Exploring Information and Communications Technology in Collaborative Supply Chain Planning

This thesis deals with the role of information and communications technology (ICT) in supply chain settings where partners collaborate on planning and control. Recent ICT developments offer numerous opportunities to handle information between partners in supply chains. Collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment (CPFR) is a collaboration concept that is often associated with ICT. However, since its introduction in the US in the mid 1990s, its implementation has been slow in practice and large-scale implementations have been scarce. Moreover, most literature on CPFR has been published by industry organizations or has been written by practitioners and there are only a few research studies that focus on ICT in CPFR. Therefore, this work seeks to develop more structured and detailed insights to characteristics of ICT supported CPFR which can help companies to better exploit the great potential of ICT in CPFR. Its purpose is to explore how ICT can support CPFR in order to develop a framework for ICT supported CPFR. The investigation is concentrated to four research questions; 1) How are ICT capabilities applied to support CPFR? 2) How does ICT affect CPFR processes? 3) How does ICT affect the quality of information in CPFR? and 4) What are major conditions for ICT supported CPFR? A qualitative approach and an iterative theory development process characterized by continuous combinations of empirical evidence and literature studies were adopted. An empirical single case study was carried out of a CPFR initiative of a wholesaler and a pharmacy retailer, with focus on an advanced planning and scheduling (APS) system that supported the initiative. The thesis defines characteristics of ICT supported CPFR by comparing case evidence with literature. Results show that ICT is especially important in CPFR for processing and exchanging large information volumes and for facilitating collaborative actions. Moreover, ICT with automatic features has a significant role for increased cost efficiency, for enhanced quality of information and increased information exchange and for implementing a joint planning and control approach. The collaborative relationship and the integration and standardization of partners' existing ICT systems are also important for ICT supported CPFR. A framework for ICT supported CPFR is developed that can be used to characterize and analyze CPFR initiatives in view of their appropriateness for ICT support and their degree of ICT exploitation. Characteristics related to the collaborative relationship, the ICT integration and standardization, as well as information volumes are expected to determine to what extent a CPFR initiative is especially suitable to be supported by ICT. Characteristics related to automatic information handling, exchange and processing of information, cost efficiency, information improvements and joint planning and control approach are expected to determine to what extent partners make productive use of ICT to support a CPFR initiative. In addition to that the thesis summarizes and structures current knowledge on characteristics of ICT supported CPFR, it also provides further insights into how ICT can support CPFR that have not earlier been addressed in literature. In ICT supported CPFR, collaborative actions are necessary to establish joint rules and procedures for information handling, especially when information is handled automatically. ICT is further important in order to centralize the ordering activity to ensure that information is up-to-date and information from various sources is combined and to implement a joint planning and control approach. Automatic features of ICT are also necessary to handle large information volumes as well as to improve information quality in information exchange. Joint ownership relations can facilitate ICT supported CPFR and the integration and standardization of partners' existing ICT systems is also important, especially when ICT is used for automatic information handling. The primary target group for this research are academics in the field of collaborative supply chain planning and control with a particular interest in the role of ICT in inventory management, especially related to fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industries. The framework for ICT supported CPFR and related propositions of this study may be used as a starting point for further investigations on the topic. Results are further expected to be valuable for managers, especially in the pharmacy or in other FMCG industries, who consider implementing or have already implemented CPFR with ICT support. Managers can use the framework for ICT supported CPFR to characterize and analyze their CPFR initiatives with regard to ICT appropriateness and degree of ICT exploitation. Finally, the practical recommendations provide guidance on how to exploit the potential of ICT in CPFR