Author: Uelen Fernanda Pinheiro de Oliveira
Pinheiro de Oliveira, Uelen Fernanda, 2024 Supply Chain Transformation – Enhancing the supply chain sustainability performance through the S&OP, Flinders University, College of Business, Government and Law
Terms of Use: This electronic version is (or will be) made publicly available by Flinders University in accordance with its open access policy for student theses. Copyright in this thesis remains with the author. You may use this material for uses permitted under the Copyright Act 1968. If you are the owner of any included third party copyright material and/or you believe that any material has been made available without permission of the copyright owner please contact copyright@flinders.edu.au with the details.
This thesis investigates the key factors as to why Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) besides transforming business performance contributes to the improvement of the supply chain sustainability performance. It builds a conceptual framework identifying the essential resources for successful S&OP implementation while incorporating sustainability management.
Over the past two decades, both academia and industry have increasingly focused on supply chain operations and sustainability management. Despite sharing common operational processes, supply chains face unique challenges due to varying goals and constraints. They oversee the conversion of raw materials into finished products, ensuring timely delivery to end customers while balancing the interactions among diverse processes and stakeholders to maximise value and profit. Furthermore, internal and external factors create challenges for managing supply chain sustainability. Effective integration of cross-functional business plans, which align sales and financial targets with environmental objectives, is crucial. This integration facilitates a robust decision-making process, establishing a unified source of truth and shared goals across functions, thereby elevating businesses to a new level of sustainability performance.
Embracing constructivism, this thesis employed a qualitative research approach. Firstly, through the literature review, it described a comprehensive concept of the evolution of definitions, theories and practices involved in supply chain management models and existent challenges faced in the back-end process. Secondly, this thesis streamlined the sustainability performance aspects supply chains, exploring how these elements have evolved and addressed over time.
To translate the theory into practice, empirical data was gathered through conducting 20 semi-structured qualitative interviews with senior leadership participants in supply chain/S&OP and sustainability from organisations in the beauty and personal care industry located in diverse global geographic regions. This approach systematically captured the real-world applications and challenges of managing supply chains and sustainability. The selected organisations ranged from those with well-established S&OP process to those planning to implement it. To ensure the research trustworthiness, the collected data was coded manually and subsequently analysed in the NVivo R1 (2020) platform.
The findings reveal that the integration of supply chain sustainability management into the S&OP decision-making process is underexplored in existing literature. Consequently, this thesis extends to the extant literature across several key areas of business management theory, specifically on the concept of supply chain sustainability performance management within the S&OP process investigating three aspects: 1) key factors influencing management practices in organisations’ supply chain and sustainability processes, 2) key current challenging factors impacting supply chain and sustainability processes performance, and 3) how the S&OP process model could contribute to mitigating the challenging factors impacting on the success of supply chain sustainability performance.
This thesis elucidates a clear pathway for integrating Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) with supply chain sustainability performance, offering substantial contributions to both literature and industry. The key findings reveal the significant roles of Principles, Integrated Decisions, Flow of Information, and Stakeholders in enhancing management practices, thus offering a holistic comprehension of S&OP's impact on sustainability. Drawing on management theories and practices from literature, including Stakeholder theory, Risk Management theory, and Green Supply Chain practice, complemented by empirical data from senior leadership participants, a Sustainable Sales and Operations Planning (SS&OP) framework is created. This framework not only stimulates academic discourse but also acts as a functional guide for practitioners, urging a broader adoption of sustainability through the cyclically reinforcing S&OP process.
The SS&OP framework paves the way for the industry to navigate towards more sustainable practices, especially within the beauty and personal care sector, as exemplified by the Asia-Pacific market's experience. It is a comprehensive model that informs and guides corporate alignment with the United Nations' sustainability goals, depicting S&OP as both reactive and preventive in addressing the demands of sustainability within global supply chains. This contribution is poised to reshape how businesses incorporate sustainability into strategic planning, offering a forward-thinking tool for operational and environmental success.
Essentially, the findings reveal that success is underpinned by comprehensive understanding of current performance metrics, trends, and targets, where key decision-makers are clear on their roles and responsibilities, fostering accountability for inputs, discussions, decisions, and actions. Proactive risk management is essential to address uncertainties and potential risks from various environments that could affect strategic business plans. Moreover, the integration of people, processes, and tools into a unified decision-making framework is critical, always ensuring adherence to business principles. Lastly, Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) process significantly contributes to successful business process performance, aligning cost and profit management with enhanced customer service and overall business efficiency.
Finally, the thesis bridges the gap between theoretical frameworks and real-world applications. It proves that S&OP, when underpinned by principles of sustainability, risk awareness, and stakeholder inclusivity, can lead to operational excellence and a sustainable future. These findings represent a valuable addition to the literature and a practical asset for the industry, projecting a new course for businesses to achieve economic success while upholding their environmental and social responsibilities.
Keywords: Supply Chain Management, Sustainability, Sales and Operations Planning, S&OP, Sustainable Supply Chains, Risk Management, Stakeholder Engagement, Performance Metrics, Integration, Triple Bottom Line, Green Supply Chain, Circular Economy, Business Strategy, Supply Chain Resilience, Strategic Planning, Operational Efficiency, Environmental Stewardship, Risk Mitigation, Cross-Functional Collaboration, Beauty and Personal Care Industry, Sustainable Development Goals, Sustainable Sales and Operations Planning, SS&OP Framework, Sustainability Performance Management, Supply Chain Optimization, Resource Efficiency, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Sustainable Business Practices
Subject: Business thesis
Thesis type: Doctor of Philosophy
Completed: 2024
School: College of Business, Government and Law
Supervisor: Professor Adela McMurray