Collaborative supply chain practices and evolving technological approaches

Purpose – This paper aims to give an overview of supply chain collaboration practices and the way the underlying enabling technologies have evolved, from the classical EDI approach, to web‐based and RFID‐enabled collaboration. Design/methodology/approach – The paper discusses alternative technological approaches and the role they play in supporting collaboration. The research presented in this paper is empirical in nature, based on three different case studies from the grocery retail sector depicting different aspects of implementing supply chain collaboration practices. Findings – From the examination of these cases, interesting lessons are derived regarding the suitability and criticality of the technological approach used to support collaboration, especially regarding the use of a centralized web‐platform as compared to the classical EDI approach and to a decentralized solution based on web services. Research limitations/implications – Research is limited to the specific case studies and further validation of the research findings through qualitative and quantitative methods would be appropriate. Practical implications – The paper provides support to practitioner regarding the selection of the appropriate technological approach to support collaboration. Furthermore, it gives insight regarding the maturity of current technologies in relation to collaboration requirements and to what extent can the technology be an enabler or a barrier in a collaboration initiative. Originality/value – The paper links the technological and the supply‐chain collaboration perspective in order to derive interesting conclusions relevant to both academics and practitioners. The cases presented are quite unique and have not been widely studied, representing interesting and novel approaches to the way that technology has been employed to support collaboration practices.