The dynamics of customer dissatisfaction in supply chains

This paper describes field research and its findings that investigate the relationship of a firm's position in the supply chain to behaviour. Specifically, perceptions of requirements, performance and customer satisfaction/dissatisfaction are the behavioural issues of interest here. The field research was carried out in four European supply chains in the automotive aftermarket, or spares industry. It was proven statistically and qualitatively that, in the chains studied, upstream relationships contained more customer dissatisfaction and more misperceptions about performance than did downstream relationships. Delivery performance was identified as the major cause of these problems, This has implications for planning and control. First, the Forrester-type swings in information upstream, proven in industrial dynamics, make planning and control decisions more difficult; this research identifies the detrimental effect of this on customer satisfaction. Secondly, measurement of delivery performance is identified as being a critical issue; not only should measures be made in planning and control but also they should be communicated and agreed with customers to prevent misperceptions occurring. As this research showed these misperceptions to be positively correlated to customer dissatisfaction, efTort to remove them from relationships should be treated as a priority.