The Effect of People on the Supply Chain World: Some Overlooked Issues

Some scholars have been so blunt as to claim that information technology is the answer to all the problems facing supply chain managers. We posit that, although information technology integration is necessary for a supply chain to succeed, people are also crucial for supply chain management to succeed. We further propose that managers must take into consideration organizational culture and the education and training of employees to facilitate supply chain collaboration and success. We interviewed 51 senior-level supply chain managers across five channel positions. Findings support our position that management of people is crucial to supply chain integration, and is improved through an accommodating organizational culture. Also, from our findings, we supply a prescription for building supply chain cross-functional manager.