Volume 16, Number 4 Article by Manoj Kumar December, 2004
Buyer-Supplier Inventory Relationship under Internet-based EDI Implementation :
Information sharing between the buyer and supplier is considered to be a major indicator of supply chain management.An integration of processes,policies, systems,databases,strategies and the diverse trading partners of both buyers and suppliers would result in better developed buyer-supplier relationships (BSR). Internet based electronic data interchange (I-EDI)is an inter-organisational information system that requires collaboration and commitment between trading partners and has played a key role in making closer relationships easier.
While a great deal of attention has been focused on BSR in the supply chain by both academicians and industrialists in the last few years,little attention has been paid to the relationship between buyer and supplier inventory levels and operating variables influenced by the introduction of I-EDI.Manoj Kumar 's research builds on empirical field studies of actual I-EDI implementations to develop and test regression models for buyer-supplier inventory relationships.Through the use of survey data and two case studies,it explores the relationship of several independent operating variables under management control in an I-EDI implementation with buyer raw material inventory and supplier finished goods inventory.
The potential benefits that I-EDI can offer for buyer-supplier relationships are significant and a majority of respondents felt that the introduction of I-EDI would have a dramatic positive effect.This study discovers that the motivating factors for the adoption of I-EDI appear to be rooted in tangible economic gain through reduction of inventory and intangible benefits in the form of accuracy,improved customer service, improved buyer-supplier relationships and competitive advantage.
Reprint No 04405b
