Integration of Supply Chain Management and Marketing - Case Study of a Swedish Fashion Retailer

Abstract

The objective of the company is to provide customer value as maximum as possible hence to accomplish profits. To fulfilling superior customer value creation, the literature states that it is important for firms to meet their integration of supply chain management and marketing. This integration is more needed by the fashion companies as their challenges facing in terms of time-to-market, shorter product life cycles, high product variety and fluctuation in demand. This paper aims to develop a deeper understanding of integration between supply chain management and marketing by investigating how it has been performed in a Swedish fashion retailer, and with a more specific focus in understanding what the integration level of the fashion retailer Lindex is differed to a successful firm Zara. In order to fulfill the purpose, this study adopts a deductive approach that conclusions are drawn with the literature review in mind. This thesis is a single case study that used both primary data and secondary data. The collection of secondary data comprises of scientific articles, annual reports, and companies’ official homepages. Primary data gathered through qualitative interviews with one case company. Finally, the results illustrate that Lindex is failed in their integration of supply chain management and marketing, their practical performance is not in line with the knowledge gained from the literature, which in turn present a lower integration level than Zara. This study suggests that if Lindex focuses on the stated linkages and succeed with them, they ought to achieve optimal integration level hence to gain better performance and moreover enhance the customer value creation.