Supply chain integration in New Zealand: Benchmark Comparisons with the UK automotive sector

Supply chain integration is a promising approach to cross-enterprise process improvement that is still not wellunderstood. This research investigates the level of sophistication (maturity) of supply chain integration in New Zealandfrom the systems uncertainty perspective. Uncertainty levels of value streams are evaluated using the 'uncertainty circle'concept, thereby enabling benchmark comparisons of value stream performance. A sample of 21 NZ process industryvalue streams is assessed using a so-called Quick Scan Audit Methodology (QSAM). and the uncertainty resultscompared with those obtained from 21 value streams in the UK automotive sector. This benchmarking revealed thatvalue streams in New Zealand are weakly integrated and have control mechanisms which are significantly looser thanthose of the UK sample, even though they face higher uncertainty on the control and demand sides. In contrast, crosscountrydifferences in supply and process uncertainty are marginal. While providing insights into the general health ofNew Zealand value streams, the authors acknowledge that the sample is not a comprehensive representation of every NZvalue stream.