African Journal of Business Management Vol. 6(3), pp. 933-945, 25 January, 2012 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/AJBM DOI: 10.5897/AJBM11.1417 ISSN 1993-8233 ©2012 Academic Journals Full Length Research Paper Investigating the effects of information technology on the capabilities and performance of the supply chain of dairy companies in Fars province: A multiple case study Ali Mohammadi 1 *, Maryam Sahrakar 2 and Hamid Reza Yazdani 1 Management Department, School of Economics, Management and Social Sciences, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran. 2 Industrial Management Department, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran. 3 Human Resource Management, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran. Accepted 11 October, 2011 Nowadays all organizations are somehow exposed to information technology revolutions and the applicable aspects of information technology are evident in all supply fields from the relationship with suppliers and producers to the relationship with the customers. In other words, the application of information technology is influential in the improvement of the supply chain. In this study, the effect of information technology tools on the capabilities and performance of the supply chain in the dairy companies of Fars province is investigated. In this research, from among information technology tools ,supply chain communication system (SCCS), electronic data interchange (EDI), electronic mail (E-mail), bar-coding, and radio frequency identification (RFID), from among supply chain capabilities four dimensions including information exchange, coordination , inter-firm activity integration, and supply chain responsiveness; and from among performance of supply chain, two variables of performance including marketing performance and financial performance will be examined. The results indicate that using information technology tools is effective on the capabilities and hence performance of the supply chain. Key words: Information technology, supply chain, supply chain capabilities, supply chain performance, multiple case study. INTRODUCTION Supply chain management is one of the most powerful executive paradigms for competitive advantage of pro- duction companies and service providers (Gunasekaran, 2004). These days, organizations are not important but rather the creation of added value occurs in the supply chain and its management. On the other hand, with the increase of globalization and international competition, and the introduction of new technologies such as information technology, many previous policies and *Corresponding author. E-mail: amohamadi@rose.shirazu.ac.ir. Tel: +98-711-626372. Fax: +98-711-6266041. experiences are not efficient (Harvey and Richey, 2001). In other words, nowadays, just as competition has increased, customer expectations are also constantly changing. Therefore, more emphasis needs to be put on faster distribution, higher customer orientation, and better service quality and by timely access to information different production and distribution sectors should be supported. Nevertheless, customers are not only un- willing to pay any money for these extra benefits but also expect a respective drop in prices. Therefore, traditional approaches to supply chain management cannot fulfill customer demands completely. It can be stated that nowadays all organizations are somehow exposed to information technology revolutions and the applicable