Strategizing SCM-M Interface Using DeLone and McLean Model of IS Success and Fuzzy Cognitive Maps: Perspectives on E-Commerce Success

Introduction

According to Forbes (Forbes, 2014), Walmart stands at the top in terms of its sales and as the 18^th most valuable brand. This success of Walmart is often attributed to its highly efficient Supply Chain Management (SCM) and marketing integration (Kozlenkova, Hult, Lund, Mena, & Kekec, 2015). However, its prime competitor K-mart has struggled financially over the last few decades which is mostly attributed to its weak congruence of SCM and marketing practices (Bogenrief, 2012). In this paper, we focus on understanding the synergetic aspects of SCM and Marketing in e-commerce that act as a source of leveraging strategic and competitive benefits for firms.

An important imperative of Marketing is to deliver values like customer satisfaction, customer support etc. to the end users. Efficient supply chains allow firms to pass along benefits like optimized costs, timely delivery etc. to the end users; thus, generating an increased value for these customers (Kozlenkova et al., 2015). This makes the role of SCM very important and at the very core of Marketing Success.

On the other hand, success of SCM relies on both intra and inter organizational relationships. Logistics, Purchase, Operations and Marketing Channels broadly form the functional domains of SCM. Marketing Channels form the last fragment of SCM but are very important in determining the needs of the end customer for whom the entire supply chain is co-ordinated and adjusted as required. Thus, using Market Research for collecting valuable information of environment, competitors, customers, suppliers etc. can help in better implementation of SCM (Min & Mentzer, 2000). This makes Marketing very impactful in determining the success of SCM.

SCM-Marketing (SCM-M) are very closely linked processes and concepts intertwined with each other. Thus, it has become immensely important to harness the benefits of SCM-M interface. This synergetic value of SCM-M interface has also been identified and applauded in several research works (Ellinger, 2000; Martin & Grbac, 2003; Min & Mentzer, 2000; Svensson, 2002). Esper (Esper, Ellinger, Stank, Flint, & Moon, 2010) highlight the fact that a focus on individualistic SCM or Marketing domain and negligence of SCM-M interface often leads to suboptimal benefits for the firms. Noci (Noci, 2019) in his work provides a deep insight to how business processes and organizational changes be directed to harness the utility of SCM-M interface. Copley (Copley, 2018) demonstrates the experiential learning in an entrepreneurial setting for practical benefits of SCM-M interface. SCM-M coordination (Samatli-Pac, Shen, & Hu, 2018) has also been studied from the point of view of loss aversion, customer utility and reverse logistics. Some other research works (Flint, 2004; Piercy, 2008) identify the potential of synergies of SCM-M interface in providing competitive advantage.

However, in the changing dynamics of global business environment (from traditional to digital); customers no longer simply plan for and shop at the nearest retailer; rather they pick up the nearest digital device. Neilson (Neilson, 2012) cited in its report that online retail sales through e-commerce would double between 2015 and 2019. E-commerce has created a revolution in global businesses by increased customer base, streamlined Supply Chains, enhanced customer value, increased profits, reduced costs and entry in the new markets (Karavdic & Gregory, 2005).