A framework of manufacturer‐retailer coordination process: three case studies

Purpose – Triggered by perceived inefficiency and inequality, buyers and suppliers coordinate with each other. The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework of coordination process based on theoretical review and verifications from three case studies.Design/methodology/approach – The approach takes the form of three longitudinal and in‐depth case studies, which involved coordination processes between a toy manufacturer with three European retailers in one calendar year.Findings – The three case studies provided three main observations. First, the coordination process followed some basic sequential activities: evaluation, derivation, offer and negotiation, assessment, and implementation. Second, the coordination processes deviated from this basic sequence with an interactive coordination cycles of assessment, re‐derivation, and re‐offer and negotiation (called inner‐helix) when there was disagreement. Third, closer mode of coordination, which involved joint evaluation and derivation of coordination s...

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