{"id":{"repo_id":"mit","oai_identifier":"oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/45243"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/mit/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/45243","repository":{"repo_id":"mit","name":"MIT","base_url":"https://dspace.mit.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"The impact and dynamics of centralization in supply chain decision-making","abstract":"Companies with a corporate supply chain department and multiple business units use one of two methods for their supply chain decision-making: centralized decision-making where supply chain decisions are made at the corporate level by the central supply chain department or decentralized decision-making where supply chain decisions are made at a business unit level. We investigate the hypothesis that a centralized organizational structure helps companies lower costs and a decentralized organization structure enables companies to quickly respond to customer needs on a real time basis and improve customer service. To evaluate our hypothesis we surveyed industry current practice. Based on our analysis from the survey, we identified three factors that influence companies to adopt either a centralized or decentralized organization structure: customer service, supply chain management cost, and organizational control. We identified that a \"hybrid\" structure, where strategic functions are centralized and operational functions are decentralized, had the lowest supply chain management cost percentage to sales.","abstract_html":"Companies with a corporate supply chain department and multiple business units use one of two methods for their supply chain decision-making: centralized decision-making where supply chain decisions are made at the corporate level by the central supply chain department or decentralized decision-making where supply chain decisions are made at a business unit level. We investigate the hypothesis that a centralized organizational structure helps companies lower costs and a decentralized organization structure enables companies to quickly respond to customer needs on a real time basis and improve customer service. To evaluate our hypothesis we surveyed industry current practice. Based on our analysis from the survey, we identified three factors that influence companies to adopt either a centralized or decentralized organization structure: customer service, supply chain management cost, and organizational control. We identified that a "hybrid" structure, where strategic functions are centralized and operational functions are decentralized, had the lowest supply chain management cost percentage to sales.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Sohn, Tae-Hee","Rangavittal, Guruprakash (Guruprakash Coimbatore)"],"institution":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division.","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Chris Caplice."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2008,"date_issued":"2008","date_published":"2008","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:21:47Z","subjects":["Engineering Systems Division."],"languages":["eng"],"rights":["M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission."],"rights_urls":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/45243","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Chris Caplice."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.other","label":"Dc Contributor Other","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Sohn, Tae-Hee","Rangavittal, Guruprakash (Guruprakash Coimbatore)"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2009-04-29T17:14:05Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2009-04-29T17:14:05Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2008"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Engineering Systems Division."]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission."]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/45243"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2008.","Includes bibliographical references (leaves 88-89)."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Companies with a corporate supply chain department and multiple business units use one of two methods for their supply chain decision-making: centralized decision-making where supply chain decisions are made at the corporate level by the central supply chain department or decentralized decision-making where supply chain decisions are made at a business unit level. We investigate the hypothesis that a centralized organizational structure helps companies lower costs and a decentralized organization structure enables companies to quickly respond to customer needs on a real time basis and improve customer service. To evaluate our hypothesis we surveyed industry current practice. Based on our analysis from the survey, we identified three factors that influence companies to adopt either a centralized or decentralized organization structure: customer service, supply chain management cost, and organizational control. We identified that a \"hybrid\" structure, where strategic functions are centralized and operational functions are decentralized, had the lowest supply chain management cost percentage to sales."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["M.Eng.in Logistics"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The impact and dynamics of centralization in supply chain decision-making"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Chris Caplice."],"dc:contributor.department":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division."],"dc:contributor.other":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division."],"dc:creator":["Sohn, Tae-Hee","Rangavittal, Guruprakash (Guruprakash Coimbatore)"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2009-04-29T17:14:05Z"],"dc:date.available":["2009-04-29T17:14:05Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2008"],"dc:description":["Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2008.","Includes bibliographical references (leaves 88-89)."],"dc:description.abstract":["Companies with a corporate supply chain department and multiple business units use one of two methods for their supply chain decision-making: centralized decision-making where supply chain decisions are made at the corporate level by the central supply chain department or decentralized decision-making where supply chain decisions are made at a business unit level. We investigate the hypothesis that a centralized organizational structure helps companies lower costs and a decentralized organization structure enables companies to quickly respond to customer needs on a real time basis and improve customer service. To evaluate our hypothesis we surveyed industry current practice. Based on our analysis from the survey, we identified three factors that influence companies to adopt either a centralized or decentralized organization structure: customer service, supply chain management cost, and organizational control. We identified that a \"hybrid\" structure, where strategic functions are centralized and operational functions are decentralized, had the lowest supply chain management cost percentage to sales."],"dc:description.degree":["M.Eng.in Logistics"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/45243"],"dc:language.iso":["eng"],"dc:publisher":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology"],"dc:rights":["M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission."],"dc:rights.uri":["http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582"],"dc:subject":["Engineering Systems Division."],"dc:title":["The impact and dynamics of centralization in supply chain decision-making"],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:21:47Z"}