Manufacturing and Service Supply Chain Performance: A Comparative Analysis

SUMMARY As the economy evolves from manufacturing to services, it is important to understand whether the lessons learned in the manufacturing sector can be directly extrapolated to service supply chains. Unfortunately, the majority of existing supply chain research focuses exclusively on the manufacturing sector. To address this deficiency, this article compares the effect of traditional manufacturing‐oriented supply chain strategies on the operational and financial performance of firms in both service and manufacturing sectors. The results highlight similarities and differences between the two sectors — demonstrating that effective supply chain strategies in one sector may not be appropriate in the other sector. This suggests that practicing managers should identify appropriate benchmarks and competitive priorities before pursuing specific supply chain strategies. The insights provided by this research should help guide companies toward strategies that may positively affect their specific organization's operational and financial performance.