Implementing a Platform-Service Based on the Sharing Economy for Supply Chain Operations of Small and Medium Enterprises

Nowadays, more and more people choose the possibility of sharing goods and services. This trend is on the one hand utilized by the possibilities given through the digitalization and on the other hand forced by restricted resources and environmental issues. This development already caused significant changes in many markets and businesses but has not yet been holistically established in the field of supply chain management of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This paper aims to evolve a strategy to integrate the main idea of the sharing economy and its platform-based business model into the supply chain management of SMEs. Therefore, the requirements of SMEs among their supply chains are classified and the idea of the sharing economy is implemented and evaluated. This research presents the applicability and contribution of the principals of the Sharing Economy to the sector of supply chain management in SMEs. This will empower SMEs to improve their current market value.