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Supply Chain Management as a Competitive Advantage of Fast Moving Consumer Goods SMEs in South Africa

Received: 15 February 2021     Accepted: 8 March 2021     Published: 17 March 2021
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Abstract

The supply chain management strategy adoption by enterprises in the last four decades, has made enterprises more customer-centric, as they focus on product flow from source to the ultimate end-user. Consequently, the phrase ‘customer is king’ has become synonymous with good customer service. The study explored the coordinated supply chain processes as a competitive advantage for the South African small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs). The study was grounded in the theory of competitive advantage and qualitative research methodology and constructivism research paradigm were used. The SMEs from Gauteng province, which is the South Africa’s leading economic hub provided the sample for the study. Non-probability sampling was used in selecting the participants of the study who were the owner/managers of the SMEs. The interview covered enterprise relationship with suppliers of fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs) and third-party logistics (3PL) transportation service. The recorded interviews were transcribed, translated, coded and analysed via content analysis to determine the outcome of the study. The results indicated that SCM improved cost-effectiveness through savings on 3PL transportation service optimisation shared amongst the SMEs, and improved customer service, through enhanced supplier-customer relationship that maintained continuous flow of products/services.

Published in Journal of Energy and Natural Resources (Volume 10, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.jenr.20211001.14
Page(s) 33-38
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Competitive Advantage, FMCGs, Grocery SMEs, SCM, 3PL

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Kenneth Mathu. (2021). Supply Chain Management as a Competitive Advantage of Fast Moving Consumer Goods SMEs in South Africa. Journal of Energy and Natural Resources, 10(1), 33-38. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jenr.20211001.14

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    ACS Style

    Kenneth Mathu. Supply Chain Management as a Competitive Advantage of Fast Moving Consumer Goods SMEs in South Africa. J. Energy Nat. Resour. 2021, 10(1), 33-38. doi: 10.11648/j.jenr.20211001.14

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    AMA Style

    Kenneth Mathu. Supply Chain Management as a Competitive Advantage of Fast Moving Consumer Goods SMEs in South Africa. J Energy Nat Resour. 2021;10(1):33-38. doi: 10.11648/j.jenr.20211001.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.jenr.20211001.14,
      author = {Kenneth Mathu},
      title = {Supply Chain Management as a Competitive Advantage of Fast Moving Consumer Goods SMEs in South Africa},
      journal = {Journal of Energy and Natural Resources},
      volume = {10},
      number = {1},
      pages = {33-38},
      doi = {10.11648/j.jenr.20211001.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jenr.20211001.14},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jenr.20211001.14},
      abstract = {The supply chain management strategy adoption by enterprises in the last four decades, has made enterprises more customer-centric, as they focus on product flow from source to the ultimate end-user. Consequently, the phrase ‘customer is king’ has become synonymous with good customer service. The study explored the coordinated supply chain processes as a competitive advantage for the South African small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs). The study was grounded in the theory of competitive advantage and qualitative research methodology and constructivism research paradigm were used. The SMEs from Gauteng province, which is the South Africa’s leading economic hub provided the sample for the study. Non-probability sampling was used in selecting the participants of the study who were the owner/managers of the SMEs. The interview covered enterprise relationship with suppliers of fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs) and third-party logistics (3PL) transportation service. The recorded interviews were transcribed, translated, coded and analysed via content analysis to determine the outcome of the study. The results indicated that SCM improved cost-effectiveness through savings on 3PL transportation service optimisation shared amongst the SMEs, and improved customer service, through enhanced supplier-customer relationship that maintained continuous flow of products/services.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

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    AU  - Kenneth Mathu
    Y1  - 2021/03/17
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    T2  - Journal of Energy and Natural Resources
    JF  - Journal of Energy and Natural Resources
    JO  - Journal of Energy and Natural Resources
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    AB  - The supply chain management strategy adoption by enterprises in the last four decades, has made enterprises more customer-centric, as they focus on product flow from source to the ultimate end-user. Consequently, the phrase ‘customer is king’ has become synonymous with good customer service. The study explored the coordinated supply chain processes as a competitive advantage for the South African small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs). The study was grounded in the theory of competitive advantage and qualitative research methodology and constructivism research paradigm were used. The SMEs from Gauteng province, which is the South Africa’s leading economic hub provided the sample for the study. Non-probability sampling was used in selecting the participants of the study who were the owner/managers of the SMEs. The interview covered enterprise relationship with suppliers of fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs) and third-party logistics (3PL) transportation service. The recorded interviews were transcribed, translated, coded and analysed via content analysis to determine the outcome of the study. The results indicated that SCM improved cost-effectiveness through savings on 3PL transportation service optimisation shared amongst the SMEs, and improved customer service, through enhanced supplier-customer relationship that maintained continuous flow of products/services.
    VL  - 10
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Author Information
  • Department of Transport Economics and Logistics Management, School of Economic Sciences, Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, North West University, Mahikeng, South Africa

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