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Document delivery bridges the gap between where the customer is and where the document is. Libraries have to offer user‐friendly access to hybrid collections, and design and implement document delivery mechanisms from paper originals to provide a seamless integration between delivery from electronic and paper articles. Apart from improved service, a document delivery service provider could benefit internally from rationalising and automating the logistics of the delivery process. This article analyses the document delivery process, starting by defining five requirements for document delivery. By looking at document delivery from both the customer’s and the organisation’s perspective, the real needs of the customer are defined. From a basic distinction between the “search and find” function and the “order and receive” functions, the internal logistics of document delivery are analysed. The DocUTrans document delivery concept and system as used in Delft show how its implementation improves the whole system. The analysis itself can be highly beneficial.

Flexibility is one enabler of efficient use of resources and is therefore an antecedent to sustainability. The purpose of this article is to identify supplier flexibility variables in, and related to, the order-to-delivery (OTD) process and categorize them into a framework, followed by empirically exploring the framework.

A perception-based survey was sent to Swedish purchasing managers. 289 responses were received. After descriptive gap analysis, exploratory factor analysis was applied to structure the responses into factors. This formed the basis for hierarchical linear regression analysis, explaining supplier flexibility.

A conceptual framework, specifying supplier flexibility into volume, delivery and information exchange dimensions and relating these dimensions to the OTD process, was developed. Significant negative gaps between actual and demanded volume flexibility and delivery flexibility were identified, while positive gaps were found for information exchange flexibility. The factor analysis revealed three factors. The regression analysis verified that OTD-related information exchange flexibility and OTD-related volume and delivery flexibility explain the variation in OTD-specific flexibility and are important antecedents for supplier flexibility in the OTD process.

A contribution to research is the framework – with defined, related and empirically validated flexibility types.

The study proposes a perception-based way to capture supplier flexibility in the OTD process, which is of practical relevance when evaluating suppliers.

Identifying, conceptualizing and capturing types of supplier flexibility in the OTD process is new related to academic literature. Also the wide empirical study mapping supplier flexibility gaps is unique in its focus.

This paper presents a two‐dimensional model of service process that is linked to customer encounter satisfaction and is modified by a customer’s perceptual filters, including brand image and customer mood. The first dimension is comprised of fixed (structural) descriptors, while the second dimension consists of variable (situational) descriptors. The proposed model delineates eight descriptors in each dimension. Their origin in the services marketing literature is explained. The model suggests that service process and a customer’s perceptual filters both have a direct influence on encounter satisfaction. The utility and limitations of the proposed model are discussed.

The aim of this paper is to explore and empirically investigate the characteristics and contingencies of service delivery system design.

Informed by the service strategy triad, a single embedded case study was designed to explore empirical data on four target markets, four service concepts, and on the design characteristics of the corresponding four service delivery systems. Data were collected in a market‐leading organisation in the business‐to‐business sector within the power industry. The service delivery systems comprise processes that sell electricity contracts and processes that bill against those contracts.

First, the findings indicate what design characteristics are contingent upon the degree of customisation of the service concept. The authors show how this contingency has implications for the extents of employee skills, employee discretion, task routineness, automation, and for front office (FO)‐back office (BO) configurations. Second, the authors challenge the consensus that low customer‐contact processes are designed for the purpose of efficiency. Third, the findings contradict Metters and Vargas who state that it is not possible to have different FO‐BO configurations in a single organisation.

While there are major interactions between the four service delivery systems supporting each individual service concept, this paper does not examine the trade‐offs between the various possible designs of these service delivery systems.

The paper emphasises the importance of considering the complexity of the service offering, the customer relationship strategy, and of taking a process‐orientation to address service delivery system design.

This paper extends current understanding of service delivery system design characteristics and contingencies. The authors show how design characteristics are contingent on the service concept. Research propositions are formulated to emphasise this contingency. Additionally, we report findings which challenge existing FO‐BO design theory.

The purpose of this study is to develop a framework of strategies to achieving customer order flexibility in and related to the order-to-delivery (OTD) process. The purpose is also to investigate how companies prioritize various strategies to achieve customer order flexibility.

Based on a literature review, pre-tests and conceptual reasoning, a conceptual framework of strategies related to the order-to-delivery process was developed. The strategies were linked to the order quantity and delivery lead-time flexibility dimensions. This structure resulted in six groups covering enabling as well as remedial strategies. An empirical interview study of ten customer–supplier relationships was conducted.

The interviews identified additional strategies, thereby expanding the framework. The enabling strategies with the highest median values were “have continuous contact with the customer's purchaser” and “use safety stock of raw materials/semi-finished products”. The remedial strategy with the highest median was “re-plan/re-prioritize the order backlog”. In the delivery sub-process, it was more common to apply remedial strategies for delivery lead-time than for order quantities.

The developed framework is a contribution to the literature on operational flexibility in and related to the OTD process. It complements existing knowledge by taking a supplier perspective.

Suppliers can use the framework as a tool to understand and systematically achieve better customer order flexibility in and related to the OTD process. Customers can use the framework as a checklist for supplier evaluation and supplier development.

Few identified studies include empirical data on customer order flexibility.

The objective of this work is to empirically investigate the design of a service delivery system that supports the provision of modular service logistics offerings.

An in-depth single-case study relying on interview data and extensive documentary evidence is carried out in the business-to-business (B2B) logistics sector. Three main analytical techniques are used to make sense of the qualitative data: thematic analysis, process mapping and the application of modular operators.

A modular service delivery system comprises three types of processes that collectively deliver modular offerings. The platform consists of core processes that enable the collection, transport and delivery of physical items for all offerings (modular and non-modular). Dedicated modular processes are mandatory and exclusive to individual modular offerings. Optional modular processes are shared across several modular offerings. Interfaces regulate physical (e.g. parcels or parts) and information (e.g. booking data) inputs provided by the customer in order to control the interdependencies within these different process types.

The identification of three process types and their interdependencies provides detailed insights into how managers can design modular logistics services that benefit from economies of scale and meet increasingly variable customer requirements. The importance of well-designed interfaces among the customers, the service offering and the service delivery system is highlighted.

This study extends previous modularity studies in service logistics. It is the first study to apply modular operators to determine the presence of modularity in the service delivery system and to establish the role of different process types in enabling modularity in the service delivery system.

This paper seeks to present an in‐depth case study on the adoption of IT by a fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) company. The objective is to describe an approach to benchmark the performance with and without IT use in its business process.

The unique approach ties together the concepts of generic business model, business process re‐engineering and gap analysis with IT as an enabler to improve order and delivery processes, overall cost‐effectiveness and efficiency.

The use of this approach is very important nowadays because more firms are working together as partners in strategic outsourcing using China as “factory of the world”. Without the necessary IT skills to operate the inter‐organizational information systems and to support running the business, it would be difficult to compete and survive in the global marketplace.

The generic business model embodied in the approach serves as a map to guide practitioners and academicians to build similar enterprise systems in response to change requests from customers.

The benefit from the use of this change initiative is not limited to small and medium enterprises in this industry but applicable to other firms in related industries as well.

The paper fulfills an identified information/resources need and offers an example of the application of a theoretical model in business process renewal for executives starting out on a POM career.

The purpose of this study is to develop new frameworks for operations strategy and service system design in electronic commerce (EC) to provide strategic insights to academics and practitioners.

Product/service process matrices for intangible and tangible products in EC operations are presented based on the classification of products and delivery channel options and three cases are investigated to illustrate the newly developed matrices.

The fit between two dimensions (characteristics of product/service, service delivery processes) in the matrices contributes to firm's competitiveness through market expansion and improvement of customer services. Through the case studies, it was confirmed that the conceptual framework developed in this study illustrates actual EC operations well.

Further case or empirical research on more diverse products or services will be required to increase robustness of the matrices and to additionally confirm the results of this study including the effects of the “fit”.

The new frameworks have the potential to be useful as a planning tool in developing an operations strategy and service system design, as well as a diagnostic tool for examining the causes of poor service quality and low customer satisfaction resulting from a mismatch between two dimensions.

The development of new frameworks is an important first step in the gradual process of theory building and theory testing, as well as providing strategic insights for practitioners.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the management of information flow for delivery reliability. It analyses how the integration strategies of traceability, transaction costs and vertical integration that shape integrated information flow are managed during delivery processes of firms. While delivery reliability contributes to firm competitiveness, information flow is central to firms interaction internally and externally to facilitate delivery.

The paper applies an exploratory multiple-case study involving 21 delivery team members in three industrial technology-based firms. Informed by a multidisciplinary framework from literature, the study captures “what” and “how” existing firms manage information flow during delivery. Individual cases from the company were compared analysed to determine themes that drive delivery-related integrated information flow management.

The paper finds that case firms prioritised understanding interaction logics, maintaining process timeliness, review-oriented streamlining and communication-oriented coordination. The study also finds that for delivery reliability in technology-based firms, the interplay of vertical integration, market relations and long term, voluntary relations, especially through the use of small, dedicated and highly skilled team, is required to effectively manage delivery-related integrated information flow.

The major contribution of this paper is an exposition on practices for facilitating information flow integration. It also offers insights that suggest integrated information flow for delivery reliability could be enhanced through the use of customer-focused communication channels, context-driven documentations, multiple and alternate communication channels as well as intuitive and user-friendly documentation strategies.

Prior studies examine the relationship between knowledge management (KM) enablers and KM effectiveness. However, the critical role of business process outcome is neglected. The purpose of this paper is to understand the mediating effect of business process outcomes. Based on knowledge-based view (KBV), two KM enabler variables, KM infrastructure (KMI) and KM capabilities (KMC), and one KM effectiveness variable, market relationships, are included.

A survey was conducted. The sampling frame was obtained from the database of the Bureau of National Health Insurance and Financial Supervisory Commission in Taiwan. After unusable questionnaires excluded, the usable respondents were 256 which are from 63 hospitals and 93 financial firms. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the relationships among KMI, KMC, business process outcome, and market relationships.

The findings indicated that both KMI and KMC have positive influences on market relationships through business process outcome. The authors also demonstrate how KMI and KMC improve market relationships through business process outcome to deliver the value of KM.

Based on KBV, KMI and KMC are as KM enablers to facilitate KM activities. In the light of professional service industries (i.e. hospitals and financial firms), the study highlights the mediating effect of business process outcomes between KM enablers and KM effectiveness. It furthers the understanding of how KM enablers can improve KM effectiveness.