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1. Introduction
In today's highly competitive environment, supply chain (SC) performance is very vital for the survival of firms because customers judge the performance of firms based on their SC performance. Competition is no longer between firms but between entire SCs. So, SC has become an important dimension for firms to give maximum attention in order to excel in a competitive environment. The field of supply chain management (SCM) is growing day by day. More than 1,000 articles per year are published in different academic journals around the world. As per this evidence, SCM has become a key strategic factor/tool for firms to improve their performance and secure their competitiveness in a market place. In order to successfully implement SCM, all firms within a SC must reduce functional silos and adopt a process approach ([62] Mentzer, 2001). In recent years, SCM performance has become very vital for the survival of the firms because customers judge the performance of firms based on their SC performance. From the literature it has been observed that a well planned and executed SCM will enable organizations to reduce their inventories, have better customer services and have reductions in costs and inventory turns ([14] Chong and Ooi, 2008). The short-term objective of SCM is to enhance productivity and reduce inventory and lead time whereas, on the other hand, the long-term objective is to increase companies' market share and have external integration of the SC process ([52] Tan et al. , 1998; [37] Li et al. , 2006; [30] Koh et al. , 2007).
The process focus in SC is well established and clearly offers very significant benefits in driving down levels of waste and therefore contributing to SC improvement. [17] Donlon (1996) described the latest evolution of SCM practices, which includes supplier partnership, outsourcing, cycle time compression, continuous process flow and information technology sharing. [52] Tan et al. (1998) used purchasing, quality and customer relations to represent SCM practices, in their empirical study. [23] Gunasekaran et al. (2004) developed a framework for SCM performance measures and metrics listed for SC process (plan, source, make, deliver) and level of management (strategic, tactical, operational levels). [36] Li et al. (2005) attempted to develop and validate a measurement instrument for SCM practices. Their...