Supply chain management in the services industry: a study from a middle-eastern country

This paper examines how operations from services providers are nowadays positioned regarding the effective management of service supply chains by assessing the existence of processes for; the selection of strategic suppliers, the most utilised models of services contracts with suppliers and customers, the common adopted practices of services demand management, and how the discipline of supply chain management is currently understood. An online survey was used to collect the primary data from leaders and managers from services organisations operating in the marketplace of a Middle-Eastern country. The results revealed that the surveyed professionals demonstrated a very good understanding of the concept of supply chain and how competitive advantages can be gained from this business area; however, the concept of supply chain management (SCM) was not so clear for the majority of the surveyed practitioners. The fixed-price was the most utilised model of contract with customers and strategic suppliers. Finally, best practices for demand management were recognised by the local practitioners but outsourcing and vendor management inventory practices were not yet effectively explored.