Literature Review on Effective Supplier Integration Mechanisms in Inter-Organizational

Literature review on effective supplier integration mechanisms in inter-organisational
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Abstract
This report provides a critical investigation of the existing theoretical background and research
results concerning the rationale of effective supplier integration mechanisms in inter-
organizational projects. It provides a theoretical investigation of organizational relations, models
of intra-organizational integration, the supplier relationship management trends, supply chain
integration (SCI), information flow and inter-organizational relations, traditional and electronic
IORs, types of supplier integration, the suppliers role in new product development, structural
characteristics of the purchasing organization and existing collaborative processes: from VMI to
CPFR. Then it discusses the research results.

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Table of Contents
Introduction...............................................................................................................................................3
First: Key inter-organizational theories..................................................................................................4
2.1 Organizational relations.....................................................................................................................4
2.2 Supplier integration...........................................................................................................................6
1.3 Structural characteristics of the purchasing organization...................................................................8
Second: Research results.........................................................................................................................10
2.1 Collaboration and technology transfer.............................................................................................10
2.2 Partnership sourcing in the service industry.....................................................................................12
Conclusions..............................................................................................................................................12
References................................................................................................................................................14

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Introduction
Many manufacturing organizations across various industries have been involved in inter-
organizational relationships (IORs) to benefit from their relational networks in achieving their
objectives. Among different types of business relations, the strategic alliances represent the most
effective broad-ranging relationships. New technology adoption resulted in the creation of new
forms of IORs supported by the inter-organizational systems (IOSs) (Choe, 2011).
Supply chain management (SCM) does not end at the organization's boundaries, but it spans all
of the organizations involved in it. When two or more independent organizations are involved in
the same supply chain they are linked in an inter-organizational supply chain. These
organizations collaborate by exchanging information, transferring knowledge and cooperate in
new products and services development. Accordingly, supplier knowledge is essential to be
involved in the collaborative design, exchanging information and knowledge along the chain
(Neubert et al., 2018)
The traditional focus of procurement departments within organizations concentrated on
purchasing activities. They used to target low cost and high-quality materials or finished
products. Today the dynamic market, competitiveness and environmental changes led
organizations to depend on strategic procurement by creating cross-functional and inter-
organizational business processes (Hong & Kwon, 2012).
This report provides a critical investigation to the existing theoretical background and research
results concerning with answering the main question of what is the rationale of effective supplier
integration mechanisms in inter-organizational projects? The following section will provide an
answer to this question.