| What is the nature and interplay of LSS, demand management and customer value within a South African automotive aftermarket parts distributor? | To examine the nature and interplay of LSS, demand management and customer value within a South African automotive aftermarket parts distributor | P1: Demand management influences customer value | Demand management plays a central role in enhancing customer value through stock availability, pricing alignment and responsiveness. However, it is fragmented across business functions and poorly integrated with execution, leading to inefficiencies and unmet customer expectations | The organisation’s demand management function is central to delivering customer value but is hindered by functional silos, misalignment between planning and execution and reactive problem-solving. While LSS is not formally implemented, several pain points reflect areas that LSS could address – such as waste, poor visibility and lack of standardisation. Leadership and capability gaps further constrain integration, limiting the potential synergy between demand management, LSS and customer value |
| P2: LSS influences demand management | Although LSS is not formally adopted, its principles (e.g. waste elimination, standardisation) are intuitively recognised as valuable for improving demand processes. However, cultural resistance to change and weak leadership hinder adoption |
| P6: LSS influences the relationships between firm resource capabilities, demand management and customer value | The absence of structured LSS practices, combined with poor collaboration and weak systems capability, limits the ability to align resources, optimise demand and improve customer outcomes |
| How does LSS create customer value through demand management within a South African automotive aftermarket parts distributor? | To highlight the criteria used to measure the customer value generated by the application of LSS within demand management | P1: Demand management influences customer value | Customer value is measured using availability, pricing and reliability. However, inconsistent stock fulfilment and reactive planning degrade the customer experience | While customer value is defined using availability, price and reliability metrics, inconsistent execution and weak alignment with structured improvement approaches limit actual value delivery. The absence of formal LSS practices, coupled with cultural resistance, financial constraints and fragmented processes, obstructs the integration of LSS into demand management. Without cross-functional collaboration, accountability and understanding of total cost to serve, the organisation struggles to embed LSS in a way that balances cost efficiency with customer-centric outcomes |
| P2: LSS influences demand management | LSS principles offer a pathway to reduce inefficiencies and improve demand responsiveness, but their implementation is blocked by internal fragmentation, poor communication and unclear ownership |
| P6: LSS influences the relationships between firm resource capabilities, demand management and customer value | Operational silos, lack of cost visibility and inadequate understanding of the customer journey limit the ability to apply LSS in support of demand management |