A Benefits Expectation Management Framework for Supply Chain Management Systems

Organizations invest heavily in Supply Chain Management Systems (SCMS) expecting to receive the benefits claimed by software vendors and implementation partners. Reports suggest a growing dissatisfaction among client organizations due to an increasing gap between expectations and realization of SCMS benefits. This study presents a Benefit Expectation Management Framework for SCMS, based on the Expectation-Confirmation Theory. The expected benefits of SCMS are derived through 41 vendor-reported customer stories and academic papers. The expected benefits are then compared with the benefits realized at a case organization in the fast moving consumer goods industry sector that has implemented SAP Supply Chain Management System seven years ago. The study findings argue for the value of managing client expectations of vendor purported benefits in light of the longer lifecycle and multiple employment cohorts of SCMS. The comparison of benefit expectations and confirmations highlight that, while certain benefits are realized earlier in the lifecycle, other benefits could take almost a decade to realize.