A strategic framework for integrating marketing and supply chain strategies

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review and structure the literature on the integration between marketing and supply chain management (SCM) and to contribute to the body of knowledge by developing a framework for integrating marketing and supply chain strategies. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws its insights and conclusions from a review of the literature in both fields, marketing and SCM, followed by an interaction research approach which helped to refine and validate the theory‐derived framework from the perspective of practitioners. Findings – In the existing body of literature on marketing and SCM integration, three perspectives can be differentiated: the interfunctional perspective, the process perspective and the perspective of integrated business concepts. The proposed framework builds on these perspectives and moves them onto a strategic level. Integrating marketing and supply chain strategies involves the management of four integration levels: corporate integration; strategic customer integration; strategic supplier integration and marketing and supply pipeline strategy integration. Practical implications – The proposed framework points managers at the managerial issues of marketing and supply chain strategy integration and illustrates the need for an interaction approach which challenges the traditional view of marketing in the demand creation and SCM in the demand fulfilment role. Originality/value – Marketing and SCM integration is a topic which has received considerable interest in both fields for the last 30 years. Despite the notion that a close integration can contribute to the company and even supply chain success, no contribution to date addresses the integration from a strategy perspective. This paper leverages existing knowledge and advances our understanding of the strategic integration issues companies are facing in today's supply chain network‐based competition.