Development of a Framework to Assess the Impact of Information and Communication Technology ICT Deployment in Supply Chain Management SCM

Abstract

Rapid technology advances and dynamic market forces have altered the business newlinelandscape as also fundamental altered existing business models. Information and newlineCommunication Technology (ICT) usage and deployment has opened the doors for newlineenterprises to compete in any marketplace. ICT tools are great enablers, enhancers, newlinelevelers and facilitators of enterprise operations. While most researchers and industry newlinepractioners are unanimous about the fact that ICT positively impacts Supply Chain newlineManagement (SCM) performance and improves supply chain capabilities, there is newlineevidently an identified gap in terms of assessment and measurement of these ICT benefits newlineand capabilities in SCM. This is despite the fact that there are several SCM performance newlinemeasurement frameworks. The novel research direction of this investigation emerged newlinefrom the observation that there is clearly an absence of an assessment framework to newlineaccurately describe the impact and benefit analysis and to what magnitude ICT has newlineimproved the competitive advantage of enterprises through improvement of the enterprise newlinesupply chain. newlineThis research work assumes greater significance as a result of the present situation due to newlineCovid-19 pandemic, which has accelerated the need for Industry 4.0, digitalization and newlineembracing of ICT not only for supply chain but also all aspects of the enterprise. The newlinemotivation of this thesis is to make an original contribution to the body of knowledge in newlineterms of addressing this gap in the rubrics of ICT effectiveness in SCM as also providing newlineenterprises with a benchmark on their ICT deployment in SCM. This thesis is about newlinedevelopment of an assessment framework of ICT deployment in SCM, consisting of an newlineempirical model and capability index and its dovetailing into APICS Supply Chain newlineOperations Reference (SCOR) model, which has universal appeal and wide acceptance. newlineThe rubrics and performance indicators of various constructs for measuring of the impact of ICT in SCM in the empirical model evolved into an ICT capability index metric ...