A proposed set of criteria for supply chain strategy evaluation

Abstract

This note explores the applicability of evaluation criteria to the problem of evaluating the supply chain strategy of an organization. A discussion of supply chain strategy evaluation is relevant today, as the validity of the dominant approach – proposed two decades ago and based on matching types – has come into question. While evaluation criteria have a long history in other disciplines, they are new to supply chain strategy evaluation. To help supply chain scholars assess the applicability of evaluation criteria to supply chain strategy, this note proposes a tentative set of criteria and provides insights derived from the authors’ recent experience with their use in two projects. We propose that the use of criteria for the evaluation of supply chain strategy may be a useful alternative, or at least a complement, to the dominant approach. We invite the empirical validation of these proposed criteria by third parties.