Purpose - This research aims to explore innovation in supply chain
management. Innovation has often been studied in supply chain
relationships and specifically from a product point of view. The authors
aim to observe innovation by focusing on the different practices and
collaborations suppliers and customers are developing to improve their
competitiveness and the performance of the whole supply chain.
Design/methodology/approach - A review of previous literature on
innovation in supply chain management is presented and the authors
design an interview guide for their data collection that is developed
from their previous literature review on innovation in supply chain
management. Data are collected from 68 innovations in French companies
and subsequently analyzed to identify the major elements of innovations
in supply chain management. Findings - The key findings of the paper
identify the major components affecting innovative supply chain
practices and SC performance. The results suggest that innovation is
essential in supply chain management and can be characterized according
to its degree of novelty and rupture, its distribution throughout the SC
and the level at which it occurs. In addition, a typology of innovative
supply chain practices is proposed. Originality/value - The authors'
study is exploratory and examines the state of practices concerning
innovation in supply chain management. The authors identify the major
elements of innovations and propose a typology of these innovative
supply chain practices.