Dr. S.G. Deshmukh

Abstract

In today's hyper-competitive scenario, organizations as part of supply chain have become extremely competitive and have to handle a number of challenges. These challenges are mainly due to demanding customer base, rapid changes in technology, especially in IT, and strong emphasis on environmental consideration and consequent regulatory mechanisms. Every economy is facing almost similar challenges, since these organizations contribute a lot to the wealth generation. However, the case of emerging economies such as India has several interesting challenges and opportunities. Managing supply chains in such economies presents an interesting perspective including that of sustainability. Sustainability of supply chains has caught attention of researchers worldwide in the wake of problems like global warming and climate change and the social concerns. A revisit to the evaluation of supply chains is warranted to assess their impacts on environment and society in such emerging economies. A social audit based perspective is suggested which will put the supply chains in proper context. Possible research opportunities are also identified.

Keywords- Sustainability, Supply Chain Management, Social audit, societal role, Supply Chain Performance