Guy Mestrini

Supply Chain Integration in the Dutch Manufacturing Industry: Explaining Integration Levels Within Low- and High-tech Firms Guy Mestrini

Supply Chain Management has become essential for manufacturing firms worldwide. Supply Chain Integration is a major topic in this field mainly because it is essential to optimize customer satisfaction. Only by integrating all aspects of the supply chain can customer satisfaction be optimized. Olhager and Selldin (2004) explained the current Supply Chain Integration status among Swedish manufacturing firms. According to Olhager and Selldin companies were starting to appreciate the importance of the supply chains in which they operate. However, most firms had a long way to go to take full advantage of the promises of supply chain integration. They found that in Sweden in 2004 awareness of planning and control techniques and communication means was high. And they thought work on increasing and improving supply chain integration and collaboration would be strengthened in the near future. Based on previous research it is useful to explain the current supply chain integration status to notice what happened in the past years. Have trends in this field proceeded as expected?