Purpose – Increasingly, customer relationship management (CRM) is being viewed as a strategic, process‐oriented, cross‐functional, value‐creating for buyer and seller, and a means of achieving superior financial performance. However, there is a need for a more holistic view of...

The International Physical Distribution Environment Involvement in international markets requires an awareness of the variables — both controllable and uncontrollable — which impact on a firm's distribution network. Political, legal, social and economic conditions, market structure and...

Inventory carrying costs comprise a number of different cost components and generally represent one of the highest costs in the physical distribution system. This, combined with the fact that inventory levels are influenced by the configuration of the logistics system, demonstrates the need for...

Inventory carrying costs represent one of the highest costs of distribution. Although they are a necessary input to the design of logistical systems, such costs are ignored by many companies and when they are used usually represent estimates or industry benchmarks. The authors present a...

For more than two decades, industrial leaders in many countries, especially the trading nations such as the United States and Canada, have recognised the significant contribution that physical distribution can make toward the total corporate mission. In many companies formal departments have...

Presents a fourth generation language computer simulation model which was developed for a major US manufacturing company. Suggests that marketing and logistics managers can benefit from business planning models that simulate the financial impact of their decisions. To be effective, models must...

Evidence suggests that the recent interest in competitive strategy and competitive positioning, while good in itself, has resulted in the management of many firms placing too much emphasis on competitive performance and too little emphasis on customer expectations. This research in the chemical...

Customer service represents a significant opportunity for segmenting markets. This article reviews the importance of customer service and the conceptual issues associated with segmenting industrial markets on the basis of customer service. A methodology is presented which can be used by managers...

Inventory control problems often result in record and physical count discrepancies which may ultimately lead to higher than preferred inventory levels. Conversely, accurate inventory records result in lower inventory investment and are the foundation for forecasting, ordering, tracking, vendor...