The Influence of Variables on Designing a Cloud Supply Chain Network: A Factor Analysis Approach
Anil B Gowda, Kanakatti Subramanya · SSRN Electronic Journal · 2015
Cloud computing model offers a promise of cost savings with increased IT agility. Cloud industry is growing quickly and vendors are investing significant amount of money to develop Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and harness the benefits of cloud computing in various business activities. The aim of this paper is to analyze the benefits of cloud along with certain objectives focused on cloud services that would help in designing a better cloud Supply Chain Network (SCN). Cloud can offer tremendous benefits and advantages to the SCN. Many companies have already adopted Cloud SaaS and many more companies are in the process of adopting it. Companies globally are realizing that cloud computing can offer large benefits to the supply chain industry. A cloud service can be utilized to enhance the key parameters of SCN. Proper information available at any given point of time in the SCN leads to better decisions. The benefits achieved through the integration of cloud with the supply chain can be evaluated and assessed in terms of their relative importance. The knowledge of benefits offered by the cloud is useful in deciding the priorities in make or buy decision. This analysis helps in identifying benefits that can be grouped into factors. The factors will be useful in deciding the relative preference of one benefit over the other benefit depending on the application. Such factors will enable the information data structure of the SCN to perform more efficiently.