The direct and mediated relationships between supply chain coordination investments and delivery performance

Purpose – To explore the paths by which coordination investments with suppliers and customers relate to improvements in delivery speed, delivery reliability, and manufacturing lead‐time. Design/methodology/approach – Regression analysis of data on supply chain coordination investment and delivery performance from 243 manufacturers from 13 countries. Findings – Results provide evidence of direct relationships between supplier coordination investment and manufacturing lead‐time, and between customer coordination investment and delivery speed and delivery reliability. Moreover, they suggest that customer investment mediates the relationship between supplier investment and delivery reliability, and that supplier investment mediates the relationship between customer investment and manufacturing lead‐time. Practical implications – To achieve sustainable improvements in multiple aspects of performance, management may need to invest in coordination with partners both upstream and downstream in the supply chain. Originality/value – This appears to be the first study to provide evidence of both direct and mediated relationships between supplier and customer coordination investment, and delivery performance.