Supply Chain Complexity - A view from different perspectives

Purpose of this paper: Companies offered a broader range of product variants, to a larger range of customers (orders with a highly questionable contribution to financial key performance indicators were accepted as well) independent of whether those markets had been served before to master the economic crisis and to keep financial key performance indicators at an acceptable level. In the subsequent period of market growth/recovery companies were wondering why financial key performance indicators did not return to pre-crisis levels. One possible answer – the cost of growing supply chain complexity outweighs the benefits of additional orders. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to analyse the development of supply chain complexity from different perspectives (market, process, product, and organisation) from 2008 up to now and to highlight possible attempts to reduce/manage supply chain complexity. Methodology: Based on a longitudinal case study in the Austrian machine building industry the company under consideration is analysed according to the development of supply chain complexity within the four mentioned perspectives. Findings: With respect to the company specific situations appropriate measures for the four analysed perspectives of supply chain complexity are defined and operationalised. This enables companies to easily and continuously monitor the development of the degree of complexity within the supply chain.