Intensive competition in the market place has forced companies to respond more quickly to customer needs through faster product development and shorter delivery time. Increasing customer awareness and preferences have led to an unprecedented explosion in product variety. End customers give credit only to companies that are able to deliver products with excellent quality, and on time. However, the demand of customers for product variety, especially in the case of short life‐cycle products such as food, apparel, toys, and computers, makes it difficult for manufacturers and retailers to predict which particular variety of the products the markets will accept. To be effective in matching demand with supply, manufacturers and retailers need to collaborate in the supply chain.

Purpose: This paper proposes an instrument to measure the extent of collaboration in a supply chain consisting of two members, suppliers and retailers.Design/methodology/approach: The proposed model for collaboration incorporates collaborative practices in information sharing, decision synchronisation and incentive alignment. A collaboration index is introduced to measure the level of collaborative practices. A survey of companies in New Zealand was conducted to obtain data to test and evaluate the collaboration index.Findings: The survey results confirmed the reliability and validity of the proposed collaboration index measure for measuring collaboration. The findings also showed that the collaboration index was positively associated with operational performance.Research limitations/implications: Future research could consider larger sample sizes and cover other industry types.Practical implications: Supply chain participants will be able to measure the extent of their collaboration and seek improvement in their performance.Originality/value: This paper contributes to the literature by introducing a new index for measuring the extent of supply chain collaboration. This measure can be used by any participant (member) in a supply chain to identify the level of collaboration and seek improvement.

Purpose – This paper proposes an integrative framework for supply chain collaboration which is based on the reciprocal approach. Design/methodology/approach – A reciprocal approach is adopted to capture the interaction phenomenon of different features of collaboration in attaining overall supply chain performance. Findings – A collaborative supply chain framework is composed of five connecting features of collaboration, namely collaborative performance system, information sharing, decision synchronization, incentive alignment, and integrated supply chain processes. Research limitations/implications – Further research could be carried out to capitalize the framework for diagnosing and improving supply chain collaboration. Practical implications – The proposed framework enables the chain members to scrutinize key features of supply chain collaboration before and during collaborative initiatives. Originality/value – Previous research on supply chain collaboration mainly assume the unilateral phenomenon of collaboration that focuses on a single feature such as information sharing or co-managed inventory. The proposed framework for the first time explicitly addresses the interaction of different connecting features of collaboration.

Increasing competition due to market globalisation, product diversity and technological breakthroughs stimulates independent firms to collaborate in a supply chain that allows them to gain mutual benefits. This requires the collective know-how of the coordination mode, including the ability to synchronise interdependent processes, to integrate information systems and to cope with distributed learning. However, research into coordination has paid little attention to acknowledging different modes of coordination. This study promotes the notion of mutuality and the focus of coordination in order to establish a comprehensive taxonomy of coordination modes. Four different modes of coordination have been identified: logistics synchronisation, information sharing, incentive alignment, and collective learning. The knowledge of coordination is then proposed as an explicit understanding about key drivers of coordination modes that have positive impacts on supply chain performance. This paper also presents a research agenda.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to clarify the architecture of supply chain collaboration and to propose a design for supply chain collaboration (DfC), which enables participating members to create and develop key elements of the proposed architecture. Design/methodology/approach – The paper offers a concept for designing the five elements of the architecture of supply chain collaboration, namely collaborative performance system, decision synchronisation, information sharing, incentive alignment, and innovative supply chain processes. A case study was carried out to illustrate the applicability of the framework. Findings – DfC was confirmed using a case to evaluate a supply chain system in which the chain members concurrently designed the architecture of supply chain collaboration. The findings show that design for collaboration facilitates the chain members to have a broader view to develop and ensure an effective collaboration. Research limitations/implications – Secondary data were collected to describe the collaborative practice in the company. Future research is required to elicit primary data using interview or focus group representing key players of collaboration for the purpose of model enhancement and action research. Practical implications – The concept of DfC can be used by the chain members in the discussion forum to (re)design appropriate settings of the five elements of the architecture that lead to better overall performance. Originality/value – Previous research has indicated the emerging school of design for collaboration. However, current researchers pay little attention to integrating and revealing the interactions of key design elements that drive the effectiveness of the chain members to realise better performance. The paper, for the first time, offers a novel framework for understanding DfC.

Supply chain collaboration amongst independent firms often provides larger benefits from effectively satisfying end customer needs than working in isolation. However, a lack of awareness about the existence of constraints along the supply chain prevents the benefits of collaboration from being fully realised. This paper attempts to apply the theory of constraints approach to overcome difficulties in realising the potential benefits of supply chain collaboration. Specifically, it shows how the theory of constraints approach can be used to expose an inherent dilemma of collaboration and establish collaborative replenishment policy and collaborative performance metrics so that the chain members can work together to advance supply chain profitability. Several opportunities for future research are recommended.