EDI in Strategic Supply Chain: Impact on Customer Service
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Prashant Palvia, Joe Rosenthal Excellence Professor and Director of the McDowell Research Center for Global IT Management (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Abstract: Many inter-organizational systems are increasingly using electronic data interchange (EDI) to support the strategic supply chain by way of delivering and processing business documents. In a vendor–customer relationship, EDI can provide many benefits to both organizations; one such benefit is improved customer service. This study examines the impact of EDI on customer service, when the vendor and customer utilize EDI in their distribution operations. The primary hypothesis is that EDI improves customer service. A number of secondary hypotheses dealing with specific components of customer service were also tested. Data was obtained by administering survey instruments to purchasing managers of firms in the automobile and pharmaceutical industries.
The results provide strong support for most of the hypotheses. Specifically, EDI contributes to the following customer service components: order cycle time, product availability, distribution flexibility, distribution information, and distribution malfunction. An impact on post-sale product support was not discernible from the data. In addition, some industry influences were also observed on the impact of EDI.
EDI in Strategic Supply Chain: Impact on Customer Service
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Created on 11/4/2010
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Additional Information
- Publication
- International Journal of Information Management. 21(3), pp. 193-211
- Language: English
- Date: 2001
- Keywords
- Electronic data interchange (EDI), Inter-organizational systems, Distribution/logistics, Survey research/design