| On the background of economic globalization, the competition betweenenterprises has changed into the competition between supply chains. Working capitalmanagement is the important part of enterprise’s financial management, theperformance of it decides the survival and development of the enterprise. On the baseof supply chain management theory and working capital management theory, thispaper systematically study the influence mechanism of supply chain management onthe performance of operating working capital management. It’s helpful for improvingthe theory of supply chain management and working capital management, providingtheoretical guidance and recommendations for enterprises enhancing the performanceof supply chain management and working capital management, and then bringingabout enterprise’s value.On the basis of collecting and analyzing relevant literatures, this paper firstlyredefines the definition of supply chain and supply chain management, analyzes theestablishment of supply chain, points out the coupling mechanism of supply chain andthe essence of the supply chain management. Secondly, on the found of analyzing theinfluence of the essence of supply chain management on its performance andsummarizing researches on the performance assessment of supply chain management,this paper constructs the indicators system of the supply chain managementperformance assessment. Thirdly, with Haier’s example, this paper analyzes theinfluence mechanism of supply chain management on the performance of operatingworking capital management, constructs the theoretical model of supply chainmanagement influencing the performance of operating working capital management.Finally, using the data of China listed companies in machinery and equipmentmanufacturing industry from2010to2011, this paper tests the above theoreticalmodel, provides suggestions for manufacturing enterprises to improve working capitalmanagement performance.The main conclusions are as follows.Firstly, the supply chain is not only a “structure”, but it is also a “framework”. Itis a “netlike framework” between enterprise and market in essence. The supply chaincontains two levels, which is the broad and the narrow level. The narrow one is anetlike framework between enterprise and market, which centers on the coreenterprise, binds suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and the end users asa whole through the control of the logistics flow, information flow and capital flowstarting from procurement of raw materials, producing intermediate and final productsto delivering it to customers by the sales network. The supply chain’s enterprises arebound together through contract, trust and information. Secondly, the formation process of the supply chain is a dynamic and closedcycle, which is in the state of continuous adjustment. The pursuit of interests is thebasic reason of the single enterprises joining together by trading contract. Thebuilding and enhancing of trust are the core elements of supply chain formation. Thecontinuous improvement of the supply chain performance provides security for thepersistence of the supply chain. The communication and management of theinformation run through the whole process of the supply chain formation.Thirdly, the supply chain contract, trust and information influence and interactmutually. For example, the contract provides a certain degree of security for the trust.Adversely, the trust can simplify the contract and make it more flexible. Theinformation and the trust promote and replace mutually. The information is aprerequisite for the contract, and the contract is able to promote the exchange of theinformation.Fourthly, the contract management, the trust management and the informationmanagement impact and interact mutually, they are inseparable. The trust levelbetween them is influenced by the effectiveness of the contract execution and theefficiency of the information communication. The incentives from the contract, thewidth and the depth of the information communication are means of improving thetrust. On the other side, the improvement of the trust level will promote morecooperation and communication. The exchange and communication of theinformation are helpful to the design of the contract, the modification or adjustment ofthe contract can be used as an incentive measures to prevent the leakage of theconfidential information.Fifthly, the performance evaluation of the supply chain management shouldcontain four dimensions: the strategic supplier relationship, the strategic customerrelationship, the internal lean production and postponement, the information sharingand its quality. The evaluating indicators of the strategic supplier relationship includethe ratio of trading volume, the length of cooperation, the timeliness of payment, thequality reliability, the price stability and the delivery reliability. The evaluatingindicators of the strategic customer relationship contain the customer satisfaction, theratio of trading volume, the length of cooperation, and the timeliness of makingcollections. The customer satisfaction is composed of the price stability, the qualityreliability, the flexibility and the delivery reliability. The evaluating indicators of theinternal lean production and postponement include the product unit cost, the rate ofcapacity utilization, the delivery time, the R&D investment, the educationalbackground of staff and the management range. The evaluating indicators of theinformation dimensions contain the matching of the information technology, thetimeliness, the sufficiency and the reliability of the sharing information.Sixthly, the relationship with the strategic suppliers and information sharing withthem can promote the strategic sourcing, the supplier earlier involvement (in design),the vendor management inventory (VMI) and the just in time (JIT) procurement,which will enhance the performance of working capital management in procurementchannel. The internal lean production and postponement can promote the JIT/pull andmodular production, help to reduce the material and labor consumption, which will enhance the performance of working capital management in production channel. Therelationship with the strategic customers and information sharing with them canpromote the demand information sharing, the manufacturers management inventory,the strategic delivery and the recovery of accounts receivable, which will enhance theperformance of working capital management in marketing channel.Seventhly, the conclusions of the empirical test are as follows. In order toimprove the performance of the production channel’s working capital management,the enterprise should not only raise the utilization rate of its production capacity, but itshould also improve relations with employees and fully mobilize the enthusiasm ofpeople. The good relationship with the suppliers and customers are helpful forimproving the performance of procurement channel’s and marketing channel’sworking capital management. The relationship of the days of procurement channel’sworking capital outstanding and the supplier concentration is positively “U”-shaped.The unified and diversified of the suppliers have their pros and cons, so the enterpriseshould select the appropriate number of suppliers and balance between the supplychain integration and the supply risk for the enhancement of the procurementchannel’s working capital management performance. The relationship of the days ofmarketing channel’s working capital outstanding and the customer concentration isinverted “U”-shaped. When the customer concentration is low, the enterprise shouldstrengthen the customer relationship management, keep the existing customers, andactively develop new customers to reduce the customer’s bargaining power andimprove the efficiency of marketing channel’s working capital management. Whenthe customer concentration is high, the enterprise should also pay attention to thecustomer relationship management, make full use of the existing close relationship,integrate or reengineer the marketing channel to enhance the product’s market shareand improve the performance of marketing channel’s working capital management.The innovation of this paper lies in the following aspects. Firstly, it redefines thedefinition of supply chain and supply chain management, solves the contradictionbetween the content and the subjects in existing definition, and points out that thecoupling mechanism of the supply chain is the contract, the trust and the information.Secondly, it analyzes the forming process of the supply chain, the interaction betweenthe contract, the trust and the information and theirs role on it, discusses the essenceof supply chain management. Thirdly, it designs the performance measurementindicators system based on the essence of the supply chain management, which canprovide theoretical guidance for China manufacturing enterprises to evaluate itsperformance. Fourthly, it studies the influence mechanism of supply chainmanagement on the performance of operating working capital management, finds thatthe relationship of the days of procurement channel’s working capital outstanding andthe supplier concentration is positively “U”-shaped, and the relationship of the days ofmarketing channel’s working capital outstanding and the customer concentration isinverted “U”-shaped through empirical test. |
