The purpose of this paper is to begin to bridge the gap between management theory and practice in the design and use of global supply chains. We do this by integrating the key literature that forms our knowledge of global supply chains around a framework that embeds the supply chain into the strategic planning process. The first section of the paper presents representative examples of the literature on the external strategic context of a global supply chain and the internal organizational aspects. The second section of the paper draws out some key issues from literature that provides directions for future research. Key issues, directions for future research, and limitations to the proposed framework are presented.