Synopsis for Dissertation

on
A Study on Technology Integration in Supply Chain Strategy with special
reference to Reliance Fresh and Big Bazaar

Prepared By:

Debjyoti Rakshit
Roll No: 12DM033.
BATCH 2012-2014.

Under the Guidance of:

Prof. Manidatta Ray
Asst. Professor, Decision Science & Operations Management

Institute of Management and Information Science, Bhubaneswar

December, 2013

Table of Content
1 Introduction........................................................................................................................................................3
2 Objective.............................................................................................................................................................3
3 Literature Review................................................................................................................................................5
4 Proposed Methodology......................................................................................................................................6
5 References...........................................................................................................................................................7
Appendix ..............................................................................................................................................................7

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1 Introduction
Supply chain management provides the linkage between the production stage, suppliers and
consumers.
The development of supply chains over the years has been slow. Companies developed individual
parts of their supply chains beginning first with the transportation component and moving on to include
warehousing, finished goods inventory, materials handling, packaging, customer service, purchasing,
and finally, raw materials inventory. The goals of supply chain systems are multidimensional and
include cost minimization, increased levels of service, improved communication among supply chain
companies, and increased flexibility in terms of delivery and response time.
A well managed supply chain links the suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and customers by a
suitable information system for controlling across boarder in order to achieve optimum productivity,
overall satisfaction and joyful relation at cheaper cost.
Quick and effective information system helps manager to understand the customer response, their
demands, inventory in the stock, how much to be produced and where to deliver and when? Here
comes the role of technology, through inter-organizational information system, which helps in aligning
the interdependent strategies to achieve cooperative rather than competitive role of SCM partners.
The advancements in technology have presented supply chains with many significant opportunities
for cost reduction and service improvements.

2 Objective
The objective of my study is as mentioned below:

To determine how Information Technology in Supply Chain Management is providing

information availability & visibility, enabling a single point of contact for data, allowing decisions based
on total supply chain information, and enabling collaboration with partners.

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To find up to what extent the retailers such as Reliance Fresh & Big Bazar have used the
technology such as Internet, ERP, MRP, Mobile & Cloud Technology and other tailor-made software to
enhance their Supply Chain operational capabilities.

To understand with this technology integration in Supply Chain, how these retailers are gaining
competitive advantage & organizational performance in overall business operation.

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3 Literature Review
Based on the prior research of the below mentioned papers, the findings have been segmented.
In the paper, The roles of information technology in supply chain management written by Jaana
Auramo, Aimo Inkilinen, Jouni Kauremaa, Katariina Kemppainen, Mikko Krkkinen, Sanna
Laukkanen, Sami Sarpola, and Kari Tanskanen in the year 2008 has focused on:
1) Transaction processing,
2) Supply chain planning and collaboration, and
3) Order tracking and delivery coordination.
In this literature review, the aim is to discuss the main contributions and shortcomings of three
research approaches analytical research, empirical studies, and classification frameworks.
Analytical and Modeling research
This stream of research aims to measure the impacts of information sharing between supply chain
partners. This research addresses the operations of small-scale supply chains. These studies have
found that typically the sharing of demand information in supply chains increases the performance of
the supply chain by increasing availability and reducing inventory related costs (Evans et al., 1993;
Gavirneni et al., 1999; Cachon and Fisher, 2000; Lee et al., 2000).
To conclude, while focusing on the effects of the information sharing between supply chain partners,
the analytical and modeling stream of research does not discuss the actual means of information
sharing. Thus, these studies do not directly discuss the use of IT for information sharing between
supply chain partners. Nonetheless, these studies are relevant for our study as the sharing of planning
information clearly is one the purposes for which IT can be utilized in SCM.
Empirical studies
Two streams of empirical studies on the use of IT in SCM can be identified. The first stream focuses on
a specific technology or application area, and the second stream studies the application and
benefits of IT in general.
In the research focusing on specific technologies or application areas, there exists a distinct body of
research on the adoption factors and impact of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) (see e.g. Iacovou et
al., 1995; Mukhopadhyay et al., 1995; Tuunainen, 1998). Here, for example cost reduction objectives
(Mukhopadhyay et al., 1995) and volume of transactions between supply chain partners (Tuunainen,
1998) have been associated with the adoption of EDI links. According to this body of literature, tracking
is needed especially in situations with in-transit consolidation, and in project-oriented businesses.
These tracking studies, however, are not empirically founded and thus, do not reveal how tracking
systems and tracking information is actually utilized by companies.
The research on the benefits of the use of IT in SCM includes a number of surveys investigating the
impact of IT on supply chain integration, customer integration and service (Closs and Savitskie, 2003),
supply chain time performance (Jayaram et al., 2000), financial performance, or a combination of these
(Vickery et al., 2003). Meanwhile, Auramo et al. (2005) performed an exploratory multiple case study
on the benefits of IT in SCM, and McLaren et al. (2004) conducted a multiple case study on how
different SCM IS capabilities support different operations environments. However, common to these
studies is that while helping to assess and understand the value of IT use and integration for SCM,
they do not help in determining how companies actually use IT in SCM.
Conceptual classifications
There are some few classification frameworks that describe how IT is used for SCM in the previous
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literature. Bagchi and Skjoett-Larsen (2002) examine the role of IT and organizational integration in
supply chain integration and propose an IT integration path from low, through medium, to high
integration. Themistocleous et al. (2004), in turn, use the scale of low, medium, too high to describe the
integrativeness of different IT alternatives. The focus of these studies being on assessing the levels of
supply chain integration, they do not describe how IT is actually used for SCM purposes.
In the next research paper that I have studied, The Role of the Internet in Supply Chain
Management published by Richard A. Lancioni, Michael F. Smith and Terence A. Oliva in the year
2000, under the license of 2000 Elsevier Science Inc., the authors have highlighted the
advancements of Internet and its dominance in the world of SCM.
In this paper the greatest potential of the Internet is being realized by speeding up communication
between customers and their suppliers, improving service levels, and reducing logistics costs. In this
article, the authors discuss for the first time how the Internet is being used in managing the major
components of supply chains including transportation, purchasing, inventory management,
customer service, production scheduling, warehousing, and vendor relations. The study breaks
down each area and describes to what extent and how the Internet is being applied. The study also
looks at the development of Intranets and Extranets in supply chains.
In the next paper, Overview of Information Technology tools for Supply Chain Management
authored by Prashant R.Nair, Venkitaswamy Raju and Anbudayashankar S P in the year 2010, have
stressed on the different IT tools being used in SCM based on the key functional roles as:
1)
2)
3)

Transaction Execution,
Collaboration and Coordination, and
Decision Support

An overview and deployment of the present alignments of widely deployed IT tools like EDI, ERP, bar
codes, inventory management, transportation management and warehouse management systems is
provided. Several successful IT implementations in SCM like Walmart, Target, NASA, Best Buy, Intel
etc. are described. The basic elements of emerging and new-age tools like RFID, software agents,
decision support systems, web services, e-commerce, electronic supply chains etc. are also reviewed.
Internet technology, World Wide Web, electronic commerce etc. will change the way a company is
required to do business.
Another white paper is studied; Top 10 Supply Chain Technology Trends published by company
Intermec Inc. In this the business needs for security, real-time visibility, and up-to-date information is
being reinforced. These needs extend throughout supply chain operations, so reliable information
systems must extend just as far. Developments in cloud technology, mobile computing, wireless
communication, RFID, bar code and other data collection and communications technologies are
helping businesses extend visibility and control over more areas of their operations. This white paper
has provided a few examples of how organizations are taking advantage of supply chain technology
trends.

4 Proposed Methodology
The study methodology will be based on the secondary research and the study conducted using a
random sample of respondents from different Reliance Fresh outlets and Big Bazaar.
The study comprises of
Exploratory research
Survey through questionnaire
In-depth interview with operations manager
Customer perception data captured through questionnaire

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The role of IT in supply chain management will be divided into seven substantial decision areas as
follows
Purchasing/procurement
Inventory management
Transportation
Order processing
Customer service
Production scheduling
Relations with vendors
The questionnaires will be prepared on the above mentioned decision areas. All of the Supply
Chain dimensions addressed in the questionnaire will be analyzed using statistical control study.
Internet, Extranet, and Intranet usage will be explored by contrasting the size of the firm (measured in
both terms of sales and number of employees) and involvement with international operations.

5 References

Richard A. Lancioni, Michael F. Smith and Terence A. Oliva, IEEE The Role of the Internet in
Supply Chain Management, 2000 Elsevier Science Inc.
Jaana Auramo, Aimo Inkilinen, Jouni Kauremaa, Katariina Kemppainen, Mikko Krkkinen,
Sanna Laukkanen, Sami Sarpola, and Kari Tanskanen, The roles of information technology in
supply chain management, 2008.
Prashant R.Nair, Venkitaswamy Raju and Anbudayashankar S P, Overview of Information
Technology tools for Supply Chain Management, 2010.
Intermec Inc., Top 10 Supply Chain Technology Trends.
Various articles over the internet like www.supplychainbrain.com, www.cio.com,
www.supplymanagement.com.
Journals such as Supply Chain Digest, Logistics Management.

Appendix

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Glossary
Sl No.
1
2
3
4
5
6

Term
IT
SCM
ERP
MRP
EDI
RFID

Abbreviation
Information Technology
Supply chain management
Enterprise Resource Planning
Material Requirement Planning
Electronic Data Interchange
Radio Frequency Identification

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