The issue of how to integrate external collaboration with internal processes is identified as a gap in the body of supply chain knowledge. The question is how to link external sources of information into the vendor production and inventory control process when the same level of detailed information cannot be obtained from all of its supply chain partners. The objective of this paper is to present a simple framework to guide the research on the barriers to external and internal integration in different collaborative supply chain configurations. Five different supply chain configurations will be discussed and compared in the paper. These configurations are distinguished by the differences in the control of material flows; information flows; and the decision taking processes. Each configuration is discussed in terms of industrial practice to highlight from a supplier perspective the opportunities and challenges to benefit in production and inventory control.