The effects of agility in the supply chain of distribution network of Saudi Arabia’s automotive market : a case study of dealerships

Abstract EN

Researchers have defined agility as one of the fundamental tools companies need in their supply chain networks to maintain a competitive advantage in the modern-day business environment.

Agility holds a key position in the automotive industry.

Despite its importance, there is limited evidence about the impact of agility in the distribution networks of auto dealerships in developing countries.

The purpose of this research project was to identify the effects of achieving agile supply chains in the distribution networks of Saudi Arabia’s auto dealerships.

37 supply chain managers and experts in three largest auto dealerships in Saudi Arabia were sampled for the study and five-point Likert Scale questionnaires administered for each one of them.

The resulting Likert data was analyzed for reliability using Cronbach's methods and hypotheses tested using Chi Square method for ordinal data.

The research found that agility increases the speed at which auto dealers deliver products to customers and promotes the rate at which they respond to changing customer and market demands.

The results also show that agility in supply chains do not necessarily directly linked to the level of customer satisfaction and reduced operational costs.

The research confirms the importance of adopting agile supply chains in the distribution networks of auto dealers in Saudi Arabia as a way of increasing the speed of service delivery and adaptability to changing customer and marketing demands.