Supply Chain and Virtual Enterprises: Comparisons, Migration and a Case Study

Abstract

Supply chain management (SCM) and virtual enterprise (VE) are concepts that have been adopted world-wide. These concepts encompass a set of managerial, organisational and technological issues focusing on the establishment of partnerships and co-operation among companies with the purpose of achieving competitive advantages and exploiting market opportunities. SCM is based on the idea that companies should run strategically and be holistically integrated with their key suppliers and customers. A VE can be defined as a dynamic and temporary form of co-operation among companies, in which different partners join complementary competencies to exploit a specific business opportunity. Although both models have their peculiarities, they also have some similarities. This article discusses and compares the supply chain (SC) concept, from the standpoint of SCM, with that of the VE, and considers the situation in which a co-operative enterprise, idealised to work as a VE, acquires characteristics of a SC structure. This process of change is analysed and the real case of a VE that became a supply chain is reported.

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