Interrelationships in Inventory Turnover Performance Between Supplier and Customer Firms

Article Information
Journal: Business and Economics Research Journal
Title of Article: Interrelationships in Inventory Turnover Performance Between Supplier and Customer Firms
Author(s): Joseph J. Henry, Peter Christensen, James C. Brau
Volume: 14
Number: 2
Year: 2023
Page: 157-171
ISSN: 2619-9491
DOI Number: 10.20409/berj.2023.410
Abstract
Using inventory turnover to measure the efficiency of corporate inventory management, we perform econometric analyses to verify whether the inventory efficiency of a firm’s supply chain partners is a statistically significant driver of the firm’s own inventory efficiency. We test two mutually exclusive hypotheses. First, suppliers hold inventory on behalf of customers, effectively displacing inventory up the supply chain and resulting in a negative correlation between supplier and customer inventory turnover. Alternatively, inventory efficiency is integrated along the supply chain, resulting in a positive correlation between supplier and customer inventory turnover. Our bivariate and multivariate analyses of both firm- and industry-level data support the “integration” hypothesis of higher inventory efficiency along the supply chain. Our findings highlight the importance of expanding the research and practice of working capital management beyond the firm-level.

Keywords: Inventory Turnover, Supply Chain Efficiency, Inventory Factor Model

JEL Classification: L140, M41, C51

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