Current State of Big Data Use in Retail Supply Chains

Organizational Structures

In order to cope with and operate in their environments, retail supply chain member firms not only adopt technology, but design their processes and adopt organizational structures accordingly. In fact, research suggests that the fit between business process design and related technology accounts for significant effects on performance^vii

A major component of a retail supply chain structure is the extent to which its member firms are highly integrated, operating as a single entity in order to achieve a common goal. Proponents of supply chain integration, both internally to the firm and externally across the retail supply chain, have extensively argued and found statistical support for the positive effects of integration ...