Supply Chain Performance: An Agile Supply Chain Driven By Information System (Is) Capabilities

The characterization of the current business practices by variations in demands and differences in customer requirements has motivated many firms to be responsive. Responsiveness is an increasingly important skill for firms in today's global economy; therefore firms must be agile. Supply chain agility can be regarded as an operational strategy, concerning customer responsiveness and flexibility in the supply chain. But it can be hampered by fragmented employment of information systems (IS) according to Broadbent et al., 1999. The research therefore aims to analyze the role of information system (IS) capabilities in achieving supply chain agility in manufacturing firms. Fiftythree (53) manufacturing companies, basically medium/large companies formed the sample of the study based on random sampling technique. Data analysis was done using multiple regression analysis. The result revealed that an organization's supply chain agility through its information system capabilities has a positive influence on its supply chain performance. The study however recommended that organizations should be more committed to other areas of operational performance other than organizational learning in their supply chains since remaining competitive goes beyond acquiring and disseminating information only.