What makes demand management in the supply chain possible? A multiple-case study of critical success factors

Melo, Daniela de Castro; Alcântara, Rosane Lúcia Chicarelli

doi:10.1590/0104-530X2023-15

Acessibilidade / Reportar erro

Brasil

Español English

sumário « anterior atual seguinte »

Sumário

Articles • Gest. Prod. 23 (03) • Jul-Sep 2016 • https://doi.org/10.1590/0104-530X2023-15 copy

What makes demand management in the supply chain possible? A multiple-case study of critical success factors

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Abstract

The objective of this study is to identify and analyze the critical success factors for improvement of demand management performance in the supply chain. This research adopted the multiple-case design, and the NVivo10 software was used to support content analysis. Forty interviews were conducted with senior executives of 27 companies including wholesalers, manufacturers, and retailers within the grocery sector. The following critical factors were identified: collaborative management (information sharing, planning and execution of joint actions, knowledge and resource sharing, and performance indicators), top management involvement, customer and supplier segmentation, information technology, and demand management adherence level. The results obtained can contribute to successful implementation of demand management process in the supply chain by providing a list of consolidated factors that can help professionals develop powerful strategies for effective demand management.

Keywords:
Demand management; Supply chain management; Critical success factors

Critical factors for the successful implementation of the demand management process in the supply chain	Literature
Integration and coordination between demand processes and supply processes.	Anning et al. (2013)Anning, K. S., Okyere, S., & Annan, J. (2013). Demand chain management model: a tool for stakeholders’ value creation. International Journal of Business and Social Research, 3(12), 37-47. Esper et al. (2010) Esper, T. L., Ellinger, A. E., Stank, T. P., Flint, D. J., & Moon, M. (2010). Demand and supply integration: a conceptual framework of value creation through knowledge management. Academy of Marketing Science, 38(1), 5-18.
Integration of strategic sub-processes and operational sub-processes with the supply chain management processes.	Croxton et al. (2008)Croxton, K. L., Lambert, D. M., García-Dastugue, S. J., & Rogers, D. S. (2008). The demand management process. In D. M. Lambert. Supply chain management: processes, partnerships, performance (pp. 87-104). Florida: Supply Chain Management Institute.
Demand generation, demand fulfillment, and coordination of these two processes through collaboration.	Hilletofth et al. (2009)Hilletofth, P., Ericsson, D., & Christopher, M. (2009). Demand chain management: a Swedish industrial case study. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 109(9), 1179-1196. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/02635570911002261. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/02635570911002...
Coordination among processes, configuration, and social interactions.	Juttner et al. (2007)Juttner, U., Christopher, M. & Baker, S. (2007). Demand chain management-integrating marketing and supply chain management. Industrial Marketing Management, 36, 377-391.
Information sharing, planning and execution of joint actions, inter- and intra-company interactions; performance indicators, top management involvement, customer and supplier segmentation, and information technology.	Melo & Alcântara (2015)Melo, D. C., & Alcântara, R. L. C. (2015). Um modelo da maturidade da gestão da demanda: um estudo multicaso na cadeia de suprimento de produtos de mercearia básica. Gestão & Produção, 22(1), 53-66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0104-530X0701-13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0104-530X0701-...
Coordination of marketing activities, demand planning, and demand forecasting management.	Mentzer & Moon (2005)Mentzer, J. T., & Moon, M. A. (2005). Sales forecasting management: a demand management approach. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Demand segmentation, demand forecasting, Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP), and level of adherence to demand management.	Rexhausen et al. (2012)Rexhausen, D., Pibernik, R., & Kaiser, G. (2012). Customer-facing supply chain practices—The impact of demand and distribution management on supply chain success. Journal of Operations Management, 30(4), 269-281. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jom.2012.02.001. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jom.2012.02....

Interview guide topics	Topic items
Company information and function/job title of the respondent	Location, size/revenue; market segment, and function/job title of the senior executive.
Demand planning	Areas and duties or responsibilities involved, data source used, sales forecast methods, intra- and inter-company interactions, top management involvement, information sharing, and information technology used.
Execution of the plan developed	Performance indicators, follow-up meetings, top management involvement, intra- and inter-company interactions, sales representatives/retailer training, inventory management, and information technology used.
Customer and supplier segmentation	Relationship with customers and/or suppliers.
Difficulties identified in the process	Problems and difficulties encountered with the use of the demand management process.

Companies studied	Number of companies	Number of interviews	Respondent job title
Manufacturers	13	17	Trade Marketing Manager Sales Manager Key Account Manager Demand Planning Director Trade Marketing & Merchandising Director Sales Director
Wholesalers	4	13	Purchasing Manager Logistics Planning Manager Procurement Manager Trade Marketing Manager President
Retailers	10	10	General Manager Owner
Total	27	40

Wholesaler	Number of items	Business segments	Area of operations	Does it have intercompany chain?	Sales Team
Wholesaler 1	16,000	Pharmacy, electronics and information technology, food, beverages, school and office supplies, toiletry and beauty products, cleaning products, housewares, building materials, and veterinary materials	Nationwide (all Brazilian States)	Yes	5,000 ISRs 975 sales staff members Telemarketing
Wholesaler 2	8,000	Food, beverages, school supplies, toiletry and beauty products, cleaning products, housewares, agricultural and hardware, and camping leisure products	9 Brazilian States (MG, ES, SP, RJ, BA, SE, GO, TO, PR) and DF	Yes	380 ISRs
Wholesaler 3	3,000	Pharmacy, food, beverages, toiletry and beauty products, cleaning products, housewares	9 Brazilian States (MG, ES, SP, RJ, BA, SE, GO, TO, PR)	No	500 ISRs Telemarketing
Wholesaler 4	2,800	Food, beverages, school and office supplies, toiletry and beauty products, and housewares	12 Brazilian States (MG, ES, SP, RJ, BA, MA, PI, PE, PA, AM, AP, GO) and DF	Yes	540 ISRs

Categories		References
Collaborative management	Information sharing	145
	Planning and execution of joint actions	394
	Knowledge and resource sharing	71
	Performance indicators	112
Top management involvement		109
Customer and supplier segmentation		145
Information technology		96
Demand management adherence level		89
Total number of codes		1,161

Critical factors for successful implementation of demand management process		Description
Collaborative management	Information sharing	-Information sharing occurs especially in the dyadic relationship between wholesalers and manufacturers. - Information sharing between wholesalers and retailers occurs when the retailer is part of a supermarket chain whose purchasing center belongs to the wholesaler.
	Planning and execution of joint actions	- Interaction between wholesalers and manufacturers for joint alignment of the company strategic guidelines; business plan development; and implementation and monitoring of the business plan. - Transactional relationships between wholesalers and the retail stores.
	Resource and knowledge sharing	- The development of the business plan between the wholesaler and the manufacturer involves financial investments, intended for the implementation of promotional campaigns, and non-financial investments, which include sharing retail market and product category knowledge.
	Performance indicators	- Information about gains, sales, distribution, order, inventory, delivery date, and product return.
Top management involvement		- Aligns expectations between companies. - Reinforces the commitment to carry out actions. - Gives the business plan a special significance. - Leads to flexibility and increased responsiveness to unexpected situations.
Customer and supplier segmentation		- Wholesalers and manufacturers segment their suppliers and customers, respectively, according to the importance of the company and product mix and profitability. - Wholesalers segment their retail customers into basic customers and those belonging to intercompany chains (those who have chains). - Retail stores do not segment their customers and suppliers.
Information technology		- Each company has, according to its size and needs, a robust information technology to generate information for demand management. - Only a minority of companies can share information in real time across internal and external teams.
Demand management adherence level		- Retail stores make short-term buying decisions based on prices. - Only a minority of retail stores hold periodic meetings with the wholesalers to discuss results and opportunities for improving the stores.

Universidade Federal de São Carlos Departamento de Engenharia de Produção , Caixa Postal 676 , 13.565-905 São Carlos SP Brazil, Tel.: +55 16 3351 8471 - São Carlos - SP - Brazil
E-mail: gp@dep.ufscar.br

Acompanhe os números deste periódico no seu leitor de RSS