Customer service strategy options: A multiple case study in a B2B setting

Wouters, J.P.M.

doi:10.1016/j.indmarman.2003.12.003

Cited by 27 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…A number of competitive capabilities for manufacturers have been identified in the literature; for example, low price, design flexibility, volume flexibility, conformance (consistent quality), performance and after-sales service (Frambach, Wels-Lips, and Gundlach 1997;Frohlich and Dixon 2001;Miller and Roth 1994;Wouters 2004). According to Porter (1998) (Porter 1998).…”

Section: Manufacturers' Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Reconceptualization of Manufacturers' Service Strategies

Raddats

Kowalkowski

2014

Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing

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Section: Manufacturers' Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Reconceptualization of Manufacturers' Service Strategies

Raddats

Kowalkowski

2014

Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing

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“…The aim of services delivered by industrial companies is to expand the product portfolio. General strategic options include the improvement of logistical precision of product delivery, customer integration in customising the product offered, customer adaptation of product features and standardised customer service (Wouters, 2004).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interfunctional Coordination of Customer Services Provided by Manufacturers

Tomášková

Kaňovská

2016

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Interfunctional coordination (IFC) aims to develop cooperation between the different departments within a company. Services offered by companies improve customer orientation of a company and increase customer satisfaction. IFC and customer orientation are the main parts of market orientation. Market orientation is one of many possible ways of improving companies' business performance and competitiveness. The aim of this paper is to describe the main findings of the research, which was focused on the relationship between IFC and the extension of services provided by manufacturers. Manufacturers of electronic components and electrical equipment based in the Czech Republic were among the participants of the research. These two industries are extremely important for today's Czech economy, especially as many companies become subcontractors for the automobile industry and the mechanical engineering industry. A Likert scale questionnaire was prepared to gather information about IFC and services. The respondents were mainly directors or managers, i.e. employees with highlevel competence and knowledge of IFC and services in this particular market. A total of 60 SMEs were included in the survey. The data was collected between February and November 2014. The Spearman's rank correlation test was performed to verify the relationship between IFC and services. The main findings show the following: (1) There is a significant relationship between IFC and the development of new products and services aligned to customer needs; (2) There is a somewhat significant relationship between IFC and the quality of products and services provided in manufacturing; (3) No significant relationship exists between IFC and special services offered to VIP customers.

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“…Profitability comes from products that meet customer's satisfaction and provide customer services. Zhao et al (2008) pointed out customers' satisfaction as a factor of this practice, while Wouters (2004) and Cho et al (2012) dealt with issues regarding customer service before and after sales.…”

Section: Bpmj 216mentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards the identification of important strategic priorities of the supply chain network

Tsironis

Matthopoulos

2015

Business Process Management Journal

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Purpose -Supply chain (SC) is a homogeneous and interconnected network of firms which manages supplies, storages and handles material, information, personnel, equipment and final products throughout its length. The SC can be the means by which businesses add value to customers and therefore competitive advantage in the international market. Competitiveness no longer exists among individual members of a SC but between SCs. International literature pointed out, that strategy and competitiveness associated with specific strategic priorities. In this paper will be documented that the priorities as objectives of strategic importance comprise the key areas for the performance of the SC network. To support this, a systematic framework of strategic priorities, will be developed, which will visualize the major SC assessment areas that the SC network should turn its improvement efforts. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach -In total, 200 high level managers from 71 Greek manufacturing companies covering the whole country using their own SC networks took part in the study. Data analysis were conducted to create a model that describes the strategic priorities which are important, for the competitive advantage of their SC network. Findings -The results revealed seven critical strategic priorities: internal flexibility, production quality, waste reduction, customer focus, sustainability, reduction of production cost and efficiency. This paper analytically explores the strategic practices that seem to influence SC network performance and generates a systematic framework of the critical strategic priorities of the SC network performance. Practical implications -The proposed framework has six major advantages. First the research outcome enables managers to design their SC strategy. Second, proved the great importance of the strategic priorities institutionalization. Third, makes clear to stakeholders which are the SC network performance issues to consider. Fourth, the proposed framework could serve as a suitable formula for assessing the effectiveness and readiness of SC to face the competition. Fifth, it is an effective way of prioritizing the strategic practices as it provides the most important areas on which the firm can base tasks like evaluation, benchmarking and comparison of its SC both as a network and as individual firms. Finally, the proposed framework is an effective way to evaluate the consistency of strategic objectives and actions adopted for the SC. Originality/value -Literature review revealed a very important conclusion. It has been developed a broad discussion concerning issues on strategic practices which are responsible for the competitive advantage of the SC network. However, there has not been a significant effort on integrating all the practices under the spectrum of the SC in order to distinguish the most important of these practices that can lead to competitive advantages.

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Customer service strategy options: A multiple case study in a B2B setting

Cited by 27 publications

References 25 publications

A Reconceptualization of Manufacturers' Service Strategies

A Reconceptualization of Manufacturers' Service Strategies

Interfunctional Coordination of Customer Services Provided by Manufacturers

Towards the identification of important strategic priorities of the supply chain network

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