Selection of tailored practices for supply chain management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate what hinders businesses to achieve superior supply chain performance and how this knowledge may be used in the process of selection of tailored practices for supply chain management (SCM). Design/methodology/approach – Literature review and secondary case studies were used to identify hinders of superior supply chain performance. A method for the selection of tailored practices for SCM is developed. Case study research is used to validate the value of the developed method for practice and research. Findings – This research identifies detrimental phenomena that are observed in the management of supply chains: waste, uncertainty, vulnerability, congestion, bullwhip, diseconomies of scale and self‐interest. It develops and illustrates a method for the selection of tailored SCM practices. Research limitations/implications – This research did not verify the completeness of the list of phenomena identified. The implementation of the selected practices was not in the scope of the case studies. Practical implications – Researchers may use the phenomena to study the impact of different practices in the overall supply chain performance, as well as to study the interactions between the different phenomena. Practitioners may use the proposed method as a diagnosis and continuous improvement tool for their supply chain. Originality/value – Although the supply chain phenomena have been explored individually in the literature, a holistic approach of the phenomena had not yet been developed to the best of our knowledge. The method developed identifies a set of tailored practices that are in alignment with the context and strategy of the business and decrease the overall effects of the detrimental phenomena.