Purpose

Supply Chain Management (SCM) has for the past decades been a central concept for logistics research. The importance of effectively managing supply chains has further increased by global supply chain complexity, shifts in customer demands and needs, a focus on sustainability, and mitigation strategies and responses to supply chain disruptions.Integration and collaboration in the supply chain and having a customer focus are two central characteristics of SCM. By truly understanding customers, i.e. having a customer orientation, combined with supply chain integration capabilities, the full potential of supply chain management could be released. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to suggest a conceptual framework by identifying the dimensions of customer orientation and exploring the relation between customer orientation and integration in supply chains.

Research Approach

The paper builds on a systematic literature review. Combinations of the keywords customer orientation, supply chain, logistics, integration, and collaboration were used. The initial search identified 518 potential articles. Exclusion criterias limited the sample to 107 articles, being read in full. The final 28 applicable articles were analysed in order to define dimensions of customer orientation, as well as their relations to supply chain integration.

Findings and Originality

The overall findings of the paper is a conceptual framework for how customer orientation is related to supply chain integration. The analysis revealed a set of three customer orientation dimensions: (i) The prerequisites for customer orientation, in terms of strategy and culture; (ii) The means of understanding the customer, in terms of generation and dissemination of information; and (iii) The actions based on having a customer understanding, in terms of responsive and proactive actions. Each dimension relates to supply chain integration in a bi-directional way. Independent of its starting point, a synergetic interplay between customer orientation and integration is proposed.

Research Impact

This research takes a holistic view on the use of the concept of customer orientation in SCM and supply chain integration literature. While SCM research has predominantly concerned customer service-oriented measures and aims, this study builds a more thorough framework, especially addressing the important relations between customer orientation and integration in supply chain management.

Practical Impact

The results from the paper can provide supply chain managers with a deeper understanding of customer orientation and provide guidance to how supply chain integration can be approached and supported by this understanding. In the light of recent supply chain challenges, this is of utmost importance for supply chain managers.