550 for responsiveness and
0.532 for efficiency (table.4.3). It indicates that the
value is very near to strong explanatory power. So,
the supply chain strategies are overall adequately
responsible for the variance share of retail supply
chain performance.
Table 4.3: Output of structural model
Path
coefficients R
square T
Statistics P value
AS > SR 0.711
0.550 6.583 .000
LS > SR 0.070 1.002 .318
HS > SR 0.020 0.202 .840
AS > SE 0.371 0.532 2.899 .004
LS > SE 0.429 3.665 .000
HS > SE 0.194 1.801 .074
Int. J Sup. Chain. Mgt Vol. 4, No. 3, September 2015
99
Table 4.3 shows that agile supply chain strategy
highly coincided with better supply chain
responsiveness for retail stores. The corresponding
path coefficient of 0.711 exceeds the value of 0.1,
which the literature proposes as the lower limit for
practically meaningful paths. Therefore, H1a
receives strong support in the sample and it is
accepted and this finding is consistent with that of
[54]. Again the positive coefficient of 0.07 for the
path with adopting lean strategy to enhance retail
supply chain performance is in line with H2a. So
H2a; lean strategy can influence retail supply chain
responsiveness, is accepted and it resembles the
findings of [54] but it is insignificant. On the other
hand, H3a is not supported as the path coefficient
demonstrates very low and insignificant value. So
hybrid strategy can’t influence the retail supply
chain responsiveness much. Again H1b which
posited that agile strategy can increase retail supply
chain efficiency got a positive path coefficient of
0.371 which is significant at 5% level. So H1b is
accepted. Lean strategy was also found to be a
significant contributor to retail supply chain
efficiency with a positive path coefficient of 0.429
which is significant at 1% level. So H2b is
supported. Lastly, hybrid strategy had a positive
path coefficient of 0.194 which is not significant at
5% level but got supported as it has a significant
path coefficient.
5. Discussion
The present study investigated the roles played by
supply chain strategies to enhance the retail supply
chain performance. To remain responsive to
customer demand, the retail supply chain mangers
must think about the strategies along with other
supply chain management practices. The present
study has shown some meaningful findings
regarding the supply chain performance of retail
chain stores. Firstly, it is found in the study that
agile supply chain strategy is a pivotal factor
influencing retail supply chain performance. It is
because of the fact that agile strategy always seeks
to maximize the satisfaction of customers by
providing quick response at affordable costs. It is in
line with the arguments of [5], who posited that
agility, is the ability to quickly and effectively react
to changes in market demand. To remain
responsive to the preferences of customers, retailers
must align agile strategy in their supply chain.
The lean strategy was also found to be a contributor
to the retail supply chain performance. It was found
to a significant factor that can increase retail supply
chain efficiency but insignificant for
responsiveness. As the lean supply chain strategy
mostly focuses on waste minimization, it is difficult
for companies to gain responsiveness with this
strategy. On the other hand lean strategy is
appropriate for products having consistent demand
and organizations employ this strategy for an
efficient supply chain. So the retailers should not
concentrate on waste reduction for making their
supply chain responsive. However, hybrid strategy
was found to be very weakly correlated with retail
supply chain responsiveness it could influence
retail supply chain efficiency to some extent.
Therefore the present study explored three supply
chain strategies as the predictors of retail supply
chain responsiveness. Out of these three strategies,
agile strategy was found to be the most significant
followed by lean strategy to influence the retail
supply performance. Another predictor; hybrid
strategy was found to exhort very weak effect in
increasing the performance of retail chain stores.
So retail managers trying to increase supply chain
performance in terms of responsiveness and
efficiency in the changing competitive market
should design their supply chain with agility and
also should think about lean strategy. Though lean
and hybrid strategies are not significantly
influencing retail supply chain performance,
organizations can use them as a supplementary
strategy when needed to increase the overall supply
chain performance.
6. Managerial Implications
This empirical research paper reveals the
significance of supply chain strategies in achieving
better retail supply chain performance.
Researchers around the world are very much
concerned about the supply chain practices and
performances of manufacturing firms but the
empirical research literatures are very scarce in
retail supply chain. Moreover the supply chain
strategies are hardly addressed in research as the
predictors of supply chain performance in retail
settings. For this reason this research work is
noteworthy especially for the retailers. The
findings of this study can benefit the supply chain
managers involved in retailing. The results showed
that retail stores can remain competitive and
responsive by adopting agile and lean supply chain
strategies. The adoption of agile strategy might
bring forth substantial advantage for the retailers to
Int. J Sup. Chain. Mgt Vol. 4, No. 3, September 2015
100
maintain responsiveness in their supply chain. The
results might give some insights to achieve the two-
fold goals of retail supply chain. With the
application of supply chain strategy, managers can
make a wise decision to satisfy customers’ needs at
affordable costs and maintain a responsive supply
chain. This study also demonstrates that hybrid
strategy bears little importance in increasing retail
supply chain performance. The study suggests that
managers should not only emphasize on cost
reduction and waste minimization to manage retail
supply chain successfully, they should think about
the strategy that might fit with the objective of the
organization.
7. Conclusion
The findings of this study can be important
guidelines for the retail managers. On the basis of
empirical findings, they can formulate strategies
that might help them to achieve organizational
goals by satisfying customers. Though the findings
of this research have some implications for the
retail chain stores, it is not without any criticisms.
This study is done in a developing country whose
infrastructures might not resemble with those of
developed countries. So the findings might not be
fully generalizable to the developed economies
retailing. Another limitation is that the data were
collected from the capital city of Bangladesh and
the outlets situated outside Dhaka have been
excluded. So the findings might not represent the
picture of whole industry. Furthermore, this study
only considered supply chain strategies as the
catalyst for retail supply chain performance but
there are some other factors that might help
companies to enhance supply chain performance.
Future researchers can include the supply chain
management drivers and practices to investigate to
what extent supply chain performance is influenced
by these factors. Further studies can be done with
large samples as the present study was conducted
with a relatively small group of respondents.
References
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