The Tacit Liaison between Networkability and Supply Chain Performance

Adjusting the level of supply chain integration is a key instrument for managers to improve supply chain performance. Tightly integrated supply chains, shortly integrated supply chains, are typified by intensified cooperation between organizations and by the existence of a so-called business bus, being the supply chain wide IT-backbone for business processes and transactions. It is generally believed that this type of supply chains can be highly efficient, leading to a relatively high performance. The level of integration is closely related to that of networkability, which refers to the ability of an organization to become and stay a partner in an existing supply chain. In literature, a higher level of networkability is implicitly regarded as desirable, to improve the performance of a supply chain. To clarify the relationship between networkability, supply chain integration and supply chain performance, we have assessed these notions in an SME based supply chain in the high tech manufacturing industry. We found some preliminary evidence that supply chain performance can be comparatively high, without high levels of networkability at the level of IT (e.g., a business bus), as long as it is compensated by networkability of process, products, people and/or organization.