Abstract:
Effective and efficient supply chain management practices now have become a very valuable
and important way to remain competitive in market and to improve the organizational
performance. The case of seafood exports from Kerala provides a manageable case study that
throws light on the challenges faced by exporters in India as a whole. At the same time, it
highlights the particular supply chain management practices followed by the Kerala seafood
export sector. The population of interest was the registered seafood exporting companies in
Kerala. The data collection instrument used was a questionnaire which was administered to a
total sample of 350 managers. Sample selection was based on simple random sampling
technique. The analyses involved statistical methods such as reliability and validity tests and
Factor analysis. The study reveal the importance of Internal Integration, Strategic Supplier
Partnership, Customer Relationship Management and Information Sharing. The results
indicate that supplier involvement is a key coordinating process in supply chain design.
Effective supply chain practice and effective information sharing are two sources of supply
chain improvement. Organization has to understand and recognize supply chain management
practice has profit enabler function in seafood industry. Three critical aspects of supply chain
partnerships are: recognizing opportunities that would benefit from a partnership, selecting
the right partners and meeting the requirements as a partner. To develop a responsive supply
chain, continuous collaborative improvement among firms has become strategic imperative. This
collaboration is occurring in many industries and has become the source of competitive
advantage for some companies
