CURRENT TRENDS IN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN INDIA

ABSTRACT

India is the fourth largest country in terms of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) and constitutes one of the fastest growing markets in the world. Globalization of businesses, infrastructural bottlenecks, increasing uncertainty of supply chain networks, shortening of product life cycles and proliferation of product variety have forced Indian firms to look beyond their four walls. They face issues related to choosing and working with the right supply chain partners (suppliers, customers and logistics service providers), fostering trust between them and designing the right system of gauging performance.  In this paper, we present a snapshot picture of logistics and Supply Chain Management (SCM) practices in India. It is borne out of the felt need by managers, expert professionals and academicians to address logistics and supply chain practices at the national level. Our exploratory study is based on both field visits and secondary data. We capture facts, figures as well as qualitative responses about the logistics infrastructure and supply chain practices. We focus on supply chain collaboration and partnerships, supply chain structure, facilities network design, transportation and logistics and the role of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT). Field visits to at least one major facility of 25 firms were carried out during 2016. We analyze and assess existing logistics and SCM practices and discern emerging trends as well as areas of concern. The paper gives insights into how far the firms and their supply chains in India have come in dealing with major logistics and supply chain issues, the practices they focus on or need to focus on. We also highlight and address a few issues related to supply chain managers and policy makers.

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