Demand-supply balancing in manufacturing operations

Abstract

Purpose

Demand-supply balancing (DSB) strategies and approaches are becoming increasingly important for manufacturing and operations. The purpose of this paper is to analyze practices of manufacturing companies and how they balance demand/supply in operations.

Design/methodology/approach

Questionnaire-based interview has been conducted at 20 largest companies having manufacturing/operations in Finland.

Findings

Supply chain structure, flexibility, demand management, capacity management, inventory management and revenue management are perceived as key practices for DSB.

Research limitations/implications

The results show importance of supply chain-related parameters such as supply chain flexibility and inventory management in addition to production planning and control. The study is delimited to Finland companies but it gives an idea how decision making in operations generally can be perceived.

Practical implications

DSB actions should be connected to operations strategy and long-term planning of the company.

Originality/value

DSB is a strategic-level operations question which has an impact on several functions of supply chain.

Citation

Coker, J. and Helo, P. (2016), "Demand-supply balancing in manufacturing operations", Benchmarking: An International Journal, Vol. 23 No. 3, pp. 564-583. https://doi.org/10.1108/BIJ-04-2014-0028