| Summary: | Practice reports suggest that the oldest form of trade – barter – is taking shape in supply chain management and production research. The paper highlights the phenomenon of countertrade in supply chains and takes first steps towards the conceptualization and explanation of a potentially powerful competitive tool–the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) – in practice.To test the construct, the model is applied to an illustrative case. The illustrations and the decision model shed light into why, and how, firms use countertrade in supply chains to support long-term business success. The identified forms of countertrade in supply chains exhibit different strengths with regard to a set of business objectives. The results contribute to the academic discussion of reciprocal agreements in supply chains as well as to the field of strategic production research in general. This paper should be of interest to practitioners as well as to academics specializing in supply chain management and strategic alliances in business networks.
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