Chopra & Meindl: Supply Chain performance: Achieving Strategic Fit and Scope

Question

What is the scope of strategic fit?

Answer 1

The functions and stages within a supply chain that coordinate strategy and target a common goal.

In my own words: It defines how broadly the strategy is aligned. It ranges from a strategy that restricts to a functional area within a stage in the supply chain to a strategy that covers (aligns) all functional areas across all stages in the supply chain (the scope of strategic fit would be the entire supply chain in this case).

Answer 2

The different steps companies have on strategic scope, ranging from:

1. Intraoperation scope: each stage of the supply chain devises strategy independently

2. Intrafunctional scope: firms now attempt to align all operations within a function

3. Interfunctional scope: alligning strategy across all functions within the firm to maximize profit. There was still a conflict between stages of a supply chain however, so:

4. Intercompany scope: two parties work together and share information so they can reduce inventories and total cost, thus growing the supply chain surplus

Answer 3

The competitive playing field nowadays has shifted from company versus company to supply chain versus supply chain. A company's partners in the supply chain may well determine the company's success, as the company is intimately tied to its supply chain.

Answer 4

A firm's ability to achieve strategic fit when partnering with supply chain stages that change over time (due to the shortening of product life cycles and a dynamic customer demand)

> The strategy and operations of a firm must be agile enough to maintain strategic fit in a changing environment.