Supply network performance measurement: future challenges?

Purpose – This reflective paper aims to identify and discuss key areas for the development of, and research into, supply network performance measurement systems. Design/methodology/approach – The paper traces the broad history of performance measurement before identifying the specific issues that performance measurement has raised in the supply network environment from both local and global managerial perspectives. Having laid this foundation, the paper continues to examine the likely future challenges that managers of supply networks face. Findings – Four outstanding challenges are identified and discussed: the response to the increasing environmental challenges; the effect of the lean/agile debate on the development of supply networks and their measurement systems; the need to develop performance measurement systems to break through the “dyadic relationship” barrier and make management of the supply network a more realistic aspiration; and challenges faced in making performance measurement a multi‐cultural phenomenon and through this make management of international supply chains more effective. Originality/value – The paper identifies some of the outstanding issues in current and future network performance measurement.