Hybrid Communication Strategies and Tools as a Strategic Lever to Improve Supply Chain Performance

In this highly volatile global economy, organizations need to deploy various levers to improve supply chain performance. Supply chain needs to be responsive and agile to changing market conditions. The objective of the supply chain is to have the right products and services in the right quantities, at the right place, at the right moment, produced with minimal cost with the required quality level. To facilitate that, communication is considered one of the key levers to its success. While traditional communication approaches improved supply chain performance, in this dynamic environment there are still significant gaps and few opportunities to innovate the communication process within the whole supply chain. The purpose of this article is to explore how organizations can improve the performance of the communication process within the whole supply chain through the application of hybrid strategies and tools. The research methodology was qualitative exploratory in nature to confirm the relevance of the research question, and to explore through extensive literature review different strategies and tools to be applied to improve communication in supply chain. Supply chain managers can potentially benefit from this research, this study contributes to communication process in the supply chain by going beyond the benefits and problems of communication process that occur in day-to-day operational communications. It adds a new perspective to fit the flexibility and agility exist in the market place by proposing the use of hybrid strategies and tools to improve connectivity, information exchange, knowledge sharing and relationship alignment in the networked supply chain. Keyword: supply chain management, communication, information exchange, knowledge sharing Paper Type – Research Paper


Introduction
"The ability of organizations to sense and respond quickly, easily, predictably, and with high quality will become increasingly critical as the complexity, volatility, and competitiveness of global markets continues to grow" (Hofman & Cecere, 2005, p. 19). It is important to look beyond the flexible factory to the flexible supply chain (Stevenson & Spring, 2007). Supply chain is the interrelated processes within your firm and across other firms to produce product and services to match customer wants and needs (Krajewski et al., 2013). "Supply chain collaboration is defined as a long-term relationship where participants generally cooperate, share information, and work together to plan and even modify their business practices to improve joint performance (Whipple et al., 2010)" (Ralston, 2014, p. 4). "A basic form of collaboration involves the exchange of information to the joint benefit of the buyer and supplier (Chen, 2003). Information may be shared at all relevant levels of the planning and control process, that is, in forecasting, in actual planning, as well as in execution or replenishment (Vollmann et al., 2005)" (Vereecke & Muylle, 2006, p. 1179).

Supply Chain Management
Organizations are operating in a dynamic environment where organizational success depends on how they continuously strive to improve their supply chain to achieve quality, cost, speed, flexibility, and customer value. Supply chain is the lifeblood of any business organization that connects suppliers, producers, and final customers in a network to create and deliver products and services to the customers (Stevenson, 2012, P. 665). "Supply chain management (SCM) is the task of integrating organizational units along a SC and coordinating materials, information and financial flows in-order to fulfil ultimate customer demands with the aim of improving competitiveness of the Supply Chain as a whole" (Stadtler, 2004, P576).

Communication in the Supply Chain
Developing a supply chain's competitive edge through the utilization of communication and knowledge sharing often involves the application of strategies, tools, approaches, capabilities and resources that facilitate the alignment, integration and consistency in the supply chain thus creating better supplier-customer relationship which lead to improve the efficiency in supply chain operations. "Communication includes the ways in which information is exchanged and shared between partners and the openness between partners in their exchanges of information" Ogulin et al. (2012). Daft 1997 cited in Kelly (2000) added to the previous definition that information is exchanged and understood by two or more people with the intent to motivate or impact actions.
The flow of material and financial flow is highly dependent on the flow of accurate and real-time information in the whole supply chain. Successful communication facilitates the agility in the exchange of Information which will improve the responsiveness of the supply chain. Organizations shared many types and different data, information and knowledge that include: product / service information, Market demand, forecasting, production planning and scheduling, resource planning, capacity planning, inventory planning, etc. Exchanging the incorrect information cost the firm its competitive advantage while Sharing the right information at the right time with the right trading chain partners can reduce costs and enhance competitive advantage. Porterfield (2007).
Within the literature, there is a large body of knowledge about communication in organizations. Stevenson and Spring in their study explored the role of supply chain design, supply chain collaboration and inter-organisational information systems on flexibility and concluded that flexibility achieved along the entire supply chain depends embraced by numerous businesses for meeting their intra-and interfirm communication needs. Kelly (2000) says that there are many ways to improve upward communication (e.g. suggestion systems, performance reports, attitude surveys), downward communication (e.g., videos, newsletters, briefings and meetings) and horizontal communication (e.g. electronic networks and intranets, and quality circles). Different organizations adopt different strategies for communication and information exchange. Some firms favoured formal communication while others supported informal collaboration. Both informal and formal coordination mechanisms is needed to improve supply chain performance. In this uncertain and turbulent environment, many organizational strategies are emphasizing the shift from approaches based upon power, formal and hierarchical dependence and confrontation towards those that imply greater collaboration and partnership. Park et al say that to accomplish supply chain management activities that includes all transportation, storage, and information processing from the raw material stage to the point where the product reaches the final consumer, then cooperation and partnership is a must. Ogulin et al. (2012) in their findings suggest that in this dynamic market companies should build informal coordination capabilities in-order to take advantage of time-sensitive market opportunities. Further added that the management of industry guidelines, regulation, connectivity, and relation alignment are significant antecedents for informal coordination of supply chain capabilities in business networks. In strategic alliances and partnership in supply chain, Myhr and Spekman (2005) emphasized the use of both electronically mediated exchange and face to face interactions that are essential for trust to build.
"Supply chain visibility has been viewed as the degree to which supply chain partners have access to information related to supply chain operations and management and considered to benefit each other (Mohr & Spekman, 1994;Barratt & Oke, 2007)" (Wei and Wang, 2010, P.239). Xu and Beamon (2006) emphasized the use of coordination mechanism as a set of methods used to manage interdependence between organizations. It is found that more than one coordination mechanism should be implemented for a given organization or a given interdependency, particularly in situations in which one or more attributes do not fit squarely within a single category. Given the increasing demand for a high quality, rapid response flexible supply chain, and the importance of communication to achieve that, the challenge of organization is to design and select the appropriate strategies and communication tools. Communication Within supply chain cannot be over-emphasized. Information exchange and coordination of activities, from procurement to production, up to distribution can be improved using Internet, improved information systems, face to face communication and the use of different hybrid strategies and tools.

Conclusion
When there is lack of formal communication tools and channels, it is difficult to exchange information between individuals/groups within department, between individuals/groups between departments and between individuals/group between the firm and external organizations, suppliers and customers. And as communication is considered one of the key levers to supply chain success lack of proper channels will directly affect supply chain performance. While traditional communication approaches improved supply chain performance, in this dynamic environment there are still significant gaps and few opportunities to innovate the communication process within the whole supply chain.

Future Direction
This study contributes to communication process in the supply chain by going beyond the benefits and problems of communication process that occur in day-to-day operational communications. It adds a new perspective to fit the flexibility and agility exist in the market place by proposing the use of hybrid strategies and tools to improve connectivity, information exchange, knowledge sharing and relationship alignment in the networked supply chain. Therefore, the researcher recommends further study to test, refine and fully appreciate the breadth of application of this proposed new perspective to improve communication process.