Critical Review of Body of Literature of Supply Chain Management in MSMEs

Abstract

Supply chain management (SCM) is crucial for the success of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) as it helps optimize processes, reduce costs, and improve overall efficiency. However, the different type of SME offers a new challenge to standardize the SCM strategies. The key aspects of SCM in SMEs include but are not limited to procurement and sourcing, inventory management, logistics and transportation, technology integration, collaboration and communication, risk management, customer relationship management, human resources development, etc. By effectively managing these aspects, SMEs can expect sustainable improvement of their supply chain efficiency, reduce costs, and gain a competitive advantage in the market. Hence, to identify various factors that govern or control the performance of the SCM in SMEs a comprehensive review of literature was conducted. For this review, only the literature published in SCI journals was referred and principles of deductive reasoning were employed. The discussion is presented in a chronological order, and in different sections such as adoption of SCM practices by SMEs, challenges and opportunities of SMEs in adapting SCM, critical success factors for implementation of SCM in SMEs, and impact/effectiveness of SCM practices on performance of SMEs. The literature review showed that most of the studies agree that there is a strong need to undertake regular research to develop customized SCM solutions for different SMEs as one size does not fit all. The study results suggest that manufacturing SMEs in developing countries substantially benefit by adopting latest SCM techniques with integration of information technology based actions. The findings of the study give insights for sustainable improvement of SMEs in general and those of India in particular.