Abstracts Category : Other

Getting down to brass tacks: Is your organization really aligned?

by Kristoph Ullrich

Simply operating more efficient, cost-effective supply chains is not enough to gain a sustainable competitive advantage. Instead, a companys ability to respond quickly to changes in demand or supply without stockpiling unnecessary inventory must be complemented by cost efficiency. In addition to efficient operations, this requires the careful alignment of supply chain and operations management (SCOM) with the organizations demand-side functions. Although firms have worked for over 35 years on the issue of aligning sales and marketing with their operational supply processes, to date the minority jointly considers demand- and supply-side aspects in their decision-making. This leads to a frequent mismatch between demand and supply. The most crucial factors responsible for managers failure to jointly consider demand- and supply-side aspects in their decision-making are: (i) most of the previous research addresses SCOM and sales/marketing topics in isolation, thus leaving managers unaware of many of the organizational dynamics that emerge from the interconnection between business processes across and beyond functional silos, (ii) the empirical evidence regarding the bottom-line implications of demand-supply mismatches is scarce, causing managers to underestimate the benefits associated with integrated sales, marketing, and operations planning, and (iii) even if managers strive for a better-aligned organization, there is very little concrete help available to them. Each of the chapters included in this dissertation addresses at least one of the factors listed above and taken together, the information they contain can help managers to sustainably reduce demand and supply mismatches, while making several implications for theory as well.Advisors/Committee Members: Teunter, Ruud, Transchel, S., Kremer, M, Donk, van, Dirk Pieter, Voigt, G..