Coordination in Supply Chains: From Case Studies to Reference Models

Intensive competition has forced companies to focus on their core business and participate in more and more complex supply networks. The necessity to preserve the autonomy of each partner makes that such networks are usually managed in a decentralized way. Consequently, problems and conflicts emerge during the coordination processes. This paper describes some coordination problems identified through interviews and locates them within the activities of the coordination processes. We also suggest interpretation of the aspects which influence coordination allowing better explaining the origins of these problems.