The main topic of this thesis is to study the connection between Service Supply Chain Management (SSCM) and Customer Satisfaction (CS). The study is based on the factors of SSCM for receiving CS and its implementation.One of the major contributions to the connection between SSCM and CS has been the awareness to flexibly and efficiently manage logistics and deliver to the end user in time and at the same to achieve an increased brand image/reputation for the company. SSCM is an essential part of a company's inventory management and it's supply chain. On the other hand, CS is an integral part of a business as making consumers content and meeting their requirements is crucial for a business' survival. SSCM and CS are inextricably linked.In this thesis, Walmart has been used as the case for the authors to carry out the research. Because of the unique feature of the Chinese retail market, the Chinese retail market has been also discussed as the business background of Walmart. The first-hand data has been offered from interview by E-mail and social website to the staff of Walmart and 90 feedbacks of questionnaire. The literature review and qualitative analysis have been used to analyze the case for research. The importance of SSCM in dealing with CS and its implementation has been explored in this thesis.

Abstract Information integration – sharing of pertinent information between supply chain members – is vital to cope with the uncertainty and complexity embedded in service supply chains. The aim of this study is to understand the meaning, constituents, extent, and development means of information integration in service supply chain context. The research approach is abductive, emphasising the constant interplay between theory development and empirical observations. Analysis on a single case supply chain consisting of two types of maintenance service providers and a large steel manufacturer as the focal company is provided. A comprehensive conceptual framework for analysing and developing information integration in service supply chain is presented and applied in the case supply chain. Extent of integration is described through three levels of integration. Six information integration elements are used to define the levels: processes and activities, information technology use, information attributes, information sharing practices, collaborative foundation, and time-related issues. Service/market characteristics and supply chain relationship characteristics are deployed in explaining the differences in levels of integration. Depending on the level of integration, the performance effects sought and achieved through developing information integration range from operational to strategic level. Adopting a more structured approach to information integration in the case supply chain is suggested to address development areas in information sharing and improve performance. This can be implemented through a shared centralised maintenance information system, common procedures for information sharing, and commitment of supply chain actors. The framework in this study offers guidelines for choosing the appropriate level of integration in a service supply chain dyad. It shows that the special characteristics of service context can be deployed in designing and managing service supply chains. Service providers should be integrated to the supply chain just like other supply chain members, as it contributes to the supply chain performance. Differentiating the level of integration in service supply chain dyads within a supply chain based on the contextual setting is recommended. This study paves the way for better understanding and control of service supply chain links and contributes to the scarce empirical research on service supply chains.

In this study, I have developed the theoretical concept Service Bullwhip Effect (SBWE) by examining it within the professional services context through a single case study at a Swedish consultancy firm. The research questions that have been guiding the study are the following: F1. How does the service bullwhip effect differ in professional service firms compared with other service firms? F2. How can the service bullwhip effect be mitigated within professional service firms? The purpose of the study is thus to contribute to the research area of Service Supply Chain Management, and its theoretical concept SBWE. I do this by studying the SBWE within the context of professional service firms (PSF), and analyze how it differentiate itself from other service firms, and how it can be mitigated within this context. The methodology used have been a combination of data sources that were collected in the form of primary qualitative data, and secondary quantitative data from the service supply chain of a consultancy firm. My findings indicate that a SBWE exists to some extent within the professional services context. Its presence, however, was limited due to the inherent characteristics of PSFs. From this I put forward the following three propositions: H1. The service bullwhip effect exists to some extent within professional service firms, and primarily in the form of a negative effect due to a work underdelegation. H2. Shortage gaming does not exist within the professional services context due to the close relation these firms have with its customers. H3. Batch ordering exists within professional service firms in the form of project clusters. Furthermore, managerial recommendations are also provided on how to mitigate the SBWE within the PSFs. My findings points towards a reduced emphasis on the individual utilization rate for the more senior consultants within the firm. Instead, I see that a larger emphasis should be put on the economic performance of projects when evaluating consultants that are project leaders. Research implications & limitations - As a single case, the research achieves a significant depth within the studied consultancy context, but have a limited generalizability. Therefore, the developed propositions will need to be tested within other types of PSFs, and thus with different sets of characteristics. / I denna studie har jag byggt vidare på teorier kopplade till Service Bullwhip Effect (SBWE) genom att undersöka konceptet inom den kunskapsintensiva tjänstesektorn. Detta har jag gjort genom en fallstudie på analys- och teknikkonsultföretaget WSP i form av en kvalitativ och kvantitativ datainsamling. Den insamlade empirin jämfördes med resultat från tidigare studier för att analysera huruvida SBWE existerar inom kunskapsintensiva tjänsteverksamheter, och hur denna effekt i så fall skiljer sig från andra tjänsteverksamheter. Utifrån analysen har jag fört en diskussion med koppling till de forskningsfrågor som styrt studien: F1. Hur skiljer sig Service Bullwhip Effect inom kunskapsintensiv tjänsteverksamhet jämfört med andra tjänsteverksamheter? F2. Hur kan Service Bullwhip Effect hanteras inom en kunskapsintensiv tjänsteverksamhet? Studiens slutsatser utifrån den första forskningsfrågan (F1) pekar bland annat på att en SBWE existerar till viss del inom kunskapsintensiva tjänsteföretag. Dock inte i samma utsträckning som inom icke kunskapsintensiva tjänsteverksamheter. Dessa slutsatser summeras i form av tre nya hypoteser: H1. The Service Bullwhip Effect existerar till viss del inom kunskapsintensiv tjänsteverksamhet, och främst i form av en negativ effekt på grund av en underdelegation av arbetsuppgifter. H2. Shortage Gaming existerar inte inom kunskapsintensiv tjänsteverksamhet på grund av den nära relationen med kunderna. H3. Batch ordering existerar inom kunskapsintensiv tjänsteverksamhet i form av uppdragskluster. De dragna slutsatserna konfirmerar därmed teorierna inom området samtidigt som branschspecifika adapteringar av teorin föreslås utifrån de särskilda förhållandena som råder inom den kunskapsintensiva tjänstesektorn. Dessa slutsatser har dock en låg generaliserbarhet och validitet då jag i denna studie undersökt ett specifikt fall, och därmed presenterar jag mina slutsatser i form av hypoteser som kräver testning genom ytterligare studier. Slutligen ger jag ledningsmässiga rekommendationer utifrån den andra forskningsfrågan (F2). Dessa rekommendationer har sitt fokus på hur SBWE kan motverkas utifrån det specifika fallet inom konsultföretaget, och hur en rådande underdelegation kan bearbetas av verksamhetens ledning. För att motverka SBWE, och en underdelegation av arbetsuppgifter, så rekommenderar jag bland annat att seniorkonsulterna utvärderas med en låg prioritet utifrån deras beläggningsgradskrav, och med hög prioritet utifrån deras ansvar över uppdragsekonomin.

This research aims to contribute to the theoretical knowledgebase about supply chains in service companies and lean implementation in this area. The focus of the study is testing the feasibility of order review and release systems application, which proved to be effective in “leaning” the flow of manufacturing companies, to the service supply chain. The influence of one of the main characteristics of services – processing times variability and preciseness in estimating the required processing times, is studied. The research is purely theoretical and was conducted with the help of simulation modeling. The model of the service supply chain was developed based on the literature review and statistical distributions as an input data were used. Two kinds of order review and release systems are considered: upper-bound limited workload and lean-based balanced workload model. Their impact on the performance of the service supply chain is described and compared to the results of the model with immediate release. The findings show that order review and release systems can perform well even in the conditions of unknown exact processing times and thus can be applied to services as well as they are applied in manufacturing. The application of order review and release systems will help to eliminate waste within the service supply chain, make it more flexible and thus increase added value to the customers.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine those factors perceived by users to influence the successful on-going use of e-commerce systems in business-to-business (B2B) buying and selling transactions through examination of the views of individuals acting in both purchasing and selling roles within the UK National Health Service (NHS) pharmaceutical supply chain. Design/methodology/approach Literature from the fields of operations and supply chain management (SCM) and information systems (IS) is used to determine candidate factors that might influence the success of the use of e¿commerce. A questionnaire based on these is used for primary data collection in the UK NHS pharmaceutical supply chain. Factor analysis is used to analyse the data. Findings The paper yields five composite factors that are perceived by users to influence successful e-commerce use. "System quality," "information quality," "management and use," "world wide web - assurance and empathy," and "trust" are proposed as potential critical success factors. Of these, all respondents ranked information quality, system quality, and trust as being of most importance, but differences in the rankings between purchasing and selling respondents are evident. Research limitations/implications The empirical study is limited to a single supply network, and although the findings seem intuitively to be of relevance to other sectors and supply contexts, there remains an opportunity to test this through further research. There is also an opportunity to extend the survey research, particularly into the wholesaler organisations that operate in the sector of study. Practical implications The managerial implications that result from this research provide practical guidance to organisations in this sector on how to ensure that e¿commerce systems for B2B buying and selling are used successfully. Originality/value This paper furthers knowledge and understanding in the fields of operations management, IS, and SCM, by suggesting potential determinants of successful e¿commerce use in both buying and selling organisations within supply networks.