آنالیز عوامل موفقیت بحرانی برای درک مدیریت زنجیره تامین: یک مطالعه ی هندی Analysing the critical success factors for implementation of sustainable supply chain management: an Indian case study

Introduction Sustainability, from a practitioner’s perspective, is simply about having the potential to be around for the long term. While the term ‘‘long term’’ indicates financial viability, the other aspect of it is to take care of needs arising out of demand in future. The World Commission on Environment and Development (1987)—also known as the Brundtland Commission—defined sustainability as ‘‘meeting the needs of the present without compromising on the ability of the future generation to meet their own needs’’. Since then, this subject has drawn considerable importance in policy, research and industry. The long-term viability and competitiveness of business is increasingly being evaluated with respect to its sustainability indices that focus on inclusive, equitable and sustainable industrial growth. Nations across the world are introducing legislations with a focus on sustainability that is enforceable and becoming more proactive in terms of implementation. For a developing country such as India which is in transition from agrarian economy to an industrialized society, the legislations on stricter environmental norms and social compliances are fast catching up. With an enhanced emphasis on sustainability, the debate in the industry is on how organizations meet the challenge of sustainability. This is also drawing the attention of supply chain management practitioners and researchers alike. In view of the realization that the organization is no more sustainable than its supply chain, the current ways of functioning of supply chains are being reviewed with sustainability filters. In the past, supply chain management only focused on the efficient and responsive system of supply, production and distribution from raw material stage to the final customer (i.e. from point of origin to point of consumption). The aspects of product selection/design, use/consumption at customer end, disposal of end product and how supply chain treats its employees, customers, vendors and the community at large are the new focus areas which have given rise to the concept ‘‘sustainable supply chain management (SSCM)’’. In general, SSCM is defined as ‘‘the management of supply chain operation, resources, information and funds in order to maximize the supply chain profitability while at the same time, minimizing the environmental impacts and maximizing social well-being’’ (Hassini et al. 2012). This definition very well incorporates the three dimensions of the definition of ‘‘sustainability’’, namely economic, social and environmental. Supply chain performance is now measured not only according to economic performance but also against its social and environmental performance.