Third, it has been noted that:
In their attempt to provide a conceptual model of SCM, Mouritsen et al. (2003) stated that one
could view supply chains as merely “virtual,” existing in the variable views of managers and
decision makers within the firm – in essence, this is an existential position taking the view
that a supply chain can only be understood in terms of the perceptions of individuals. They
acknowledged the need for a much more robust means to identify the contingencies attending
any specific supply chain and warned against “best practice” approaches to supply chain
conceptualization (Giannakis and Croom, 2004).