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The purpose of this paper is to propose demand‐supply chain representation as a tool to support economic organizing between original equipment manufacturers going downstream and customers considering how to better outsource maintenance and asset management.

This paper is a presentation of a representation tool using a design theory template.

The concept of demand visibility point and requirements penetration point can be used to describe different ways of economic organizing as interaction between demand and supply. The proposed representation scheme supports the identification of visibility‐based changes in economic organization, such as vendor‐managed inventory and reliability‐based maintenance services.

The paper is conceptual and requires further empirical work.

The representation tool can be used both by practitioners engaged in outsourcing maintenance and practitioners involved in the development of industrial service offerings.

The paper introduces demand‐supply chain representation to development of industrial service offerings and outsourcing of maintenance activities.

This study investigated what should be the major research and development areas regarding the logistics of electronic business. The method of study consisted of five elements: the creation of a preliminary e‐logistics vision; focus interviews of e‐business and logistics experts, identification and categorisation of the key R&D topics, a panel workshop to critically analyse the preliminary findings and prioritise the R&D topics, and formulation of a research agenda to guide future research work in the field of e‐business logistics. The two‐phased process, where the interviews were followed by the workshop, enabled the evaluation and prioritisation of the preliminary findings. The requirements of e‐business on the national logistics infrastructure were found to be one of the focus research areas. According to the study, integrated supply network structure with suitable visibility and usage of real‐time data transfer is another area of great importance. Research and development of new logistics service concepts should also be promoted as well as research on the effects and possibilities of using new product data management and product identification methods.

To provide empirical evidence of benefits from IT in supply chain management.

Data in this qualitative study were collected through multiple enquiries. SCM consultant interviews gave an understanding of the current state of practice. A survey of 48 progressive companies was conducted to identify what IT solutions they have implemented in SCM. This was followed by 18 in‐depth case studies to identify the mechanisms for achieving benefits of IT in SCM.

Based on the empirical studies five propositions are presented on the use and benefits of IT. First, successful companies have developed focused e‐business solutions for improving customer service elements that are most important in their business. Second, improved efficiency allows company personnel to focus more on critical business activities. Third, the use of e‐business solutions improves information quality. Fourth, e‐business solutions support planning collaboration and improved agility of the supply network. Finally, to gain strategic benefits, the use of IT has to be coupled with process redesign.

The sample of companies used in the study was selected by expert assessment and is biased towards companies willing to discuss and share results openly. Additionally, the focus of the paper was on single companies and not on the entire supply network. However, the findings of this study present an opportunity to further develop understanding of the underlying mechanisms of how IT investments benefit supply chain management.

The paper fulfils an identified need for in‐depth case studies that analyze the possible mechanisms behind the practical benefits of IT in supply chain management.

The purpose of this study is to develop a service logic oriented framework for business model development. “Service logic” covers the basic principles of the three contemporary customer value focused business logics: service-dominant logic, service logic and customer-dominant logic.

This study is based on an empirical qualitative research and deployed the focus group method. The data are generated in a series of interactive co-creative focus group workshops involving both practitioners and academics.

As the outcome, a new tool was developed, called Service Logic Business Model Canvas. The new canvas is a modified version of the original Business Model Canvas (Osterwalder and Pigneur, 2010).

This study adopts service logic in business model thinking and increases knowledge on how to keep the customer needs in the centre of business model development.

The developed canvas makes the theory of service-dominant logic tangible and easily applicable in practice. It enables service innovation truly based on customer value by ensuring that the customer is in the centre of all the elements of a business model. It can function both as a rapid prototype of a new business model and as a communication tool that quickly illustrates the company’s current business model. It can also help in creating a customer-centred business culture. It is designed to be applied to each customer profile separately, thus enabling a deeper understanding of the customer logic of each relevant profile.

Earlier business model frameworks tend to be provider-centric and goods-dominant, and require further development and adaptation to service logic. This study adopts service logic in business model thinking. It embeds the true and deep customer understanding and customer value in each element of the business model, and contributes to both business model and service-dominant logic literature.