The effects of information system infrastructure and process improvements on supply‐chain time performance

An empirical study of 57 top‐tier suppliers to the North American automotive industry examined the direct and complementary effects of information system infrastructure (ISI) and process improvements on time‐based performance. The results show that the three dimensions of ISI – design‐manufacturing integration (DMI), manufacturing technology (MT), and information technology (IT) – directly influenced at least one dimension of time‐based performance. For example, DMI influenced manufacturing lead time, MT influenced new product development time, and IT influenced customer responsiveness. Process improvement also directly influenced supply‐chain time performance. Finally, ISI and process improvement had a positive and complementary effect on time‐based performance. Specifically, the IT factor along with process improvement variables (standardization and concurrent engineering) had a complementary and significant positive influence on time‐based performance. The findings strongly support the idea of joint deployment of information system infrastructure and process improvement to streamline cycle time performance in a supply chain.