1. Introduction
During the 1990s, many manufacturers and service providers sought to collaborate with their suppliers and upgrade their purchasing and supply management functions from a clerical role to an integral part of a new phenomenon known as supply chain management. Since this aspect of supply chain management primarily focuses on the purchasing and supply management functions of industrial buyers, we have classified it elsewhere as the purchasing and supply perspective of supply chain management (Tan et al., 1999, 1998b). Correspondingly, many wholesalers and retailers have also integrated their physical distribution and logistics functions into the transportation and logistics perspective of supply chain management to enhance competitive advantage. Over the last 10 years, these two traditional supporting functions of corporate strategy evolved along separate paths and eventually merged into a holistic and strategic approach to operations, materials and logistics management, commonly referred to as supply chain management (SCM).