Supply chain development priorities of manufacturing firms: empirical findings from a Finnish national survey

: Lorentz H, Solakivi T, Toyli J, Ojala L

Publisher: TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD

: 2011

: International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications

: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LOGISTICS-RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS

: INT J LOGIST-RES APP

: 5

: 14

: 5

: 351

: 365

: 15

: 1367-5567

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13675567.2011.643779(external)

In order to realise the potential of logistics and supply chain management in a firm, relevant strategies and development priorities need to be identified and developed. This research aims to identify the current logistics and supply chain-related strategic development priorities of manufacturing firms that operate in Finland and to identify the key determinants of these priorities. Based on survey data from 317 manufacturing firms, the top five supply chain development priorities for the years 2009-2013 were identified as cutting logistics costs, improving delivery reliability, developing information systems, improving customer service and increasing supply chain transparency. A multinomial logistic regression analysis further highlighted the role of manufacturing strategy and the extent of the geographic dispersion of supply networks as predictors of firms' supply chain development priority choices.