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.

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.