Benefits of aligning design and supply chain management

Supply Chain Management (SCM) is a cohort of tools and techniques supporting effective management of operations (logistics and production activities) along the whole supply chain. Demand Management (DM) is now a multifaceted discipline with tools and techniques that are used to align design with corporate strategy, manage quality and consistency of design outcomes across businesses, create new user experiences and differentiate organizations products and services against competitors. In this scoping paper, we argue that the role of a design and supply chain manager is distinctive but interconnected within front-end product-focussed manufacturing activities. It is at this stage that we believe DM and SCM should be better aligned in order to help firms to be more successful in their efforts to identify new product opportunities. This paper discusses the research findings from the review of five companies to help better understand current practices, identify emerging problems associated with the misalignment of DM and SCM, and to gain insights on the tangible benefits of better integration of DM and SCM within front-end activities. The paper concludes by establishing a clear and focussed future research territory informed by the case study findings.