Radical Supply Chain Innovation - Developing a Generic and Actionable Framework

Abstract: Background: The topics of supply chain management and innovation have, disjointedly, been in the spotlight for some time. However, the combined topic, supply chain innovation, have only recently begun to attract academic interest, and there is a vast gap between literature and industry demand. Most of the existing research on supply chain innovation concerns incremental innovation; little research exists on radical innovations in supply chains and how to work with it. The authors aim to fill this gap, thus the focus of this study is radical supply chain innovation. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to generate a generic and actionable model of how to achieve radical supply chain innovation. Methodology: To fulfil the purpose, a constructive approach with an embedded multiple case study was used. Conslusions: A generic and actionable model for radical supply chain innovation was created. Five types of radical supply chain innovation were identified, with consecutive outputs. The outputs were found to be competitive advantage of two kinds: added value and cost benefits. In order to achieve radical supply chain innovation, a mix of targeted innovation tools, antecedents to radical supply chain innovation, and generic innovation tools are recommended.