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Article in International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management April 2007
DOI: 10.1108/09600030710742434 Source: OAI
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Achieving
Achieving consumer focus consumer focus
in supply chains in supply chains
Keivan Zokaei and Peter Hines
Cardiff Business School, Lean Enterprise Research Centre, Cardiff, UK 223
Abstract
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Purpose Supply chain performance is two-dimensional: efficiency and effectiveness. The purpose
of this paper is to further define and explore the demarcation between supply chain effectiveness and
supply chain efficiency.
Design/methodology/approach A case-study research method is adopted in this paper. This
contribution discusses an approach for the improvement of supply chain effectiveness, i.e. Supply
Chain Kano-QFD.
Findings A case-study of the fast moving consumer goods sector is provided which shows how the
proposed Supply Chain Kano-QFD technique can be deployed to engage the capabilities and
enthusiasm of the firms along the chain to enhance the value of the final consumable.
Practical implications Supply Chain Kano-QFD is an integrative method which helps drive
effectiveness by focusing on how the various supply chain members might jointly develop innovative
solutions to create unique, individualized sources of consumer value.
Originality/value A review of the existing supply chain literature shows that there is generally a
strong focus on efficiency improvements while little attention is given to enhancing the effectiveness of
the supply chain offer. The supply chain management literature, however, should evolve to address
relevant methods for achieving consumer focus in the context of the supply chain, i.e. supply chain
effectiveness.
Keywords Supply chain management, Quality function deployment, Consumers, Customer orientation,
Fast moving consumer goods
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Today, for many leading authorities, supply chain management (SCM) is emerging into
consumer driven value chain management which, in addition to pursuing efficiency
improvements, recognizes the importance of consumer needs and attempts to capture
the subtleties of consumer value as a source of differentiation and supply chain
competitiveness (Godsell and Harrison, 2002; Christopher, 2005; Womack and Jones,
2005). In this situation, not only the product, but also the entire chain of business
activities from raw material through to the final point of consumption should be
effectively managed continuously to deliver the end-consumers value requirements.
Therefore, it will be a distinct advantage if one supply chain succeeds in effectively
capturing the genuine consumer attributes, systematically analyzing the value
proposition at each step, identifying the misalignments with the consumer value and
duly transforming the products and processes (such as the product features and supply
chain activities/relationships) to deliver those requirements. International Journal of Physical
Distribution & Logistics Management
Vol. 37 No. 3, 2007
The authors would like to acknowledge and thank Ms Kate Bailey for her contributions towards pp. 223-247
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
this work. The authors also wish to acknowledge the anonymous reviewers of this paper for their 0960-0035
constructive comments. DOI 10.1108/09600030710742434
IJPDLM The literature review below shows that there is an over-emphasis with supply chain
efficiency improvements (e.g. time compression, cost cutting and quality improvement)
37,3 and an underplaying of the innovative supply chain factors which enhance the
consumer value. Despite much theoretical discussion around improvement of supply
chain competitiveness through delivering enhanced consumer value, there is little
empirical research on how, in the context of the supply chain, value proposition can be
224 enhanced and aligned. As a result, certainly outside of the marketing literature, there is
a dearth of tools and techniques that academics and practitioners can use to create ever
more effective value chains. However, nearly, a decade ago, in an article in this journal,
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37,3
chain
226
Table I.
IJPDLM
frequently cited
Some of the most
conceptions of supply
Proposed delineation for supply chain, SCM or
Contributor(s) related constructs Key features of the definition
Forrester (1959) Company (and supply chain) will come to be Forrester shows the importance of the
recognized not as a collection of separate functions interrelationships between company functions and
but as a system in which the flows of information, between the company and its network. Forrester
materials, manpower, capital equipment, and emphasizes that the dynamics of relationships
money setup forces that determine the basic between the flows of information and materials
tendencies towards growth, fluctuation, and should be studied and standard management
decline methods should be extracted from such studies
Houlihan (1985, p. 26) The supply chain is viewed (and managed) as a Argues that, traditional logistics and materials
single process . . . supply is a shared objective of management approaches, which sought trade-offs
every function in the chain . . . SCM calls for a among various conflicting key functional objectives
different perspective on inventories which are used of purchasing, production, distribution and sales,
as balancing mechanism of last, not first, resort. . . does not work very well any longer. It is needed to
A new approach to systems is required adopt a new approach: SCM
integration rather than interfacing
Jones and Riley (1985, p. 19) SCM deals with the planning and control of total Key to managing a supply chain efficiently is to
flow of materials from suppliers through end-users plan and control the inventories and activities as an
integrated single entity
Porter (1985, p. 38) Proposes the value chain model and subsequently The value system model is probably, today,
the value system model as means of analysis of recognized as value stream map. The value system
intra/inter firm competitiveness. The value chain model disaggregates the supply chain into
and value system Models are process-based views strategically relevant processes in order to
of the firm and its supply chain: every firm/supply understand the sources of competitive advantage. It
chain is a collection of value activities (processes) emphasizes the importance of the linkages of
performed to create a product valuable to buyers processes along the chain
Stevens (1989) The objective of managing the supply chain is to Stevens (1989) proposes a structured framework for
synchronize the requirements of customer with the developing an integrated supply chain strategy
flow of materials from suppliers in order to effect a which is even applicable to todays supply chains.
balance between what are often seen as conflicting This framework has three stages, identifying the
goals off high customer service, low inventory customer needs, diagnosing supply chain
management, and low unit costs opportunities and developing an action plan for
implementation
(continued)
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Christopher (1992, p. 5) SCM is the management of upstream and Argues that the industry is entering an era of
downstream relationships with suppliers and supply chain competition as opposed to single firm
customers to deliver superior customer value at less competition, i.e. individual firms cannot compete in
cost to the supply chain as a whole isolation anymore
Towill et al. (1992) A supply chain is a system, the constituent parts Focus on supply chain efficiency and information
of which include material suppliers, production flows. Proposes that the efficiency of the system
facilities, distribution services and customers can be improved through free exchange of
linked together via the feed-forward flow of information concerning true market demand
materials and the feedback flow of information
Cooper and Ellram (1993, p. 13) A supply chain is an integrated business process, Stipulates a set of characteristics for SCM, i.e.
from the end-user through different tiers of coordination across the chain, long-term
suppliers to the raw material producer. SCM is An orientation, joint reduction of channel inventories,
integrative philosophy to manage the total flow of apresence of a channel leader, long-term sharing of
distribution from the supplier to the ultimate userthe risks and rewards, compatibility of the
corporate philosophies, and channel-wide approach
to cost efficiencies
Hewitt (1994, p. 4) Hewitt contends that SCM approach is sharply Successful SCM depends on the recognition and
distinct from the conventional logistics management of three critical dimensions in the
management. Hewitt regards this level of logistical chain:
evolution as integrated intra-company and (1) physical flow (work activity);
inter-company supply chain management (2) information flow; and
(3) decision/authority flow
La Londe and Masters (1994, pp. 37-8) SCM involves expanding the integrated logistics The authors refer to the strategy of applying
concept beyond the corporate borders of the firm to integrated logistics to all elements of a supply chain
include the logistics operations of the vendors and as supply chain management
customers
Cooper et al. (1997, p. 2) SCM is the integration of business processes from The authors argue that a new understanding of
end-user through original suppliers that provides SCM is emerging re-conceptualizing SCM as a
products, services and information that add value notion broader than logistics embracing all
for customers (p. 2) business processes cutting across all organizations
within the supply chain
(continued)
Achieving
in supply chains
consumer focus
227
Table I.
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37,3
228
Table I.
IJPDLM
Council of Logistics Management (CLM) SCM is the systemic, strategic coordination of the CLM distinguishes SCM from logistics
(1998) traditional business functions and the tactics across management and acknowledges that logistics is
these business functions within a particular one of the aspects of SCM
company and across businesses within the supply
chain for the purposes of improving the long-term
performance of the individual companies and the
supply chain
Mentzer et al. (2001, p. 15) SCM is concerned with improving both efficiency Mentzer et al. (2001) distinguish between SCM
(i.e. cost reduction) and effectiveness (i.e. customer philosophy and implementation. The view that
service) in a strategic context (i.e. creating customer companies across the chain constitute a potentially
value and satisfaction through integrated SCM) to coordinated entity is branded as supply chain
obtain competitive advantage that ultimately orientation. Subsequently, SCM is defined as the
brings profitability implementation of this understanding
Gibson, et al. (2005, p. 22) In essence Supply Chain Management integrates This contribution reports on the results of a Council
supply and demand management within and across of SCM Professionals survey of its members
companies definition of SCM
Source: Authors
chain with enhancement of the consumer value (Mentzer et al., 2001; Porter, 1985; Achieving
Hewitt, 1994; Christopher, 2005), however, do not show how this can be delivered consumer focus
through better SCM.
This paper looks at the evolution of SCM literature and highlights a gap for in supply chains
enhancement of the consumer value in the context of the supply chain. The following
identifies an emerging trend in SCM; an increasing emphasis on the delivery of
superior consumer value and leveraging the supply chain as a source of differentiation. 229
Yet, there is a dearth of literature explaining how consumer value can be enhanced in
the context of the supply chain.
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Equilibrium line
Figure 1. Under-performing
Two-dimensional supply System
chain performance
model supply chain S.C. Efficiency
effectiveness vs supply (Waste Reduction / Measure: Process Performance)
chain efficiency
Source: Hines et al. (2004)
methods to deliver superior value to their end-buyers. In fact, some have argued that Achieving
the primary aim of Toyota Production System has been to improve consumer consumer focus
satisfaction and service levels rather than cutting costs (Rich, 1999). Similarly, Tescos
core purpose is to create value for customers to earn their life-time loyalty; for Tesco in supply chains
(2006) profit is only a lag indicator of success. It is the intention of this paper to broaden
the scope of consumer value in the context of supply chain from logistical criteria (e.g.
on-time/in-full deliveries) to that of other processes. To illustrate this we will focus on 231
few marketing and NPD techniques, by way of example. The basic instances of supply
chain ineffectiveness are the activities which are unnecessary from the consumers
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Methodology
A theory framework was discussed in the literature review suggesting that supply
chain improvement is two-dimensional: effectiveness and efficiency. The literature
review showed that the existing supply chain literatures are primarily focused on
efficiency improvements. The lack of attention to supply chain effectiveness is clearly
shown by the research in the UK FMCG sector (Table II). The literature review and the
background research layout the need for a rigorous effectiveness improvement
technique to realign the supply chain with the consumer value. That is, leveraging
innovation and enthusiasm along the whole chain to deliver difficult to imitate
consumer value and to exceed the explicit needs of the end-users.
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37,3
232
Table II.
IJPDLM
UK food industry
consumer needs in the
chain activities and the
Misalignment of supply
Chain Concern Cause Counter measure
1. Red meat Although focus groups continuously revised Lack of communication and Boneless loin was listed as an option
characteristics of the final products and satisfaction of transparency in the supply chain. for the end-consumers. The canteens
the end consumers, the products specifications (spec Confusion around product are expected to gradually move
communicated with the suppliers) were not reviewed specification as it pertains to away from the wasteful bone-in
since established in 1962. For example, the Bone-in Loin consumer satisfaction product allowing the de-listing
product mapped during the study, needed to be trimmed
at the canteen. Not only the bone added no value to the
end-consumer, but also created unnecessary economic
and environmental waste, too. Moreover, there was a
small value to the bone at the processor
Pork chops were reassembled into the shape of a loin at Lack of communication and No reforming of the loin at the
the processor. Historically, there were reasons for transparency in the supply chain supplier
reforming, including preserving meat for longer periods
of storage. This was no more necessary from the
consumer point of view. There was a 0.5 percent saving
on consumer price by eliminating the reassembly
process
2. Dairy The final product was fresh milk from a local farmer to a Lack of communication and Kano model and supply chain QFD
local outlet. Although local sourcing was potentially a transparency in the supply chain. techniques were applied. A supply
commercial advantage for the chain, the product did not The consumer valued local products chain continuous improvement team
bear a local brand and this potential was not and the retailer was aware of the was established to market and
communicated to the consumers importance of a regional brand emphasize the local supply base
image. On the other hand, the
processor/bottler was aware of the
local production base. However,
neither sides of the chain were aware
of the other side of the equation
(continued)
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3. Cereals The farmers choice of wheat (variety) and husbandry Lack of communication and Improve communication. Improve
largely influence the final products quality (e.g. bread). transparency in the supply chain farmers awareness of the market
The farmer, however, does not have a clear trends and the immediate consumer
understanding of the requirements of the end-users or needs
shoppers. The specifications used by the farmer are
driven by wheat merchants and ultimately by the
millers; but hardly relate to the end-users needs or even
bakers requirements. Grain merchants, millers and
bakers have no means of communicating the right
variety of wheat for future drill
4. Fresh produce In this fruits supply chain, the consumers were not the Confusion in identifying the Further investigation to be carried
arbiter of value. Value was determined and consumer and the consumer value. out by the public organization
communicated to the supply chain by a public The two end-customers of this
organization that sponsors delivery of fruits; consumer supply chain are the general public
value is seen as long-term public health through improved (improving the long-term public
dietary. The public organization has NOT gathered health) and the final consumers in
focus group information to determine what the actual the catering locations. Needs of both
consumers like in their daily portion of fruit. On the customers should be taken into
surface this may sound OK. However, since only 74 account
percent of the fruits delivered were consumed (while the
supply chain aims to deliver 99.9 percent on-time in-full
into the public organization canteens spread across
England) the preference of the consumers is very
relevant to the overall success of the supply chain as
well as the future public health
5. Cereals The grain breeder has to wait up to five years to get Lack of communication of the Underway
national recommendation accreditation status from the customer and consumer needs along
authorities. Farmers treat the national recommended list the chain
as a bible for choosing varieties. However, the same list
is only an aide memoire for the millers buying different
varieties
Source: Authors
Achieving
in supply chains
consumer focus
233
Table II.
IJPDLM The choice of research methodology is dependent upon the set of research questions
37,3 under consideration and the state of knowledge development (Pettigrew, 1990).
Following Ahlstrom and Karlsson (2000) in deciding the most appropriate approach,
consideration was made of:
.
The focus, which was the process of improving a given supply chain based on
creating value effectively for the end consumer.
234 . The fact that the study concerned change and adoption of new understanding of
consumer needs, it was best to study this as it happened in their natural field
settings (Van de Ven and Poole, 1995).
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As the approach is new it was felt best to gain a deep understanding of what was
happening by using it; it was necessary to take a significant amount of time in field
research. As such it was only possible to study a single supply chain case where it was
felt that the change process would be likely to be transparently observable (Eisenhardt,
1989). This choice, however, does limit the ability to generalize from this research.
In order to gain an appropriate level of research access, the choice was made of the
clinical methodology where researchers take an active role in and study the change
(Stymne, 1970).
A case study research methodology is adopted in this paper focusing on the UK
dairy industry. This approach is useful to research phenomena in their real-life context
and to answer why and how questions (Yin, 2003). The following case-study
demonstrates how the supply chain improvement team came-up with a solution for
enhancing consumer satisfaction with no real cost or alterations to the actual product.
The case-study explains how and why deployment of the Kano-QFD technique
enhances supply chain effectiveness.
constructed with a specific focus on the time data (Rother and Shook, 1998). The
team walked the whole supply chain and collected the necessary information
over a period of three months. The key units of analysis in this exercise were
time, delivery and quality. The team looked at operations and logistics
efficiency measures such as demand amplification, on-time/in-full delivery
performance, lead-time and defective parts per million units of production.
Financial data were not collected to ensure maximum buy-in from all
participant companies.
(3) Evaluation of the current state against the consumer value and suggestions for
the future state of the supply chain. The team worked towards gaining a clear
understanding and categorization of the consumer needs. Mapping of the
end-to-end supply chain and collection of the current state data (Stage 2)
required four fieldwork days, while identification of the consumer value was
carried out in a one-day workshop. Having gained a clear understanding of the
consumer needs, the team compared and contrasted the current state activities
against consumer value to identify the potential improvement opportunities
towards a more effective future state for the whole value chain and the
individual firms. Gaining a thorough understanding of the consumer
value enabled the team members to connect their role in the chain with the
ultimate satisfaction of the consumers. Table III illustrates the key
improvement opportunities identified during the project. Clearly these issues
were partly identified as a result of the detailed efficiency mappings (Stage 2);
and partly were exposed after the team connected the supply chain activities
with the true requirements of the consumers (Stage 3).
(4) In the final stage of the project, an action plan was developed to take the supply
chain from the current state to the future state based on the immediacy of the
actions, the size of the prize, availability of change resources and the relevance
of the identified improvement opportunities to consumer satisfaction.
As explained in the above, the deployed value chain analysis and improvement
approach is two fold. On one hand, the team analyzed the efficiency of the supply
chain, using quality, time and delivery measures, to identify improvement
opportunities such as time reduction and transport improvements. On the other
hand, the team focused on understanding the consumer requirements to find-out how
better SCM can contribute to delivery of superior consumer value (i.e. more effective
supply chain). This paper focuses on the latter area of the identified opportunities to
consumer satisfaction and a technique for supply chain effectiveness improvement.
IJPDLM
No. Improvement opportunity Description
37,3
1 Promotion of local fresh milk and local The consumers were concerned whether the
branding strategy products were locally supplied. However, the
supply chain was not communicating the fact
that the product is 100 percent locally sourced
236 and processed
2 Improve ordering system between the It was possible to reduce the lead-time between
convenient store and the dairy firm to raise the two companies by up to 24 hours. The
efficiency and to reduce the replenishment time analysis also showed that the dairy firm needed
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medium-size firms and had limited resources on their own to commit to carry-out
sophisticated market research. However, when the supply chain joined forces, and with
some help from the academic facilitators, it was possible to establish a supply chain
continuous improvement office and to look at the consumer needs. In the first step, the
team looked at market information provided by a third-party market research
company to gain the basic understanding of the shopping patterns and preferences of
the consumers. Then the team applied the Kano model of consumer value to capture
and categorize the consumers requirements (Kano et al., 1984). The Kano model
(Figure 2) shows the relationship between consumer satisfaction and the performance
of products or services. The Kano model provides an effective categorizing of the
consumer value into three distinct dimensions: attractive value elements,
one-dimensional attributes and must-be attributes (Matzler and Hinterhubur, 1998).
Figure 2 shows the teams view of which attributes contribute to consumer satisfaction.
Must-be attributes. These are the basic criteria for consumer satisfaction. These
value elements or hygiene factors are taken for granted by the consumer. When these
Satisfaction One-dimensional
attributes
Low Food Miles
Speed of in-store
Local Origin transaction
Ease of identification
Attractive value elements
(delighters) More than 3 days shelf life
Correctly chilled
Atleast 2-3 days
shelf-life
No Leakage
Figure 2.
Dissatisfaction Safety Right taste and odor The Kano model of
consumer value
Feature Absent Feature Fulfilled
IJPDLM needs are not fulfilled the consumers are extremely dissatisfied; however, excelling in
37,3 fulfillment of these elements can only result in a state of not dissatisfied and nothing
more. For example, in this case, the consumers took it for granted that the milk should
have the right color and taste, a minimum of 2-3 days shelf-life, no leakage and to be
safe to consume. Any defect in any of these aspects meant extremely dissatisfied
consumers.
238 One-dimensional attributes. The one-dimensional requirements are generally
explicitly expressed by the customers. They result in consumers satisfaction when
fulfilled and dissatisfaction when missing with the higher the level of fulfillment the
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higher consumers satisfaction. For example, in the studied chain, availability in the
right size and the right fat-content, speed of the transaction in store, ease of
identification from other fat-content products and other brands, and more than three
days shelf-life were recognized as the one-dimensional value elements.
Attractive value elements. The value attributes under this dimension of the Kano
model, are neither explicitly demanded nor expected by the customer but are latent.
Their absence does not cause dissatisfaction since the consumers are not aware of
them; however, strong fulfillment in this dimension delights the consumers resulting in
more than proportional satisfaction as shown in Figure 2. The team highlighted two
possible delight factors: the local brand and low-food miles as an environmental factor.
The product was locally sourced and, naturally, traveled relatively fewer miles
compared to the competitors products. The consumers, also, highly valued the fact
that the product was sourced from a local farm.
It must be mentioned that the limitation of this stage of the study was that the team
had no direct contact with the end consumers; this categorization was entirely based on
market research information and the experience of the retail and marketing teams in
the respective firms.
8
Correlation of
the S.C. attributes
3
Supply chain attributes
(improvement opportunities)
1 2 6 7
Satisfaction of value element
Competitorsperformance
Kano category (A, O, M)
4
Consumer Supply chain Relations
value metrics matrix
Relevant
metrics
37,3
240
Table IV.
IJPDLM
in delivering the
consumer requirements
Role of the supply chain
Can SC
Consumer value Kano category influence? Supply chain objective Supply chain metric
Low food miles Attractive Yes Reduce total transport miles Total food miles
Local sourcing Attractive Yes Total SC traceability Changes in supply chain market share
Speed of in-store transaction One-dimension No Good store operations and housekeeping In-store housekeeping score
Ease of identification One-dimension Yes Good store housekeeping (e.g. In-store housekeeping score
presentation)
More than three days shelf-life One-dimension Yes Reduce end-to-end lead-time Supply chain lead-time
Available in right size and fat One-dimension Yes React quickly to changes in demand OSA per line
content (flexible production and transport)
Effective ordering system across the On-time/in-full delivery performances in
whole chain the chain
Right price Must-be Yes Cost effective production, transport and Average ppl farm costs
farming Equipment efficiency and utilization at
processor (overall equipment effectiveness
measure)
Right first time quality at the processor
Farm quality indicator
Transport efficiency measures at
distribution
Correctly chilled Must-be Yes Not break the chilled chain Customer complaints (ppm)
At least 2-3 days shelf-life Must-be Yes Reduce end-to-end lead-time Customer complaints (ppm)
Supply chain lead-time
No leakage Must-be Yes Improve quality at the processor (every Customer complaints (ppm)
time with no variation)
Handling practices in the chain
Product safety Must-be Yes Correct quality at processor (every time Customer complaints (ppm)
with no variation)
Not break the chilled chain
Right taste and odor Must-be Yes Correct quality at farm and processor Customer complaints (ppm)
Table IV, two metrics are set against availability in right size and fat-content, i.e. Achieving
on-shelf-availability (OSA) and on-time/in-full delivery along the chain. The reason is consumer focus
that the combination of the two measures works better in terms of pointing to root
causes of out-of-stock situations. in supply chains
The next step in the Supply Chain Kano-QFD approach is to build a relationship
matrix between the supply chain metrics, which were set against the consumer value,
and the supply chain improvement opportunities as already identified in Table III. The 241
resultant matrix (Figure 4) would demonstrate the relevance of the improvement
projects in terms of consumer satisfaction. The existing supply chain improvement
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methods often fail to acknowledge the need for such comparison. Therefore, plenty of
supply chain improvement projects remain limited to efficiency gains and fail to realize
the true potentials of the supply chain in terms of creating individualized sources of
consumer satisfaction. Figure 4 shows the relationship matrix as suggested for the
studied chain. The team excluded one of the attractive consumer value elements (i.e.
low-food miles) in Figure 4. The team decided that very sophisticated environmental
branding was outside the remit of the work and a strong local brand could convey the
positive messages the consumers require. However, the authors recommend that direct
involvement of the shoppers is needed at this stage to select the right value attributes
for the SC Kano-QFD model to ensure no effectiveness opportunities are missed.
Projects
Transport
S.C. Metrics Kano Promotion Ordering Farm Production efficiency
categories of local milk system KPIs efficiency measures
be taken in obtaining the consensus view of the supply chain panel to make sure the
final rankings represent team consensus. Since, the same panel of supply chain experts
will implement the improvement opportunities, the consensus-based approach ensures
due consideration at the implementation stage.
Then, the numerical values in the relationships matrix are given an importance
weighted according to the respective Kano category. In Figure 4, the
attractive attributes are multiplied by 4, one-dimensional by 1 and the must-be
attributes are multiplied by 0.5 which biases the relationship towards the attractive
value elements considerably. The cumulative ratings, at the bottom of Figure 4, clearly
show the relative importance of the improvement opportunities in terms of impact on
consumer satisfaction and the priority implementation.
Based on this ranking, the supply chain team is able to make informed decisions
regarding the future action plan. In the studied supply chain, the action plan reflected
and directly followed on from the rankings in Figure 4, i.e. re-branding of milk as the
top priority project and so on. It was decided to implement the improvements through a
supply chain continuous improvement office (supply chain Kaizen). However, it should
be noticed that the other factors which need to be taken into account when putting
together the action plan are ease of implementation and availability of resources.
These parameters can, also be taken into account in the Kano-QFD method, in the form
of additional weightings. In this case, none of the five projects in the action plan
required heavy investment. The action plan should clearly identify the team members
involved and responsible for the execution of each project. On this chain, two senior
managers, from the dairy firm and the retail store, were assigned as the owners of the
re-branding project with the whole team involved in the delivery of the project.
There are other theoretical features in the presented Kano-QFD model (Figure 3)
which were not deployed during the project (i.e. Sections 6, 7 and 8 in Figure 3). It is
proposed that future work should cover these areas. Feature 6 in Figure 3, shows the
cumulative satisfaction of each value element. If any aspects of the consumer value are
rated low (or zero) in Section 6, the improvement team needs to investigate whether
superior sources of consumer value can be developed to deliver better consumer
satisfaction, in the context of the supply chain. Feature 7, shows the performance of
direct competitors in terms of satisfying the value attribute. It is argued that the supply
chain should at least match the performance of the key competitors. The values in
Section 7 should come from the consumers and not the supply chain group. Feature 8,
highlights the potential correlations between supply chain improvement opportunities.
For example, a low-inventory strategy may lower the prices while having a potential
negative impact on availability. The correlation analysis is particularly useful for the
future action plan.
Conclusions and recommendations for future research Achieving
The existing body of literature on supply chain improvement is largely focused on the consumer focus
mapping and analysis of efficiency constraints. This paper put forward a systematic
and structured process for improvement of supply chain effectiveness, i.e. alignment in supply chains
and enhancement of the consumer value through capturing the capabilities and
enthusiasm of all supply chain participants. This approach draws upon an existing
techniques in NPD, i.e. Kano-QFD (Matzler and Hinterhuber, 1998), and builds on the 243
supply chain improvement (Stevens, 1989; Womack and Jones, 1996; Zokaei and
Simons, 2006b) and value stream mapping (Hines and Rich, 1997; Rother and Shook,
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1998) body of literature. This technique is best implemented when deployed by a panel
of experts from across the supply chain. It is proposed that the team should first
walk the end-to-end supply chain to identify all waste elimination opportunities
including the activities misaligned with the consumer requirements (Womack and
Jones, 1996). The Supply Chain Kano-QFD technique can then be deployed to identify
opportunities for value enhancement and superior consumer satisfaction.
The conventional value chain improvement methodologies lack the rigor for
improving effectiveness of the supply chains. The proposed technique will allow the
improvement team to make informed decisions taking into account supply chain
effectiveness as well as supply chain efficiency. For example, in the presented
case-study the opportunity for a new local milk brand was revealed only when the
team applied the technique. The Kano model enabled the team to gain an insight into
the consumer delighters (e.g. the local brand). Moreover, the end-to-end mapping
allowed the team to connect all aspects of the supply chain together and revealed that
the product was 100 percent locally sourced which matched the consumer needs.
Finally, the Supply Chain Kano-QFD method translated the consumer requirements
into supply chain improvement projects and showed their relative impact on consumer
fulfillment.
The proposed method can be further adapted in design of new supply chains;
further work is underway in this area.
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