Dissertation: Implementing supply chain strategy

Supply chain strategy implementation is the process which merges together strategic management, supply chain management and supplier development. The prior literature on strategy implementation and supply chain management is fragmented and provides only partial and often disconnected views. There is also evidence that much strategy implementation fails.

– That is why I wanted to integrate related theories and configure the supply chain strategy implementation framework, explains Sillanpää.

The results deepen knowledge of supply chain strategy implementation and create a supply chain strategy implementation framework, which merge together sub-frameworks: supply chain strategy framework, make or buy decision-making model, supply chain strategy implementation challenges framework, supplier  development framework, supply chain information integration framework and supply chain performance measurement framework.

The results highlight the importance of the different approaches and subframework of the supply chain strategy implementation framework.

– The originality and the value of the research is a developed supply chain strategy implementation framework, which could be used when supply chain strategy is implemented inside a company and into the company’s supply chain network, says Sillanpää.

The study is a multiple qualitative case study research with hermeneutic research paradigm.

It is empirically focused and uses case studies from several companies in Europe and Asia. The study consists of an introduction, theoretical development and six journal articles.

Public defence

The public examination of Ilkka Sillanpää’s doctoral dissertation “Implementing Supply Chain Strategy” is on Friday 14 November at 13 o’clock in auditorium Kurtén (C203, Tervahovi). Professor Stefan Bojnec from the University of Primorska will act as an opponent and professor Marko Kohtamäki as a custos.

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