The Impact of Information Sharing on Order Fulfillment in Divergent Differentiation Supply Chains

Current information technology (IT), such as extended intranets (extranets) utilizing the components of the World Wide Web (WWW), makes information sharing between global supply chain partners feasible. Given this, an important issue is: What impact does efficient information sharing have on supply chain order fulfillment performance (specifically cycle time and inventory costs)? In this study, we focus on divergent differentiation supply chains (commonly associated with industries such as fashion apparel). We identify the impact of information sharing by simulating order fulfillment in this supply chain type and find inventory costs can be reduced while maintaining acceptable order fulfillment cycle times. This is true because information, which provides the basis for enhanced coordination and reduced uncertainty, can substitute for inventory.