9th IFAC Conference on Manufacturing Modelling, Management and

9th IFAC Conference on Manufacturing Modelling, Management and

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Control Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
9th IFAC
9th IFAC Conference
Conference on
on Manufacturing Modelling, Management and
Berlin, Germany, AugustManufacturing
28-30, 2019 Modelling, Management and
Berlin,
Control
Control Germany, August 28-30, 2019
Berlin,
Berlin, Germany,
Germany, August
August 28-30,
28-30, 2019
2019 ScienceDirect
IFAC PapersOnLine 52-13 (2019) 153–158
Success
Success Factors
Factors for
for Supply
Supply Chain
Chain Management
Management Projects:
Projects:
Success Factors for
Success Factors forAn Supply Chain
Empirical
AnSupply Chain
Empirical Management
Analysis Projects:
Management Projects:
Analysis
An
An Empirical
Empirical Analysis
Analysis
Christoph Manuel Meyer*. Edna Liliana Garcia Torres**
Christoph Manuel Meyer*. Edna Liliana Garcia Torres**

Christoph
Christoph Manuel Meyer*. Edna
Manuel Meyer*. Edna Liliana
Liliana GarciaGarcia Torres**
Torres**

*Berlin
*Berlin School
School of of Economics
Economics and and Law Law (HWR
(HWR Berlin),
Berlin), Berlin,
Berlin, Germany
Germany
(Tel:
*Berlin
(Tel: 030-30877-1547;
School of Economics
030-30877-1547; e-mail:
and
e-mail: christoph.meyer@hwr-berlin.de).
Law (HWR Berlin), Berlin,
christoph.meyer@hwr-berlin.de). Germany
*Berlin School
**Berlin Schoolof ofEconomics
Economics and
andLaw Law(HWR(HWRBerlin),
Berlin),Berlin,
Berlin,Germany
Germany
(Tel:
**Berlin 030-30877-1547;
School of Economics e-mail:
and christoph.meyer@hwr-berlin.de).
Law (HWR
(Tel: 030-30877-1547; e-mail: christoph.meyer@hwr-berlin.de). Berlin), Berlin, Germany
**Berlin
**Berlin School
School of of Economics
Economics and and Law Law (HWR
(HWR Berlin),
Berlin), Berlin,
Berlin, Germany
Germany
Abstract: This paper provides new insights on the major success factors for supply chain
Abstract: This paper provides new insights on the major success factors for supply chain management
management
(SCM) projects.
This The
paper contributions
provides new of this
insights study
on the are
majortwofold:
success Firstly,
factors we
for propose
supply a comprehensive
chain
Abstract:
(SCM)
Abstract:
definition
projects.
This
of the
The
paper
term
contributions
provideschain
“supply
of
new managementthis study
insights on the are twofold:
major success
project”,
Firstly, we
factors for supply
which Firstly,
encompasses
propose chain management
the different
a
different
comprehensive
management
views found
found
(SCM)
definition
(SCM) projects.
of the
projects. The
term
The contributions
“supply chain
contributions of this
management
of this study
study are
project”,
are twofold:
which
twofold: encompasses
Firstly, we
we propose
the
propose aa comprehensive
views
comprehensive
in the literature.
definition of the
in the literature. Secondly,
the term
term “supply
Secondly, we evaluate
chain
wechain the
management
evaluate importance
the importanceproject”, of ten
which
ofwhich success
encompasses
ten success factors
factors the for
the SCM
different
fordifferent
SCM projectsprojects using
views found
found
using
definition of
semi-structured “supply
interviews with SCM management
professionals. project”,
Communication encompasses
and stakeholder management, views clear
in
in the
the literature.
semi-structured
literature. Secondly,
interviews
Secondly, we
with
we evaluate
SCM
evaluate the
the importance
professionals.
importance of ten
Communication
of ten success
success and factors
stakeholder
factors for
for SCM
SCM projects
management,
projects using
clear
using
project objectives,
objectives,
semi-structured support with
interviews by project
project
SCM sponsor and
professionals. senior management,
Communication and and the
stakeholder internal organization
management, of
project
semi-structured
the project team
support
interviews
appear to
by
with
be the SCM
most
sponsor
relevant
and
professionals.
success
senior management,
Communication
factors. This
and the
and stakeholder
provides a
internal
clear management, clear
organization
recommendation
of
clear
for
project
the
project objectives,
project team
objectives, support
appear
supportto by
be project
the most
byinproject sponsor
relevant
sponsor and
success
and seniorsenior management,
factors. This
management, providesand the
a internal
clear
and the internal organization
recommendation
organization of
for
of
managers
the project
managers of
team
of SCM
SCM appearprojects
to
projectsbe the
in practice
most
practice on which
relevant
on which
success factors
factors.
factors to
to focus.
This provides
focus. Additionally,
a clear
Additionally, we find
recommendation
we find that
that the
for
the
the project team
importanceofgiven
given appear to
toprojects be the
the success
success most relevant
factors on success
partially factors.
depends This provides
on focus.
the organizational a clear
organizational recommendation
affiliations of thefor
the
managers
importance
managers SCM
of with to
SCMcertain the
projects in
in practice
factors
practice on which
partially
which factors
depends
factors to
toon the
focus. Additionally,
Additionally, we
we find
affiliations
find that
of
that
interviewees,
importance given to differences between industrial enterprises and service providers. Copyright ©
interviewees,
importance
2019 IFAC given to the
with certain success
success factors
the differences between
factors partially
industrial
partially depends on
on the
enterprises
depends theand organizational
service providers.
organizational affiliations
Copyright
affiliations of
of the ©
the
interviewees,
interviewees, with certain differences between industrial enterprises and service providers. Copyright ©
©
2019 IFAC
2019, IFAC with certain
(International differences
Federation between
of Automatic industrial
Control)enterprises
Hosting by and service
Elsevier Ltd.providers.
All rights Copyright
reserved. ©
2019
2019 IFAC Project Management, Supply Chain Management, SCM Project, Success Factors
IFAC
Keywords:
Keywords: Project Management, Supply Chain Management, SCM Project, Success Factors
Keywords: Project
Keywords: Project Management,
Management, Supply Supply Chain Chain Management,
Management,
 SCM
SCM Project,
Project, Success
Success FactorsFactors
 value of the solution or the
value of the solution or the adherence to adherence to project
project schedule
schedule and and
1.
1. INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION budget.
value of Therefore
the solution we
weor consider
the it worthwhile to investigate
1.
budget.
value of Therefore
thewhich
solution the adherence
or consider adherence to
to project
it worthwhile project toschedule and
investigate
schedule and
Today most
Today most companies
companies1. INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
acknowledge the
acknowledge the concept
concept of of supply
supply the the factors
budget.
factors Therefore
which contribute
we consider
contribute to the
to theit success
success
worthwhile of SCM
of SCMto projects.
investigate
projects.
budget. Therefore we consider it worthwhile to investigate
chain
Today management
most companies(SCM) and leverage
acknowledge leveragethe it as aa means
concept means
of for the factors
factors which contribute to
to the
the success of
of SCM projects.
chain
Today
gaining
management
most companies
competitive
(SCM) and
acknowledge
advantage. SCM the
can
it as
concept
be of supply
understood supplyfor the
Numerous which
studies contribute
have investigated
as Numerous studies have investigated success factors for
successsuccess SCMfactors
projects.for
chain
gaining
chain management
competitive
management (SCM)
advantage.
(SCM) and
and leverage
SCM
leverage can it
itbeas
as a
a means
understood
means for
as
for project management in general. It has become clear that
that
the “cross-department and cross-enterprise
cross-enterprise integration and Numerous
project
Numerous studies
management
studies have
have investigated
in general.
investigated success
It hassuccess factors
becomefactorsclear for
for
gaining
the
gaining competitive
“cross-department
competitive advantage.
and
advantage. SCM
SCM can
can be
be understood
integration
understood andas
as differentmanagement
types of projects
projects requireIt different
different approaches to
coordination of material, information and financial flows to project
different
project types
management of in
in general.
require
general. It has
has become
become clear
approaches
clear that
to
that
coordination
the
the of material,
“cross-department
“cross-department and
and cross-enterprise
information
cross-enterprise integration
and financial
integrationflowsand
andto project management (Müller and Turner 2007) and that
transform andofuse
use the SCSC information
resources in in and
the most
most rational way different
project
different types
management
types can of projects
of vary (Müller
projects require
and different
Turner
require different approaches
2007) and
approaches to
that
to
coordination
transform
coordination andof material,
the
material, resources
information the
and financial
financial flows
rational
flows way to
to success factors for different
different project types
types (Dvir etthat
al.
along the entire value chain, from raw material suppliers to project
success
project management
factors
management can vary (Müller
for
(Müller and
and Turner
project
Turner 2007)
2007) and
(Dvir
and et al.
that
transform
along and
the entire
transform and use the
usevalue
the SC resources
chain, from raw in
in the most
most rational
material suppliers way to 1998). So far only little research has been conducted on the
et SC resources the rational way
to success
successSo
1998). factors
far only
factors can
can vary
little for
vary different
research
for different hasproject types
been conducted
project types (Dvironet al.
et the
aims(Dvir al.
customers.”
along the
customers.” (Ivanov
the entire
entire value
(Ivanov et al. 2017,
chain,
al. 2017, p. 5)
from
p. 5)raw material suppliers
suppliers to
along value chain, from raw material success
1998).
success So factors
far
factors for SCM
only
for SCM
little projects.
research
projects. This
has
This paper
been
paper conducted
aims at closing
at closing
on the
customers.” (Ivanov et al. 2017, p. 5) 1998).
this So
research far only
gap little
by research
providing has
insights been conducted
to the
theaims
factors on
whichthe
In practice,
In practice, (Ivanov
customers.” SCM comprises
SCM comprises
et al. 2017, both
both ongoing activities
p. 5)
ongoing activities such such as as this success
success factors
research
factors gap for
forbySCM
SCM projects.
providing
projects. This
insights
This paper
to
paper aims at
at closing
factors which
closing
inventory control and production scheduling, and tasks with project managers
this research gap need
by to
providingaddress to
insights turn
to turnto their
the SCM project
In
In practice,
inventory
practice, SCM
control
SCM and comprises
production
comprises both
both as ongoing
scheduling,
ongoing activities
and tasks
activities such
suchwithas
as this
project managers
into aaresearch
success gap
story.
need
by to address
providing insights the factors
to their factors which
SCM project
which
project
inventory
project characteristics,
control and
characteristics, such
production
such distribution
scheduling,
as distribution and network
tasks with
network project
into
project managers
success
managers story. need
need to
to address
address to
to turn
turn their
their SCM
SCM project
project
inventory
optimization control and
or tendering production
tendering of ofsuch scheduling,
freightasservices
services (Fig. and
(Fig. 1). tasks with
project into
The aapaper
success story.
project characteristics,
optimization or
characteristics, freight
such as distribution
distribution1). networknetwork The into success
paper is story.
is structured
structured as follows:
as follows: In In section
section 22 we we provide
provide an an
optimization or tendering of freight services
optimization or tendering of freight services (Fig. 1). (Fig. 1). overview of related studies on SCM
SCMInprojects.
projects. Inwesection 3 we
we
The
The paper
overview
paper on is
of structured
related
is structured as
studies follows:
on
as follows:ofInthe section
section 2In provide
section 3 an
elaborate
overview
elaborate of
on our understanding
related
our understanding
studies on SCM of term 2“SCM
projects.
the term In
we provide
“SCMsectionproject”
3
an
we
project”
overview
and proposeof related studies on SCM projects. In section 3 we
elaborate
and propose
elaborate on
on aa comprehensive
our
our
comprehensive
understanding
understanding
definition
of the
definition
of the term
term
of“SCM
of this term.
this
“SCM
term.
project”
project”
In
In
section
and
section 4
propose we analyse
4 we aaanalyse the
comprehensive meaning
the meaning of
definition project
of projectof success
this term.
success and
In
and
discuss propose
the main comprehensive
successthe factors definition
which have of
been this term.and
detected In
for
section
discuss
section 4
the
4 we
main
we analyse
success
analyse the meaning
factors
meaning which of
of project
have been
project success
detected
success and
for
and
general
discuss the
general project
the management.
main management.
project success factors
factorsIn Inwhich
section
sectionhave55 been
we detected
been
we present our
present our
for
discuss
empirical main
study success
on the main which
success have factors detected
for SCM for
general
empirical
general project management.
study management.
project on the mainIn success In section
section 5 we
factors
5 we present
for SCM
present our
our
projects. The
empirical
projects. The
study results
on
results are
the based
main on the findings
success findings
factors from
for semi-
SCM
empirical
structured study
interviewson are thewithbased
main SCM
on the
success factors from
professionals.
semi-
forFinally,
SCM
projects.
structured
projects. The
The results
interviews
results are
are based
with
based SCM on
on the findings
professionals.
the findings from
from semi-
Finally,
semi-
section
structured 66 provides
provides
interviews aa conclusion
conclusion
with and professionals.
discusses implications
implications
section
structured
for practitioners interviews
and with SCM
academics. SCM and discusses
professionals. Finally,
Finally,
section
for 6 provides
practitioners and a conclusion
academics. and
section 6 provides a conclusion and discusses implications discusses implications
for
for practitioners
practitioners and and2.academics.
academics.
RELATED WORKS
2. RELATED WORKS
Fig. 1. Classification of SCM activities
Fig. 1. Classification of SCM activities
Despite the the vast
vast body
body2.
2. RELATED
RELATEDliteratureWORKS
of literature WORKS
on SCM
SCM (e.g.(e.g. Chopra
Chopra and and
Fig.
Fig. 1.
1. Classification
Classification ofof SCM
SCM activities
activities Despite of on
Experience has shown that many SCM projects
Experience has shown that many SCM projects fail to deliver Meindl fail to deliver Meindl 2016,
Despite 2016,the vast
vastSimchi-Levi
body of
Simchi-Levi et
of literatureal.
literature 2008)
et al. 2008) on SCM only
SCM little
(e.g.
only (e.g. research
Chopra
littleChopra and
researchand is
is
Despite
available the
on SCM bodyprojects. There on
is not even consensus on
the promised results, e.g. regarding the customer’s expected Meindl 2016,
2016, Simchi-Levi etThere
al. 2008)
2008) only little researchon is
Experience
the promised
Experience has shown
hasresults,
showne.g. that many
many SCM
thatregarding SCM theprojects
customer’s
projects fail
fail to deliver available
deliver
toexpected Meindl on SCM projects.et
Simchi-Levi al. is notonlyeven consensus
little research is
the promised
the promised results,
results, e.g.
e.g. regarding
regarding the the customer’s
customer’s expectedexpected available available on on SCM
SCM projects.
projects. There There is is not
not even
even consensus
consensus on on
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2019 IFAC MIM
Berlin, Germany, August 28-30, 2019 Christoph Manuel Meyer et al. / IFAC PapersOnLine 52-13 (2019) 153–158
154
the terminology, with some authors using the term “supply
chain project” and others referring to “supply chain
management projects”. In addition, in most cases an explicit
definition of the terms is missing. The authors show
substantial differences in their understanding of these
projects, with most authors focusing on a narrow field of
what we consider as SCM projects.
Brinkhoff et al. (2015) focus on supply chain projects
between two supply chain partners. For their study they
define supply chain projects “as dyadic activities between
existing alliance partners that have already established a
relationship.” (Brinkhoff et al. 2015, p. 181) In the sequel
they mention that supply chain projects can also include more
than two enterprises.
Ayers (2006) suggests five major management tasks for
SCM, namely designing supply chains for strategic
advantage, implementing collaborative relationships within
the enterprise, forging supply chain partnerships with outside
companies, managing supply chain information, and
removing cost from the supply chain. Ayers (2010) proposes
project templates for accomplishing these tasks in the form of
projects, but he does not provide an explicit definition of the
term “supply chain project”.
Kim and Nguyen (2018) focus on construction supply chains
and analyse the impact of the relationship between the
partners on project performance. They conclude that
collaboration in the supply chain, support and commitment to
the supply chain, and sharing of benefits and risks have a
positive impact on the construction project’s performance.
Kilger (2015) suggests an approach for the definition of a
supply chain project, which comprises three phases. Kilger
(2015) does not provide an explicit definition of the terms
“supply chain project” and “SCM project”, but he points out
that the “goal of SCM projects is to improve competitiveness
of the supply chain” (Kilger 2015, p. 281), and that SCM
projects are started by the company headquarter.
Wetterauer and Meyr (2015) focus on the implementation of
supply chain projects and outline five major implementation
phases. Also Wetterauer and Meyr (2015) do not provide an
explicit definition of the term “supply chain project”. Both
Kilger (2015) and Wetterauer and Meyr (2015) focus on
projects including the selection and implementation of
Advanced Planning Systems (APS). Wetterauer and Meyr
(2015) point out that “the successful implementation of the
selected APS is the obvious goal of any organization that has
decided to go for a supply chain project.” (Wetterauer and
Meyr 2015, p. 317)
Wei et al. (2007) present a selection framework for SCM
projects. In their study they also refrain from defining the
term “SCM project” explicitly, but focus on the
implementation of IT systems for SCM. They clarify that a
“successful SCM implementation project involves selecting a
suitable SCM system and cooperative SCM system vendor,
implementing the selected system, managing the supply chain
member relationships, and examining the practicality of the
system.” (Wei et al. 2007, p. 627)
159
Ross (1998) acknowledges the presence of projects in the
field of SCM and elaborates on supply chain quality
management (SCQM) projects, which “define several key
high-impact actions that will provide the channel with the
desired result.” (Ross 1998, p. 280)
3. DEFINITION OF THE TERM “SUPPLY CHAIN
MANAGEMENT PROJECT”
The overview of related works in section 2 shows that a
universal understanding of the terms “supply chain project”
and “SCM project” seems to be lacking. The definition
proposed by Brinkhoff et al. (2015) excludes SCM activities
within one single enterprise, which are explicitly mentioned
as SCM tasks both in the definition provided by Ivanov et al.
(2017) and in the SCM tasks proposed by Ayers (2006). In
our view SCM projects need not be started by the company
headquarters, but can also be initiated by regional divisions
and even by single sites, for example if we consider a
regional warehousing tender. Therefore, in the following we
develop a more comprehensive definition of the term.
A project can be defined as a temporary initiative with a
defined start and end point, which produces a unique result
(see e.g. Verzuh 2016, Project Management Institute 2017).
Based on the definition of SCM proposed by Ivanov et al.
(2017) and the five management tasks for SCM suggested by
Ayers (2006), we propose the following definition: A supply
chain management project is an activity with a unique
deliverable and a defined start and end point, which focuses
on the intra-company and inter-company integration and
coordination of material, information and financial flows, or
on removing cost from the supply chain.
This broad understanding of SCM projects comprises SCM
activities between two partners in an existing alliance as
investigated by Brinkhoff et al. (2015), and also allows for
the consideration of projects in which new alliances are
forged. Also the selection and implementation of APS in
supply chains can be subsumed here, and many other
initiatives within supply chains which can be pursued by one
single supply chain partner or by collaborations of different
enterprises.
4. SUCCESS FACTORS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
In order to understand success factors for SCM projects, an
understanding of what is meant by the success of these
projects is required. For decades project success has been
defined by the triple-constraint of delivering the project on
time, within budget, and with the desired quality or
performance (Verzuh 2016, Kerzner 2017). Since this
“internal definition of success” (Kerzner 2018, p. 28) has
certain limitations, meeting the stakeholders’ expectations on
the project’s value has been included in more recent
definitions of project success (Verzuh 2016).
Using this understanding, we define the success of an SCM
project as the completion of the project on time, within
budget, and at the desired quality or performance, such that
 2019 IFAC MIM
Berlin, Germany, August 28-30, 2019 Christoph Manuel Meyer et al. / IFAC PapersOnLine 52-13 (2019) 153–158 155
the project deliverables fulfil the stakeholders’ value
expectations.
Project success factors are elements of a project which
influence project success and which themselves can be
influenced by the project team (see e.g. Müller and Turner
2007, Dvir et al. 1998). These success factors for general
project management have been studied intensively over the
past decades. Success factors that keep coming up in the
literature include (see e.g. Pinto and Selvin 1987, Dvir et al.
1998, Zwikael and Globerson 2006, Verzuh 2016, Kerzner
2018):
 Clear project objectives
 Constant and effective communication
 Support from senior management
 Setup and motivation of the project team
 Adequate resources
There are further factors mentioned in some of the above
studies which can contribute to project success, e.g.
controlled project scope, realistic project plans, and customer
involvement.
5. ANALYSIS OF SUCCESS FACTORS FOR SCM
PROJECTS
In their study Brinkhoff et al. (2015) specifically focus on
success factors for supply chain projects. They distinguish
between project-level and relationship-level factors, and
investigate the impact of three project-level success factors,
namely communication, employee commitment and
management commitment, and the relationship-level factors
trust and asymmetric dependence. Our hypothesis is that apart
from the three project-level factors considered by Brinkhoff
et al. (2015) there are further factors which have an impact on
SCM project success. In the following we will test this
hypothesis using the results from semi-structured interviews
with SCM professionals.
5.1 Methodology of Research
We aim at detecting the most relevant project-level success
factors for SCM projects. Based on the literature on general
project management, the study by Brinkhoff et al. (2015) and
our own experience in managing SCM projects, we
developed a list of ten potential success factors for SCM
projects (Table 1).
To explore the importance of these factors we conducted
semi-structured interviews with SCM professionals. The
participants were selected based on their involvement in
SCM projects, with each participant having at least four years
of experience in SCM. Email enquiries were sent to 40
experts, inviting them to participate in an interview. Thirteen
confirmations were received, of which ten interviews were
conducted between June 2018 and January 2019.
Six interviewees belong to industrial enterprises and four to
service providers, of which three are from different Third
160
Party Logistics Providers (3PLs) and one from a provider of
supply chain planning solutions. Two interviewees had more
than ten years of experience with SCM projects, six had
between five and ten years of experience and two had four
years of experience at the time of the interview.
Table 1. Overview of potential success factors
ID Success Factor
1 Appropriate communication and stakeholder
management
2 Availability of sufficient resources
3 Clarity of project objectives
4 Experience of project manager with general
project management
5 Experience of project manager with SCM projects
6 Experience of project team members with project
work
7 Organizational setup of project team: External
project team
8 Organizational setup of project team: Internal
project team
9 Support of project sponsor and senior
management
10 Utilization of a project management methodology
During the interviews the participants were asked to rate the
importance of each of the proposed factors for project
success, using the ratings “high”, “medium” and “low”.
Moreover, the participants were asked to add any other
factors which they felt relevant for the success of their SCM
projects.
To derive a final score for each factor, we applied a 3-point
Likert scale and assigned the value of 3 to ratings of “high”, 2
to ratings of “medium”, and 1 to ratings of “low”. For each
factor we calculated the total score by aggregating the scores
of the individual ratings, such that a maximum total score of
30 and a minimum of 10 could be reached. We split this
range evenly and considered factors with ratings between 30
and 24 to be highly important for project success, ratings
between 23 and 17 to be of „medium“, and ratings below 17
to be of „low“ importance for SCM project success.
5.2 Results of Interviews
The first important finding is that the interviewees agree that
“all of these aspects absolutely contribute to project success”
(Interviewee 1). However, the importance of these factors is
seen differently (Table 2).
It can be seen that the most relevant factors for the success of
SCM projects seem to be “Appropriate communication and
stakeholder management” (Total score: 29) and “Clarity of
project objectives” (Total score: 28), each being rated as
highly relevant by nine of the ten SCM professionals. Our
finding of a high importance of communication in SCM
projects supports the results of Brinkhoff et al. (2015), who
emphasize that “frequent and open communication between
project partners is a major driver for supply chain project
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success.” (Brinkhoff et al. 2015, p. 196) In SCM projects it is Table 2. Importance of success factors, sorted by score
common that several business units or enterprises collaborate,
which creates a diverse portfolio of stakeholders. Therefore, Success Count of Ratings Total Score
Factor High Medium Low (Importance)
communication and effective stakeholder management seems
to be “definitely the base of the success of a project” Appropriate 9 1 0 29 (High)
(Interviewee 3) and “probably the most important skill for a communi-
project manager” (Interviewee 6). The diverse objectives of cation and
the supply chain partners involved in an SCM project usually stakeholder
lead to different expectations towards the outcomes of the mgmt.
project. In a freight tender, for example, the company issuing Clarity of 9 0 1 28 (High)
the tender will normally look for a reduction of freight costs project
whereas the incumbent logistics service providers will try to objectives
maintain their lanes without major reductions in the freight Support of 7 3 0 27 (High)
rates. Consequently, a clear understanding of and the project
agreement on the project objectives is crucial for project sponsor and
success, possibly even “the single most critical success senior mgmt.
factor” (Interviewee 6). Organiza- 6 4 0 26 (High)
tional setup:
The third factor considered highly relevant is “Support of Internal
project sponsor and senior management”, with seven ratings project team
of “high” and an overall score of 27. In SCM projects a Organiza- 5 3 2 23
strong project sponsor who supports the project team is tional setup: (Medium)
required to resolve potential conflicts between the diverse External
stakeholders. Without support from the sponsor and senior project team
management, “there are always delays” (Interviewee 3), Availability 4 5 1 23
rendering the on time completion of the project, one of the of sufficient (Medium)
components of project success, unlikely. resources
Utilization of 3 5 2 21
The last highly relevant factor appears to be the
a PM (Medium)
organizational setup of the internal project team, with six
methodology
„high“ and four „medium“ ratings, and a total score of 26. As
Experience of 3 4 3 20
Interviewee 3 points out, it is important “to have a team fully
project (Medium)
committed” to the project. Moreover, the team should consist
manager with
of different types of team members, “not only leaders”, as
SCM projects
emphasized by Interviewee 8.
Experience of 3 3 4 19
The factors with medium importance for the success of SCM project (Medium)
projects appear to be the organizational setup of the external manager with
project team, the availability of sufficient resources, the general PM
utilization of a specific project management methodology, Experience of 1 2 7 14 (Low)
and the experience of the project manager both with SCM project team
projects and with general project management. with project
work
The only factor which is judged to have a low impact on
project success is “Experience of project team with project
work”, with seven ratings of „low“ and a total score of 14. For the experts from industry “Appropriate communication
and stakeholder management” is the most important success
Additional success factors that were mentioned by the
factor, ranked “high” by all six interviewees. The second
interviewees include “Scope and time management”
place is taken by “Support of sponsor and senior
(mentioned three times), “Honesty and trust” (also mentioned
management” with a score of 17, followed by “Clarity of
three times), “Formalized change control” (mentioned once),
project objectives” with a score of 16. The least important
“Buffers and backup plans” (mentioned once), and
factor is “Experience of project team members with project
“Documentation and lessons learned” (also mentioned once).
work”, with four ratings of “low” and a total score of 9.

5.3 Comparison of Views: Industry vs. Service Providers
Further interesting insights result from the comparison of the
evaluations between the SCM professionals from industry
and those affiliated with service providers.
For the service providers, the most important success factor
appears to be “Clarity of project objectives”, with four ratings
of “high“, followed by “Appropriate communication and
stakeholder management” and “Organizational setup: Internal
project team”, both with scores of 11. Again the least
important factor is “Experience of project team members
with project work”, with three ratings of “low” and a total
score of 5.

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It is interesting to take a closer look at the differences
between the most important success factors in both groups.
Our interpretation is that for service providers, it can be even
more important to agree on clear project objectives with their
supply chain partners from industry, who are usually their
customers. In our experience, unclear project objectives can
lead to misunderstandings, which in turn can result in
unsatisfied customers and substantial rework on the service
provider’s side. Interviewee 8, a senior manager of a 3PL
with more than 20 years of experience in SCM projects,
supports this interpretation by pointing out that for him
clarity on project objectives has the highest impact on the
success of SCM projects.
6. CONCLUSIONS
In this paper we proposed a definition of the term “supply
chain management project”, which is more comprehensive
than other definitions found in the literature. Moreover, we
tested the importance of ten factors for the success of SCM
projects. We found that all ten proposed factors have certain
relevance for the success of SCM projects, with
communication and stakeholder management, clear project
objectives, support by project sponsor and senior
management, and the internal organization of the project
team being the most relevant success factors.
These results have implications both for practitioners and for
academics pursuing research in this field.
6.1 Implications for Practitioners
From the analysis we learned which factors are most relevant
for the success of SCM projects in practice. Therefore
managers of SCM projects should focus their efforts on
influencing these success factors in a favourable way. We
also learned that project manager’s experience with SCM
projects and with general project management have a
medium impact on SCM project success and appear at the
bottom of the list. This finding implies that also junior
managers of SCM projects can compensate their lack of
experience and deliver successful SCM projects by focusing
on the four highly relevant success factors.
6.2 Implications for Academics
Our finding that the most important success factors for SCM
projects include communication and stakeholder
management, support from sponsor and senior management
and organizational setup and commitment of the project team
are in line with the findings by Brinkhoff et al. (2015).
However, Brinkhoff et al. (2015) do not consider clarity of
the project objectives in their study, which turned out to be
the second most important success factor for SCM projects in
our analysis. This shows that our hypothesis was right and
implies that further success factors deserve consideration in
future research projects in this field.
We are aware that with ten interviewees our sample size is
limited. Therefore our results can only be a first indication
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which factors should be the main focus of project managers
responsible for SCM projects. As directions for future
research we recommend to carry out a survey with a larger
sample size, and with the additional success factors
mentioned by our interviewees added to the list. Moreover, it
would be interesting to cluster SCM projects into different
categories, e.g. based on their decision areas within the
supply chain, such as SC network optimization or the
integration of a new SC partner, and investigate the main
success factors for these different project types.
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