Impact of supply chain automation on supply chain delivery of large scale apparel organizations in Sri Lanka

Abstract

A supply chain in its essence is a complex network ofinterdependent processes that need to work together to deliver results and value to the end customer. In this world of complexity the customer demand and competition adds to the pressure of maintaining highest operating standards and participants in supply chains are constantly pushed to deliver the utmost best to survive in a red ocean. On a high level a supply chain can be segmented into four processes. Namely; Plan, Source, Make & Deliver. In an erawhere technology plays a pivotal role in every business, each ofthese processes that run in supply chain organizations need to be constantly finetuned to yield optimum results. Managements ofsuch organizations always need to locate wherever process efficiencies and optimizations can be brought in to minimize costs, maximize profits and gain competitive advantage. Thisresearch focuses on the Delivery Performance aspect ofa supply chain and the impact of it on the Supply Chain Performance in the same in top five large scale apparel manufacturing organizations in Sri Lanka. To investigate this, a quantitative empirical study was conducted using a self-designed questionnaire backed by strong literature on the selected convenient sample (n = 65). Then reliability (Cronbach Alpha) of the questionnaire was determined and the questionnaire was found to be reliable. The results ofthis research shows the importance of delivery performance measurement and its impact on 3 main areas ofmeasurement on the entire organization’s supply chain. Namely Strategic Performance, Tactical Performance and Operational Performance.