Enabling the Glass Pipeline: The Infusion of Mobile Technology Applications in Supply Chain Management

In recent years, the prospect of information exchange independent of time and place has been a compelling driver for organizations worldwide to adopt mobile technology applications in their various business practices. In particular, the application of mobile technology in Supply Chain Management has drawn widespread attention from researchers and practitioners who endorse adaptive and agile supply chain processes. This chapter discusses the applications of mobile technologies in various areas of supply chain management and the potential benefits of those technologies along the dimensions of reduced replenishment time and transactions and billing cycles. Among other discussions, the role of mobile procurement, inventory management, product identification, package tracking, sales force, and field service automation technologies is highlighted. To substantiate the basis for adopting mobile technologies for supply chain management, different market drivers for mobile applications are exemplified and applied to the three macro-level processes of supplier relationship management, internal supply chain management, and customer relationship management; a resulting typology of mobile supply chain management applications is presented.