IT Infrastructure IV: Supply Chain Management

This chapter argues that SCM has evolved from a logistics function into the core infrastructure of ADX because it integrates material, information, and governance flows across organizational boundaries. The chapter shows that supply chains are not linear pipelines but complex systems whose performance depends on coordination among interdependent actors. As product uncertainty, modular production networks, and geopolitical risks intensify, SCM becomes the arena where strategy, operational capability, and digital technology converge. From an ADX perspective, SCM is the domain where digital representations must be translated into coordinated interfirm action under uncertainty. The chapter emphasizes that digitalization enhances visibility, but performance depends on how firms combine this visibility with analog capabilities such as trust, judgment, and collaborative problem-solving. SCM therefore becomes the infrastructure through which firms build resilience, sustainability, and sustainable competitive advantage. It is not simply a support function but the socio-technical architecture that enables manufacturing firms to orchestrate value creation across increasingly complex ecosystems.