
LO G ISTICS, THE SUPPLY CHAIN A N D C O M P E TITIVE STRAT E GY
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The supply chain and competitive performance
Traditionally most organisations have viewed themselves as entities that exist inde-
pendently from others and indeed need to compete with them in order to survive.
However, such a philosophy can be self-defeating if it leads to an unwillingness to
co-operate in order to compete. Behind this seemingly paradoxical concept is the
idea of supply chain integration.
The supply chain is the network of organisations that are involved, through
upstream and downstream linkages, in the different processes and activities that
produce ...