Abstract - In order to be competitive in the world market, many exporting companies have to meet the challenges and demands posed by the current global trading environment. Globalization has restructured the business world and introduced the concept of a global supply chain. To be successful in the coffee global supply chain, excellent strategies for implementing global supply chain practices are required. The objective of this paper is to provide an extensive literature review on global supply chain strategies and practices and to recommend what global practices are dominant with the global supply chain strategies chosen. From the synthesis of the literature, global supply chain strategies for the coffee industry are linked to lean supply chain and responsive supply chain, meanwhile, global supply chain practices would be linked to the global logistics, TQM/JIT, information sharing, and collaboration. Keywords - Global supply chain strategies, practices, and coffee industry I. INTRODUCTION In today‟s competitive environment, markets are becoming more international, dynamic, and customer- driven [1]. Supply chain management has become an important aspect of management practice [2] and has seen a rapid increase in implementation in many organizations [3] as a source of competitive advantage [4]. The basic purpose of supply chain management is to control inventory by managing the flow of materials. The supply chain also plays an important role in the improvement of business performance, improves an organization‟s competitive position [5], and, thus, enhances productivity and cost saving [6], [7]. In the literature, the evolution and type of supply chain has also been widely discussed by many researchers. According to [8], the evolution and type of supply chain consist of the efficiency of core logistics activities; co-ordination of internal organizational processes; inter-enterprises business exchanges and establishment of dynamic networks between virtual organizations. Hence, the implementation of a supply chain is critical from the point of sourcing to manufacturing, [9] noted, changes in the supply chain structure frequently requires significant resources to be working cross-functionally, with additional cross-divisional even cross-geographical coordination. Diverse sets of cross-national firms need a clear focus [10]. Thus, [11] suggested that in respect of the global supply chain, companies have the challenge of understanding the trend and changes at many levels (i.e., buyers, functional area, firms, and region) and many locations in the supply chain (i.e., geographic location). In order to be competitive in the world market, many exporting companies have to meet the challenges and demands posed by the current global trading environment. In keeping up with global trade growth and increased competitive pressure, corporations must find ways to make significant changes in running their global supply chain operations [12]. Globalization has restructured the business world and introduced the concept of a global supply chain. Large and small companies alike have expanded opportunities to sell internationally and source from low- cost countries [13]. To respond to new market trends and demands, companies are pursuing a set of strategies that are common among major firms. The most related strategy is the implementation of a global perspective in their supply chain operations [14]. In order to meet the challenges of an accelerated global economy, global supply chains have become a key component towards competitiveness and many industries have implemented global supply chains including those in the coffee industry [15]. On the same note, [16] stressed that the best strategies of the global supply chain in the coffee industry typically enhance a significant performance. A well-executed supply chain strategy results in value creation for the organization. To be successful in the coffee global supply chain, excellent strategies for implementing global supply chain practices are required. In relation to global supply chain strategies, few studies have been done in this area. [17] supported that the global supply chain strategies still lack substantial evidence in the literature. The few empirical studies that investigate the strategies for the global supply chain were found to have inconsistent findings. For instance, the studies by [18], [19], [20], [21], and [22] have suggested different strategies for the global supply chain, such as lean supply chain, efficient supply chain, agile supply chain and responsive supply chain. Since there are many available strategies for the global supply chain, the best strategies need to be further explored, especially those related to the coffee industry. As mentioned, the strategies should be supported by practices [23]. Questions remain about what supply chains practices suit the supply chain strategies [24]. According to [25] manufacturers that focus on a lean supply chain strategy will have a high degree of adoption of lean practices, such as JIT, TQM, supplier integration, and internal integration. Whereas, manufacturers that focus on an agile supply chain strategy will have an almost equal degree of adoption of the lean and agile practices including JIT, TQM, supplier integration, internal integration, customer integration, customer enrichment and organizational change. However, manufacturers that focus on responsive supply chain strategy will consider the delivery aspect more, which includes logistics, information sharing, and collaboration. Based on the above arguments that different supply chain strategies lead to different supply chain practices. Therefore, this paper provides a synthesis of the published articles related to global supply chain strategies and suggests the best global supply chain practices to be implemented. The objective of this paper is to provide an extensive literature review on global supply chain strategies and Global Supply Chain Strategies and Practices: Synthesis from Literature H. W. Ibrahim 1 , S. Zailani 2 1 School of Management, 2 Graduate School of Business, Universiti Sains Malaysia 11800, Penang, Malaysia Email: hadiyan_tmi_itb@yahoo.com, shmz@usm.my