An empirical analysis of process-oriented supply chain performance measurement systems

The achievement of sustainable competitive advantage is no more a single company’s affair. Several other supply chain members affect the chances of process optimization. The design and implementation of performance measurement systems shared by different companies represent an attempt to drive supply chain relationships towards common strategic goals. Supply Chain Performance Measurement Systems (SCPMSs) have been the subject of a considerable and heterogeneous literature during the last fifteen years. Scholars mostly focus on the design features and often propose broad conceptual models that seem hardly applicable. Addressing at the vast operations management literature on performance measurement, this study develops a framework describing the SCPMS lifecycle, highlighting fundamental steps to follow in the design, implementation and review process. Then by means of a supply chain case study in the Italian large distribution sector, we analyze how the different actors in the chain perceive a process-oriented SCPMS and therefore highlight how to maximize the outcomes by leveraging on the design and implementation key variables.