6.1 Evaluation Cycle I
6.1.5 Evaluation Results
The current main issues expressed in the pre-questionnaires by the supply network experts with the highest rankings were missing automation, insufficient support for sourcing, absence of software covering the entire supply management process, absence
21 Appendix C of this thesis contains the interview guideline used in this step 22
6 Evaluation 90
of a supplier lifecycle platform, and poor supplier integration from the infrastructural and collaboration perspective.
The DSR team also wanted to understand which supply management software is used in the chosen companies and saw a predominance of standard supplier relationship management software. It also appeared that external tools, subsystems, integration hubs, and in-house developments were deployed to meet the specific requirements of supply management departments.
To achieve better insight into the perceived importance of meta-requirements to be fulfilled by supply network systems, in the final qualitative section of the pre- questionnaire, six statements were formulated related to important requirements and put to the participants for ranking on a five point Likert scale (1= do not agree to 5 = fully agree). The results are presented in Table 18.
While there was strong agreement with statements 1, 2 and 3, and partial agreement with 4, statements 5 and 6 were not accepted as important requirements for supply network software by the majority. Some participants did fully agree with the last two statements however, which resulted in controversial results, expressed in the high variance seen in Table 18.
Rank Statement Mean Variance
1 The software should include networking possibilities with suppliers.
4.92 0.08
2 The software should support a process starting with the initial contact up to relationship management after a transaction.
4.58 0.63
3 The software should support the quote-to-order process. 4.50 0.45
4 Manual document exchange should be avoided. 3.67 1.88
5 It should automatically inform me about changed prices of interesting products.
2.82 1.76
6 It should automatically inform me about interesting product offers.
2.40 1.82
Table 18. Pre-Questionnaire Results related to Requirement Statements
The high agreement with the first three statements supported the need for supply network systems that cover the entire supply network process and supports networking possibilities with the supplier.
The evaluation workshop itself started with a 30-minutes high-level introduction to the topic in order to ensure a common understanding of the research background and relevant terminologies. The participants were then divided into groups of three persons, each person taking on a specific role: category manager purchasing (purchaser), category manager sales (supplier), and cross-functional observer (mainly an IT professional) as described above. The purchaser and supplier were given a detailed instruction manual describing how to conduct the defined use case with the B-Zone ACV, and were assigned to separate work stations. The cross-function person observed
semi-structured interviews were conducted in order to evaluate the participants’ opinions and perceptions.
In total, 5 categories and 24 codes were aggregated. The main categories aggregated from the interview transcript analysis are: ‘prevention of document exchanges’, ‘networked business objects’, ‘full supply network process coverage in one system’, ‘sourcing’ and ‘social networks’. In detail, the first two categories directly related to design principle 1, followed by the remaining three categories, primarily related to design principle 2 but also supporting design principle 1.
Prevention of document exchange
An issue hindering potential performance benefits is document exchange. Currently, lots of information is exchanged outside the system, as described by a supply management team leader:
“At the moment, the way documents are exchanged is highly heterogeneous. This means that you are constantly switching from one medium to another. You might have an order from the standard procurement system for example, which is then sent on by fax. We then get the confirmation back as a hard copy and have to enter it in the system again manually.”
According to DP1, the proposed supply network system design prevents external document exchange and supports document consistency within the system. According to the experts interviewed, the expected effects would facilitate their daily work, ensuring harmonized data for example and thus avoiding misunderstandings caused by unsynchronized document versions. Further impacts on the supply management process were described by a purchasing manager:
“Higher transparency, speed, quality, bringing greater clarity in terms of responsibility and assignments, […] all of which further speeds up the process.”
Participants also highlighted the reduced need for interfaces and the positive environmental effect achieved by supporting a paperless office. Resulting from the qualitative data analysis, Figure 26 shows the effects of the category document exchange prevention on the dependent variables (codes).
6 Evaluation 92
Figure 26. Category Prevention of Document Exchange
In summary, the category ‘prevention of document exchange’ tendentiously avoids system discontinuities by providing aggregated networked business objects in one platform environment. Consequently, less effort is spent on integrating systems technically via integration infrastructures or via hardcopy extract and entry. It also leads to one common source of truth about business status and required actions, accessible for all effected business partners in real time.
Networked business objects
Closely related to the previous category is the n-BO approach described in DP1. According to code and category extraction from the expert interviews, n-BOs could help to avoid information redundancy, standardize the supplier collaboration and lead to the creation of a more transparent supply management process across structured and unstructured interactions. A supply management specialist for marketing services answered the question about expected effects of n-BO:
“No system discontinuities, enhanced time-efficiency, you have transparent processes und can check the status at any time without jumping from one system to another. You have a consistent data base for everyone. These are the advantages I see.”
On the other hand, many participants mentioned potential legal difficulties arising from n-BO, for example in providing a legally binding signature for the invoice. Figure 27 shows the effects of the networked business objects category on the dependent variables (codes).
Figure 27. Category Networked Business Objects
The introduction of n-BOs therefore also leads to avoidance of system discontinuities and a decrease in the number of system interfaces. It also avoids complex document management caused by unsynchronized document versions and identifier. By storing all relevant business data in shared n-BOs as a single source of truth, information redundancy is avoided, and the supplier communication can be standardized, resulting in a more transparent supply management process for all networked business partners.
Full supply network process coverage in one system
A problem that was aired in the personal semi-structured interviews was the lack of software covering the whole supply management process, resulting in a large number of interfaces, costly integration of external solutions, and the need for software tools for semantic mappings. The following statement by one of the interviewees illustrates this requirement:
“[…] there are still too many interfaces for certain areas. Supplier evaluation has its own development for example. We have a tender platform, and that has its own software too […].”
This demand for a seamless interaction flow in one system was perceived to be supported by DP1, and of particular importance for sourcing.
Sourcing
The interviewees highlighted sourcing as an area of high improvement potential with regard to the previous category of full process coverage. The process complexity of sourcing, involving many different parties (buyers, suppliers, sub-contractors, bidders) and use case variations imposes great challenges in terms of providing complete supply network process coverage by a single software solution, in particular for finding,
6 Evaluation 94
qualifying, and continuously evaluating suppliers. All participants therefore described problems and time loss in the sourcing process caused by unstructured process steps with disparate data sources, particularly well-illustrated in two quotations by supply network experts:
“Currently, it’s like this: When you are looking for a supplier, you have to go back to old contacts or official databases where you usually don’t find what you need.”
“[…] we have the utmost difficulties in the purchasing department with topic sourcing. We currently do not use any platform at all. [Our company] does not have any established networks […].”
This led to a strong desire for a structured sourcing platform as expressed by a head of marketing procurement:
“Ever since I started working here, I have seen the need to create a platform as an utmost priority.”
From the qualitative data that was gathered, it appeared that the category ‘sourcing’ was perceived to be supported in particular by the design principles.
Social network elements
The approach to address the issues mentioned above and to ensure the seamless interaction flow described in DP2 with deeply integrating IT-supported social interaction in the ACV was well received. For example, a team leader responsible for the strategic supply of the procurement processes described the expected effects of the approach thus:
“In our company I could imagine that B-Zone would significantly simplify the whole area of suppliers, registration and sourcing.”
The social network patterns can therefore act as a sourcing platform by providing a more efficient, accurate way of contacting and managing partners. At the same time, they can also support the subsequent process steps, as mentioned by the same team leader:
“If I say though that I have a business network where I maintain contacts to suppliers […], I can get a general overview significantly faster, can faster establish the contact and - depending on the supported functions of the network - can also simplify processes by carrying out order processes here and not in another system.”
Zone artifact mentioned by participants are the possibility of communicating with the supplier using a chat function in a way that is very similar to public online networks. A supply strategy manager stated that a supplier lifecycle management could easily be implemented also into a supply platform like B-Zone.
While younger participants in particular see social networks as essential to future supply network systems, and welcome the personalization of the supply management process, older interviewees criticized the missing focus on the business process compliance. Many participants also considered the information overload in a social network critical and emphasized the need for an effective filtering system.
Questions were raised with regard to the legal ownership of certain business contacts and documents in a virtual network environment, in particular in cases of employees leaving the company. Concerns were also expressed regarding data security and privacy in these networks. In the words of one purchasing specialist:
“The question of data protection is always a bit critical, and when personal data is exchanged, I am concerned that my data might go somewhere it shouldn’t.”
From the qualitative data analysis, it became evident that the categories ‘full process coverage’, ‘sourcing’ and ‘social network elements’ are closely interrelated from the perspectives of the participants. Figure 28 depicts the relation between these categories and their effects on the related codes.
Figure 28. Categories Social Network Elements, Sourcing and SN Process Coverage
Accordingly, social network elements can create information overload and reduce the business focus. Privacy and security issues are still not completely clarified, and ownership of objects and relationships either. Nevertheless social network elements comprise greater potential for personalized user interaction, ease of use, faster
6 Evaluation 96
establishment of contacts and a better overview of status and actions. The last three codes in particular would result in simplified sourcing processes as well, as the social network elements address the requirement for a central sourcing platform. The category full process coverage avoids costly integration of heterogeneous supply network systems and the need for corresponding mapping technologies. Finally, it would reduce the number of interfaces required and would enable a more seamless interaction flow, in particular in sourcing processes.
In summary, the results provide insights into the positive correlation between the categories networked business objects and prevention of document exchange, as well between sourcing, full process coverage and social network elements. Obviously, the first two categories can be associated to DP1, and the latter three categories to DP2, whereas DP1 may have also positive influence on the last three categories because it ensures a harmonized and consistent state of structured and unstructured data and processes. Overall, the evaluation results of cycle I provide promising indications that the design principles could be employed to meet the meta-requirements and to address the key challenges of supply networks outlined above.