Supply Chain Management

Cooperation is essential for the successful implementation of supply chain management. This cooperation is hampered when there is ineffective communication. The bullwhip effect occurs because of information distortion. This can be reduced by sharing information and knowledge with suppliers and customers in order to estimate demand more accurately.

It is also important to work with supply chain partners to eliminate the bullwhip effect. Technology can be utilized to speed up communication and to improve response times. Partnering has become very important for firms because of the increasing complexity and turbulence in the market. For partnering to be successful, there is need for trust, commitment and mutual support between the partners.

Further, the negative aspects of partnering like conflicts should be overcome by devising effective conflict resolution techniques. Hence it is very important for managers to understand the factors that affect coordination and identify the levers they can use to nurture effective coordination.