SUPPLY CHAIN INTEGRATION AND ADAPTABILITY: The key to be fit for turbulence

In a world which has become ever more turbulent - due to environmental, political, technological, competitive events and disturbances - the ability to forecast and plan for the future is dramatically reduced. Instead, the ability to adapt flexibly and quickly to unexpected, unplanned events has become the major condition for survival of any organization. Under these circumstances an adequate degree of adaptability - while simultaneously establish integrated value networks - is advantageous for business performance as it keeps a company moveable. This insight provided the stimulus for a major research effort by a consortium of academic and industrial partners based at the University of Applied Sciences - Campus Steyr. Fit for turbulence (FFT) intends to become the Austrian competence centre for value network solutions with a special focus on SC-adaptability. In this paper an explanatory model is developed based on an extensive literature review that higlights propositions whose investigation can improve the companies adaptability to be fit for turbulence.