Högskolan i Skövde

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to enhance the current understanding and knowledge of the demand-supply chain management (DSCM) concept by determining its elements, benefits, and requirements, and by illustrating its occurrence in practice.

Design/methodology/approach – This research has utilized a literature and case study research strategy. The case study has involved an international manufacturing company from the appliance industry. Empirical data have been collected mainly from in-depth interviews with key persons representing senior and middle management in the case organization.

Findings – This research has established that the main elements of DSCM include market orientation, coordination of the demand and supply processes, viewing the demand and supply processes as being equally important, as well as value creation, differentiation, innovativeness, responsiveness, and cost efficiency in the demand and supply processes. It has also been revealed that the main benefits of DSCM include enhanced competitiveness, enhanced demand chain performance, and enhanced supply chain performance, while the main requirements of DSCM include organizational competences, company-established principles, demand-supply chain collaboration, and information technology support.

Research limitations/implications – This research is explorative in nature, and more empirical data, from similar and other research settings, are needed to further validate the findings. Another limitation of the research is that it is limited to one Swedish company; however, the involved case company has a large international presence and is among the top three in its industry, which provides some ground for the generalization. A final limitation of the research is that the involved company only represents one industry.

Practical implications – This paper provides insights useful to researchers and practitioners on how to develop a demand-supply oriented business. It highlights that firms should organize themselves around understanding how customer value is created and delivered and how these processes and management directions can be coordinated. The demand and supply processes have to be considered as equally important and the firm needs to be managed by the demand side and supply side of the company jointly in a coordinated manner.

Originality/value – The need to coordinate the demand and supply processes has been emphasized in both the demand and supply chain literature but still remained relatively unexplored; thus, this paper contributes by investigating this matter further.