Abstract Business competition is violent due to globalization and large-scale production. For the purpose of improving competition advantage, enterprises had integrated their business flow in Supply chain. Business move their competition advantages from firm base to supply chain base gradually.The flow of supply chain was redesigned not only considering of cost down by the way of collaboration ,also transfer Supply Chain Management to Demain Chain Management further. To respond the need from customer quickly and compete with the rival, market requirement pulling instead the material planning pushing. This article is a case study in stainless steel industry to interpret the requirement of inbound and outbound information in demand chain management. The main inbound information is market requirement forecasting that could planning the requirement from customer in order to process efficient supply and reduce cost in production. The information in outbound include sales¡Bmaking¡Bdelivery message to support customer know the situation of purchasing order well. Also,it can help customer do a good planning for resale or reprocess in B2B transaction. The research focus on three domains: 1.Industrial environment-including partnership¡Binformation intension, 2.Business management:including information level¡Binformation quality and source, 3.Information technology:including information infrastructure. After analysis the impact of the information sharing factors ,we found firm scale and business model influence the level of business information. While business collaboration in progress due to the considering of benefits and limitation of information infrastructure,the informations sharing couldn,t proceed efficiently,So, the information between two business couldn¡¦t integrated and no efficient business model was created. Business management model and IT ability determine the need¡Bwish and ability of demand chain information sharing. The content of information sharing in transaction should be distinct to find what measurement should be consider.Then we could recognize the necessity and benefit of information sharing ,and find solution to drive out the obstacle of information sharing.

The mail order business was once a traditional method of selling and distributing clothes, and other commodities, to customers. Now, the e-commerce trend, with more sophisticated techniques of marketing, selling, and distributing goods, has not only challenged the traditional mail order system, it seems also that the traditional retail chain and even fashion chains are being challenged. This change not only affects how sellers compete (be they long-distance or not), it has probably affected us as consumers - our requirements and how we purchase. This work contributes to this development through extensive empirical investigations into how and why customers return what they have previously ordered. The primary conclusions are that consumer requirements tend to vary, and therefore the standard solution of delivering goods to a vast variety of consumers without engaging in discussion about the individual customer service requirements (et cetera) is most probably the central cause behind the increasing return trends seen in the business. The purpose of this thesis is to identify and to characterise important factors causing returns. Further, to assist the development of Returns Management research, the intention is to develop a theoretical model of a Supply/Demand Chain returns system that incorporates an application of avoidance and gatekeeping in a distance sale context with the aim to improve overall systems performance. The research design used in the thesis was a case study performed at one of the largest mail order organisation in Sweden, with a long tradition in the business. The main data used in the thesis has been collected from interviews, a questionnaire, and secondary data exported from the case organisation. Sales and returns data covering approximately one year of sales and returns in the Swedish market was quantitatively analysed, and the results were regularly discussed and presented to key informants at the case organisation to substantiate authenticity and trustworthiness. The overall conclusion is that the distance-sales trade is affected by the trends that are seen in other areas, namely increased competition - not only from within the distance trade but also from the traditional retail trade. This is probably due to the ease of shopping via e-commerce, and the vast supply of products that even exceeds that of the retail chains. This attracts new customer groups with new demands and requirements. This, in many ways, is an archetypal difference between today’s e-commerce business and yesterday’s mail order business, and could explain why customers from the different channels behave and return differently. The use of the Internet affects how we purchase, and therefore the result of the purchase. It is quite likely that we are far more spontaneous when purchasing over the Internet in comparison with telephone and mail orders. Key words: Returns management, customer service, demand chain management, e-commerce, avoidance, gatekeeping

One big issue for the mail order business is how to avoid and manage returns. Oneapproach being taken is that consumer insight can result in better customer satisfaction andfewer returns. The fashion industry delivers more than just a function within the clothes;fashion, excitement, and customer service for example.It is believed that a part of demand chain management, consumer insight, can help toreduce the amount of returns. This thesis approaches this issue from a company point ofview. It is investigated how mail order businesses utilizes opportunities given byeCommerce, how the companies perceives their customers, and how well they are able totailor their services to different consumer groups.Online sales channels were reviewed in order to investigate how the company is perceivedand what kinds of efforts the companies go through in order to add value to the customers.These results were combined with interviews of three companies in the mail order businessand one company selling clothes in retail stores.The complexity of the customer and the silo mentality in many companies was the firsthurdle to emerge. It was hard to get in contact with the right person. The interviewsshowed both focus on products and focus of really understanding the customer. Thisshowed both in the rigid layout of the homepages and the lack of understanding thatcustomers might have different needs when it comes to value adding services. However,the interviewed companies had varying ways of defining their customer’s needs.It is evident after this thesis that a lot of work can be done in order to better understand thecustomers, for example investigating causes to returns and how differentiated servicesmight improve how the customers perceive the service. In order to succeed in a holisticapproach, cooperation between mail order companies might be required.

Purpose: This research aims to enhance the current understanding and knowledge of the demand-supply chain management (DSCM) concept by determining its elements, benefits, and requirements, as well as by analyzing key elements of the concept. Methodology: This research has utilized the case study strategy and the survey strategy, however, the case study strategy dominates. The case study research has involved five companies originating from Sweden and the collection of empirical data mainly from in-depth interviews with key persons representing senior and middle management. The survey research targeted the largest firms in Sweden and Finland and empirical data was collected through an online questionnaire. 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 competiveness, enhanced demand chain performance, as well as enhanced supply chain performance, while the main requirements of DSCM include organizational competences, company established principles, demand-supply chain collaboration, and information technology support. A key element of DSCM further investigated is differentiation focused supply chain design. It has been shown that these efforts can be organized into a process of five stages. In addition, it is important that this process is addressed in parallel with the new product development (NPD) process, that information is exchanged between them, and that they are directed on the basis of the same segmentation model. Another key element of DSCM further investigated is coordination between NPD and SCM. This research has identified several significant linkages between these management directions, which motivate the use of an integrative NPD process where the NPD functions are aligned with the main supply functions in the company and other sales-related functions supporting the commercialization. A final key element of DSCM further investigated is the significance of regarding the demand processes and the supply processes as being equally important. This research has revealed that logistics outsourcing can be risky, if it results in the supply processes being considered less important. Nevertheless, if senior management regards the outsourced processes as equally important as the in-house processes, the effect of logistics outsourcing on company strategies and direction in SCM could be reduced and logistics outsourcing could instead provide an opportunity to improve the design and differentiation of the supply chain. Research limitations/implications: This research has proposed, described, and further analyzed a demand-supply oriented management approach. Such a management approach stresses that the demand processes and the supply processes have to be coordinated and directed at an overlying level, in order to gain and sustain a competitive advantage in competitive and fragmented markets. This research is mainly explorative in nature, and more empirical data, from similar and other research settings, is needed to further validate the findings. Another limitation of the research is that it is essentially limited to Swedish companies (even if some Finnish companies are involved in the survey), however, many of the case companies have a large international presence and are among the top three in their industries, facts which provide some grounds for generalization. Practical implications: This research provides researchers and practitioners with insights into how to develop a demand-supply oriented business. It shows that companies should organize themselves around understanding how customer value is created and delivered, as well as how these processes and management directions can be coordinated. In order for this to occur, the demand and supply processes must be considered as being equally important and the firm needs to be managed jointly and in a coordinated manner by the demand- and supply-side of the company. It is also important that value creation is considered in both the demand and supply processes. Originality/value: Despite strong arguments from both researchers and practitioners for a demand-supply oriented management approach only a minority of companies appear to have effectively coordinated the demand and supply processes. This might be influenced by the lack of research examining how the demand and supply processes can be coordinated, what benefits can be gained by coordinating them, and what requirements are necessary to succeed. This research contributes by investigating these types of aspects further.

<p>Introduction</p><p>An increased globalization and competition has forced companies to change their view on the supply chain, from supply chain management to demand chain management.</p><p>The company Martela is experiencing an increased competition and a declining market. They have started a program for change in order to reclaim market shares. The goal of one of the sub-projects is to increase the customers’ confidence on Martela in order to increase customer satisfaction.</p><p>Purpose</p><p>The purpose of this study is to illustrate the strong significance of physical distribution on customer satisfaction.</p><p>Method</p><p>We have used a qualitative method. We have gathered information for this paper by means of discussions, interviews and data processing of delivery and sales. It has been an iterative process in which we have moved from empiric data to theory and then back, in order to analyze the result. A significant part of this paper are interpretations, in which the theory as well as our background had an influence in the analysis and the dis-cussion.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>Customer satisfaction plays an important role in order to compete in the office furniture market. One step towards making the customer satisfied is to have a satisfactory physi-cal distribution. The conditions for a good distribution and satisfied customers can be created by focusing on damage-free deliveries on time along with the relevant informa-tion.</p>

Introduction An increased globalization and competition has forced companies to change their view on the supply chain, from supply chain management to demand chain management. The company Martela is experiencing an increased competition and a declining market. They have started a program for change in order to reclaim market shares. The goal of one of the sub-projects is to increase the customers’ confidence on Martela in order to increase customer satisfaction. Purpose The purpose of this study is to illustrate the strong significance of physical distribution on customer satisfaction. Method We have used a qualitative method. We have gathered information for this paper by means of discussions, interviews and data processing of delivery and sales. It has been an iterative process in which we have moved from empiric data to theory and then back, in order to analyze the result. A significant part of this paper are interpretations, in which the theory as well as our background had an influence in the analysis and the dis-cussion. Conclusions Customer satisfaction plays an important role in order to compete in the office furniture market. One step towards making the customer satisfied is to have a satisfactory physi-cal distribution. The conditions for a good distribution and satisfied customers can be created by focusing on damage-free deliveries on time along with the relevant informa-tion.

The research topic of this study is market-specific supply chain strategy, and the research problem is defined as, how manufacturing companies can use the DWV3 classification system to evaluate the opportunity for a market-specific supply chain strategy. What has been written about the DWV3 classification system is somewhat general in its nature and the practitioner is left without detailed instructions on how to proceed with the analytical analysis. Key elements of the DWV3 classification system that is not explicitly described in the literature is (1) how to measure each of the classification variables, (2) how to define a suitable limit for each measure in order to classify the products and (3) how to reason when sequencing the classification variables in the clustering analysis. Hence, the purpose of this thesis is to make the DWV3 classification system more available to practitioners, and thus the aim is to illustrate how to tackle the key elements of the framework by applying it on the Atlas Copco Industrial Technique Business Area product portfolio. A single-case study design was chosen as a suitable research approach for this thesis. The application of the DWV3 system to the ITBA product portfolio was considered as the phenomenon under investigation, the case, of this study. Two sets of quantitative data were collected, demand data and product master data. The qualitative data collected was related to the ITBA supply chain set-up and the products as well as the customers’ responsiveness requirements for each assortment included in the study. All qualitative data was collected through interviews. The findings of this study are summarized in a number of conclusions that can serve as guidelines for practitioners that are about to apply the DWV3 system. These are (1) as far as possible use measures at the single product level, (2) use measures that express each classification variable in a way that is relevant to the matching of demand characteristics and supply chain strategy, (3) be prepared to redefine initial measures in order to describe the studied products’ characteristics in the best possible way, (4) develop measures that are based on available data or data that is feasible to attain, (5) adjust the number of codification levels to find the best trade-off between the level of detail in the cluster analysis and the number of populated segments, (6) alter the sequencing and repeat the cluster analysis to gain insight into the demand characteristics of the product portfolio, (7) the final sequencing of the classification variables must produce clusters that are relevant for the chosen production philosophy concepts.

需求鏈管理著重於達成客戶的需求，以滿足客戶需求為重心設計整個價值鏈。相對於需求鏈，供應鏈管理強調整個價值鏈中物流與製造流程的最佳化。普遍來說，著重客戶服務效能的價值鏈可採用”拉式”(pull)的方法設計，而強調低成本製造流程的價值鏈則可採用”推式”(push)方法。縱然顧客導向的重要性已在管理領域被普通的提及，顧客關係管理系統也被認為是企業轉型的關鍵驅動因子之一，但仍需要實際上的個案去證實組織如何利用客戶關係管理轉型成顧客導向的組織。 首先，本研究比較了供應鏈管理與客戶需求導向管理的不同，進而選擇若干個已由供應鏈管理成功轉型為需求鏈管理的個案加以探索。在本研究中提供三個個案，藉此探討企業轉型的驅動因子、組織變革，以及轉型後的組織流程，對於顧客關係管理系統如何幫助企業轉型也提供了初步的了解。 / Demand chain management (DCM) focuses on meeting customer needs rather than on optimization of the logistics and production system. More specifically, DCM stresses satisfying customer needs with the entire value chain from marketing, sales, research through production to delivery. Supply chains, in contrast, emphasize efficiencies in the production and logistics processes. A primary focus on customer service effectiveness could imply a chain with a “pull” approach, while a focus on cost savings in production could imply a “push” approach. Management wisdom has highlighted the importance of customer orientation, and a customer relationship management system has been one of the key enablers for business transformation. However, there is a need for empirical support on how organizations adopt and transform customer-centric practices. This study first compares existing knowledge about the supply chain management and customer demand-driven practice and then testes it in selected cases in which firms have transitioned from a supply chain focus to a customer demand focus. Using three case examples, the study presents triggers, organizational changes, and the resultant processes of the firm, and it provides a preliminary understanding of how a customer relationship management system can transform a firm’s products and services, value-generation processes, resource arrangements, responsibilities, and value propositions.

在現在競爭激烈的企業環境中，企業從過往以製造與低成本為競爭優勢的供應鏈管理，逐漸轉型為以顧客需求為核心之需求鏈管理，強調企業發展之策略重點需能符合顧客需求的趨勢。顧客心聲，是了解顧客需求的重要資訊。 企業客戶服務中心，能夠協助企業將顧客心聲中粹取出重要的顧客意見回饋，透過資訊轉化，傳達至企業內部功能單位，成為企業內部決策與管理改善之重要依據，讓顧客意見能夠參與企業的決策過程。本研究主要探討之內容為企業客戶服務中心之四大營運模式，包含「客戶服務中心」、「客戶關懷中心」、「行銷媒體回應中心」與「電話行銷中心」，分別收集的顧客心聲影響企業八大價值活動的深度與強度；企業八大價值活動包含「品牌認同」、「產品研發」、「製程與品管」、「行銷活動」、「通路管理」、「服務流程」、「營業收入」與「顧客經驗」。 本研究透過實務界三個研究個案的實證分析與歸納，有以下之研究發現： 一、 透過客服中心的四種營運模式，企業具體蒐集顧客心聲，轉化為對顧客需求之了解，進而針對消費者需求提供適合的產品或服務。 二、 透過客服中心所收集顧客心聲(Voice of Customer)，經過內部資訊傳遞，可驅動企業主要八大價值活動「品牌認同」、「產品研發」、「製程與品管」、「行銷活動」、「通路管理」、「服務流程」、「營業收入」、「顧客經驗」。 三、 本研究推論當企業可採取不同的客服中心營運模式以協助企業達到不同的策略目標。 本研究之結論如下： 一、 企業客服中心，可以收集重要顧客資訊，並透過跨部門之資訊交流與管理，轉化為重要策略之參考依據，影響企業需求鏈管理的八大價值活動。 二、 企業客服中心可以協助企業驅動需求鏈管理之「了解顧客需求」(Understand Demand)、「管理顧客需求」(Manage Demand)與「創造顧客需求」(Create Demand)。 / In the more and more eager competition business environment, enterprises’s competences are transformed from supply-chain management to demand chain management. Customer-oriented is an important policy and reference for enterprises to determine development strategy. Customer contact center could collect most customer data and information which could facilitate company extract important customer insight and opinions from them. There are four operation models of customer service center, which includes”Customer service center”、”Customer care center ”、”Marketing response center”、”Telemarketing Center”. The objective of the research is want to find out how the customer insight collected from these four operation center interactive the eight major company value activities. The research is analyzed and investigated through 3 real cases, and we have the research finding as following, I. Through four models of customer contact center, enterprises could collect customer insight and transform them into the understanding of customer demand and modify the business strategy accordingly. II. The voice of customer collected from customer contact center could facilitate the eight major company value activities. III. The finding of the research inferred that the four models of customer contact center could help enterprises achieve different strategic objectives accordingly. Key word：Call Center、Demand Chain Management、Customer Insight、Customer Service

Este trabalho faz uma análise das práticas de gerenciamento da demanda no Brasil. O gerenciamento da cadeia de demanda é uma extensão do gerenciamento da cadeia de abastecimento e combina as forças de marketing com as competências de supply chain, incluindo as funções de planejar, comunicar, influenciar, priorizar e prever a demanda. O sucesso de uma empresa depende do gerenciamento da demanda como parte estratégica para direcionar as decisões do presente em direção a uma posição competitiva no futuro. O objetivo geral deste trabalho é realizar uma análise das práticas de gerenciamento da demanda no Brasil, com objetivos específicos de revisar a literatura, entender os princípios de previsão, conhecer os principais indicadores de desempenho e conhecer o modus-operandi do gerenciamento da demanda no Brasil. Quanto à classificação deste trabalho, é uma pesquisa survey com abordagem quali-quantitativa, nível de investigação aplicado e foco exploratório. Os dados foram coletados exclusivamente pela internet e o endereço da pesquisa ficou disponível na rede entre os dias 23 de janeiro de 2012 e 02 de abril de 2012, neste intervalo 50 pessoas responderam ao questionário. Entre os principais resultados a pesquisa mostrou que: (1) as empresas são capazes de acompanhar o processo de gerenciamento da demanda em 92% dos casos; (2) a técnica mais importante no processo de gerenciamento da demanda é a previsão estatística (63%); (3) a maior pressão que dirige o processo de gerenciamento da demanda é melhorar a receita (58%); (4) a principal ação estratégica para melhorar o processo de gerenciamento da demanda é aperfeiçoar as previsões (72%). Este estudo é relevante porque mostra o gerenciamento da demanda como módulo de acesso e link estratégico entre os sistemas de controle e planejamento da produção e o mercado, local onde ocorre a comunicação com os clientes seja para dar informações de promessas de entrega, confirmação ou alteração de pedidos. / This paper makes an analysis of demand management practices in Brazil. The demand chain management is an extension of the supply chain management and combines the marketing forces with supply chain capabilities, including functions to plan, communicate, influence, prioritize and forecast demand. The success of an organization depends on the demand management as a strategic process to direct the present decisions toward a competitive future position. The overall goal of this work is to perform an analysis of demand management practices in Brazil, with specific objectives in the literature review, understanding the principles of forecasting, key performance indicators and know the modus-operandi of demand management in Brazil. Regarding the classification of this work, it is a survey research approach with qualitative and quantitative level of applied research and exploratory focus. Data were collected exclusively by internet and the survey address was available online between the 23th January 2012 and 2 April 2012, in this range 50 people responded to the questionnaire. Among the key findings, the survey showed that: (1) companies are able to track the demand management process in 92% of cases; (2) the most important technique in demand management process is statistical forecast (63%); (3) the highest pressure to drive demand management process is to improve revenue (58%); (4) the main strategic action to improve demand management process is to improve forecast (72%). This study is relevant because it shows the demand management module as a strategic link between access and control systems and production planning and marketing, where communication occurs with customers either to give information delivery promises, confirm or change applications.