Swimming With the Big Fish - Integrating SMEs into complex supply chain networks and building their capabilities

Building on his past research in financial services and construction sectors, Dr Kalra presents a framework of how large organisations can integrate small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in their supply chains and collaborate with them.

Large organisations are increasingly seeking to collaborate with SMEs by integrating them into their supply chains.

Three factors drive this trend:

1. There is an increased pressure on organisations to create and demonstrate social value by the government and the public.
2. Exogenous shocks such as Brexit, COVID-19, and trade wars have driven organisations to consider regionalisation and insourcing approaches
3. Organisations need to access niche, specialised capabilities to achieve breakthrough innovation.

Collaborating with SMEs, however, is not without its challenges. The SMEs have different ways of working, relatively lower capacity to absorb risks, and face resource constraints. Therefore, large organisations need to think differently regarding their sourcing strategy to collaborate with SMEs successfully.

In his presentation, Dr Kalra will present insights from his research in the financial services and the construction sectors. In particular, a framework for understanding the processual coordination challenges in engaging and integrating SMEs in complex supply chain networks would be presented. Finally, the strategies that managers and organisations could adopt to address these challenges will be considered.

For further information and to book your place, please visit the APM website.