LEVERAGING AGILE SUPPLY CHAINS FOR IMPROVED FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE IN HEALTHCARE SECTOR COMPANIES IN MALAYSIA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55197/qjssh.v6i4.746Keywords:
supply chain, agility, flexibility, resilience, collaboration, forecast accuracyAbstract
This research aims to identify factors affecting supply chain agility (SCA) through the lens of financial ratios and evaluate their effect on a company's financial performance. This research involves companies which were listed in the healthcare sector on Bursa Saham Malaysia (BURSA) with at least thirteen years of historical financial reports. The findings reveal that from the four key SCA attributes included in this research, Supply Chain Resilience (SCR) and Planning and Demand Forecast Accuracy (PDFA) are the two attributes that have a significant impact on financial performance, while Supply Chain Flexibility (SCF) and Supplier Collaboration do not have a significant impact. The findings of this research also demonstrate that Supply Chain Agility attributes are numerous, and if the attributes are included to complement one another, they will have a stronger and more significant impact on improving financial performance. However, if companies implement supply chain strategies that only focus on one SCA attribute at a time, the impact may not be as significant as compared to more comprehensive strategies, which complement one another. The healthcare sector can utilize the findings from this research to improve its financial performance. The result does not encourage the sector to be too flexible, as this will increase complexities and hurt its operating costs, instead, it provides a framework for the healthcare sector to develop strategies to be more supply chain resilient and improve its planning and demand forecasting accuracy and balance focus on the supplier’s collaboration.
References
[1] Alfalla-Luque, R., García, D.E.L., Marin-Garcia, J.A. (2023): Supply chain agility and performance: evidence from a meta-analysis. – International Journal of Operations & Production Management 43(10): 1587-1633.
[2] Ashcroft, S. (2021): The history of supply chain management. – Supply Chain Digital Web Portal 7p.
[3] Bag, S., Rahman, M.S. (2021): The role of capabilities in shaping sustainable supply chain flexibility and enhancing circular economy-target performance: an empirical study. – Supply Chain Management an International Journal 28(1): 162-178.
[4] Bai, C., Sarkis, J., Yin, F., Dou, Y. (2020): Sustainable supply chain flexibility and its relationship to circular economy-target performance. – International Journal of Production Research 58(19): 5893-5910.
[5] Balan, S., Vrat, P., Kumar, P. (2006) Assessing the challenges and opportunities of global supply chain management. – International Journal of Value Chain Management 1(2): 105-116.
[6] Birhanu, D., Krishnanand, L., Rao, A.N. (2017): Comparison of select financial parameters of Ethiopian consumer goods supply chains. – Benchmarking An International Journal 24(1): 102-117.
[7] Calvo, J., Del Olmo, J.L., Berlanga, V. (2020): Supply chain resilience and agility: a theoretical literature review. – International Journal of Supply Chain and Operations Resilience 4(1): 33p.
[8] Carvalho, H., Azevedo, S.G., Cruz-Machado, V. (2012): Agile and resilient approaches to supply chain management: influence on performance and competitiveness. – Logistics Research 4(1-2): 49-62.
[9] Christopher, M. (2000): The agile supply chain: competing in volatile markets. – Industrial Marketing Management 29(1): 37-44.
[10] Eckstein, D., Goellner, M., Blome, C., Henke, M. (2015): “The performance impact of supply chain agility and supply chain adaptability: The moderating effect of product complexity”. – International Journal of Production Research 53(10): 3028-3046.
[11] Fantazy, K.A., Kumar, V., Kumar, U. (2009): An empirical study of the relationships among strategy, flexibility, and performance in the supply chain context. – Supply Chain Management an International Journal 14(3): 177-188.
[12] Feizabadi, J. (2020): Machine learning for demand forecasting and supply chain performance. – International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications 25(2): 119–-142.
[13] Forehand, K., Roman, J., Schaefer, T. (2021): Supply chain efficiency in the discount store industry post COVID-19: Applying the Supply Chain Efficiency Ratio. – Operations and Supply Chain Management An International Journal 8p.
[14] Gligor, D.M. (2014): The role of demand management in achieving supply chain agility. – Supply Chain Management an International Journal 19(5/6): 577-591.
[15] Huang, Y., Phan, V., Do, M. (2023): The impacts of supply chain capabilities, visibility, and resilience on supply chain performance and firm performance. – Administrative Sciences 13(10): 17p.
[16] Hui, K.W., Liang, C., Yeung, P.E. (2018): The effect of major customer concentration on firm profitability: competitive or collaborative? – Review of Accounting Studies 24(1): 189-229.
[17] Ivanov, D. (2020): Viable supply chain model: integrating agility, resilience and sustainability perspectives-lessons from and thinking beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. – Annals of Operations Research 319(1): 1411-1431.
[18] Johnson, M., Templar, S. (2011): The relationships between supply chain and firm performance. – International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management 41(2): 88-103.
[19] Katsaliaki, K., Galetsi, P., Kumar, S. (2022): Supply chain disruptions and resilience: A major review and future research agenda. – Annals of Operations Research 38p.
[20] Lee, H.L. (2004): The triple-A supply chain. – Harvard Business Review 82(10): 102-112.
[21] Li, Y., Wang, J., Oh, K. (2022): Effects of Globalisation on the Convergence of Poverty Levels among Asian Countries. – International Economic Journal 36(2): 193-205.
[22] Marinagi, C., Trivellas, P., Sakas, D.P. (2014): The impact of information technology on the development of supply chain competitive advantage. – Procedia-Social and Behavioural Sciences 147: 586-591.
[23] Mrugalska, B., Ahmed, J. (2021): Organisational Agility in Industry 4.0: A Systematic Literature Review. – Sustainability 13(15): 23p.
[24] Munene, F. (2018): Accounts Receivable management and financial performance of Embu Water and Sanitation Company Limited, Embu County, Kenya. – Kenyatta University 59p.
[25] Osei, V., Asante-Darko, D. (2022): Collaboration Within the Supply Chain. – In Springer eBooks 30p.
[26] Ozdemir, D., Sharma, M., Dhir, A., Daim, T. (2022): Supply chain resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. – Technology in Society 68: 10p.
[27] Park, Y.S., Konge, L., Artino, A.R. (2019): The positivism paradigm of research. – Academic Medicine 95(5): 690-694.
[28] Patel, B.S., Sambasivan, M. (2021): A systematic review of the literature on supply chain agility. – Management Research Review 45(2): 236-260.
[29] Pellegrino, R., Costantino, N., Tauro, D. (2020): The value of flexibility in mitigating supply chain transportation risks. – International Journal of Production Research 59(20): 6252-6269.
[30] Sánchez, A.M., Pérez, M.P. (2005): Supply chain flexibility and firm performance. – International Journal of Operations & Production Management 25(7): 681-700.
[31] Schaeffer, R.K. (2003): Globalisation and technology. – Gale Academic OneFile Web Portal 4p.
[32] Sharma, N., Sahay, B.S., Shankar, R., Sarma, P.R.S. (2017): Supply chain agility: review, classification and synthesis. – International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications 20(6): 532-559.
[33] Simchi‐Levi, D., Wang, H., Wei, Y. (2018): Increasing Supply Chain Robustness through Process Flexibility and Inventory. – Production and Operations Management 27(8): 1476-1491.
[34] Shin, N., Park, S.H., Park, S. (2019): Partnership-Based supply chain collaboration: impact on commitment, innovation, and firm performance. – Sustainability 11(2): 19p.
[35] Song, H., Song, Y. (2009): Impact of Inventory Management Flexibility on Service Flexibility and Performance: Evidence from Mainland Chinese Firms. – Transportation Journal 48(3): 7-19.
[36] Tchamy, J., Peihua, F., Osabutey, W., Yoboue, W. (2018): Supply Chain Finance analysis. – International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences 8(12): 385-395.
[37] Tien, N.H., Anh, D.B.H., Thuc, T.D. (2019): Global supply chain and logistics management. – Academic Publication 177p.
[38] Walter, A. (2020): Organisational agility: ill-defined and somewhat confusing? A systematic literature review and conceptualisation. – Management Review Quarterly 71(2): 343-391.
[39] Wang, M., Chan, R.Y.K., Kumar, M., Tsolakis, N. (2024): Does increasing supply chain flexibility contribute to the enhancement of a firm’s sustainability performance? – IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management 71: 8606-8622.
[40] Wang, M., Wang, B. (2023): Supply chain agility as the antecedent to firm sustainability in the post-COVID-19 era. – The International Journal of Logistics Management 35(1): 281-303.
[41] Yusuf, Y.Y., Sarhadi, M., Gunasekaran, A. (1999): “Agile manufacturing: The drivers, concepts and attributes.” – International Journal of Production Economics 62(1-2): 33-43.
[42] Zhu, X., Liu, J. (2024): The effect of inventory flexibility on financial performance: Moderating role of firm size and growth. – Engineering Economics 35(1): 119-132.
[43] Zaman, S.I., Khan, S.A., Kusi-Sarpong, S. (2023): Investigating the relationship between supply chain finance and supply chain collaborative factors. – Benchmarking an International Journal 31(6): 1941-1975.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 LEE CHAN WONG, WAI WAH WONG
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
