Monitoring and Managing Manufacturer Supply Chains with Business Intelligence

  • Oliver Piotr Orzyszek

Student thesis: Master's Thesis

Abstract

As the field of Supply Chain Management is evolving and steadily growing in complexity, the dependence on utilizing data rises. Business Intelligence tools help companies gather actionable insights to support their Supply Chain operations at operational, tactical and strategic levels. This thesis explores the integration of BI-tools within SCM to help address challenges faced by manufacturing companies in optimizing their supply chain processes. The motivation behind this research comes from the observation, that despite the very critical role of SCM in the modern business world, only a small percentage of companies leverage BI tools for managing their supply chains. The methodology employed in this thesis includes a comprehensive literature review, followed by qualitative expert interviews with professionals from the manufacturing industry who are knowledgeable about both BI and SCM. The research is structured into seven chapters, beginning with an introduction to the problem and objectives of the thesis. The core of the research lies in the empirical analysis, which was conducted using semi-structured interviews. The interviews were designed to among other topics explore the extent of BI tool utilization in SCM, the perceived benefits and challenges companies face. The results indicate that while BI-tools have the potential to enhance decision-making in SCM in a variety of ways, the utilization to their full potential is hindered due to a lack of understanding of their capabilities. The findings suggest that companies that successfully implement BI in their SCM processes experience improved decision-making, reduced analytics costs, as well as greater overall efficiency and transparency. In conclusion, this study contributes to the limited literature on Supply Chain Intelligence by providing empirical evidence on the benefits and challenges associated with BI adoption in SCM. The generated insights can help manufacturing firms better understand the value of BI in their supply chains and learn more about the hidden potential BI tools have in managing supply chains.
Date of Award2024
Original languageEnglish
SupervisorMichael Plasch (Supervisor)

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