Study of deployment of “low code no code” applications toward improving digitization of supply chain management

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to understand the concept of “Low Code No Code” applications and study its scope of application for web designing, rapid application development (RAD) and supply chain digitization (SCD). Design/methodology/approach A qualitative exploratory study was conducted for this exploratory study. A semi-structured open-ended questionnaire was prepared by the authors. Based on the questionnaire in-depth interviews were conducted with subject matter experts having more than 10 years of experience in the domain of supply chain management and digitization. The study questionnaire focused on the current reach and future potential of “Low Code No Code” platforms. A total of 20 responses were collected from experts as post this point thematic saturation was reached. A non-probabilistic convenience sampling was applied to identify the experts The data was content analyzed for themes. Findings The major findings that emerged from the study was that “Low Code No Code” platforms applications could be used across end-to-end SCD. The study also revealed that RAD through “Low Code No Code” platforms could reduce organizations dependency on coders. In the case of procurement, “Low Code No Code” applications could improve vendor and supplier management by streamlining processes. The cost-effective and easy-to-maintain “Low Code No Code” application development could help Medium and Small-Scale Enterprises level the playing field against large organizations. The lack of adoption strategy and low perceived usefulness was identified as major barriers to the adoption of “Low Code No Code” applications by organizations. Research limitations/implications “Low Code No Code” application-based automation would enable better utilization of organizational supply chain (SC) resources and capabilities. This would improve the sustainability performance of the firm. Furthermore, it would also enable the provision of SC services at a lower cost level, thus benefiting customers. Practical implications “Low Code No Code” application-based automation would help organizations to reduce the dependency on coders and Information Technology developers SCD. This could also allow SC managers to make more apps to be built in less time without the need of complex coding. This could potentially reduce app development costs toward digitizing SCs. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this was one of the very first studies regarding how “Low Code No Code” applications could revolutionize the SC using these app development capabilities. This study also provided an extensive study of Diffusion of Innovations and Technological Organizational Theory frameworks for in the context of “Low Code No Code” technology adoption.