Accountability-based order
fulfillment process reengineering
towards supply chain
management
A case study at a semiconductor equipment
manufacturer
Linda L. Zhang
Department of Operations, Faculty of Economics and Business,
University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
Roger J. Jiao
Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology,
Atlanta, Georgia, USA, and
Qinhai Ma
School of Business Administration, Northeastern University, Shenyang, China
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a methodology to industry and academia on how to
reengineer the order fulfillment process (OFP) by capitalizing on integration and coordination across the
entire supply chain to sustain supply chain management.
Design/methodology/approach – A case study at a semiconductor equipment manufacturer in
Singapore is undertaken.
Findings – This paper confirms that the traditional OFPs present companies a challenge to satisfy
the demanding customer requirements while achieving performance optimization of each supply chain
partner; and it is imperative to reengineer the OFPs to stay competitive. To successfully reengineer
OFPs, the efforts should be systematically organized to, for example, exploit potential processes as
many as possible, determine an optimal process based on mathematically sound grounds.
Research limitations/implications – The use of a single case study may limit the generalizability
of the findings.
Practical implications – A methodology incorporating accountability-centered approach and
simulation is developed for companies to reengineer OFPs while considering the entire supply chain.
Originality/value – The literature does not provide solutions for reengineering OFPs regardless of
the fact that OFP reengineering is an emerging area of interest. This paper presents a valuable
contribution to this topic by introducing a methodology and by applying the methodology to a
semiconductor equipment manufacturer in Singapore.
Keywords Supply chain management, Order processing, Simulation, Business process re-engineering
Paper type Case study
1. Introduction
In recent several decades, supply chains and their management have received
an increasing attention from both practitioners and academics (Harland, 1996;
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Accountability-
based OFP
reengineering
287
Received November 2008
Revised August 2009
Accepted September 2009
Journal of Manufacturing Technology
Management
Vol. 21 No. 2, 2010
pp. 287-305
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
1741-038X
DOI 10.1108/17410381011014413