5 Recommended Research Directions
Since the issue of supply chain sustainability has been debated, several researchers
investigated its various aspects. Some researchers have also systematically reviewed
these studies. As mentioned earlier, paying attention to the evaluation indicators and
selection of sustainable suppliers has been considered in numerous studies. However, so far, no research has addressed the segmentation and development of
sustainable suppliers, which is possibly due to the posed challenges. In the current
era that sustainability foundations has been considered as the basis for cooperation
among supply chain partners and adhering to these foundations at all stages of the
supply chain has been considered as a competitive advantage, buyer-supplier cooperation across sustainability dimensions can create added value for the entire chain
and finally lead to customer satisfaction. Accordingly, considering the further
research, it is recommended to address the issue of sustainable supplier segmentation
more technically in future studies and to direct the focus of research on issues such as
sustainable supplier segmentation based on the proposed model of the present study
and the impact of supplier development and improvement plans on suppliers’
performance from the sustainability perspective and the overall supply chain
performance.
6 Conclusion
In this chapter a model for sustainable supplier segmentation was presented which
can help procurement and purchasing managers in the supply chain to evaluate and
develop suppliers. In the presented segmentation model, suppliers can be divided
into seven segments based on the performance indicators. In this model, the suppliers at the sustainable segment cover all three dimensions of sustainability. The
sustainable segment is the most desirable part of this model, and every company tries
to increase the interactions with these suppliers. Moreover, the most important
supplier improvement and development strategies were presented based on sustainability dimensions, which can be used by companies to improve supplier performance and the overall supply chain performance. Using the model proposed in this
chapter, the suppliers’ operational weaknesses in each dimension of sustainability
can be identified, and applying the improvement strategies in these dimensions can
save cost, time, and manpower with maximum efficiency. Purchase, logistics, and
supply chain managers in every company should provide conditions to facilitate
supplier relationships and improvement after their selection, based on sustainability
dimensions. By doing so, it is expected that culture of sustainability gets institutionalized across all supply chain players.
7 Sustainable Supplier Segmentation: A Practical Procedure
133
Since the issue of supply chain sustainability has been debated, several researchers
investigated its various aspects. Some researchers have also systematically reviewed
these studies. As mentioned earlier, paying attention to the evaluation indicators and
selection of sustainable suppliers has been considered in numerous studies. However, so far, no research has addressed the segmentation and development of
sustainable suppliers, which is possibly due to the posed challenges. In the current
era that sustainability foundations has been considered as the basis for cooperation
among supply chain partners and adhering to these foundations at all stages of the
supply chain has been considered as a competitive advantage, buyer-supplier cooperation across sustainability dimensions can create added value for the entire chain
and finally lead to customer satisfaction. Accordingly, considering the further
research, it is recommended to address the issue of sustainable supplier segmentation
more technically in future studies and to direct the focus of research on issues such as
sustainable supplier segmentation based on the proposed model of the present study
and the impact of supplier development and improvement plans on suppliers’
performance from the sustainability perspective and the overall supply chain
performance.
6 Conclusion
In this chapter a model for sustainable supplier segmentation was presented which
can help procurement and purchasing managers in the supply chain to evaluate and
develop suppliers. In the presented segmentation model, suppliers can be divided
into seven segments based on the performance indicators. In this model, the suppliers at the sustainable segment cover all three dimensions of sustainability. The
sustainable segment is the most desirable part of this model, and every company tries
to increase the interactions with these suppliers. Moreover, the most important
supplier improvement and development strategies were presented based on sustainability dimensions, which can be used by companies to improve supplier performance and the overall supply chain performance. Using the model proposed in this
chapter, the suppliers’ operational weaknesses in each dimension of sustainability
can be identified, and applying the improvement strategies in these dimensions can
save cost, time, and manpower with maximum efficiency. Purchase, logistics, and
supply chain managers in every company should provide conditions to facilitate
supplier relationships and improvement after their selection, based on sustainability
dimensions. By doing so, it is expected that culture of sustainability gets institutionalized across all supply chain players.
7 Sustainable Supplier Segmentation: A Practical Procedure
133