Exploring supply chain agility in the FMCG industry

The aim of this paper is to identify the core attributes of supply chain agility within the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry. Despite operating in the type of environment characterised by high levels of complexity, dynamism and uncertainty that agility is purported to help companies address, the FMCG industry has not received specific attention by agility researchers. Moreover, this study contributes to the literature by responding to the calls for refinements to our understanding of supply chain agility unconstrained by prior assumptions about manufacturing or organisational agility that qualitative approaches can provide, and for the use of dyadic data. Accordingly, a case study of a multinational FMCG company operating in the Middle East was undertaken with data primarily collected through semi-structured interviews. The findings confirm the salience of agility in the FMCG context and the attributes that underpin its effective deployment are identified. The paper also contributes to the literature by examining supply chain agility for the first time in the Middle East context.